The Legislature went home for the rest of the holiday weekend, meaning that I probably won’t be back to work on Tuesday. I can only imagine the anxiety that other state workers with no vacation time and families to support are feeling. The Governor mentioned that he might be willing to pay state workers for days of work missed because of the shutdown, a move which every state worker would welcome and which might also give Pawlenty a small political boost. I’m still not sure how this will play out in the long run. So many services have been determined essential that the scope of the shutdown may seem minimal to most Minnesotans. My nurses will still get paid, as will most health care providers. Road construction projects that began before the shutdown will continue. It’s axiomatic that voters have short memories and all the parties involved may be able to sufficiently rehabilitate their public images to survive the 2006 election. But I also wonder if conditions might be ripe for an energetic and organized third party (certainly not the Greens or the Independents in their current state) to make inroads in the next election. I think there’s a lot of hunger out there for a third way of doing things. Even I, a committed Democrat, am starting to feel like the current system is broken beyond repair. But for a third party to have any success, it would need a charismatic and visionary leader. And I don’t see anyone on the Minnesota scene who fits that description.
Mark, You are young, and bright and interested. Have you thought about running for office? I’d vote for you. I might even live in your district – I’m in 62, with Jim Davnie for my state rep. Yes, he’s been good for my issues but I think you could have a great affect on the body as a whole – and still have a job when the state has a partial shutdown.