by Steve Timmer

Aug 5, 2014, 2:00 PM

Waiting for Dario, the lit drop

It wasn’t Luther’s 95 theses nailed to the door, but at least it was something from candidate Anselmo about what he thinks. Not much, as it turns out. Here’s the center section, the part that contained words, from a lit piece stuck in the door:

These silver words are perhaps what the Anselmo campaign paid $4,000 to former Pawlenty flak Brian McClung for. The words in bold are especially effective, don’t you think? But let’s deconstruct this a little; there are some dog whistles if you listen carefully.

Jobs & Economy – Because I ran a restaurant, I know how the economy works. I have several ‘Best Dining’ awards to prove it. Being able to tell the wait staff how to fold the napkins just so equips Anselmo well to wade into the health and human services budget. And I understand completely that he thinks sanitation laws are just red tape. Just like environmental laws.

Education – “Improving outcomes” puts Anselmo right in the camp that thinks flogging kids with two weeks of standardized tests every year is swell. And in addition to meeting the “demands of the global economy,” Dario, it would be nice if kids got out of school knowing what a democracy is and how to participate in it. But you seem to embrace the “drill and kill” mentality of the Republican caucus that cares little for anything besides reading, writing, and now, maybe a little science.

Environment – This is pretty convoluted, but Anselmo starts out by referring to Edina’s parks, lakes, and creeks, and then says he’d pass “sensible laws” to protect “these resources.” I was personally unaware that Anselmo was running for the city council. I believe, though, that what Anselmo is really saying, in spite of the Edina reference, is that he supports copper mining in northern Minnesota. Well, of course he does.

Senior Citizens – Property taxes are levied by cities and counties, not the state. The way that the state can cause decreases or mitigate increases in property taxes is by increasing the state’s local government aid. Edina doesn’t get any, by the way. The state could provide LGA to Edina, but that would require raising state income or sales taxes, or decreasing the state’s contributions to health and human services, education, infrastructure, public safety, etc.

In view of the fact that Anselmo doesn’t seem to understand where property taxes come from, or the state mechanism by which they could be decreased, it seems improbable that he’d provide “better leadership” for seniors.

Health Care – With health insurance participation rates one of the highest, perhaps the highest in the country, and premiums among the lowest, and most people expressing general satisfaction with the ACA. MnSure isn’t “troubled;” Windows 2.0 was troubled.

This one is probably where the artistry of Brian McClung is most apparent. It has been a Republican article of faith for so long that health care is the Democrats’ Achilles Heel that they continue to believe it in the face of all of the mounting evidence to the contrary.

It amazes me that anyone would seriously consider replacing ten-term legislator Ron Erhardt with this lightweight.

Update: Here’s a photo from Ron Erhardt’s Facebook page:

But Anselmo has been endorsed by the Twin-West Chamber of Commerce!