The Mark(ings) of Zorro

The Mark(ings) of Zorro

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken

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What's the Matter with Kansas?

Friday, October 25, 2002

by El Zorro Viejo (aka; Jim)

Fate is truly humbling. A couple weeks ago, Bob "the torch" Torricelli abruptly bowed out of the election for his U.S. Senate seat, forcing the NJ Democrat Party to jump through hoops in an attempt (successful as it turned out) to replace him on the ballot. That somewhat desperate effort was deemed necessary since the Democrat control of the Senate was a slim one seat (well, two numerically, but, if the net change was one seat to the Republicans, the Vice President would break the tie...giving control back to the Reps.) So, the NJ and national Dems scurried around and slipped Frank Lautenberg on the ticket which gave the Dems a good shot at retaining this Democrat seat.

So, what does Fate do? Senator Paul Wellstone, a true New Deal, Humphrey-esque, Mondale clone from Minnesota died today in a tragic airplane accident. That this is a national tragedy in that one of the strong voices of liberal branch of our national conscience was silenced is only the start of the ramifications. And, of course, all the earnest talking heads on the news networks have been mouthing their condolences while speculating on what happens next to the Senate. The one interesting thing that I have gleaned from all this talk, though, is that there is no problem (other than picking somebody) in replacing Wellstone's name on the Minnesota ballot. Opposed to New Jersey's deadline, this seems to be a much more democratic way of running an election. (One other fact that came out was that a nominee for Governor in that great state once pulled a Torricelli because he was caught in the middle of some sort of scandal. His replacement went on to not only win but eventually serve two terms.)

Y'know, New Jersey is actually a pretty nice place. It's winters aren't as cold as those even just a little further north and its summers aren't nearly as hot as Dixie's. New Jersey's only problem is that its population has grown faster than its infrastructure and that it has a history of political...aaaahhhh, ok--call a spade a spade...corruption. About the only time I've been proud, as a Joisey boy, to claim a politician as my own was when Bill Bradley was one of our senators.

Anyhow, the nation, tonight, is a little poorer for the loss of Senator Wellstone (and his wife, daughter and the others on that plane), and the political landscape has just undergone another shake-up such that the dust is still in the air. I would hope that the pundits at least give us this weekend before they start up again, but we all know how likely that is.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ©El Zorro Viejo 2002-2005

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