Mike Cavlan, Green Senate Candidate

The Star Tribune (the Minneapolis daily paper, for those from out of town/in eine anderes Land) has an odd dichotomy between the editorial and the news departments. The paper routinely comes in as one of the top liberal corporate dailies - in its editorials - but the news reporting is heavily influenced by D. J. Tice, a conservative now listed as 'Team Leader'.

Doug (D.J.) Tice
Team Leader
dtice@startribune.com
612-673-4456

The paper's coverage of Greens has been excrable to non-existant, generally, so
this story was refreshing:

Cavlan steals show at Fifth District forum
Cavlan, who grew up in Northern Ireland, told a couple dozen high school students at an after-school forum to be wary of military recruiters and "do not allow them to tempt you with their toys and gifts and trinkets" because "they will never tell you the brutal, ugly realities of the conflict of war." ... Several students in the audience acknowledged they had been approached by military recruiters.

Republican congressional candidate Alan Fine, who teaches at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School, told Cavlan his speech was inappropriately graphic for the students. Cavlan shot back, "That's your opinion."

Cavlan also showed up on Minnesota Public Radio in the 'Also-Running' debate between himself and the Constitution party candidate for the Senate seat. The best point of that debate - although both candidates agreed on quite a bit, like Bush was lame and the invasion and occupation of Iraq was lamer - was when moderate hacktacular host Gary Eichten asked them their opinion of Bush. Cavlan said (and I misquote) that he never refers to him as the President, because he cheated in both 2000 and 2004. (Cavlan was one of the Green Party observers for the 2004 Ohio recount.)

Anyway, with the Klobuchar/Kennedy race looking like a blowout (I guess assholeish Republicans who are firmly linked to the President aren't doing too well in Minnesota this year, while appealing tough Democratic women are) this means that Cavlan could well be poised to grab the Greens major party status this year.

Cavlan's clear position on Iraq (get the heck out now, and it's about oil) compares favorably to Klobuchar's, which is (reduce the troop levels, invading was a bad idea.)

Further, the unceremonious dumping of the Klobuchar staffer who clicked an open link to the Kennedy ad agency's server shows that there is certainly a strain of 'Cover your ass' cowardly Democrat in her makeup.

So with a 10-point blowout in the works, if not more, maybe it's time to start looking at Cavlan. 'M just saying.