Again, Wayne and Wease making fun of Minnesota and its people. Bringing it from Kentucky and from (as far as I know) parts unknown, to use a "wrasslin" term.
Funny how people including both of you rip people for going along with the status quo, and voting in incompetents time and time again, and then rip a state who consistently goes against the grain for that very reason - to not be afraid of certain parts of people if they think the person brings something unique or different to the table and the system. Minnesota is a progressive state with a good education system and is for the most part filled with good people who care about other people. I'm not really sure about the education system in Kentucky, but I'd wager overall that there are more "smart" people in Minnesota than there are in Kentucky. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't sit here and make fun of other states all that much, so it ticks me off a little bit.
I realize the conservative and right wing mantras deal in large part with the "fear" outlooks on life. Fear of people who are different from you, fear of people coming in your yard, fear of people taking your guns away, fear of any other religion than the one you think is the correct one, those kinds of things. Seems like a narrow and fearful way to go through life, but I don't know. I know it apparently is a far more judgmental way to go through life, and that (to me) brings an inherently "simple" way of looking at things.
As for the individuals you make fun of:
Ventura was the interesting, galvanizing choice in a very close 3 man race which included two boring same-old-same-old politicians besides him. Most people woke up the next day in amazement that he won, and it does prove that free thinking people can change things and the status quo shouldn't always be good enough - unlike most other states. Take Kentucky, for instance, who has re-elected Mitch McConnell every opportunity since 1984 - that's a 24 year run of the same old thing. When I hear him spout off the same old right wing talking points, I see or hear nothing new - and he represents exactly what most people find fault with these days. But, that doesn't stop the cheap shots, does it?
Franken was highly funded and well known - representing publicly the views of most liberals in a liberal-leaning state. He challenged - openly - the administration and could speak well on most subjects. Although many (including myself) had reservations about him for plenty of reasons, he represented a powerful figure for the left not only in this state but nationally. He's easy to make fun of, for obvious reasons, but he does bring a lot to the table, and shares many of the same ideals and feelings of Paul Wellstone - who was beloved here. Not to mention - a vote for Franken was in many cases a vote against Coleman (who is disliked by many here) and especially against Bush, who Coleman took many raps publicly for. Personally, I wouldn't care if it was Will Ferrell or the Goat Boy guy from SNL if they replaced Coleman.
As for Ellison, I honestly don't know that much about the race or too much about his background. Clearly, in his area, having a muslim faith background did not scare off a large percentage of people. Personally, I don't think a base religious view being brought forth by a non-violent person should preclude them from elected office in an open election. Again - people evidently didn't vote out of sheer fear of a religion or color. Hard to understand, I know, in some areas of Kentucky, or parts unknown, but some people don't vote out of fear or ignorance. They vote for other reasons, like intelligence, communication ability, etc. Again - probably hard to understand in some areas of Kentucky, or parts unknown.
I didn't vote for any of these people, for the record. But I do defend those who just wanted to see something different in politics. People in other states seem to be FOR that way of thinking, but they don't ACT on it. Fear can be a very motivating thing, though... it has worked for many for a long time.
Refresh my memory, if you care to, Wease? What state are you from again (or for the first time)? And, since you seem to drone on about this point - do you REALLY think Ventura doesn't think wrestling was mainly and act and rehearsed? Do you REALLY think that? Is that because you heard him say it's real? Really real? Or was he just spouting off wrasslin talk? Do you understand the difference? Oh, wait - I forgot - from parts unknown... that's right... carry on.