2008 Woodie Awards
Staff Editorial: Talking through-but not endorsing anyone-in the Minnesota U.S. Senate race
By: The Mac Weekly Staff
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Opinion
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Finally a Tommie on Mac's side of the aisle! This professor of Peace and Justice Studies at St. Thomas colors his policy proscriptions with populist patter, though again it takes some sifting to sort out where he differs from his DFL-mates. He's unequivocally in favor of a national single-payer healthcare system, the neutering of NAFTA and other free-trade agreements, and the reduction of the income gap through the repeal of the Bush tax cuts and increased unemployment benefits. His plan for immigration reform is unusually clear and bold (for a politician facing down a complex, emotionally-charged issue anyway), focusing on development aid to Latin American countries as a way to stem uncontrolled migration. National security, as per Ciresi, is largely a matter of figuring out how to change our image for the better in volatile parts of the world-how this is to be done (as per) is less clear.
Jim Cohen
Jim Cohen, a self-declared Democrat Different, doesn't seem so different from the other candidates. Sifting through his rhetorical pleasantries of bipartisanship, Cohen is highly critical of Bush's mismanagement of affairs in the Middle East and for his melodramatically demonizing of Iran, and he advocates a withdrawal of American troops in Iraq by early 2008 and improvement of America's image abroad (again, an optimistic but unexplained plan). He emphasizes the importance of renewable energy both as a part of environmental awareness and as a national security strategy. His plan for health care, not so different from other proposals, is a publicly funded single payer universal health care system modeled after Medicare. On his website, it's at this point that Cohen begins trailing off into token mentions of God and Christianity's emphasis on peace, giving one last nod to immigration as solvable through the enforcement of existing laws.
Norm Coleman
Incumbent republican Norm Coleman (colemanforsenate.com) isn't exactly beating a new path as he follows the other candidates in his demands for American energy self-reliance through natural resources and new technology. However, discussing healthcare (with the oft-repeated disclaimer that it'll take a lot more time and creative-thinking) he argues that health insurance and care must be made more affordable to everyone through tax cuts, both to consumers and providers of low cost care. Ultimately, he places responsibility on individuals by encouraging the state to educate them on adopting healthier lifestyles. Again reminding people to be less short-sighted for their own good and for that of the nation, he urges Americans critical of the war in Iraq "to see the light at the end of the tunnel" that can apparently only be reached through a "long term presence in the region." Coleman has called for some troop reductions but deflects demands for a more immediate withdrawal with praise of troops that makes efforts to bring them home sound downright un-patriotic.
The opinions expressed above are those of The Mac Weekly, as determined by the staff. The perspectives are not representative of Macalester College.
Finally a Tommie on Mac's side of the aisle! This professor of Peace and Justice Studies at St. Thomas colors his policy proscriptions with populist patter, though again it takes some sifting to sort out where he differs from his DFL-mates. He's unequivocally in favor of a national single-payer healthcare system, the neutering of NAFTA and other free-trade agreements, and the reduction of the income gap through the repeal of the Bush tax cuts and increased unemployment benefits. His plan for immigration reform is unusually clear and bold (for a politician facing down a complex, emotionally-charged issue anyway), focusing on development aid to Latin American countries as a way to stem uncontrolled migration. National security, as per Ciresi, is largely a matter of figuring out how to change our image for the better in volatile parts of the world-how this is to be done (as per) is less clear.
Jim Cohen
Jim Cohen, a self-declared Democrat Different, doesn't seem so different from the other candidates. Sifting through his rhetorical pleasantries of bipartisanship, Cohen is highly critical of Bush's mismanagement of affairs in the Middle East and for his melodramatically demonizing of Iran, and he advocates a withdrawal of American troops in Iraq by early 2008 and improvement of America's image abroad (again, an optimistic but unexplained plan). He emphasizes the importance of renewable energy both as a part of environmental awareness and as a national security strategy. His plan for health care, not so different from other proposals, is a publicly funded single payer universal health care system modeled after Medicare. On his website, it's at this point that Cohen begins trailing off into token mentions of God and Christianity's emphasis on peace, giving one last nod to immigration as solvable through the enforcement of existing laws.
Norm Coleman
Incumbent republican Norm Coleman (colemanforsenate.com) isn't exactly beating a new path as he follows the other candidates in his demands for American energy self-reliance through natural resources and new technology. However, discussing healthcare (with the oft-repeated disclaimer that it'll take a lot more time and creative-thinking) he argues that health insurance and care must be made more affordable to everyone through tax cuts, both to consumers and providers of low cost care. Ultimately, he places responsibility on individuals by encouraging the state to educate them on adopting healthier lifestyles. Again reminding people to be less short-sighted for their own good and for that of the nation, he urges Americans critical of the war in Iraq "to see the light at the end of the tunnel" that can apparently only be reached through a "long term presence in the region." Coleman has called for some troop reductions but deflects demands for a more immediate withdrawal with praise of troops that makes efforts to bring them home sound downright un-patriotic.
The opinions expressed above are those of The Mac Weekly, as determined by the staff. The perspectives are not representative of Macalester College.
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