Mayor's License Suspended
From:
Bill Kahn (D)
Date:
May 09 20:56 UTC
Short link
Mayor R.T. Rybak's drivers license problems remind me of Norm
Coleman's lapsed law license when "working" for a local law firm
during his run for the Senate; I suppose Norm was judged to be useful
to the firm somehow or they never would have hired him. Of course we
didn't see this much attention to Norm's license issue on local TV news.
This issue brings another interesting notion to mind: While licensing
to drive motor vehicles is a given, a license to run government is
unheard of. One could argue the people do it through following
campaigns and the electoral process, but that's like saying that
various snake oils will cure all your ills. I mean if Minneapolis
leaders knew what they were doing, would we have seen McKinsey and
Co. step in and tell us how to run the City?
Seems like holding public office is just a short step away from major
influence peddling for a significant number of politicians and a
license requirement might be a good idea. If someone wants to run for
a given office, they should prepare for and successfully pass an exam
showing their intellectual grasp of public service in our federal
system of republican government and give a practical demonstration of
their abilities to function well and ethically in office before they
could even file for candidacy; I think it would be 13 times more
useful for prospective our Minneapolis council members (all 13 of
them). As long as our Minneapolis leaders are unlicensed, I don't see
how we can trust that things have even a small hope of turning out
okay. I think the Minneapolis Charter Commission should take this up
as should other home rule cities in the state, like the City of St.
Paul. We've seen enough on-the-job-training, and the results are
sometimes pretty intolerable.
Of course with all the automatons programmed by Grover Norquist, et.
al running the state and federal government, even a licensed public
office holder wouldn't have much of a chance to serve the public good
at the local level; the pitiful lot of Minnesota Republicans left in
our state government, at least their leadership, operate like so much
sand added to the crankcase of an engine, i.e., they grind things to
a virtual halt. If we could establish licensure in Minneapolis,
perhaps state and federal licensure would not be far behind should a
group of public spirited folks craft a referendum. Next, we'll need
to police office holders and institute fines for "moving violations"
of ethics, proper procedure, and other offenses like arguing
demonstrable fallacies.
One possible future:
[sirens blare; bull horn sounds]
"Step off the soapbox and produce your license," says the sergeant-at-
arms, "You know you were foaming at the mouth there, Representative?
I've never seen quite this level of LUI before and you should be
ashamed of yourself," and under his breath, "Sanctuary cities, my
arse; next they'll attach this dog to exotic species/fish and game
bills."
"I was only arguing germaneness of my amendment to the bill," says
Rep. Automaton as he hands over his license.
"Tell it to the judge," says the sergeant-at-arms while writing out
the ticket and handing it and the license back to Rep. Grover-bot,
"but I know diddling when I see it. Just be glad I didn't make you
stand on one leg, close your eyes, and touch your nose with
alternating fingers while reciting your oath of office."
Fines and the possibility of losing a license might keep things
moving at the Capitol, in St. Paul and Washington, D.C., as well as
at city halls.
.