Went to the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday. I do not care for it, but Amanda is a devotee, and I think there may be a state law requiring citizens to attend. Anyway it sure feels like it while you are maneuvering a stroller through the masses in the Midway, where throngs of people spend their money freely on "rides," several of which are not recommended for pregnant women (possibly a form of advertising), and around the lines at the booths housing the tricked-up carnival games and their elusive, kitschy prizes, the most popular still being the oversized stuffed animal. The freak shows, however, are gone.
Several of the local radio stations broadcast live from the Fair, and I spent an agonizing ten minutes or so standing in line for corn dogs within earshot of "The Patriot," one of the right-wing talk outlets. The host, Mitch Berg, had as a guest Phil Krinkie, a former state legislator and anti-tax, Tea-Party type. Their candidate for governor, Crazy Tom Emmer, promises to close the state's gaping budget hole by "redesigning" government. No one, including apparently Emmer himself, has a very clear idea of what that might mean. Consequently, Emmer has been assailed, by Mark Dayton, the DFL candidate, and by Tom Horner, the Independent, for "having no plan," and journalistic critics have taken up the complaint. The purpose of the Berg-Krinkie dog-and-pony show was to defend Emmer by depicting him as another victim of "The Liberal Media" and by distorting Dayton's plan, the centerpiece of which is a new tax bracket for the highest earners, then criticizing their own distorted version of his plan. The middle-aged, overfed white men who were milling around listening could be counted upon not to interrupt their reveries.
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