Ideas count, don’t they? In politics especially, I keep trying to convince myself. But I don’t hear any ideas from presidential or Minnesota senate candidates. Just warmed over stuff that sort of sounds good no matter where on the political spectrum you find yourself Listen to Al Franken: Norm Coleman has to be held accountable for supporting George Bush. Are you suggesting he should have supported Al Gore? And what about a single payer health care system, Al …or Norm…or anyone. We’re all for universal health care, and so we ‘ve covered that subject,  and now let’s move on to a deep, resounding cry for change. What?

We’re sailing on the global economy ship. No one seems to deny it. And yet the Democrat candidates for president couldn’t wait to shred NAFTA, especially in Ohio and Pennsylvania. What are we for in the new flat world? Here’s an idea: free foreign language training for all citizens. Minneapolis could do its own version and truly make itself an international city. I’m dreaming, I know.

We shouldn’t stand for cliches and soaring rhetoric. These language modes make us feel good, but they’re like cotton candy: no nutrition and bad for one’s teeth. I’m not asking for program details on some esoteric tax policies, although a candidate could tell us to go to his/her web page for such. I’m asking for ideas, strong views on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness The Peace Corps wasn’t an idea exactly. It was a means to carry out an idea that the United States had a mission to give time and talent and goodwill to other citizens of the world who had gotten short-shrift.

The fairly strange man who is the president of France has ideas. One is that Mediterranean bordering nations have a common set of interests, interests that might transcend their religious, cultural and ethnic differences.

So let’s set up confederation of such countries loosely based on the European Common Union, he suggested, both during  his campaign and, most wonderfully, after his election. A Club Med kind of NAFTA. Don’t like that idea? Why? Let’s hear your idea.

I know why ideas are in short supply in big election campaigns and why glorious emotional obfuscations  fill the political store house. It’s because the experts tell the candidates that they will lose the election if they come up with an idea. So the candidates talk as if they have ideas, but what they really have is code words.

I don’t believe the experts. I think most voters would welcome candidates who have new ideas, probably even vote for them because they have ideas. Let’s listen to all the candidates to see if any of them agree with the idea of having ideas. The ideas don’t need to be perfect, not even have parts or sections or tax or environmental impact statements. Just something to inspire us to think a little bit.

Posted as a plea (for ideas)

CN