Once again we are treated to the antics of the wonder boy of Minnesota politics.

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Once again we are treated to the antics of the wonder boy of Minnesota politics. Gov. Ventura stopped informing Minnesotans where he will be going and what he will be doing each day. He said he wouldn’t be releasing his schedule and wasn’t going to speak to local journalists anymore. But how are &uot;we the people&uot; supposed to get an impartial view of what he’s doing? How are we supposed to get any information at all about what he’s doing? He’s acting more like a king than an elected official.

And there’s more: He’s a union member who makes a point of crossing picket lines set up by striking state workers. He is punishing public schools and state universities by depriving them of the funding they need to carry out their missions. Their crimes? He accuses them of being &uot;greedy&uot; and of &uot;wasting&uot; taxpayer funds – accusations presented without any evidence. He has enough extra time to get paid to announce games for the XFL, but he can’t make the time to keep volunteering as an assistant coach for a high school football team.

This time he’s gone too far. When all is said and done, he no longer has my support.

When Gov. Ventura went to New York City to visit the site of the World Trade Center tragedy, that was the right thing to do. But the problem is he didn’t just go as the Governor of Minnesota; he didn’t just go to show our support to rescue workers and relatives of victims. He went as part of an exclusive deal set up between New York Gov. George Pataki and the ABC television network. Journalists from Minnesota, who are supposed to be reporting on the Governor’s activities so that &uot;we the people&uot; who don’t watch the news on ABC can get more information about him, were not invited. The reporters complained (as would all responsible journalists). Now the Governor won’t speak to any of them. I think Gov. Ventura is being more than a little irresponsible. In fact, I would say he’s being &uot;childish&uot; except that most of the children I know are more mature.

I have always found Gov. Ventura’s complaints about the &uot;press&uot; and their agenda to be frustrating. But the main reason I can no longer bring myself to support him is actually related to the policies he’s been promoting and the decisions he’s been making over the past year. Jesse Ventura is making it more and more clear that his true &uot;constituency,&uot; the people he really wants to represent, are those who don’t like government at any level, who don’t trust public employees and teachers, who dislike having to support local schools, and who are only interested in the amount of taxes they pay. People with those opinions are certainly noisy and they get lots of attention from all sorts of politicians, but they do not speak for all, or even most Minnesotans. This state is a pretty good place to live, and good government and good schools and the sensible taxation that supports them are among the reasons why.

Of course I do remember the good things that have happened since Jesse Ventura took office. And one of them is that our schools will no longer be as dependent on property taxes. But the truth is that without the active participation of Democrats in the State Senate and Republicans in the State House, these changes would not have taken the final shape they did. Better decisions arose in a government that was split among factions, instead of being ruled by just one group. Slow and careful discussion always makes for better informed choices.

Time after time Jesse Ventura has demonstrated character traits and behavior that are incompatible with his status as the highest elected official in our state. Time after time he has gone out of his way to be obnoxious or condescending to people he perceives as his opponents. And time after time I have gone through mental gymnastics to find ways to justify continuing to give him my support. But the breath of fresh air he once brought into politics in this state has long since grown stale. It’s time for us to move on and send Jesse the Body back to Hollywood and the WWF.

David Behling is a rural Albert Lea resident. His column appears Tuesdays.