Voting With Our Wallets?

Just got finished listening to a replay of MPR's Midday--host Gary Eichten interviewing failed DFL Gubernatorial candidate Roger Moe. Despite the electoral developments of the last week, Moe seemed remarkably composed, forward looking, and even chipper. Contrast this with the post defeat plunge into egotistical soul searching and introspection engaged in by the likes of Al Gore and Skip Humphrey, and I must say Mr. Moe actually seems like a real human being. Characterized as "only 57 years old" by Eichten (and admittedly he does seem much, much older), Moe did say he felt his career as an elected official was over. However, that doesn't mean he's willing to go gently into that good night. He still took a few shots at Governor-elect Tim Pawlenty. Moe hit two themes consistently. First - his campaign "played by the rules" - which is a not so veiled slight against Pawlenty's violation of Minnesota election law by coordinating his advertising efforts with soft money suppliers. Moe also mentioned that he campaigned in an "honest" fashion and took stances that he could actually govern on, rather than just pandering to what people wanted to hear. I interpret this as a criticism of (and prediction of failure for) Pawlenty's pledge to not raise taxes when confronting the expected multibillion dollar deficit faced by the state next year. If Pawlenty didn't have sufficient cause to stick to his guns on this issue, perhaps Moe's catcalling will stiffen his spine. (Moe's catcalling? My subconscious must have helped in formulating that phrase, as I've just remembered a horse running at Canterbury Downs about 10 years ago named "Moe's Cat" - which was a dog that ate up more than his share of my wagers).

Also of note was the alarmed tone Gary Eichten and other MPR announcers were using when discussing their fund raising totals for the November MPR membership drive. Even though the totals are at $1.1 million (as of this writing), Eichten said on several occasions that they were "way, way behind" where they should be and that their final day for the pledge drive is Friday. Is it too much to hope that Minnesota's electoral exodus away from the DFL will also extend to their media mouthpiece, MPR? Will Garrison Keilor's petty and mean-spirited slandering of Norm Coleman in Salon ultimately serve as the same type of self-inflicted torpedo to MPR that Rick Kahn's speech served as for the Mondale candidacy? If MPR does fall short of its fundraising goal, it'll be hard to prove causation on either account, but I can live with the mere correlation. Unfortunately, their failure in the marketplace will probably only result in a request for even greater government subsidy.