Runnin' With The Devil

Last night, we immensely enjoyed watching President Bush's acceptance speech at a Party for the President, hosted by David Strom. Strom is the big kahuna of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota and has become one of the most controversial figures on the local political scene. The Minneapolis Star Tribune and The City Pages, the local "alternative" paper, have vilified Strom in recent years, and he was named 2004's "Villain of the Year" by the City Pages.

For a man who's taken more than his fair share of slings and arrows, Strom is amazingly upbeat and jovial. In fact, you get the impression that he revels in his role as Minnesota's right-wing bad boy. The large banner hanging in his home celebrating his City Page's villain distinction certainly reinforces this perception.

Unlike some "new urbanists" who rail against suburban sprawl while living in Minnetonka (a posh suburb west of Minneapolis) and driving SUVs, David Strom is keeping it real. He resides in a recently built home in North Minneapolis. For those of you unfamiliar with the Twin Cities, the neighborhoods of North Minneapolis are not exactly the most sought after properties in the metro area.

David and his lovely wife Margaret have built a beautiful home in the 'hood and were gracious hosts last evening. The only part of the house that we didn't get to see was the basement, which must be the place where they make ground beef out of puppies and orphans (if the local media organs are to be believed anyway). They laid out a spread of delicious vittles, had a wide selection of fine spirits, and even their choice of beer was appropriate for the circumstances (Shiner Bock and Blonde).

It was a festive evening of fast-paced, fun-filled political conversation (no, that is not an oxymoron) as I mentioned yesterday. In addition to David and Margaret, the crowd included my wife and I, Saint Paul, The Warrior Princess, John R. LaPlante from Policy Guy and his wife, Peggy Kaplan from what if?, David's next door neighbor and his wife, the Strom's three birds, and Atomizer.

Before the speech we watched a DVD supplied by the RNC for the occasion (you see we DO get our talking points from them!) that chronicled John Kerry's ever shifting position on Saddam Hussein's Iraq through video clips going back to the early '90s. Even with Saint Paul's caveat that some of the clips probably did not include the complete context of Kerry's remarks, the impact was devastating. It is far too long to be used as a campaign commercial, but as a device to demonstrate Kerry's crass political opportunism and lack of conviction, it is extremely effective.