Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College, talks about the Minnesota stature in U.S. politics history, especially in the 1960s…with the likes of Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Hubert H. Humphrey.
Steven Schier, professor of political science at Carleton College, talks about the Minnesota stature in U.S. politics history, especially in the 1960s…with the likes of Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, and Hubert H. Humphrey.
SPEAKER 1: It was extraordinary back in the '60s and '70s for a state of Minnesota's side to be so substantial presence on the national scene. I think we should assume that was an unusual situation. It's unusual for any state to be so prominent. So if we are less prominent now, that's more of a normal state of affairs.
SPEAKER 2: Now, how did we get to that point? Was it just the individuals involved, the Humphreys, the Mondales, or were there other factors at work?
SPEAKER 1: Well, part of it involved the quality of the individuals involved. I mean, there's no question that Hubert Humphrey, for example, was a charismatic leader, and then Eugene McCarthy, in 1968, tapped a vein of idealism amongst young Americans. On the other hand, you have to understand that Minnesota produced some leaders of the dominant wing of the dominant party.
The dominant wing became the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Well, no longer can we say the Democrats are the dominant party, and it's not clear that the liberals are necessarily the dominant wing.
SPEAKER 2: So kind of in the right place at the right time.
SPEAKER 1: Being in the right place with the right talent also at the right time.
SPEAKER 2: Is there anything in the nature of Minnesota politics that mitigates the development of these national stature leaders?
SPEAKER 1: Well, I think we have to see that national politics has moved in a conservative direction in the last 30 years. And I think we can even see it, to an extent, in Minnesota, with the election of Rod Grams this last November. If one had to talk about the dominant wing of the dominant party in American politics right now, you'd probably talk about the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
Now, that wing of the Republican Party has never been particularly strong, and Minnesota witnessed what happened to Allen Quist in the primary. So I don't think it's very likely that Minnesota is going to be producing major conservative Republican leaders that will dominate this era.
SPEAKER 2: Does this have any practical impact on Minnesota, other than the fact, we don't have the bragging rights we used to have?
SPEAKER 1: Oh, I think it's always helpful to be at the forefront of national policy because it opens up other opportunities in government. If you're a major national policy maker, you're able to do more things for your state in Congress, assist with federal monies, more appointments of Minnesotans, for example, to import national office. All those things help the state financially and also in terms of reputation. And I think Minnesota is going to be getting less of that in the foreseeable future.
SPEAKER 2: Should we be making some kind of effort to change things?
SPEAKER 1: Do you mean trim our sails or something?
SPEAKER 2: Well, whatever, yeah.
SPEAKER 1: Well, I think states don't operate that way generally. States have given characteristics that drive their behavior, and it's very unlikely that we'll adapt to the new environment and try and get to the head of a parade that we've never participated in very much.
It does seem to me that right now, Minnesota is becoming a bit more conservative, but that it's far less conservative than probably half of the states in the country. And it's that half of the states that are producing the Republican majorities in Congress.
SPEAKER 2: One other thing with all the interest in term limits and the rest that you hear about anyway, is this going to limit the influence that our people are ultimately going to have, or conversely, will it give them a little extra boost? Because nobody's going to be around all that long out in Washington.
SPEAKER 1: Well, it becomes more of a free-for-all without term limits because no one becomes the senior member of a committee directing the benefits to his or her own state. But it's true that Minnesota has a number of senior Democrats, Bruce Vento, Jim Oberstar, and Martin Sabo, whose careers could be curtailed by term limits.
I do think, though, that since they're Democrats right now, their ability to deliver is diminished in any event, so term limits won't have as grand an effect as they might have otherwise.
SPEAKER 2: So we just come up short on the conservative wing, and we have to live with it.
SPEAKER 1: Well, yeah. And I don't think Minnesotans are terribly upset with coming up short on the conservative wing. I think that's a fairly fixed trait of our state, and I expect it to persist, regardless of broader national political trends.
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