Shot In The Dark: The Return?

February 02, 2005

The Return?

I thought about doing a full-scale fisking of Nick Coleman's latest self-righteous jeremiad - but I"m at the point where I almost feel I could re-use pieces of earlier fiskings (much as Coleman seems to re-us bits and pieces of columns).

But I read the opening:

Minnesotans with lungs were advised to hold their breath Tuesday, and children and old people were told to stay inside while gas guzzlers gridlocked the roads as usual. In case you still haven't got the picture of what is happening in our backsliding country, the president will give us his report tonight on the state of the nation.

Here's a sneak preview from a Twin Cities suburb. You want to know the state of the nation? It's hungry.

I braved the toxic air Tuesday to visit a food shelf in the shadows of the gasoline refinery in St. Paul Park. The place is called Friends in Need, and last year it served almost 2,800 families -- twice the number it served five years earlier -- and the need is expanding every year.

...and wondered, "What did Nick have to say about hunger during the Clinton Administration?"

Where was the official conscience of the Twin Cities Media during the nineties? When a homeless foot fell in the Twin Cities, was Nick tying it to the Legislature? Was he blaming the failing schools on Roger Moe? Was he trolling schools looking for books when Bill Clinton ran the show?

Anyone with Lexis/Nexis wanna take a whack at that?

Posted by Mitch at February 2, 2005 07:21 AM | TrackBack

Comments

You forget, there was a Republican Congress during six of those years offering a target a reactionary like Coleman simply could not have resisted.

The smart money says he did indeed write about poverty in the 90's. It also says those columns were filled with references to people with names like Gingrich, Dole, and Lott, rather than someone named Clinton.

Posted by: Doug at February 2, 2005 09:47 AM

If you've got time for a good read, John Stossel covers that topic in his book Give Me a Break. It's amazing how general reports on poverty multiply exponentially when a Rpublican is in power. What, do all homeless and hundry people disappear as soon as a Democrat is elected?

Posted by: jwookie at February 2, 2005 09:52 AM

I may be able to get around to that later. But, with the Premiere of Air Nick, I'm a very busy guy.

Posted by: LearnedFoot at February 2, 2005 10:57 AM

C'mon Mitch. If Nick didn't have something to carp about, his ability to "write" would seize up like an car engine without oil.

Your point is well taken; this is typical of the Lefty jounalists to write about homeless when Republicans are in power, yet ignore them when Democrats run the show.

Remember, the Democrats kicked out the homeless the last time the held a convention in NYC, while the MSM was silent.

Posted by: Paul Carter at February 2, 2005 11:50 AM

Folks like Nick were blasting Clinton for welfare reform, the implication being they he was acting too republican and had gone over to the dark side... and that since dark forces control everything a democrat can't get ahead without caving to the right.

Poor Nick... a face for radio... a voice for newspaper... writing skills for driving taxi (my apologies to cab drivers everywhere, who in my experience have much more political insight than Nick).

Posted by: chriss at February 2, 2005 12:33 PM