We’re in the opening stages of a mayoral race in Saint Paul.<\/p>\n
Now, the various stakeholders and activists are doing what they do – thinking big talks, dreaming big dreams via the political system. \u00a0As to what I think this city \u00a0actually needs from a new mayor? \u00a0It\u2019s irrelevant. \u00a0 We can want whatever we want – but Saint Paul\u00a0is a one-party town, and what we will\u00a0<\/em>get is someone who\u2019s kissed enough DFL-special-interest ass to rise to the top of the oligarchy, \u00a0 Someone who\u00a0will give a vigorous speech or two declaiming how his or her repackaging of 1960s liberal orthodoxy is fresh and new and will bring all the changes that the previous mayor\u2019s repackaging of orthodoxy didn\u2019t. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Leading to 4-12 years of big government-driven stagnation<\/p>\n Part of the problem is that Saint Paul DFLers think that prosperity is something that government, at any level, can bring via careful planning. \u00a0 It’s a common conceit on the left.<\/p>\n