New Spotty award winner!

Spot has been thinking about the carpetbagger tag on Al Franken ever since Republican Party Chair Ron Carey--who is not a native Minnesota himself, boys and girls--held his stupid little news conference to "welcome" Al back to the state. Spot has been thinking about writing about it, several people have, but Jeremy Powers wrote the piece that Spot wanted to, so Spot awards it a Spotty and reproduces the letter from Wednesday's Strib here:

He has roots here

So the claims of "carpetbagging" begin for Al Franken (Readers write, Feb. 26).

Franken grew up in St. Louis Park and was exactly the kind of kid every
Minnesota parent wanted to raise -- smart and ambitious. He went on to
Harvard.

I first met Franken in May 1982 when he visited Minnesota State University-Mankato. He was at the top of his "Saturday Night Live" fame, yet he put up with SNL takeoffs devised by the students, held seminars and was very open to students. He was also on top of Minnesota politics, knowing the political landscape as well as anyone.

My mother was an election judge in the precinct in which Franken's mother lived, and he most often accompanied her to the polls, even when he lived in New York. He came back regularly to campaign for Democrats, such as Sen. Paul Wellstone.

What would we have wanted from a smart, creative local kid who went on to win five Emmys? Come home and work at Dayton's?

If Franken is a carpetbagger, then what we would call Sen. Norm Coleman, who still sounds like a New York lawyer? Or former Gov. Arne Carlson, another New Yorker (who at least now sounds like he lives here)? How about Rep. Michele Bachmann, who was raised in Iowa? Or why did we elect Rep. John Kline, who was neither raised here nor lived here until he retired from the Marines, just in time to run for office?

Al Franken is more of a Minnesotan than any of these people because he believes in the values he learned being raised in a state where people cared for everyone else.

JEREMY POWERS, FRIDLEY

Remember, boys and girls, a Spotty is awarded to the author of a letter to the editor, an op-ed piece, or a blog post or comment that Spot wishes that he has written.


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