Jay Weiner wins a Spotty!
Jay Weiner wins a Spotty™ for this insightful letter to the editor in the October 11th print edition of the Star Tribune, criticizing an opinion piece by D.J. Tice which cast aspersions on the election system in Minnesota.
I read with some annoyance and much head-scratching D.J. Tice’s “Minnesota’s case study in election imperfection” (Opinion Exchange) on Monday. It was hard to tell exactly what Tice was asserting.
Was he asserting that Kim Crockett is a worthy candidate for Minnesota secretary of state although she has denied the legitimacy of the election of President Joe Biden and dodges whether she’d certify elections should she win next month?
Or is Tice proclaiming that mail-in and absentee voting have substantial risks, even though Oregon, which conducts all of its voting via mail, sent out more than 100 million mail-in ballots between 2000 and 2020 and documented only about a dozen cases of proven fraud, or 0.00001% of all votes cast?
Or was his goal to create a straw issue of “imperfection” and “vulnerabilities” in our voting system, only to “balance” his argument by meekly admitting, “Most felt the [Al Franken-Norm Coleman] recount and trial had been fairly conducted.” Actually, not only “most” but, more importantly, a bipartisan canvassing board, a three-judge panel of Minnesota jurists appointed by a Democrat, a Republican and independent Gov. Jesse Ventura, and our Minnesota Supreme Court, who all oversaw the recount and, each time, declared Franken the winner.
Yes, democracy is messy. But history confirms the Minnesota election system is pretty darn excellent, if not “perfect.” Tice spewed fodder for the deniers, and for that, he must take responsibility when they emerge in November and point to his irresponsible column.
Jay Weiner, St. Paul
The writer is the author of “This Is Not Florida: How Al Franken Won The Minnesota Recount.”
When the paper with the Tice piece landed on the front steps the day before, the dogs in the neighborhood began to howl. I intended to write a response, but now I don’t have to, because Mr. Weiner did such a terrific and knowledgeable job.
Never doubt that D.J. Tice is a card-carrying member of the right-wing Borg. Also never doubt that Tice’s goal was to plants seeds of doubt in the election. To Weiner’s description of the column as “irresponsible,” I would add odious.
Remember a Spotty™ is awarded to an opinion piece, a letter to the editor or a webstory that I wish I had written myself.
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