Minnesota nice goes on ice

The gloves come off in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, as Republicans Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann hammer away at each other

Edward Morrissey

Uff da. We Minnesotans knew there would be trouble when both Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann aimed for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Although both are Republicans, here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, their political animosity has never been much of a secret. Now that rivalry leads the national political desks, mainly a product of Bachmann's sudden success in Iowa.

Of course, this happens when people campaign for the same office or nomination, regardless of party affiliation — and it should. Americans have a historical blindness when it comes to political campaigning, yearning for bygone days when candidates only talked about themselves and their political positions, and conducted themselves in gentlemanly (or gentlewomanly, as the case may be) fashion toward their opponents. The problem with that nostalgia is that it hearkens back to days that only exist in our collective imagination.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.