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March 05, 2010
Polls say "no" to Vikes stadium; Vikes say "bah" to polls
A poll of Minnesotans has found that 64% are opposed to state funding of a new Vikings stadium, with only 31% in favor. This is in line both with past polls on the Vikings stadium, and for that matter with how Minnesotans felt about spending public money on a Twins stadium before that.
Vikings stadium czar Lester Bagley, as you might expect, wasn't too thrilled with the poll results, telling the Minneapolis Star Tribune that such polls "ask the wrong question, which is whether it's important to keep the Vikings in Minnesota for the next generation. And to keep the Vikings, we have to resolve the stadium issue." (Presumably Bagley meant that whether to keep the Vikings in Minnesota was the right question.) He added that the new Twins ballpark would never have been built if "you put a finger up in the air to see what the polls are."
Good thing, then, that the state legislature agreed to build the Twins stadium without asking voters what they thought. Because as everyone knows, in Minnesota the only person whose opinion counts is Garrison Keillor's.
It seems to me some very famous wars were fought over taxation without representation. In these enlightened days, we simply smile and marvel at how wondrous it all is.
Maybe Mr. Bagley is right about it being the wrong question... Maybe every Minnesotan should be asked exactly how many dollars should be given to the Vikings, and encouraged to support their claim with a little piece of paper carrying their signature and an amount payable. Let's call these promissory notes "checks".
Then, the Vikes would know exactly how loved they are, and exactly how much their loyal and long suffering fans are willing to give to their noble cause.
Posted by John Bladen on March 6, 2010 05:05 PM