Jesse Ventura, in his usual style, has appointed Independence Party member Dean Barkley to the US Senate to fill the term left by Paul Wellstone. This is his way of slapping the face of the two major parties and paying off one of his best allies and strongest supporters.
The only problem with this is that Mr. Barkley is about as politically astute as Ventura, which is to say, not so at all. He’s a showman more than a politician and will likely use his appointment to generally make an ass of himself.
Granted, this isn’t really a shock – I’m genuinely surprised no one figured this would happen beforehand, but I have a feeling the staid Senate is going to get quite a shock when this former car-wash operator steps onto the Senate floor.
Why does Caligula making his favorite horse a consul come to mind?
Jesse’s just trying to make politics into even more than a joke than it already is. It’s amusing to watch, as a South Dakotan, but I’m sure it’s tiresome for the residents of Minnesota.
At the same time, though, it is nice to see third parties making some headway in midwestern politics… lord knows it would never happen in my home state.