Several weeks ago, the Vikings Stadium bill was described as a "Hail Mary," the last-second deep pass play in football with little chance of success. In reality, it was more like the closing scenes of a poorly-scripted WWE wrestling match. You might be rooting for the nondescript everyman in blue spandex, but sooner or later we know that the referee will turn a blind eye so that a hulk with a moniker like "Captain Anabolic" can knock him out with a folding chair.
So the Vikings got their hail Mary, but thanks to that blind eye from both our city attorney (no referendum, no motions) and a legislature that undid Senator Marty's amendment that would have upheld the city charter, the Wilfs and the gang of seven got the ball back too. And just like the end of a football game when the leader has possession, these officials appear primed to sit on the ball and let the clock run out.
CMs Gary Schiff and Cam Gordon accompanied fifty or so protestors at City Hall yesterday, speaking in favor of such novel ideas as upholding their oath of office and allowing Minneapolitans to vote on stadium spending. Only fourteen years ago, Minneapolis voters sent a message loud and clear: When it comes to publicly financing professional sports stadiums, we do not trust our elected officials to do the right thing and negotiate deals that are in the best interest of our city. Over 62,000 people across this city voted in favor of that referendum. And the Minnesota Taxpayer's League conducted an admittedly unscientific poll about the stadium in four key wards. Fifty-five percent of people who voted in the last election said they oppose the current stadium proposal.
Contrast those results with other elections, such as...
