The Ungrateful Peasants

About a month ago, I praised Minnesota Democrat Governor Mark Dayton for holding town hall meetings around the state.  Perhaps I was too hasty.

Lately, Gov. Dayton’s encounters with the hoi polloi have not gone well.  On Monday, the Governor held one of his “Meetings With Mark” in the southwest metro suburb of Shakopee.  At the event, the Governor declared of his audience, “Never seen a group this rude.”

By Tuesday morning, he had doubled down, adding the word “juvenile” to his description of the crowd.  There seems to be a genuine disagreement among those actually on the scene regarding just how rude, if at all, the crowd was on Monday night.

There can be no mistake about the Governor’s demeanor when in front of a “hostile crowd.”  Although I was not on hand Monday night in Shakopee, I did attend what had to have been one of Governor Dayton’s first speeches after taking office back in 2011, a January 2011 appearance before the state Chamber of Commerce.  As this account of the event implies, when faced with a skeptical crowd, the Governor reverts to full lecture mode.  At least that’s the way it seemed to me from the cheap seats.

Dayton’s 2013 performance before the same Chamber group fared even worse.  The local CBS affiliate reported that, “Gov. Dayton Lashes Out At Chamber Of Commerce.”  CBS reports on the Governor at the event,

The governor unloaded on his Chamber of Commerce hosts and accused the business group of not telling the truth about the state of the state.
 

That turned the already cool reception even colder.
 

Quoting Shakespeare channeling Mark Antony, “Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.”  For a comparison from the other side of the aisle, consider the recent town hall experience of Republican U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire).

Lefty advocacy group ThinkProgress reported as the event “erupts into chaos,” as their local operatives heckle, confront, and then walk out on the Senator.  Neither the Washington Post nor ThinkProgress believe that any of this should be considered “rude” or “juvenile.” 

For progressives like Governor Dayton, their entire ethos is based on the idea of “speaking truth to power,” as evidenced by the carefully coordinated harassment of Sen. Ayotte.  But once in power, progressives are not so interested in hearing truth spoken to them.

After more than two years in office, Gov. Dayton has accumulated a record that he must defend, if he chooses to continue appearing in public.  But we are also only eighteen months from the next election in which he will stand.  If his chosen mode of interaction with voters is petulance and the arrogance born of a fourth-generation elite, it will be a long run for the Governor.