By Jim Spencer

Independence Party gubernatorial wannabe Tom Horner offered a shout out Monday to Minnesota's last indie governor, Jesse Ventura.

Speaking at a candidates' forum sponsored by Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace, Horner praised Ventura for selecting "the best cabinet, top to bottom," of any governor in recent memory.

The cabinet was bipartisan, brutally honest and focused on the people of the state, not the people in their political parties, Horner said. Ventura's cabinet, according to Horner, made hard decisions by answering the question: "What's right for Minnesota?"

Cynical observers might suggest that Ventura asked his cabinet that question because he lacked the experience to answer it himself.

In any case, Horner's kind words stood in contrast to DFL candidate Mark Dayton, who referred to Ventura as he often does – as "a wrestler-turned-libertarian," whose economic policies helped create the $6 billion budget deficit the state now faces.

From Rachel E. Stassen-Berger:

While Horner, the IP's endorsed candidate, had words of praise for Ventura, Rob Hahn, who is vying in the IP primary against Horner, had words with Ventura this spring. Here's an excerpt of their conversation, as espied by Joe Kimball of MinnPost: