The governor has declined to have a radio show, breaking with a tradition that goes back to 1858, when the first governor stood on a ladder and spoke as loud as possible for an hour. There were no callers, but people wandered by and passed up their questions wedged in a crooked stick. The show was sponsored by Consolidated Hay and was the subject of some controversy when critics insisted that the sponsor had influence over government policy. (This was roundly denied, but a year later the state's motto was quietly changed to "Etoile du Nord" from "Consolidated Hay Is The Best Hay.")
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Ever since then the weekly addresses have been non-controversial, except when Gov. Elmer "Elmo" Swendblum, delivering the address by telegraph in 1876, was caught swearing when he thought the telegraph had been turned off. For six years the show was delivered entirely by carrier pigeons, which darkened the skies every Friday morning when the text was released to the four corners of the state; to this day some old-timers call the weekly chat "a buncha pigeon [blank]."
But the tradition is no more. The hours offered weren't good -- something like 3-3:17 a.m., with the requirement he read the farm report -- so you can understand the guv's lack of interest.
We may survive. Frankly, I've never heard one of them, but if anyone wants to revive the tradition in the future, here are some suggested improvements, taken from boomer rock stations.
• Double-shot of "Classic Statutes," with back-to-back descriptions of bills from the 1960s; also, commercial-free "law block" with readings of entire legislative proposals.
• Two sycophantic sidekicks who respond with government-related catch phrases to every joke, such as "I'll second that motion" or "Consider that bill signed," and end the show with "I am outta here like a bill leaving a committee after due consideration, with only minor amendments!"
• Every time listeners hear "Money" by Pink Floyd, the 10th caller will get a 2 percent reduction on his state income taxes.
This may help, but it's doubtful. There are other ways for a governor to get the message across, such as Twitter and Facebook. Just be on the lookout for an e-mail that says Consolidated Biofuel wants to be your friend.
jlileks@startribune.com • 612-673-7858 More daily at startribune.com/popcrush.
