The violent death of Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman last week was a real shocker in Minnesota. It certainly reverberated in Iowa. The similarities of our cultures in the upper midwest has long been a source of friendly competitiveness and friendships across borders. A shocker like that feels like it happened to your next door neighbor. (5 minutes)

For many of us who frequent this blog it even hit closer to home. Politicians are our kind of people. They are our friends. We have worked for them, eaten with them and strategized with them. They are the people that we have shared our dreams of a better life with. They are the people that we knocked doors for, stuffed envelopes for and made phone calls for. We did so because we shared beliefs that we could make a good society together.

In the case of Melissa Hortman it was very easy to see her as the kind of person you could easily campaign for and probably develop a relationship with. My wife and I spent a portion of the weekend remembering the politicians who we befriended and who in turn befriended us. 

So for us and I am sure many like us it was much more than the loss of a name in the news. It was a reminder that politicians are people, too. They have friends and family. But they stepped up and in some cases we went with them. It was the reminder also that certain elements are making our beloved country dangerous.

Slightly off topic, I think it is so callous that MAGA senator Mike Lee of Utah used the occasion of Melissa Hortman’s death to make fun of Democrats on social media. If MAGAs had an ounce of decorum they would kick Lee’s sorry butt out of the senate.

One more thing  the killer shot the family dog. For all of us animal lovers, that really hits close to home. 

May the Hortmans rest in peace. Maybe in their memory the US will finally have had enough of the hate and the guns and the senseless violence.