A flippant comment from US Senator Amy Klobuchar, when she called the editorial board this month, provides a useful framework for examining the closing arguments of the 2018 campaign and the political psyche of Minnesota.

"We have this unique time when we should be governed by opportunity, not by crisis," said Klobuchar, citing chronic concerns that the federal government has blunted. "Instead, the [Trump] the administration is doing a lot of crises, and that's where everyone's attention is going. This prevents us from taking some of the most difficult steps we need to take. "

Opportunity against crisis, the latter is fraught with fear. This is a way to summarize the topics discussed by the country's politicians last week. And as national and local campaigns are increasingly (and too) nationalized, Minnesota candidates have followed the footsteps of their respective parties.

Democrats nationwide and the Minnesota DFL have attempted to make this election their intention to use the government to make health care more affordable. That's the problem the Americans were telling pollsters just a few weeks ago. This is what a parade of candidates from both parties told the editorial board that most concerned voters.

Most Democrats propose to expand access to a public health insurance option, be it Medicare, Medicaid, MinnesotaCare or a yet unknown version. Polls, including Star Tribune / MPR sampling from October 15 to 17, revealed that a large majority of Minnesota voters value the idea, viewing it as an opportunity to pay less for an essential service they have. bad to pay.

Republicans have argued that the "public option" of the Democrats meant "socialized medicine" to the British. "This is not – not necessarily, anyway – but even if that were the case, consider the following points A majority of Britons are satisfied with their national health service, which costs on average less than half the per capita amount that Americans spend on health care and, according to some indicators, produces better results.

But last week, a politically timely development allowed Republicans to offend a topic they preferred: immigration. Towards the middle of the week, a caravan hailing from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, torn apart by violence, had grown to 7,000 people and was heading for the US border.

President Donald Trump responded as if asylum seekers were armed thugs, which is to be feared. He threatened their home countries with losing the help of the United States, suggested that the caravan had been infiltrated by terrorists from the Middle East (he then conceded that it was not necessary to had no evidence, but thought it might very well be true), sent troops to the border – and blamed the Democrats.

I guess it is no coincidence that GOP candidates and their allies at the same time repelled the people of Minnesota, saying that the DFL's ideas on immigration put public safety at risk. Several ads arguing this argument include the only candidate African American or Muslim, the candidate for the post of DFL Attorney General, Keith Ellison.

The Freedom Club ads are an example. They link Ellison to DFL governor candidate Tim Walz and claim that the duo will make Minnesota a "sanctuary state", implying that they would allow criminals born abroad to move. freely in the state.

This involvement goes too far. Both Ellison and Walz told the editorial board that they did not want the few local and national law enforcement resources to be dedicated to the enforcement of federal laws. 39; immigration. Both feared that communities would be less safe if they feared going to the local police because of their immigrant status. Both say a GOP charge – the Democrats are in favor of open US borders – is not true for them.

Do such subtleties and factual nuances matter at this late stage of a furious campaign? Republican forces are spending millions of dollars all over the country for what they have to believe, it's a good bet they will not do. Fear has been a favorite American policy tool for decades. This year's Trump tweets and gatherings contain summaries of the theme of the law and order of Richard Nixon in 1968 and George H.W. Bush's 1988 announcement by Willie Horton.

Nevertheless, I am sorry to see a Republican party whose logo proclaims devotion to trafficking and the development of growth and opportunities. It's not 2002, when memories of terrorism on American soil were fresh. It is not 2010, soon after the loss of many jobs and many homes because of the Great Recession. It is then that Minnesota is experiencing its lowest unemployment rate in 20 years – 2.8% – and that the median household income is finally rising again. The state budget is in the dark and the state's reserves are plump.

The problems persist, to be sure. But in Minnesota, it is the chronic problems that are solved when policy makers are in crisis. In fact, some problems persist precisely because the state government fell into recurring fiscal crises between 2002 and 2013. State decision-makers were too busy lighting household fires to fix leaks inefficient roofs and boilers.

Now is the time to address some of these worrying concerns and to do so with the creativity that can flow when there is money available to facilitate reform. DFLers are right to make health care a priority. "The healthy state" can do a lot better.

The list of opportunities for state legislators also includes the alleviation of shortages of day care staff, teachers and caregivers of children with disabilities; find new ways to provide and pay for infrastructure upgrades, higher education and affordable housing; become a leader in clean energy; and update the tax code for a competitive global economy.

Minnesota would have been well served by a lively debate this fall on how best to seize this opportune moment. It would be a pity if, instead, this election turns to fear.

Lori Sturdevant is a columnist and Star Tribune columnist. She is at [email protected].