ST. PAUL — “Are you still there?” former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson asked over the phone after a pause. He had just finished explaining why retirement from public office hasn’t necessarily come naturally to him.
The 91-year old politician now lives in a smaller community in Florida called Punta Gorda. He said he first started going down to Florida in 2000 in small trips, which have now turned into the bulk of the fall, winter and spring.
“We don’t have any tall buildings. We’re on the Gulf — around a body of water that goes into the Gulf, I should say — and I enjoy it down here. I have a lot of arthritis, so this is good for me.”
Carlson wishes he could transport Minnesotans down there.
“I enjoy Minnesota’s culture — let’s put it that way — a lot more than I do in Florida,” he said.
Contributed / Carlson
Even from his little corner of Florida, Carlson continues to keep up with Minnesota politics and write columns.
When asked how he enjoys being out of office, he recalled a lunch with Harold Stassen, who unsuccessfully ran for 12 separate public offices, including governor of Minnesota.
“A lot of people thought he made a fool of himself doing that,” Carlson said.
At some point during lunch, he finally got the courage to ask Stassen why he kept running for office.
“He said, ‘You know, a person retires, they go down to Florida, and they go fishing. Everybody says, oh, that’s just wonderful. What a great retirement. People go to Arizona, play golf every day. Oh, that’s marvelous … I like politics. I keep running for office. I enjoy it,’
And that’s kind of where I am. It’s in my blood. I can’t get rid of it.”
Carlson’s record, unorthodox climb
Carlson served two terms as governor, from 1991 to 1999. He previously served as state auditor for a decade and on the Minneapolis City Council.
He was elected to the governor’s office as a Republican, but he identified as an independent.
“In all fairness, I’ve kind of always been an independent,” he said.
Post Bulletin file photo
During his tenure, he turned a billion-dollar deficit into a budget surplus, restored Minnesota’s AAA bond rating, and expanded state services such as MinnesotaCare, a health insurance program — all while
working with a DFL-controlled Legislature.
Carlson had an unorthodox climb to Minnesota’s highest office when he defeated DFL incumbent Rudy Perpich in 1990 by 3.4 percentage points. Carlson wasn’t originally nominated by the Republican Party but stepped up after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced for Jon Grunseth.
“I ran in the primary, got the tail handed to me by the gun people, the abortion people, and took a bath,” Carlson said. “I think I got one county out of 87 and then, of course, Jon Grunseth toppled into this scandal. I was the benefactor and became governor. What was interesting was the re-election.”
He said his campaign staff were telling him not to run again. Several others told him the same. He said even his own brother called him up and said, “You’ve had one term. It’s been good. Enjoy it. Go retire and don’t run again.”
Post Bulletin file photo
Carlson won handily in 1994 with 63% of the vote against still-serving state Sen. John Marty, DFL-St. Paul.
Carlson said he was able to take much of the DFL vote that year, attributed in part to his views on gay rights and human rights. He added that he recently learned he was the first person to carry gay rights legislation in the state of Minnesota in 1965 as a member of the Minneapolis City Council.
“The Republican Party was veering into a … call it a very adamant position on abortion, on human rights, and that was really the start of what I would call the hate agenda,” he said. “I mean, here you had a nation that was founded in the belief that we’re all equal, and then you have a political party going off in its own direction, saying, ‘Well, that’s not true.’ ”
Carlson said his second term was also secured by his administration’s fiscally conservative approach.
“I was born and raised very poor, and the idea that somebody could take money from you and waste it? No, I’m sorry, that’s not acceptable, not acceptable at all,” he said.
Forum News Service file photo
“You’re taking away somebody’s meal. You’re taking away their shoes. No, people work very, very hard to pay their taxes, and you owe them a tremendous respect to make sure you handle it totally appropriately.”
Asked about
the fraud that’s been uncovered in Minnesota
over the past few years, he called it “a disgrace” and a “miserable performance.”
“If this happened in a private corporation, those bodies would be flying right out the window,” he said.
Reflections on current politics
What garnered the most audible frustration from the former governor? Money in politics.
“I mean, when I was in the Legislature, my God, John Marty was putting out bills left and right, and if I had so much as a hamburger with a lobbyist, oh boy, there was a law against it the next day. What happened?” he said. “I can tell you the answer: money. It’s all about money.”
Carlson said he’s “delighted” that — in his belief — the “Trump era” is coming to a conclusion.
“His approval rating is now in the mid-60s, mid-30s? Somewhere,” Carlson said. “He doesn’t have potency, and he’s losing credibility with the very basis of his support system, which is the MAGA group.
“He’s like a drowning man flailing, you know? ‘Oh, I think I’ll invade Venezuela. That will take their attention off it. I’ll, do this, that will take the attention off it.’ ”
Duluth News Tribune file photo
Asked about hot-button issues in current-day politics, Carlson aligned more with Republicans on transgender athletes. But he said the issue isn’t a political issue in the sense of liberal versus conservative, that it’s “a genuine conflict of rights.”
“The obvious answer is to create a separate … sporting venues for transgender athletes, where they can compete against each other … I was brought up to believe that your right to punch ends where my nose begins, and I still believe in that,” he said.
When asked about gun control, he didn’t skip a beat.
“100%, there is no reason for any of that [assault-style weapons]. I think the Supreme Court twisted the daylights out of the constitutional amendment.”
Carlson had a suggestion for Gov. Tim Walz on how to get Republicans and moderate Democrats to
the way he was able to get Democrats to come around on school choice: pick out lawmakers from purple districts.
“I let them know that I’m going to start running pictures in the newspapers of all these legislators that send their kids to private schools and oppose choice. Boy. They started to collapse quickly. It’s called hypocrisy,” Carlson said.
Another change he’s noticed since his time in office — also noted by
in November — is where politicians are placing their loyalties.
“What I’ve discovered, it’s stunning,” Carlson said. “The loyalty is not to the United States. The loyalty is not even to Minnesota. It’s to the party. It’s to the caucus. Oh my god, that’s not what they told the people when they were campaigning.”