Dean Barkley: The Most Effective Senator in Minnesota History?

Dean Barkley, running as an Independent candidate for Senate, has a new website claiming he's "The Most Effective Senator in Minnesota History." According to the Star Tribune, Barkley only worked for 8 days in the Senate following his appointment due to Paul Wellstone's death. However,

he pointed out that he played key roles on three important matters: creation of the Department of Homeland Security, preservation of Minnesota's welfare-to-work program and funding for the expansion of St. Paul's Neighborhood House as a memorial to Wellstone and his wife, Sheila.

Barkley was one of a handful of centrists that voted to kill a Democratic amendment that would have stalled the Homeland Security bill, then traded his support for the bill for a pledge from the Bush administration that Minnesota wouldn't have to revamp its successful welfare program.

First of all, give me a break. You'll have a hard time convincing us that you're more effective than Paul Wellstone, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, etc.

Second, it's pretty easy to do this sort of thing when you don't have elections to be concerned with. An elected Barkley would be even less effective than he was during his 8 days serving in the Senate.

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