Yes, that is the actual quote from a presidential campaign button for the 1968 presidential election. No wonder Humphrey lost. The button was sent to me by Mrs. McDowell from Minnesota, and I am grateful for this piece of Americana in my grammatical museum.
What I want to know is this: Minnesotan’s WHAT for Humphrey ?
That is, I am assuming that “Minnesotan’s” isn’t short for “Minnesotan is” in this case, but that “Minnesotan’s” is being used in the possessive case. Is this a “Minnesotan’s BUTTON for Humphrey” or is this symbolic of a Minnesotan’s VOTE for Humphrey” … I certainly don’t know.
Or perhaps it is indeed a contraction and the first letter is an implied “this,” as in: This Minnesotan’s for Humphrey.
Realistically, I guess, the button really intended to say that the wearer of the button is part of a group of Minnesotans who are for Humphrey. But that’s not what the button says.
Where were the proof readers and spell checkers?
What would be really funny is a button that says: Minnesotan’s for Grammar.
I am not knocking Minnesota. In fact, the button very possibly was not even made in Minnesota. Across this great land of ours, colored with purple mountains’ (yes plural possessive) majesty above the fruited plains, grammatical mistakes are abundant. We need to encourage each other to clean up our usage. Being a grammar policeman is fine as long as we’re a “kinder, gentler” grammar policeman (note: policeman implies both genders here).
Anyway, thank you, Mrs. McDowell, for the chuckle. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
