The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, usually a Chicken Little on economics during Republican administrations, contradicts the Democratic party line on jobs and manufacturing -- at least in Minnesota:

Minnesota's factories are starting to hum, and so are some of the people who run them. Two state government reports released Friday showed the sector finishing 2003 with a crescendo, and expecting 2004 to start out strong, too.

The state said manufacturing export growth hit a record pace in the last three months of 2003, showing a gain of 17.3 percent compared with the same period of 2002 -- more than double the comparable 8.6 percent rise in U.S. exports. Separately, a survey of Minnesota manufacturers showed a surge in optimism about this year, with a rising number expecting more sales and hiring against a background of improving economic conditions.

Both reports come on the heels of recent declines in initial unemployment claims and modest gains in employment in goods-producing industries across Minnesota.

So, after all of the fire and smoke over the past year, it turns out that the manufacturing sector really was bouncing back after all. Unemployment claims in the state are down, and the outlook for 2004 is even rosier as manufacturing facilities spend capital to expand. Even national output increased 8.6%, despite all of the gloom and despair that the Democrats have been selling. The state DFL website has a quote from DFL chief Mike Erlandson just last week:

"Working families all across Minnesota know the impact of the Bush administration's failed policies, because they struggle through them every day. The plain fact is, no amount of ad money will convince a person without a job that they have a job."

It's an old lawyer's trick -- when you don't have the facts on your side, play on people's emotions. Just remember, that's all the Democrats are selling in 2004 -- Bush hatred and invective.

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