Our View: Amid 'hot mess of division,' Minnesotan shines

She praised the peaceful transfer of power, “the heart of our democracy,” she said.

She offered a reminder “to be faithful to our Constitution, to cherish and defend it,” and to be “the guardians of our country.”

Since it was also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she urged that, “We must strive to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution — the freedoms, the liberties, and, as is inscribed on the entrance of the United States Supreme Court, equal justice under law.”

For five minutes and 22 seconds, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, offered perhaps the most poignant and thoughtful words of Inauguration Day on Monday, the second for President Donald Trump, a Republican. In short, Klobuchar’s speech, ahead of the day’s main events, was a point of pride for her home-state Minnesota.

The event was about us, the American people, Klobuchar stated: “What makes this moment more than a passing ceremony is all who are watching it across the country — the people of this nation, the ordinary people doing extraordinary things. … There’s a reason this ceremony takes place at the Capitol. In other countries, it might be in a presidential palace or a gilded executive office building. Here, it is traditionally held at the Capitol, the people’s house.”

She even invoked, on one of the largest of national stages, Duluth and native son Bob Dylan: “With everything swirling around us, the hot mess of division, it is on all of us, to quote an incredible songwriter who just happened to be born in my state, to ensure that our nation’s democracy is our ‘shelter from the storm’.”

Klobuchar concluded: “The power of those in this room comes from the people: the construction workers who build our country, the teachers and health care workers who nurture us, the troops defending our freedoms, and yes, the firefighters in Los Angeles putting themselves on the line for us. Our democracy’s strength and grit must match theirs.”

Indeed.

Humbly, Klobuchar insisted in an interview ahead of Inauguration Day that she was just doing her job as chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The committee is responsible for inaugural events and features bipartisan membership. Its work, culminating on Monday, showed that elected officials, even in Washington, can indeed work together and across the aisle — when they really want to.

“It’s my obligation and duty, and I am committed to making sure this inauguration goes well for our country,” Klobuchar said three days ahead of the inauguration in an interview with Forum News Service. “What’s most important is that this ceremony be a positive ceremony for not just (Trump’s) supporters, but for the country, because this is a moment where everyone steps back and sees that what unites us is bigger than what divides us.”

Effective and productive bipartisanship is not new for Klobuchar, of course. As an FCC Editorial Advisory Board endorsement pointed out in November, she ranks No. 1 for bipartisan bills, according to GovTrack , and is No. 3 for bills signed into law.

In her remarks Monday, Klobuchar spotlighted our “system of checks and balances,” our “three equal branches of government,” “the rule of law,” the “responsibility of leadership,” and “the need to stand our ground when we must and find common ground when we can,” among other important themes.

With pride, Minnesotans back home were able to nod along in approval.