Star Tribune commentary that proclaims, “Amendment foes take political blue ribbon.” According to Lori Sturdevant:

When scoring political potency at the State Fair, clusters are good. Queues are better. Attracting both, even when there’s no candidate to grip and greet, is blue-ribbon politicking.

Minnesotans United for All Families takes this year’s prize. Its orange-roofed “Vote No” booth looked to me like the 2012 fair’s political epicenter.

Sturdevant goes on to write about the other side:

The other side of the amendment, urging a “yes” vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage — is also represented with a booth further up Cooper Street…

Compared with them, the orange Vote No booth is a beehive of activity. Its T-shirts and orange fans are among the fair’s hot items. Minnesotans United spokeswoman Kate Brickman said they ran out of the supply they expected to last all fair long by the end of its first weekend.

In concluding, Sturdevant writes that the strong showing bodes well for the Vote No side, but it’s still no guarantee come election day. Voters may be less likely to share their support of the amendment outside of the voting booth. With that said:

…my fair measurement tells me that the marriage amendment will be a prominent and maybe the dominant theme in Minnesota’s 2012 campaign. And that the Vote No side has the capacity to deliver the person-to-person grass-roots campaign it says it wants to run. Don’t be surprised if someone calls or knocks on your door this fall and asks if you can spare a moment to talk about love.

Check out the article in its entirety at the Star Tribune.