Was it Sen. Michelle Fischbach running from media in the halls of the Capitol? Was it the spinelessness of Sen. Senjem in refusing to vote out from the Rules Committee Right To Work? Was it the dithering of Gov. Zellers over a stadium bill? Was it the incompetence of the House & Senate in not having the same voter photo ID bill to pass? Was it Sen. Michel perjuring himself in the ethics committee hearing? Was it the failure of members in both chambers to condemn the death threats received by Rep. Mary Franson? Was it the criminal neglect of MN GOP Chairman Pat Shortridge to the hostile takeover of his party by Jew hating fringe Ron Paul zombies? Was it the shameful pandering to such morons by RNC committeewoman Pat Anderson--our Lucrezia Borgia--on Twitter under the fatuous "big tent" rubric?Was it the absence of Michael Brodkorb & Sen. Amy Koch?
Yes to all of that and more. And the "it" to which all of these questions refer is the collapse of republican leadership. That collapse has been ongoing for some time. Now, however, what the base and the public has seen from the ersatz republican leadership has been nothing so much as an on going advert for their own electoral demise. Of course, with this group to point out the obvious is to be accused of causing what they themselves embody: failure.
Consequently, republicans are left with a party in debt and with incompetent leadership (look for Shortridge on the side of a milk carton) pretending its death rattle endorsements have any real substance in the political real world. Worse, no suitable replacement is in the works to replace him. Word is that deputy-chair Kelly Fenton is thinking of running for chair in the next election. She should not.
The House of Representatives is governed, if that's the word, by two men who would fail in the private sector. At least they have that in common with Obama. Neither Zellers nor Dean deserve reelection to leadership if, perchance, that body is held by the republicans this fall. MC is fairly certain, however, that the trained seals in the caucus will continue to applaud them on demand. Sometimes--who knew?--the fish doesn't rot from the head down.
The Senate, apparently, is governed not at all. Free range senators.™ That body is a disgrace and an embarrassment. Unfocused, rudderless and venal, there is nothing to recommend it and MC is on its side!
The antipathy between the House & the Senate is said to be difficult to overstate. Think of it as an incompetence duel. Friends of MC are quick to point out how, in hair raising detail, the Senate is worse than the House. Well yes but that's like choosing between the antebellum south and Al Sharpton. Must we?
Minnesota republicans are left with the very legitimate argument that if voters give over both chambers in the legislature to the DFL we may as well turn out the lights in this state. MC believes that voters instinctively understand that argument.
But everyone knows it's an argument of last resort. Having won a resounding, historic victory two years ago, the mediocre--even by Minnesota standards--leadership in the senate and house have let us down. Repeatedly and in public.
Forgiveness is not an option.
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6 comments:
Is there another possibility? Is it possible that frustration has set in, and there is no possible way for "leadership" to accomplish all it needs to accomplish with Governor Dead Weight on the Throne at the Capitol? Trying to fashion something that the impotent potentate will sign is nearly impossible, since he will fly in the face of all logic, depending on his mood-meds. There will be those who believe more compromising language can enter the narrow gate, and others who see advantage in the quixotic fight, both reasonable approaches but hardly a united front under "leadership." If you think they err, correct them in private and repeat as necessary. Throwing them under a bus doesn't seem like the right answer, somehow.
J. Ewing
Zellers & Dean deserve to be thrown under the bus for prioritizing the Marriage Amendment over Photo ID and Right To Work. Photo ID and Right To Work should be the two Constitutional Amendments on the ballot on 11/6/12.
The Marriage Amendment may indeed pass on 11/6 but it will be repealed in 10 years just like Prohibition was repealed. The Marriage Amendment simply alienates teens, 20 & 30 year olds away from the GOP. This was dumb; very dump strategically.
Please, sir, can we not have all three?
John,
You have written another fine article. I contend that the MN GOP has been in decline since 2005 when Bill Cooper’s goons: Carey, Sutton, & Brodkorb group took power and ruled by division, fear and thuggish behavior. This group either attacked the people who stepped forward and ran them out of the party, paid off others with do nothing jobs or threatened with blackmail and exposure of personal indiscretions.
You should also mention the gross lack of leadership of both Tim Pawlenty and Norm Coleman. Men who placed their personal political ambition in front of making the tough decisions that could have united their party when it was being torn apart. Instead of stepping in and demanding fiscal accountability with the party finances these false leaders either did nothing or worse as some allege cut deals to fatten their campaign coffers.
Many State Central delegates are equally to blame for allowing and supporting these attacks on those who stood up and questioned the financial mismanagement at the Rochester, MN State Central meeting in 2008. This fiscal malfeasance was so obvious that a blind person could see it. For anyone to accept that the MN GOP’s FEC problems were the result of “minor clerical errors” was laughable. As a result the Ron Paul movement members saw the weakness within the party and have organized to fill the void. Tony Sutton & Michael Brodkorb used them, encouraged them and placed them into positions to divide and conquer and gain & retain their positions of power and riches. The party got exactly what I warned it would get: “a major train wreck.”
It came in December 2011, and the house of cards lies and alleged corruption finally tumbled down. As I wrote in the OPED piece in the Pioneer Press prior to the December leadership election:
“Finally, the MNGOP’s problems didn’t happen overnight and won’t be fixed that quickly either. This massive cancerous tumor grew out of a lack of fiscal oversight, personal accountability and greedy power hungry unethical leadership. It started years ago when the grassroots became too fearful to stand up to party leadership and ask the tough questions. The previous party leaders ruled with an iron fist through alleged bribery, intimidation and even blackmail. Their shadows will cast a pall over the party for some time in the future. The delegates of the MNGOP’s State Central must stand up and demand accountability and stop rubber stamping leaders actions like a bunch of lemmings. They must pass sweeping reforms that will guarantee that this type of corruption and financial malfeasance never happens again in the MNGOP.”
Instead they hired the ultimate insiders: a former Enron lobbyist Pat Shortridge & Dave Senjem. Thus giving to the MN DFL Party one whopper of a political New Year’s present. My decision to leave the party in 2009, until the Bill Cooper idiots were removed from power has been totally vindicated as a result of the scandals that have surfaced. I returned to the party after Sutton resigned and although many asked me to step up again and run for party chair. I realized that the party’s State Central delegates have yet to accept the role that they played in allowing these problems to develop and still rubber stamp what so called leaders tell them to do.
Can this party do better? Lord I hope so. For now I’ll watch from the side lines with my wallet closed and my energy directed on other issues. Why, because like many I hold out little hope for the MN GOP’s so called new leadership team at party level, MN House or Senate. The in-fighting and the power struggle over the Ron Pauler’s and the old school GOPer’s will continue for the future. Some say Minnesota might be better served if a new Independent Republican Party emerges that is less ultra conservative & less concerned with social issues. The MN GOP has failed miserably to stand up as the party of personal responsibility, fiscal accountability and open transparency. Until they have leaders who will, it is domed. Thank You, Joe Repya
Erik C. Radtke
Perhaps you get what you deserve.
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