80/20 Rule, It Is The “Job” That Worries Me
WCCO has done the latest of their anti-Republican hit jobs also dubbed, Reality Checks. (I don’t doubt the facts in it, just the fact that they don’t seem to do these sorts of things to attack Democrats very often.)
Regardless, this one hits close to home on how conservatives are less than inspired by the US Senate race this year, thanks in part to incumbent Republican Norm Coleman’s new found affinity for saying he’s not a party guy, which is code for I’m not one of those fringe right wing conservatives, I’m a moderate!
I’ve had pretty good back and forth’s with top folks with in his campaign and his supporters, and just a few months ago, their big push to me and conservatives was that he was an 80% conservative. Think the old Reagan adage about how it is better to have someone you agree with 80% of the time, then 20% of the time….. (emphasis mine)
Coleman’s has moved away from President Bush as Bush has become less popular. In 2003, he voted to support the President 98 percent of the time, but five years later his support of the president ranks at only 68 percent.
According to Congressional Quarterly, that percentage puts Coleman in the bottom 10 Republicans in loyalty to the president.
“I am willing to work with anybody who helps get the job done,” Coleman said. “There are problems in this country that are too big for one party to solve.”
Well, frankly Coleman himself should be the one his campaign staffers and surrogates are telling that old 80/20 Rule to. Unfortunately the issues where Coleman is on the wrong side of the conservative vs. liberal debate are pretty big issues for me and others. They are the kind of issue where one side wants to have the government overreact and take over sectors of the economy and regulate like stalinistas and the other wants a limited approach with free markets prevailing.
Getting the job done on enviro-lunacy, green energy, mandates, regulations, and the endless string of pork spending and nanny state legislation is the kind of job we know any run-of-the-mill DFL Senator would be perfect for. Case in point: Amy Klobuchar, the freshman Senator from MN is the text book case of what a conservative doesn’t want representing them. Funny how Norm’s name ends up in the paper more with Klobuchar than it does with Kline and Bachmann of late, isn’t it? ….. not to a real conservative like me.
Al Franken has nothing to do with why conservatives, and Minnesotans for that fact, should vote FOR you Norm. A few months back you were supposed to be conservative enough for us conservatives to be happy with. We were supposed to be happy with your record, but now that you’re become the presumptive nominee, you are pulling a McCain and marginalizing the conservative base of the party in your ads and statements (not to mention the last few years of votes)?
You can’t have it both ways Norm. We conservatives want a lot less Amy and a whole lot more Michele, and not Obama.
I think Norm is nothing if not a political survivor. He’s managed to do a number of houdini acts in his political career from stuff that would have pretty much killed off any other politician. So when he does this “independent ad” I think to myself, Norm used his info and political judgement to do what’s best to get himself elected. He could be wrong, of course, but as a political animal, I think his guess is a lot better than mine or anybody elses. It’s the same logic that says that McCain is the best candidate we could get to compete in the Presidential election, vs. Hillary or Obama. He’s not the best Republican, or the best conservative but he’s the most likely of the pack that we had to get elected. And if you are a conservative, the “we could do worse” argument is compelling.
Now with Norm, obviously some people have problems with him. I do. But really, vs. Franken, there is an even more obvious choice for Republicans and Conservatives than there is between McCain, the Obamamessiah and Hillary!(TM). So, Norm can count on my vote. If I do any volunteering for Rs this year, I will be happy to do my bit for Norm (I don’t tend to volunteer for individual campaigns anyway). My support for Norm is a done deal. There just isn’t that much to talk about there.