Set Phasers To Stun – 2010 RINO Alert
(Sorry, I watched too much Star Trek the last couple of days when sick in bed)
Anyways, it appears the Minnesota Republican Party anti-conservative establishment is unhappy with who we have running to replace Pawlenty. (Yes, I did say anti-Conservative) Read the story and you will understand why the power brokers of the party are trying to draft a RINO (liberal or wavering Republican) for Governor.
Norm Coleman staying on sidelines, but insiders increasingly think he’ll jump in race for governor
Former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman is gradually returning to the spotlight after months of near silence, a move that some insiders in Washington and Minnesota view as a precursor to a 2010 gubernatorial bid.
Five months after the conclusion of his bitter, protracted Senate battle against Democrat Al Franken, Coleman is beginning to cut a higher profile, increasingly voicing his opinions in carefully chosen interviews and public appearances.
While Coleman has remained publicly coy about his intentions, the timing of his return to the public eye comes just a few months before the state precinct caucuses in February, the start of the GOP nominating process in Minnesota.
Sounds harmless enough, a politician who has been in the public spotlight for too long is having trouble adjusting to the private sector. But enter the kingmakers and money bags who pull the strings of the party wonks and direct the party’s hacks.
Coleman advisers now say the former senator is increasingly leaning toward a bid — with one putting the odds of him running at greater than 55 percent.“I think he’s certainly thinking about it, and he’s certainly getting a lot of people telling him he ought to do it,” said former Minnesota Republican Rep. Vin Weber, a Coleman confidant. “If you had asked me two months ago, I would have said, ‘No.’ Now, I would say, ‘Question mark.’”
I thank Norm Coleman for his service, but his role is not “saving the GOP” , but rather being an example of why his moderate reach out to the center or squishy independents by abandoning principles strategy is a failing strategy. His loss should be the example of how NOT to run a campaign or Republican political career.
Coleman, after months of radio silence, has taken to the public stage to voice his support for a moderate, pragmatic brand of GOP leadership, an approach that aides describe as a concerted effort to strike a unifying chord after an acrimonious Senate campaign.
“We just can’t win in Alabama and Tennessee. … It’s not enough,” Coleman said in a recent radio interview. “If we want to be a majority party, we’ve got to figure out a way to make sure we’ve got the (moderate Maine GOP Sen.) Susan Collinses in the U.S. Senate.”
In a speech at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics late last month — his first major public appearance since conceding his Senate seat — Coleman argued that “America is a center-right nation today, as it has been for a generation,” and called for “leadership that is unifying rather than divisive.”
Center right America that requires center left Republicans?
That is the kind of “brilliance” that delegates and attendees to the 2008 State Convention wanted to question of Coleman, but were denied by the likes of Former Chair Ron Carey and his hand picked successor Tony Sutton, and don’t forget the Guido of their group, now Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb. All 3 tried to defuse any conservative criticism of Coleman and helped drive the wedge between the base and Coleman that very likely allowed his vote totals to be within the margin for thieving by Franken and SOS Ritchie. I know first hand that the Party leadership, past and present, is more ruthless with their own base then they are against Democrats.
Look, Norm wasn’t a terrible Senator, he wasn’t as bad as Snowe or Collins (or Specter nod nod wink wink), but he is closer to that Liberal wing of the DC GOP then he was to the likes of say – Demint, Coburn, or Inhofe or the general party here in MN.
I promise you, and I pull no punches, if the Party establishment tries to force Coleman on the base one more time, Weber and Bill Cooper had better have bought and paid for every single Precinct Caucus Delegate spot or there will be holy hell to pay at the convention. The anti-base crap that these people pulled in 2008 cost us a whole lot of electoral mojo (and in my opinion demoralized many which cost us many elections), and if they are stupid enough to try to pull one over on us again, you will see an exodus from the party like never before.
There will be a legitimate rise of a 3rd party and the MNGOP will take 3rd place in the Governor’s race next November.
Think I am nuts?
The last time Coleman ran for Governor, Jesse Ventura was elected. (I was young and dumb in that one and thought it was going to be healthy to have someone shake up politics as usual. But the guy running as a conservative ended up being a batspit crazy lefty big government spender. (huh, sounds like what Norm wants the GOP to move to))
Oh and what’s the other little gift that Norm Coleman’s campaigns have bestowed voters with? Senator Al Franken.
So when the people with the fat wallets and 6 figure checks show up to twist my arm for the Draft Norm Coleman for Governor at the next GOP meeting or convention, I will ask them:
Norm has had numerous chances to prove to me that his style of triangulating centrism is the future and what voters are craving, and each time he has lost and we ended up with another state embarrassment and radical lefty. So why should I as a conservative back someone who thinks my principles are dead wrong for this party?
I strongly urge the party and Coleman to nip this idea in the bud right darn quick and save everybody a whole lot of bloody noses and knee capping.
No thank you Norm. Take at least 2 election cycles off. Please, for the sake of the party. Let us run a real true principled conservative who not only believes what he is saying but will follow through with them if elected. If we fail, then maybe we need to run to the left and officially become Democrat-lite in order to remain a viable party, but until then, let’s not abandon our principles at the first sign of an open seat.
(Disclosure: I am supporting Tom Emmer for Governor and I have had my fair share of grief in my attempts to hold then Senator Coleman accountable to conservative principles.)
I don’t know about the 3rd party, but barring another “E-85″ fiasco, Coleman equals defeat. Oh, I’d vote for him, for unlike Pawlenty, at least the man is pretty honest. There are lines he won’t cross, bills he won’t sign. In fact, the only way he could win is to promise no new or increased taxes, and his word is good.
But now is the time for a good man like Norm Coleman to come to the aid of his party – by standing down.
“I know first hand that the Party leadership, past and present, is more ruthless with their own base then they are against Democrats.”
Pot, meet kettle. What has your continued haranguing of Party leadership and candidates accomplished, even after these things have been settled and we are up against the Democrats? Might Coleman have won had Conservatives not believed that there was some magical third choice on the ballot if they didn’t vote for Coleman? Is Franken really a better Senator? I hope Coleman doesn’t run for Governor; there are much better and more conservative candidates already in the hunt, but would I vote for him against Klobuchar in 2012? In a heartbeat. Think you can find somebody better for that race? Great. If you can’t, then don’t run down the only Republican in the race.
I’ll add my own open letter to Senator Coleman and his supporters…
Please Norm, stay out of this race. It would be one thing if we had weak candidates with little qualifications and only lip-service rather than real track records of support for the issues and values that matter.
But in this race we have a multitude of bonafide, quality candidates who can both stick to principle AND win a state-wide race.
I know that you have hangers on looking for work and handouts whispering in your ear with their own self-interst in mind. For the sake of the party and the state of Minnesota, ignore those whispers.
Let’s be honest. It was your openness to Cap & Tax and your support of the Bailouts that cost you this election. Had you held to principle on those issues, you would be Senator today. There were thousands who voted for Pawlenty that rejected you for this reason. Minnesotans were not looking for someone more moderate, but rather someone who stood solidily on the values they claimed to support when first elected. The moderation your supports claim we need is the very reason you were rejected by the voters.
Set your sites on 2013 run for mayor of St. Paul. You did an awesome job there and lord knows that city could use you again!
[ssiiiigggghhhhhh] Oh Jerry.
Only on specific issues did I go after Coleman after he was crowned in Rochester. I did not work against him, but as I had promised him, if he voted for the increased CAFE standards my truck would not be hauling his lawn signs. A couple may have found their way in their on some cross district travels, but I kept my word that I wouldn’t actively support anyone who voted for the liberal bill.
I have repeatedly noted how I told people the 3rd party in 08 was stupidity. I voted for Coleman then, and encouraged others to do so. I find it hard to believe that a nutball like me really has the power I wish I did to sway large swaths of voters.
The party might want to come up with some more factually accurate talking points to use against me.
Andy A. Aplikowski for Senate
A Republican who is as reliable as Arlen Spector is as useful as Amy Klobuchar for Freedom Loving conservatives.
We either bring back the idea that there are liberal Republicans who are willing to admit that they are liberal NOT conservative, then we have an honest debate about what they really stand for, no powerbrokers or millionaires throw their weight and in turn force the party machine to massage the results, and have an honest and fair endorsement and primary. No intervening, no misrepresenting how conservative they really are, no running interference, they say where they disagree, and we have a fair say. But if we’re going to have a select group of people pick the people who will define the entire party and shape the message for thousands and thousands of us on the right, then we had better have a chance to see the gift before the horse.
So you can say some of us are running the only Republican down, but in some cases, the lone Republican is not a Republican at all. NY23 comes to mind as the absolute perfect example.
“A Republican who is as reliable as Arlen Spector is as useful as Amy Klobuchar for Freedom Loving conservatives. ” Really? Is that what you mean to say? Norm Coleman votes 65% of the time with conservatives, and Dear Amy votes 6% of the time with conservatives, and that’s the same? Where did you learn your math, in the public schools? Would I have wished for better than Norm’s record? Sure. Would I like someone with a record better than Franken’s? Yes, and I tried.
“So you can say some of us are running the only Republican down, but in some cases, the lone Republican is not a Republican at all. NY23 comes to mind as the absolute perfect example.” Yes, it is. And in that case it really WAS the Party leadership that picked Dede, directly, knowing exactly who she was. Norm Coleman, on the other hand, was nominated by a convention of 2000 representatives of the conservative grass roots, based on being the most conservative candidate running that could win. If you were fooled into thinking he was a fire-breathing conservative at the time, you were the only one. In NY-23, the most conservative candidate with a chance of winning would have been Doug Hoffman, had the MN process been followed. At the 2008 convention, who was this “Doug Hoffman” candidate that you supported? Seems to me you are equating a rather natural lack of choices with some sort of nefarious conspiracy to limit your choices.
Coleman got beat by a wrestler and a clown, but at least he beat a dead man.
That said, if Coleman is the GOP candidate for Governor, I’ll be leaving that part of my ballot empty and I won’t feel bad about it for a second. Much like I didn’t feel bad either time he ran for Senate.
Count me as an “Anyone But Coleman” supporter.
(ahem)
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/78485837.html?page=1&c=y
Big impact? Months after other candidates have been wooing delegates……..
In other words, the people who have been running…….
To Jerry’s “math” if that 35% of the time when a Republican votes with Democrats is all that separates Dems from Repubs, then that 35% is what matters. On a lot of votes there is no real party line, it is on KEY votes on CORE principles that really matter. When those items are overrides on SCHIP vetos, AMNESTY, ANWR, Bailouts, TARP, spending, or cap & trade – well why bother working for the (R)epublican when you can get 65% of your money for no effort or vote at all?
As to your rewriting of the 08 convention, well, there may not have been an opponent, but there were people in that convention who darn well wanted to get Coleman to answer some questions about his policies. The dirty secret is that you don’t have to endorse. Let’s say Carey/Sutton/Brodkorb et al would have allowed questions from the floor prior to considering to endorse, and Coleman finally embraced the centrist albeit liberal stances on some core issues, would he have been endorsed?
You see, that’s where leadership matters and why our party is so funked up right now.
Principles matter. Accountability to the base is the key to recovery for us. Your way of so long as they have the (R) has been the status quo that got us into this near irrelevance, for some reason I am not ready to just lay down and assume that maybe this time things will be different.
You say trust me and them. I say why, look where your way has gotten us.
Don’t question my math. 65% is better than 6%, every time. Somebody who votes the wrong way once, twice, or six times on the “big issues” is still a darn sight better than somebody that votes the wrong way every time, and with malice aforethought. So suppose the MNGOP convention did not endorse Coleman? What would have happened? He would have lost. Explain to me, please, how that would have been better? Now, if there had been somebody better to endorse, who could have won with the base working hard on his behalf, I would have been all for it. It’s simple math to me that, after the endorsement, you work for the one closest to your principles. Better that you work, BEFORE the endorsement, to find somebody better, and to get the rest of us to agree with you. If Coleman waits and runs for Klobuchar’s seat in 2012, I’ll work for and vote for him, unless there is somebody better that wants the job. Who do you suggest? No, really.
Do you think the next person to consider a major GOP endorsement will look at incumbents being held accountable to the conservative principles if the subject is never raised in the process? Seriously if the base is not even allowed to question someone they are suspect or not entirely sure of, unopposed or not, doesn’t that simply wipe the slate clean?
Look, if you can get your pals at HQ to stop claiming everyone and everything about the party is conservative, then people like me will stop trying to actually make that become reality. just bring back the fact that not every Republican is conservative and let’s have some honesty about how some Republicans are actually liberals either in whole or on some issues and we can move on.
You want to play the percentage game, then fine when candidates come forward for major endorsement, how about they clearly state where they disagree from the conservative base from day one, publicly, openly, and in full view of the entire delegation they are seeking endorsement from. look, if they are so determined that a ‘platform’ conservative is not electable, then clearly stating where they disagree would make them more appealing to the general electorate they are trying to appease with that.
And I am sorry, if someone makes all the easy votes with you, but parts with you on the important votes, that is a big deal that can’t be overlooked. On core issues that define the differences between the party, like taxes, new or increased spending, and the expansion of government how a Republican votes (or their actions as an Exec office holder) IS, dare I say, a litmus test for people like me.
We have core issues that we hold dear, they are why we decided to try to make more of a difference then just voting. They make us spend nights and weekends making calls, knocking on doors, doing lawnsigns, or marching in parades. They also get us to open up our pocket books. You are asking us to forget what makes us politically tick.
Coleman and Pawlenty had some key character flaws on some big issues. They decided their base’s position(s) was(ere) not suitable for them from time to time (or when the heat was on), they have to live with the consequences.
Now your notion that all conservatives must sit down, shut up, and support who the party says/picks, well, once again it is just more proof that the party is screwed moving forward because that is the attitude that has gotten us into this mess. Do you not yet see what happens when you take the conservative vote seriously?
If you can’t even win over your own base, or at least honestly debate them when you disagree, how in the world are we ever going to begin winning hearts and minds of indies and Reagan Democrats? Seriously, sometimes it feels like the liberal GOP/moderate Indy wing is running our party, oh sure, the rhetoric at GOP events and during leadership elections is right out of the platform or appeals to the strident right and libertarian leanings, but then comes the post endorsement transformation. And then comes the general election where our party’s communications department and messaging devolves into a mudslinging gotchya operation. Gone is the talk of principles, core differences in the real visions or policy plans for our state or nation. That shining 80% (or 65% – your number) conservative is now simply a suit who can only seem to talk about or run ads about what their opponent said, did, or the taxes they didn’t pay.
Important? sometimes, but not the reason people will vote for you. Look, this attitude of silence the base has forced the party to simply try to make general voters vote against teh Dems. not for the Republican as we need to to begin the refounding of our nation. Our country and state are in a death spiral right now with the unsustainable path that our governments are on. We need to remind the average citizens on the real American principles of our founders before it is to late. We are not at the fork in the road with freedom, liberty, and capitalism down one and pure marxist socialism down the other. We’re on the road to socialism right now, we need to grab the wheel, throw on the brakes, and turn the American bus around before it is too late.
Don’t forget that true conservatives don’t think our principles are just for endorsement lit pieces,
WE BELIEVE OUR CORE PRINCIPLES ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR GOVERNMENT AT THE LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If our endorsed, hand picked, kingmade, primary (R)epublican victors don’t understand that (and worse, forget what they said they stood for prior to the endorsement), well then they have to live with the problem that the conservative footsoldiers will find someone else to support in another race and possibly even vote for in the wayward (R)epublican’s race.
If you want lemmings to make your party up, just people who simply do what they are told, well, that party will continue to struggle to win majorities, let alone maintain their current numbers.
Can we agree to disagree? Doubtful, I think your strategy is political suicide for the party, but more importantly the nation’s because it surrenders the conservative principles that founded and can save the country from the populism that DC pollsters and political powerbrokers use to make themselves feel better when the read the liberal media.
Take care.
Andy is an Emmer guy; I like Tom, too, but my first choice is Pat Anderson (Disclosure, I’m working for her campaign). When the Star Tribune begged the GOP to offer a moderate candidate for Governor — “GOP field leaves room for a moderate” (Oct 6)– it was Pat who responded — “Who says the center holds the answer (October
— defending the GOP and the entire gubernatorial field. She didn’t just whine and let the Strib position stand unchallenged.
The problem we have as conservatives is we don’t understand that when Democrats come up with big government solutions to problems, solutions that won’t work irrespective of their infringements on individual liberty, we can’t simply dismiss the Dems solutions without offering any solutions of our own. We usually resort to “the free market would do it better” argument. I happen to agree with that argument, but it ignores the fact that in most cases we don’t have a free market today (health care is the best example) and it’s going to take government action to remove the barriers that government has set up to get us to a free market solution. The problems are real to real people who really vote, and ignoring them is not the way for conservatives to win votes, gain power and implement conservative policies.
What conservatism needs is someone to stand up and say, yes there really are problems that government needs to address and here is how a conservative will address them — here’s where we are, here’s where we want to go and here’s how a conservative will get us there and here’s why it will be better for you Mr. and Mrs. Minnesota. Why the moderate GOP has any appeal at all is because moderates acknowledge there are problems and like Democrats they give the impression they are doing something to solve them. Conservatives give the impression we don’t care. That’s not going to win elections, but more importantly, it doesn’t do much to protect our liberties or fulfill the constitutional imperative of creating a more perfect union and securing the blessings of liberty.
Conservatives need to do more than complain about RHIOs — we need to create a conservative intellectual environment, an integrated conservative approach to running a government that renders RHINOs DFL lite approach irrelevant. Whining is not a good place to start.
Err excuse my random spelling of “RINOs” — I just don’t find them worth thinking about, let alone learning how to spell it.
— and that happy face should be Oct 8.
So yeah, make that check out to Andy Aplikowski. Put “shameless candidate pseudo attack ad” in the memo.
Just to be clear: Is the Anderson for Governor campaign saying I am whining or that Emmer is whining? Or the Tea Party folks all whining?
I want to be sure that people understand what exactly you are trying to say here Craig. You’ve cast a damn wide brush there and frankly I think you’re talking smack or maybe you believe everything you read in the newspapers.
Saying all we (IE: people who are sick of liberal and squishy Republicans running the party and controlling our message) do is whine is a low blow.
Yes, ‘some’ people do just whine, and ‘some’ lofty intellectuals just sit in the back of rooms and snark too, BUT some people have busted their butts for good conservative Republicans and in lower levels of the party – have legitimate complaints about RINOs today.
You do a disservice to a hell of a lot of us with this, heck the whole conservative movement. Saying we don’t offer solutions or imply all we can do is say no. Good grief man, you’re either falling for the Obama talking points or you actually believe we don’t have solutions.
Sure, some may not be perfect at communicating it, and frankly I think few have harped on our party bigwigs and officials then me on that notion. But for you to say that no conservatives have ever tried to explain the differences between the parties are ……. I think I mentioned that like 3 times in just this comment thread. Not every Republican is suited to be on the stump out there converting the masses, some people are better committee or policy wonks, some are good for this, others that, but to imply that no one has even tried.
Seriously this is a low blow. A really dishonest shot man. There are conservatives who do not fit into your or the media’s stereotype that we just don’t care. Good grief man.
What we need to do is not talk over their heads, but on their level. Not slogans and bumper stickers, but face to face and neighbor to neighbor. Not through lectures, but through examples. Yes we need to do better, but don’t you dare say that we are all terrible.
The first step to beginning to get where I think you and I agree we should go to educating voters is to steal the party’s megaphone away from the RINOs, phonies, and fair weather officials and remind the rest that principles matter in the party.
Look, until we can convince a majority of elected Republicans and party leaders that conservatism is the preferred method for governing, how in the hell are we going to break the media stereotype and grow our base with people who are just getting unplugged from the matrix they grew up with.
You know, the one that force fed them that evil conservatives don’t care about them at all, and all their ideas are simply bought and paid for by evil big oil and pharmaceutical companies.
Come on Craig. You denigrate a whole lot of good people, both in office and in the grassroots with this sort of salvo. People that have been fighting to shed light on why citizens should prefer our way. Many of those people are ones who have had to fight against their own leaders in order to even be heard. And then there are some of us who fought to change the course of this party by casting the old guard out of power, but when the going got tough, and the arrows started flying, we were left to fight alone. Cast from the party, reputations dragged through the mud, and now you come along and besmirch us as just whining.
Really? No really, are you going to swoop in here and make the same sort of proclamation that all I am doing is whining like Brodkorb and crew just tell people to ignore me because I am disgruntled or crazy or because I said something one day……
You’re better then this Craig. I know your new gig requires you to help your boss get her message out there, but a message of all of us who are sick of RINOs running the show – are whining babies is a real turn off.
Said of course “In liberty”
Have a good weekend and try not to insult too many more people you may need if your candidate whines – er I mean wins.
Westover is right. Republicans need to get back to being the party of solutions. since we’re interested in good solutions, those solutions will necessarily come from the conservative side of the solutions spectrum. And that is the last time the word “conservative” should appear in our process. It has become a huge bone of contention within the party, a worthless piece of information for independent voters and those not paying a lot of attention, and the club by which Democrats beat us incessantly in the propaganda media. What matters first and foremost is the solution espoused by our candidate, and whether that candidate can convince the Party, (and that includes the grassroots, I have never believed there was any difference), moderates, independents and Reagan Democrats that the solution is the right one, and “right” is the only adjective it needs. Don’t tell me how conservative you are, tell me what you intend to do if elected, and why that’s a good thing for me.
All of this squabbling about who is conservative enough to be our candidate accomplishes exactly nothing, even if we agreed on what a conservative was! If you don’t like the candidate you have — most likely an incumbent — then for cat’s sake find a better one, convince the rest of us of that, and we’ll all help get him endorsed and elected. That is exactly how Michele Bachmann got where she is today! You can’t beat somebody with nobody, and you can’t beat a bad idea with no idea at all.
O M F G
If we don’t question what solutions our goll darn candidate is going to run around with, by gosh they could end up proposing such liberal “solutions” as Amnesty for illegals, a Midwest Cap & Trade, health impact fees, or maybe even bailouts to name a few off the top of my head.
You see when someone spews the word conservative like it is ‘the’ and all the people that matter constantly say they are conservative, but all of a sudden they send a couple years in office and actually end being somewhat liberal, why is it not acceptable to try to convince that official they are dead wrong and hold them to account for what they said or pretended to say they stood for? Why is it for us to correct someone else’s error of omission? And especially when the party machine is not only geared up to protect incumbents, but as we saw in 06 & 08, defend them from any and all criticism?
You claim we never tried to find someone else, but some have tried, they were gunned down at the doors. You’re intellectually dishonest to even…. oh wait. I have legs and am tired of the usual defend the establishment crap from you Jerry. Why the next thing out of your mouth will be the infamous Ron Carey blame the delegates for endorsing the wrong candidate pap.
Do me a favor and stop saying you’re trying to help. No seriously, stop being on my side if this is the kind of insanity you actually believe.
Have a good weekend. Well, maybe i I should say have a bad one if you seriously think this way.
Settle, Andy.
Of course there are Republicans out there offering sound ideas. Tom’s Health Care Constitutional Amendment is a brilliant way to keep the feds out of our health care and puts some teeth into state sovereignty. David Hann has offered some real solutions that not only break up the education monopoly, but really help kids get the education they need. But that doesn’t change the problem of the perception of conservatives, Andy, and it’s not just me saying it. What was the GOP metaphor last session — playing goalie.
When Lawrence McQuillan was in town for a Free Market Institute Event, he pointed out that we are very good at talking about the concepts of individual liberty and limited government, but not very good at preaching the real benefits of freedom. We have great steak, but we don’t sell the sizzle. We just talk about how tough the other guy’s meat is. Doesn’t sell.
The reason the Obama administration gets away with its portrayal of conservatives is because very broadly we let him (and Democrats) get away with it by our actions (or lack of action). You can’t create an image that is completely contrary to reality no matter how hard you try or how much money you spend. Democrats are successful in making Republicans look like they don’t care because we give them so many examples to work with. Moderate Republicans get traction because they look like they are trying to solve problems.
Why should conservatives be afraid of a moderate Republican if we are doing the job and offering concrete approaches to problems people care about?
We have three really strong candidates with the right principles in the governor’s race who have proven that they are willing to stand on those principle — Pat has a track record as auditor going against the establishment and has been out front criticizing corporate welfare like JOBZ. Tom and David have been on the short end of more than their fair share of double and triple digit to six votes when other Republicans collapsed and have proven they aren’t afraid to buck the party on principle. Irrespective of whom you support, we don’t do our candidates or the party any good with overzealous rants that reveal more fear than moderates justify. This election we have something positive to work FOR. We should take advantage of it.
I’m pretty confident that Pat, Tom and David can deal with moderates without compromising principle, and there’s a lot of others who can as well. They could use your help, Andy. We all could.