The Republican Party of Minnesota has finally gotten back to the issues. They have launched a new petition on their website. 

I support the Republican plan to reform our energy policy, including increased domestic drilling, responsible use of nuclear and clean-coal power, and developing new technologies that reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil.

You can sign up here. 

I’m going to give credit for finally catching on, and will asume it is because over 1.2 million people have signed on to the American Solution’s Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less viral campaign. Beggars can’t be choosers, and better late than sorry. 

PS: I am sooooooooo going to take credit for Congresswoman Bachmann signing on this morning. Why? Cuz I can!

The following came through to the True North INBOX earlier today

“Minnesota
State Sen. Amy Koch (R-MN) – “Feel free to add my name to the list. I think it is simple and clear. Bravo!””

Is this the only MN politician who supports Americansolutions.com Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less campaign…

The emailer is referring to the American Solutions campaign Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less which has a nifty feature to see if your elected official has signed on to it. I just checked the website, and State Sen. Amy Koch (R) is the only elected official in Minnesota that has signed on so far. I think we need to change that. 

If you’re an elected official here in Minnesota or running for office, please go sign the petition.

Crossposted at True North

Of course the usual types are going to get bogged down in petty and low browed attacks when it comes to the US Senate race in Minnesota. Look the track record of the media and online DFL attack dogs is pretty long when it coms to avoiding the issues and turning an imaginary molehill into a mountain of meaningless grap when it comes to Republicans. 

Well we’re already seeing just how far they are willing to go to avoid the issues in the 2008 race. Coleman’s latest ad is the subject. The media and the left are, in all likelihood, laying the groundwork for some slimey October surprise. Why else would they hang their hat on his wife? As for what they are arguing, WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!

I’m guessing they are doing everything they can to change the debate on this commercial is because it smacks them right in the nose on its content. Norm’s an independent. The DFL is pushing the rubber stamp angle…. AGAIN. 

Well as a conservative Republican who feels Norm is more concerned about everyone but his conservative base, I take strong offense at the ad. Oh sure, I know the ad is intended to deflect the whole Bush connection, but it also lobs a few grenades into the conservative camp. 

Look, Norm is not proud to call himself a conservative in public. This ad is proof of that. From the summary on the Coleman campaign blog:

And, as a strong, independent voice for the state, Senator Coleman is recognized for his efforts to increase our nation’s emphasis on renewable energy and making our nation more energy independent.”

Independent voice. Renewables. Energy independence. 

If the Senator is so dang worried about his ties and loyalty to the Republican party, why the heck did he seek our endorsement? And what’s worse? It hasn’t snowed in Minnesota for some months now. In the ad, when Coleman takes the trash out, he’s wearing a warm coat and there is snow on the ground. This ad has been sitting in the can waiting to go for months. Et Tu Norme?

The verdict is in. Renewable fuels such as ethanol and bio diesel are making fuel prices higher, harming our economy, and could very well pollute and use up our fresh water supplies. The whole of the renewables movement and its connection to the green movement are the very same people who have caused energy prices to be so expensive. We can’t build power plants because of the lawsuits and mandates they got through. Frankly I am amazed anyone outside the Democratic or Green party would be so proud about being part of the energy crisis in America that they would run for the US Senate on that record. 

And given the debate that is being waged right now about Energy independence, I am amazed the Senator let this ad run. Norm’s joining the liberal side and his refusal to support domestic exploration is why oil prices are sky high. We’re more dependent today to foreign oil than we were before Norm jumped on board with the energy independence anti-capitalism bandwagon. The refusal to allow oil drilling and refining in America, has bound us to thugs, dictators, and despots around the world who manipulate the markets. Again, why would he be so proud to be on the wrong side of the debate? 

So everyone can throw mud and argue over green screens and imagery in the ad, but it is the message of the ad itself that bugs me. For a man who needs his base to win reelection, I am amazed he is so willing to take shots at us on TV. Oh sure, I understand the strategists and pundits think this kinda of campaign is the only way a Republican can win in Minnesota, but how successful have they been? 

I got news for Coleman, his campaign, and the party leadership who think this ad is great. This ad is just driving a wedge between the Senator and the people he needs to get elected. Oh sure, I bet most of us will vote for him while we’re in the voting booth. Afterall, we went out of our way to show up and vote for real conservatives for the US and MN Houses. We might as well hold our nose and vote against Franken, no matter how much we really hoped we could vote for something. 

But the biggest problem for Coleman’s reelection is that for the months leading up to the election, the base of the party is disenfranchised and upset with Coleman. We weren’t out doorknocking for him. We weren’t defending him, we were too busy fighting for real conservatives who are fighting for our ideals in Washington or want to. People like Bachmann, Kline, Davis, Matthews, and Davis-White for an example. 

These people are not more concerned with seeming independent and are in fact doing what we need to do to save this country. They are talking about the real solutions to the problems Washington created. The problems we are all trying to deal with right now, are the ones mentioned positively in the Coleman ad. 

I remember back in 06 when Mark Kennedy ran the ad where he didn’t say the word Republican, the media and attack dogs went gonzo. They haven’t this time when Coleman goes out of his way to say he isn’t representing his base and it exposes the truth of the whole situation in this race. 

Norm is an independent. Like it or not he works with both sides. On some issues conservatives can be happy, on others he is part of the (liberal) problem. Unlike the Democrats who only reprsent their special interests, Norm is doing what he thinks is best for all of Minnesota. Sure, he may be dead wrong and his votes on crucial issues are hurting America, but on those votes, the Democrats in Washington that Franken wants to join, voted the same way.

The truth is this is a good ad and the DFL and their attack dogs know it. Norm is what he says he is in the ad. He has the independent streak the DFL say he doesn’t. This one ad pretty much answers the entire Franken, DSCC, DFL, and MoveOn gameplan against COleman, thus green screen gate 2008. 

The problem is that Coleman needs his own base more than he does the anti-Franken swing voters. The people who can turn the tide are uninspired and getting tired of this shunning by Coleman, Pawlenty, McCain, etc. Look at how the RNC Convention is desperate for volunteers. The Party can’t even round up 10,000 Republicans to help with that. That should be a warning sign that we’re not rubber stamps ourselves. We do care about what you do, what you say, and how you vote. 

Anyways, that is way longer than expected and probably my usual nonsense. But I gotta get going to work.

Have a good day. 

I have a park board meeting tonight, but when I get back, I will be posting my reactions to the ad that has been making the rounds of the blogs and now the news. 

Stay tuned. 

As predicted right here on RF, it took just 2 days for McCain to sound like a nanny state leftist wealth redistributor who wouldn’t know free market capitalism if it slapped him up side the head. 

WASHINGTON - Record high prices for gasoline probably won’t drop any lower before the November election, Republican John McCain said Wednesday.

“I don’t think it’s going much lower, and it could go higher,” McCain said on NBC’s “Today Show.” “I don’t think so, not when you’ve got a finite supply, basically, and a cartel controlling it.”

McCain said oil companies should “absolutely” return some profits to consumers. “And they should be embarking on research and development that will pay off in reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” he said.

“The point is, oil companies have got to be more participatory in alternate energy, in sharing their profits in a variety of ways, and there is very strong and justifiable emotion about their profits,” McCain said.

We couldn’t have a worse Republican candidate at this point in history. Oh sure I know the pundits and strategists all love how moderate McCain is, but it is becase of Republican moderates and liberal Democrats “reaching across the isle to GET STUFF DONE” that we are in the energy mess that we are today in America. 

Years of pandering with handouts, taxpayer subsidies for junk science, and barriers to cheap reliable domestic energy have left us behind the curve and unable to increase our domestic supplies and expand our production of gas, electric, and heating fuels. We, the citizens and taxpayers are forced to pay for the mistakes (and reelection campaign paybacks) of Washington. 

And here we have a so-called Republican Presidential candidate who sounds like he took a page out of Karl Marx’s playbook. 

“Share their profits”???? 

I doubt he’d be so forceful in demanding that his wife’s beer empire share its profits with its competition. Or worse force her to pay for increases AA and health awareness programs to get people to stop drinking. 

Anyways, back to reality here, and I hope someone in Washington reads this. 

So according to McCain, rather than try to lower the prices of energy for Americans, by doing what we can here domestically, you’re going to say screw it, they’ll have to pay more and hold us hostage for junk science energy that has yet to be invented or perfected for mass production. 

Drill here, drill now, pay less. Why not try to solve this problem created by Washington blowhards and special interests by increasing Domestic supplies and resources? What could it hurt? 

RF Flashback From Monday: I Have The Feeling McCain’s Campaign Will Infuriate Conservatives Like Me In 08

Part of me wants to be a good little Republican and support my party’s candidate, but the problem is my conservative principles are far more important to me, since they are what made me choose the GOP as my home. 

You see, I loathe politicians, especially Republicans, who use focus groups and pollsters to define their stances on the issues. I hate it when those same populist Republicans are allowed to define the entire party ‘brand’, despite them being in conflict. 

Case and point, Tony Fabrizio, the same guy who helped Pawlenty thread the ‘06 needle so that when DFLer Mike Hatch cracked under the pressure and called a reporter a ‘Republican whore’ a week before the election, is working for John McCain and Fabrizio is possibly an Amnesty lover. 

Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio said it does not pay for McCain or GOP congressional candidates to highlight their party’s rift on the issue. Those candidates lag far behind McCain in national polls that asking voters whether they support a Republican or Democrat for Congress.

“Why focus on what divides us?” Fabrizio said.

What divides McCain from the real conservatives is what divides real conservatives from liberal Democrats. I am so sick and tired of these spineless populist pollsters trying to marginalize what’s right, legal, or conservative in order to pad their bank accounts and stab conservatives in the back. 

The issues are what defines the party and having the Presidential pollster running around telling other Republicans (Read: real conservatives) running for Congress not to mention their conservative bona fides because his boss/our POTUS candidate is a flaming liberal on certain issues, is how the Republican brand has become wastebasket material in the eyes of voters. 

If John McCain, the RNC, NRCC, NRSC, and MNGOP follow orders from Team McCamnesty…. sorry McCain, it will put out the grassroots fire that is required to win back majorities and keep Obama/Franken/etc from winning. If we see no difference on the core issues, why bother? 

When I see a high power Republican pollster urge conservatives to stay mum this election on some of the most important issues in America, I have to respond by saying, “We’re real conservatives and these Republicans who dare to expose McCain’s liberal stances, are the only thing that can save this party.” 

If we become a party that is willing to not only ignore our core principles, but go so far as to support and campaign on what the liberal Democrats want, this party is no longer needed. 

If Fabrizio gets to craft the national strategy for Republicans and set the brand image for us, 2006 will look like a dream compared to the disaster that we will be facing this November. 

Here’s the hammer over the head closing line for pollsters and strategists who have no clue how elections are really won. 

The reason conservative members of Congress are pointing out what divides them from McCain is because they are the same reasons we, the grassroots of the party, feel division between our Presidential candidate and our own passion for political involvement. We will work our butts off for people who stand up for our conservative ideals. They need us and most of them actually believe that conservatism is the best form of governing for the long term stability and security of America. 

We don’t volunteer countless hours and write those checks to stop Democrats from winning in November. We do it to stop liberal ideas from becoming law if the Democrats were elected. When the (R)epublican candidate shares the liberal Democrat ideas, we just can’t help but try to stop it and separate ourselves from the liberals.

In other words, those conservatives who dare distance themselves from McCain, are trying to save this party and the conservative movement, not to mention keep America from going down the road to socialism. One bad policy at a time. 

Here’s some posts from the RF archives on why I am terrified about Fabrizio. 

Freedom Foundation of MN, State of Conservatism Conference

Quota Based Politics - Further Thoughts on the SoCC

This is just incredibly poor form. 

For those that don’t know, SD38 GOP Chair Justin Countryman is none other than Gina Countryman’s husband. Yes, that Gina Countryman. A senior staffer for the MNGOP who is close to Ron Carey and his attack dogs. 

MNPooplus has posted internal Republican emails, that no doubt were leaked to them from…. gee I wonder who…. Could it be Ron Carey’s campaign manager who is also the former Chair of SD38? Its speculation on my part, but it fits the past behavior. Outsourcing the smear to the Democrats? Real classy. 

I have to wonder if they bothered to even invite Repya to the meeting and inform him on their intentions to revoke his ability to have an opinion. Repya is also a National Delegate. I wouldn’t put it past these punks to try to unseat him. The connection to Carey’s inner circle is quite disturbing, especially since we did see Carey attack another BPOU leader last Friday on floor of the State Convention.

I sure hope we get to the real bottom of this and learn who exactly decided to bring this up at the SD38 meeting. 

Thought this one was interesting. 

I read on your bolg where you said….
“Chairman Carey almost got it during his Chair’s report. He had a crude
presentation that is what many of us in the party are craving: ideas to
sell to voters. But he erased any gains by saying all he was going to do
with it is make sure our candidates have his power point.”

I had a moment when I looked over at [redacted] and we both smiled..
and shared the thought..” thank god something useful has finally
happened”… Alas.. there were not any nice color tri fold pamphlets to
hand out.. just a last minute idea up on the board… Yippie! 
[redacted] said for me to go over to the microphone and ask Ron about having
them printed up.. I gave it a thought… but there were too many McCain
supporters blocking Paul supporters.. I never would have made it to the
front.

I hope that we see that presentation attached to our BPOU leader Update this week. 

As I have said no one should be happy with what happened last weekend in Rochester. No matter how many times people say it, we are not a united party right now. Be it the Ron paul contigent or how some of us are hopping mad about Coleman’s decision to side with fringe left wing socialists and co-author the Cap and Trade bill in the Senate, we do not speak with on voice. 

It is just about time you start to listen to that group whose name you love to use, the grassroots. Chairman Carey’s behavior when he raced down from the stage to lash out at the BPOU leader during the Constitution amendments was clearly a sign that he’s letting his emotions drive his decisions. As Party Chair he needs to remain above the fray no matter what. 

The decision to ban Ron Paul was also a huge mistake that left a segment of the Delegation upset and angry. Most of us realize Paul will not be the Republican candidate, but it goes along way building unity if that minority at least gets placated to. The current leadership does have a streak going now of barring candidates now, and I am sure it won’t be the last. (Sue Jeffers in 2006)

The Nominating Committee was one of the most shameful things I have seen. You bend the rules for some people you like, then enforce the requirements to the Nth degree for those you do not. In the future I recommend you hold Nominating Committee meetings in advance in the various CDs around the state. Is it an inconvenience to you? Yes. If you don’;t like being inconvenienced, you shouldn’t be leaders of the party. When you were elected, it wasn’t in order to boss us around. 

I’ve already gone over the logistics of the convention. I hope that there is deep reflection on how to make the next Convention better. 

Division!

Thursday night when everyone was hanging out at Martini’s at the hotel, I told people to look around and take the moment in because this is the last time we’ll all be this happy and eager to be in the same room together. This convention did not unify this party. It drove some further away, and others like me still sit here and wonder if you’ll ever get it. 

We endorsed a US Senate candidate who is arguing on behalf of Al Gore’s policies. We have a Presidential candidate who had tried to pass that very same bill until he started running for President. Yes, Lieberman-Warner used to be called McCain-Lieberman. If you heard the COngressional candidates talk about increasing Domestic Energy supplies, you heard the delegation embrace those ideas with roaring applause. 

This Convention could have been the vehicle to unite us, but rather it was basically used to manufacture unity where none exists. The way leadership helped alienate a portion of the delegation is a sign that they don’t have the greater good in mind, but rather simply protecting certain candidates. 

Now I do not agree with the anti-war part of the Ron Paul movement, and the lady who spoke at the very end of the convention did such a disservice to the Paul folks it was laughable. But I think most Republicans can agree on some of the limited government ideas, that is so long as the Paul folks are willing to compromise some. 

Hey, I do consider myself somewhat of a libertarian. Not a Libertarian party member, but I do like the idea. I’ve been fighting for these principles here on RF and whenever possible in my party role. So far, as we saw at the convention, accountability is not welcome by party leaders. 

I know not all of the party leaders are as bad as Ron Carey when it comes to abusing their power. Some of them even have the courage to stand up and voice their concerns. Unfortunately they are too few on the Executive Committee. 

The State Executive Committee had better not just forget what happened this weekend. It wasn’t just the Ron Paul people who walked away upset. They had better start to flex some muscle. 

If leadership doesn’t adopt the policy of trying to grow the party by including as many people as possible, and drop this shut up and do what you’re told notion, we will think 2006 was an electoral success for Republicans. Some of our elected officials are doing our Party and movement a disservice. Some of us in the Delegation are getting really tired of being labeled and attacked for simply asking for accountability and a focus in the principles that drive people to get involved. 

The cronyism that rules our party and dictates who does what or gets to decide things is killing this party. Since our elected officials like Pawlenty and Coleman don’t really give a rip about being OUR representatives, we’re stuck with party leadership. Party leadership has made it clear as well that we are supposed to listen, not have our own opinion on the issues. 

Its the issues, stupid!

Chairman Carey almost got it during his Chair’s report. He had a crude presentation that is what many of us in the party are craving: ideas to sell to voters. But he erased any gains by saying all he was going to do with it is make sure our candidates have his power point. 

The negatives and gaffes of Democrats will not return the trust in our party in the average voters eyes. Demonizing them and trying to bury them in enough mud that voters can’t see them is a losing strategy. The no policy policy of our Party leadership is killing us. 

You should have circulated a petition for the Delegation to sign urging Sen. Coleman to oppose the Cap and Trade bill. 

Issues like that are why most of us both to go all the way down to Rochester for an early Summer weekend to simply be pons in the great chess match in duping us to think we really matter. After this weekend it is clear to me that people like me are not welcome to offer opinions at the state level. The same message was sent to a considerable portion of the Delegation. 

Did Pawlenty and Coleman receive 100% in the Delegate balloting? I don’t think so. Proof some of us aren’t thrilled with all of their policies. Sure they may be better than the alternative, but it drives us crazy how some of the cronies speak of them like Gods. 

There will be a time when Pawlenty, Coleman, and McCain are no longer around. Leadership needs to stop being Cheerleaders and start being leaders building a movement that transcends personalities and individuals. We need to start now to build the ground work of turning this party into the one of ideas. 

If we are simply the party of Pawlenty or Coleman, no matter how often we do agree with them, we’re going to be waiting a long time for voters to warm to our ideas. 

Reagan didn’t draw 49 states’ voters to vote for him, he got them to vote for his ideas. And while we may have some top notch researchers and online henchmen, they don’t win hearts and minds of voters. 

Sure, you’ll get applause at a Republican convention by bashing Democrats, but it doesn’t play well with the average voter. 

I implore you to stop spending more time trying to play 6 degrees of separation on who is not happy with the direction of the party and tying people like me with the Ron Paul supporters. You do need to reach out and at least listen to us out here in the trenches who have to explain why our party seems so obsessed with tax returns and gotcha attacks. We need the party to carry a positive vision every single BPOU and District can point to when we are doing our grassroots work. 

The State convention was a clear portrayal that you just can’t possibly begin to think outside the box. The RNC is not going to help us retake the MN House. All the money in the world won’t win one race when all we seem interested in is how terrible Democrats are. 

This post is a mess. I have way too many ideas in my head to remain focussed and I am still so disgusted at the way I saw my party behave this weekend that I just don’t feel like wasting any more time. I have some great local candidates to support as well as Rep. Bachmann. Her absence this weekend was troubling to me. 

If anything the biggest problem with the leadership of this party can be summed up as they proved that they believe they don’t have to give a rip about what some of us think is the best for this party, this state, and this country. 

Grassroots is not just rhetoric to be used liberally in speeches, but ignored in practice. 

Here’s a letter from Rudy Takala. He was the BPOU leader that Ron Carey attacked at the State Convention. 

To: Marty Andrade; Andy Aplikowski; Chad Everson; Drew Emmer

 

Having seen myself mentioned either explicitly or in passing on three different blogs, I thought I would clarify some of the subtext surrounding the state convention. Specifically, I’d like to comment on the proposed change to Article IV of the party constitution and on the amendment to the bylaws at State Central that raised the requirement for calling a special session of the committee from twenty delegates to fifteen percent, or roughly forty delegates, of that body.

 

The proposed change to Article IV was as follows: “If the State Executive Committee determines a BPOU is not fulfilling its responsibilities, the State Executive Committee shall have the authority to take all actions it deems necessary or proper to fulfill the BPOU’s responsibilities.”

 

This was the result of an incident that took place earlier in the year involving McLeod County and my own BPOU, Pine County. As many are already aware, some of McLeod County’s officers sent a letter to Norm Coleman and to state GOP headquarters stating that they were hesitant to support the Senator given his liberal voting record. That took place in October of last year.

 

A month later, it was mentioned at a meeting of the State Executive Committee that their body might be able to declare McLeod County dissolute on the grounds that they were not fulfilling a constitutional requirement to support “endorsed candidates.”

 

In response to that incident, I and others threatened to remove Ron Carey if he and his committee removed McLeod County from the party. After all, decisions to remove officers at the local level should belong to the delegates that elect them; they should not belong to higher powers that may or may not be representative of the grassroots. If our decisions can be negated by party officials who we are two or three votes removed from being able to affect, we really have no voice in this party.

 

As I explained to the state convention when I got up to the microphone, it was a centralization of power by the State Executive Committee. It was meant to strip away the voice of conservatives who spoke out against leadership. The amendment was inspired by party officers who view the grassroots only as fodder for campaigns; they believe that activists who express their opinions are more trouble than they’re worth. My speech received four ovations.

 

When I was done speaking, Ron Carey slammed his chair back, ran to the microphone, and spoke out of order to direct a personal attack against me. In essence, he said that I was a dishonest BPOU chair who took too long getting his delegate lists to the party. (Funny thing, I thought it was Carey who wouldn’t share his lists with the Huckabee or Paul campaigns. Either I was misinformed or there’s a double standard.) He made it clear that the amendment would have been used against my county, and probably against McLeod. Fortunately, it failed by a vote of 66% to 33%.

 

Given that context, I think it’s understandable why Carey presented two amendments at State Central making it harder to remove him. As mentioned, one that passed raised the number of delegates required to call a special session of State Central from fifteen to roughly forty. A second required that the delegates come from four, rather than two, congressional districts. It failed by a mild margin.

 

When one delegate asked Carey why anyone would call a special session of State Central, he said “I don’t know-maybe to change the paper in the printers.” I found it nearly amusing how dishonest he was; he tried to trivialize the issue as though it had nothing to do with him.

 

Nonetheless, I opted not to speak on either amendment. The body’s composition favored him slightly, so I didn’t see it making a difference.

 

His answer to another question was notable. When asked if the State Central delegate list would be shared with anyone wanting to call a special session of State Central, he replied, “I don’t see any problem with that.” Shortly after, he railroaded the meeting to adjournment before there was a chance for consideration of “Other Issues,” right after he finished pounding his gavel in the middle of Joe Repya’s attempt to speak.

 

There were plenty of people who didn’t seem ready to leave quite yet and who were, ironically, talking about calling a special session, so we’ll see how honest he was about sharing the delegate list. Given his past behavior, I doubt there was much sincerity to that promise.