Tough times?

That is essentially the gist of this post over at SITD.

"It’s been a hard year for a lot of conservative activists - including bloggers.Remember, especially in Minnesota, the GOP relies on volunteers to do most of its grunt-level organizing, sign-posting, call-banking and door-knocking - the stuff for which the DFL pays a small army of “activists”.
And each and every campaign in recent memory - 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 - has been a “Make Or Break” campaign for the Minnesota GOP; in each election, Minnesota flirted with purplehood; Minnesota’s legacy as a big-L “liberal” state hung in the balance, and held on by a thread.For Minnesota’s conservative volunteers, for four straight election cycles, it was “just one more big push”.
And they delivered; they turned out in droves; they worked countless hours; like the patriots that won this country’s independence, they devoted hours and weeks of their lived for the pure love of the cause; the Democrats’ paid help, like a horde of Hessians, showed up because that’s where the money was. "

That is true. I first got involved in campaigning it was the 2000 election and we were told then that it was "make or break" and I have heard the same thing for the last 6 years and will probably hear it again in 2008.

"It’s similar among bloggers. The “Class of ‘04” - the surge of center-right blogs and writers that kicked off during the ‘04 campaign - was, and remains, the most dynamic group of political bloggers in the US. But you could feel a collective fatigue, in some ways, after the ‘06 elections."

I officially joined the MOB in the class of 2006 and there are days when I feel the fatigue...granted when you are juggling jobs and kids and volunteer activities...

"Many of the ‘04 blogs went dormant; some of the bloggers flamed out (although the MOB’s attrition is lower, I suspect, than for just about any other group of 100-odd blogs you can find); others, tired of having to churn stuff out every day, dropped their own blogs to join one the big superblogs (Freedom Dogs, Anti-Strib, TvM) that are positioned to be so very important in this next go-round."

HEY NOW MR. BERG....I did not abandon anything....I just added one more thing to my already full plate. Actually my contributions to Anti-Strib are weekly at best - just enough to keep the benevolent dictator off of my back...and get the odd invite to parties at the Manse!

"But that’s going to have to change. There’s a new election season coming up, and it’s going to be huge - even without the Republican National Convention and the hordes of mischievous pranksters following it to Saint Paul next September. It’s going to be a donnybrook, on the state and federal levels, here in Minnesota. The Presidential context will once again have Minnesota teetering on the brink of Red and Blue, and our ten electoral votes are mighty tempting to both parties. The Senate race will be the dirtiest in Minnesota history, and the ACORN volunteers will be floating down our streets on waves of George Soros’ money. "

Here Mitch has a point. Things will need to change. The dis-spirited base will need an energy boost....they need a reason to believe and to get re-involved. But where is that boost going to come from?????

Will anyone step up to fill the void? I suspect, knowing this group, someone will....

A call to continued action

I got this in the inbox this week and I thought it worth sharing!

Last year many conservative voters stayed home on Election Day because they felt that they could not make a difference in the actions of the politicians. As you take a look back over the last 6 months, I would like you to consider that thought in light of the following:

Almost 19,000 people sign a Tax Cut Petition and 7000 of them show up on April 15 to protest high taxes. Due to intense pressure for Minnesota taxpayers (via phone calls and letters and emails) the Governor vetoed the tax increases and a normally fractious House Caucus upheld the vetoes!

Several members of the US Senate craft a back room immigration bill that is essentially blanket amnesty for 12 million illegal immigrants – something the American people are dead set against. Millions of calls, faxes and letters later the bill goes from being a slam dunk to being DOA…TWICE!

Another stealth bill that was wandering through DC for the last 6 weeks was a bill that would effectively silence grass roots organizations like NumbersUSA and the NRA. Well, that piece of legislation was defeated due to overwhelming pressure from the average citizen.

If you stop and take a look back at what the House and Senate caucuses beat back this year, we have so much to be proud of them for! Whether it is the “Freedom to Poop” Act or the Metro Area Sales tax (to pay for stadiums) things could have been much worse. Yes, we did get stuck with a smoking ban but that was probably the ONLY set-back we suffered in St Paul.

The bottom line is that we conservatives need to get more active on a daily basis if we want our voices heard. We need to make sure that Senators Klobuchar and Coleman and Congressman Kline hear from us on any and every issue that is important to us. The time is now! Please make sure that you are writing to your elected officials now and they will listen. Get your “apolitical” friends and family involved too. The elected officials need to hear from ALL of their constituents!

The bottom line is we have to get off of the couch. Even if it is just once or twice a month, contact your legislator. Let them know you thoughts on the legislation that is before them. They will listen if you make the effort.

FOUL!

I find it curious that the same people behind the attack letter on Joe Repya, the same people behind calls pushing delegates to vote for Col. Repya for Vice Chair (and not the seat he is running for) are crying FOUL over a leak of internal emails to the Star Tribune!

Methinks they are protesting a little too much.

Given how quickly and how close together this things all happened, one can not help but suspect that this is indeed a concerted effort to derail the challenge to the status quo. I mean, how else do you explain the line in the letter that was written on May 31 knew that there was going to be "falsehoods and half-truths" coming in the media?

This kind of campaigning is something that I find to be totally appalling! We need to be above this - WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!!!!! Or are we? It's all about maintaing power to these folks! Do whatever you have to to get and keep power. To heck with the state or the country.

As I said before....SHAMEFUL! And they wonder why voters are turning away in droves....

Moving Forward

Captain Ed is a rarity. He is an amazingly good, kind man with a delightful sense of humor and a political insight that is borderline prescent. Some days I disagree with him but most days (like today) I not only agree with him, but I want to forward his post on to every single elected official in Washington DC and St. Paul. Today he has the seminal post on what the Republican Party needs to do, both Nationally and in Minnesota, in order to move forward for the 2008 Elections. He starts in a critique of Peggy Noonan's entry in todays Wall Street Journal.

"Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite columnists and always a great read, today turns her substantial rhetorical guns on what she sees as the biggest threat to the Republican Party -- George Bush. Accusing him of following his father in squandering a great political inheritance, Noonan calls for a Republican repudiation of Bush and his family:
What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.
The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.
For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."
I'm a little surprised by Noonan with this piece. I see nothing all that unusual with the way the Bush administration has attacked its critics over immigration. If she was to honestly look at the last six years, she will see that this is the normal mode of operation for the White House -- to always stay on the attack. In fact, they've followed the James Carville model from their first days in the White House. "

Ed is right of course. When the Bush White House does stand up for itself, it does so with a vengence. However, Ed does take the opportunity to lay out how the GOP can regain their core voters, the ones who have refused to donate to the RNC because of the Bush Legacy.

"Republicans used to stand for smaller government, federalism, and strong national defense. Not all of that conflicts with the Bush legacy, but enough of it does that we need to start publicly demanding a return to those core concepts. Rather than repudiating Bush over his insulting attacks on the base, the better path is to generate a positive agenda that demonstrates our dissatisfaction with the previous six years -- and give Republicans something to vote for, rather than something to vote against."

Ed is not the only person saying this. This is something that a lot of Minnesota grass roots activists have been telling the State Party. "We need a compelling story....to give voters are reason to vot FOR us". During the 2006 campaign all we got out of party leadership was "well you don't want to see Governor Hatch do you?" or "we can't give the Democrats leadership in the House - they'll try to raise your taxes!" While those statements are basically true, they don't inspire voters or volunteers at all. Give us something to work FOR! It is that basic.

The Republican Base is upset at the leftward tilt the Republicans in DC has taken and they have begun to fight back. This immigration bill is just the latest front. A smart Republican leader (or candidate) will see this anger for what it is and learn from it. It remains to be seen if the Republican leadership is as smart as Captain Ed.

Debating

I'm leaving the indepth "analysis" of last Thursday's debates to those with much better political minds than mine. I just wanted to make a few observations from the "grass roots" level.

THE GOOD - the candidates that "won" the debate (to me) were Governor Romney, Senator Brownback and Rep. Duncan Hunter. I thought all three handled themselves quite well. Rep Hunter, especially, scored big. Going into the debate, he was known as a "one trick pony" or a one issue (immigration) candidate and he came out of the debate showing his range of knowledge of the issues of the day.

THE BAD - Dr. Ron Paul, Rep. Tom Tancredo and Governor Tommy Thompson. Issues wise, Thompson was solid, but his body language just showed how uncomfortable he was with the forum, the cameras and everything else. Rep Tancredo is known for being a "one trick pony" and he did nothing to change that image. Which is a shame as he really is a smart man with a decent grasp of the issues. Dr. Paul came across as an isolationist nut job. It is no coincidence that the Kos Kidz flooded most post debate polls to vote for Dr. Paul as the debate winner!

THE UGLY - Moderator Chris Matthews. Matthews had a golden opportunity to put to rest the media bias charges that have been leveled against him. Instead of asking questions about Social Security, Welfare or Medicare reforms and prescription drug prices, Matthews asked such important questions as "would you favor changing the Constitution to allow Governor Schwarzenegger the opportunity to run for President?" and "is Karl Rove your friend? Is there a place for him in your administration?" and "Do you believe in evolution?" His questioning showed his utter contempt for the Republican Party. For someone who is supposed to be a professional, his questions seemed to be so totally ignorant about what is important to half of the American voters. He seemed to have no idea what is important to Republican voters so he relied on the DNC's stereotypes of Republicans.

Logical Lady Star Parker takes Matthews and the media at whole to task for failing to ask the tough questions. Questions on health care reform, education and entitlements....questions that were asked of the Democratic candidates in their debate a couple of weeks ago. She wonders whether the purpose of the debates was information or mindless entertainment.

One has to wonder, a little bit, why no substantive questions were asked of the Republican candidates? Is it ignorance or is it bias? Was Matthews really that ignorant of Republican voters and what is important to them? Or was this an attempt to keep the Republican voters disspirited? Regardless of the answer, it is imperative that Republican voters not rely on the press to get them information on the candidates running for THEIR nomination. Republican voters need to get off of the couch and find out for themselves where the candidates stand on the issues.

Why I am a Republican

This was something I got from an RNC publication. It sums up why I am a Republican.

I believe the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person's dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

I believe in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless or race, creed, sex, age or disability.

I believe free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

I believe government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

I believe the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.

I believe the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

I believe Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

I believe Americans value and should preserve out national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

Finally, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideas into positive and successful principles of government.

This is what Ronald Reagan believed and why I became a Republican. It is the promise of this nation that I love and believe in. This is also why (in upcoming posts) I will attempt to explain why I feel that the Republican Party, nationally and in Minnesota, are worth fighting for.

Reports from the Town Hall meeting

I just wanted to get a couple of quick hit impressions down about last night's town hall meeting with John Kline. I took copious notes and I will spend some time today putting them into a single coherent post.

Both sides were fairly equally represented. The town hall meeting was open to ALL issues so we did get a couple of intelligent questions about issues other than Iraq, but we all knew why the majority was there and the questions reflected it.

We heard from the usual suspects on the left but we also got to hear from a Gold Star Mom (Merrilee Carlson) and from Powerlines Sgt Thole from Chaska. Sgt. Thole's rep read from his 3/17 Star Tribune editorial and informed Congressman Kline that they were going to present his office first with the Appeal for Courage Petition (if you are active duty you need to check the site out).

I shot almost a full roll of film at the protest prior to the town hall meeting that I will be getting developed today so I should have pictures this afternoon. Stay tuned for further updates!

Grass Roots....

AAA started a conversation yesterday based on Chairman Carey's appearance on the Jason Lewis radio show yesterday. Chairman Carey said (in response to a caller asking about RINO's that don't follow the platform) that the people passing the platform are the same people who nominate these RINOs. AAA got upset, saying that the Chairman "blamed" the grassroots. I responded that technically, the Chairman is correct and that is where the discussion got going. Into that discussion, we need to interject a few interesting points.

"The first rule of politics is, "take care of your base." That doesn't mean you give your supporters everything they want, but if your base isn't happy, you're going to have a rough time. Why? Because they're the people who donate money, volunteer to help candidates, talk you up to their friends, defend you when you're under attack, and, when they're happy at least, they’ll crawl over broken glass to come out and vote for you."

AAA is spot on here - the Chairman is not taking care of the base. The MNGOP base is HORRIBLY unhappy and while the Chairman says he is listening to the base, I have to wonder if he really is, based on his poorly choosen answer to the caller.

"2) Stay Out Of The Primaries: One of the most aggravating things about the 2006 election was the Republican Party’s involvement in the primaries.
The worst example of this was the National Republican Senatorial Committee's insistence on supporting Lincoln Chafee, a left of center Republican who didn't vote for George Bush in 2004, in a tough Rhode Island primary against Steven Laffey. What was the result of that brilliant maneuver? The NRSC lagged far behind their Democratic counterparts in fund raising because conservatives withheld their donations in retaliation and in the end, Chafee still lost. This isn't the only Republican Party screw-up of this sort either. Look at the Arlen Specter vs. Pat Toomey battle in 2004 and the Randy Graf vs. Steve Huffman race in 2006. In each case, the party's interference came back and bit them hard in the behind."

Not much to add here. It goes back to what I said about the GOP being a bottom UP organization. However, GOP leadership (including Chairman Carey) seem to think of it as a top DOWN organization.

"3) Sometimes, It is the Thought That Counts: Rich Lowry once said that, "(Bill) Clinton was in favor of small, popular things. Bush apparently likes to be in favor of big, unpopular things."
This is another area where the Democrats are smarter than the Republicans. The Dems are constantly doing small things to show their base that their hearts are in the right place. It's these little gestures, sometimes even throwaway lines in speeches that help keep their base happy, even when the left isn't getting everything they want."

Again - not much to add and no argument here.

"4) Hang Together Instead Of Hanging Separately: Liberals in the blogosphere have a reputation for being good at organizing and raising money for elections. It's well deserved and I can tell you that from experience, because last election cycle, I started a grassroots conservative group called Rightroots to raise money in the blogosphere. We raised around $300,000 from the right side of the blogosphere in about 3 months which may sound like a lot, but it's chicken scratch when it's spread over 20+ candidates. During that same time period, liberal bloggers raised millions and blew our doors off."

This is a common theme when you hear Congressman Kline's District Chief of Staff (Mike Osskopp) speak. He tells about seeing UAW workers toiling side by side with wealth distribution socialists to get the Democratic candidate elected. Meanwhile, the pro-life folks are fighting fiscal conservative candidates because the candidate is not "pro-life enough". This is not to say that the right to life crowd is not the only conservative caucus to do this....this is simply one example of many.

"5) Attack, Attack, Attack! We might as well change the Republican Party symbol from an elephant to a punching bag because the Republican wimps in DC just refuse to fight back. The base may have no qualms about going after liberals, but when we look for Republican pols on the Hill to show some leadership in this area, we're almost always sadly disappointed."

If I had a nickle for every time I heard a Republican supporter say "If only the President would fight back" I could retire a very wealthy woman! The reason it is said so often is it is true. President Bush is too kind, too determined to turn the other cheek in a city where politcs is a blood sport. To say that the President is bringing a knife to a gun fight is giving him too much credit. The Democrats and their supporters play to win - where President Bush plays to make friends. It's not working Mr. President! Please, please PLEASE stand up for your self and your administration. It is time to turn the money changers out of the temple....not turn yet another cheek.

John Hawkin's closing paragraph says it all.

" C'mon, guys, you don't have to start comparing Howard Dean to Hitler or anything, but how about showing a little moxie instead of cringing, apologizing, and rolling over like French poodles every time the Democrats go after someone? You Republicans on the Hill: the Democrats have spent the last 2 years smacking you in the mouth, taking your lunch money, and pushing you down while you keep hoping people will give you brownie points for being "nice" and "bipartisan." At what point does it dawn on you guys that it's time to go after the Democrats as hard as they're going after you?"

Chairman Carey - are you listening to the base?????

Activists unite

There are a lot of disgruntled GOP activists out there. One need only look at the MOB blog roll to see the likes of Amendment X at Savage Republican or AAA at Residual Forces railing about how the Conservative cause is being betrayed by our leaders and elected officials...with very good cause. The good news is, people are noticing.

"House Republican leaders and conservative activists are targeting critics of President Bush's plan to send more combat forces into Iraq -- and some GOP lawmakers are on the hit list.
Amid a mounting campaign in Congress to limit Bush's military options, conservatives led by talk show host Hugh Hewitt have created an advocacy group designed to counter the anti-war MoveOn.org. And its first round of targets will be the 17 GOP lawmakers who voted for last week's Democratic resolution in the House opposing the troop increases."

Whether it is organizations like Jason Lewis' Tax Cut Coalition or NZ Bear's Victory Caucus, conservative activists are banding together to make their voices heard. If you are one of the many disgruntled Conservative activists, you owe it to yourself to check these sites out.