[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday January 8, 2008 at 10:35am]
One Last Thought on SD 25
As you might guess, The Final Word segment I heard on the Patriot this past Saturday is still bothering me. I have one more question, one I need answered before I attend my first caucus. Strictly speaking, I did attend one a few years ago, to take my high school son to see one for civics class. Actually, we made both the DFL and GOP events. It was my son's first encounter with a genuine tin foil hat operative, convinced that the Pentagon was engaging in mind control via microwaves. Guess which party's caucus featured this entertainment.
My question is this: does "being a Republican" require blind loyalty? I'm not talking David Duke here, but I am talking about RINO's. I heard quite a bit on the subject during the broadcast.
Commenters and callers have suggested that the GOP candidate Ray Cox could be called a moderate. That made no difference to Brodkorb, but it's understandable why the Conservative base might decide to skip this election, especially when the Minneapolis Star Tribune endorsed Cox.
Me, I can accept a lot of "diversity" as long as it isn't just about big pork projects. There also has to be honesty and enough of a core to work with, which is why I wrote off Prime Minister Pawlenty over two years ago. I'll be as generous and forgiving as I can, but I'll make the decision if asked to go an extra mile for candidate X.
To demand blind loyalty, that winning is everything (how much has State spending risen under Pawlenty?), is not something the State party leadership can demand or expect.
My question is this: does "being a Republican" require blind loyalty? I'm not talking David Duke here, but I am talking about RINO's. I heard quite a bit on the subject during the broadcast.
Commenters and callers have suggested that the GOP candidate Ray Cox could be called a moderate. That made no difference to Brodkorb, but it's understandable why the Conservative base might decide to skip this election, especially when the Minneapolis Star Tribune endorsed Cox.
Me, I can accept a lot of "diversity" as long as it isn't just about big pork projects. There also has to be honesty and enough of a core to work with, which is why I wrote off Prime Minister Pawlenty over two years ago. I'll be as generous and forgiving as I can, but I'll make the decision if asked to go an extra mile for candidate X.
To demand blind loyalty, that winning is everything (how much has State spending risen under Pawlenty?), is not something the State party leadership can demand or expect.
1. They could have considered Cox and Dahle and decided that as conservatives, Cox would be better representing them than Dahle. But they were outnumbered by the DFL college vote.
2. They could have considered the Strib endorsement and decided to vote for Dahle in protest. In that case they should be happy about the result.
3. They could have decided that the Independence candidate would best represent them and voted that way instead. In that case the measly 296 conservatives in SD25 hardly have any noticeable numbers and therefore influence in GOP politics at all.
Or, 4, conservatives could have decided to let someone else pick who to represent the state senate. In that case, be skipping the election, they got what they wanted.
-----
I don't think highly of option 4, and don't think that a democratic society should consider it a reasonable choice. Go to the caucus, go to the primary, go to the general election, but in each case, you support or vote for the people you feel best represent you.
It's not blind loyalty to make a choice that Dahle, Norgaard, or Cox will represent you better then the other 2. Or make the similar choice at a primary. Or even make that choice at a caucus. But you have to make that choice, otherwise by choosing no one you let someone else chose for you.
Conservatives will have no influence either in parties or government itself if they chose to skip the process and elections. I don't know that there is much "being Republican" unless you are involved closely with the party, but there is a difference made in making choices and participating in the process.
Personally, if I lived in SD25, I would have voted for Cox last week. But I understand that conservatives are free to make up their own mind as to who they believe would best represent them.