Minnesota's primary is Tuesday August 12. There are four Republicans considered serious candidates for governor. The race is thought to be a toss-up. Cross-posted at MN Progressive Project.
MNGOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Honour thinks he's the most conservative candidate, and he has a case, especially if that case is about holding to conservative principles and refusing to compromise.
I plan to work cooperatively with the Legislature to get this done. But if legislators say no to good ideas, if they get bogged down in the usual political games, I'll subscribe to Ronald Reagan's adage: "If they won't see the light, make them feel the heat."
So when it comes to abolishing the right to join a union, killing MNSure (Minnesota's health insurance exchange) and replacing it with nothing, across the board cuts in all spending regardless of the effect, and cutting taxes at the top, he's willing to work with the Democrats --- on how to implement his agenda. He's willing to use good ideas from Democrats, provided those ideas are how to better implement conservative ideology. Seek common ground, compromise, split differences, show pragmatism when it comes time to stop thinking like an ideologue and start solving problems, not so much.
Apparently he thinks he can conduct negotiations that consist of the other side giving him what he wants, provided he just shows "leadership".
When political insiders talk about being "realistic," it's code for "we just have to keep doing it the way we've always done it." I completely reject that point of view. In politics as in business, it takes leadership to get results.
Really, "in politics as in business"? Does he get that unlike in his business, he doesn't get to fire everyone who disagrees with him? Yet, as he's the most conservative of the four major candidates, he must have a shot at winning. Great, another "run government like a business" Republican. That's never worked out badly, other than every time.
Or maybe Honour is just ticked off in his Star Tribune commentary because the Star Tribune endorsed Jeff Johnson.
As a businessman and non-politician, I'd only heard stories about Star Tribune Editorial Board meetings until my recent visit. Given my philosophy of lower taxes, reduced spending, ending MNsure, eliminating teacher tenure, favoring buses over light rail, and calling on President Obama to not send unaccompanied illegal immigrant children to Minnesota, I was pretty sure I wasn't likely to be endorsed ("Johnson is top pick in bid for governor," Aug. 4).
Right, the Minneapolis Star Tribune is just out to get conservatives, that's why they're so mean as to ask about issues and stuff. Apparently Johnson could satisfy the Star Tribune he actually knows something and might split differences with Democrats rather than want everything his own way. That impression would seem to be at odds with Johnson's
"go all Scott Walker on Minnesota" remark, but maybe the Star Tribune hopes Johnson is just name-dropping to get the base worked up. He did pick a running mate who was willing to learn about frac sand mining before forming an opinion,
even suggesting it would be environmentally risky, but the lt. governor gets little to do normally, and doesn't swing many votes anyway. Besides, to take away credit, Johnson must have thought the primary voters were pretty dumb to fall for his blatantly false spin.
Oh well, Republicans can always go for Marty Seifert, who made the biggest splash at the GOP state convention. Republicans certainly noticed him then, in a test of the belief that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Or maybe Kurt Zellers can go on again about how he defeated Gov. Mark Dayton by shutting down the government in 2011. Sure, who wanted to be in the legislative majority anyway, right?