"Growth and opportunity party" reaches out

If you stop by the Minnesota State Fair booth of the Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM), you'll see something completely different from previous years. Besides the snazzy new visual design (I saw graphic designer Derek Brigham's fingerprints all over it, FINALLY), the focus has shifted from the party to the people.

Counterintuitively, the booth no longer screams REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA. Instead, the main messages are "Repeal Obamacare," "Growth and Opportunity," and "The American Dream." The traditional emphasis on candidates, GOTV (Get Out The Vote), and volunteer recruiting are replaced with interactive issues surveys collected on iPads, with realtime results displayed on large-screen monitors. You can spin the prize wheel and buy a button for $2 with Republican messaging, like the PROUD CONSERVATIVE button I bought.

Maybe because it's a non-election year, or maybe someone at the RPM has realized that the party needs to attract new voters (and even win back a few former party-faithful). Whatever the reason, the RPM seems to be listening and engaging at this year's Great Minnesota Get-Together.

We found SD44's favorite son, Jeff Johnson, meeting and greeting folks at his Jeff Johnson for Governor booth on Underwood Street east of the Grandstand. Jeff is competing in a strong field of candidates for the endorsement of the RPM to challenge Gov. Dayton next year. An often lone conservative vote on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, Jeff could be the candidate most likely to win and work with both parties to move Minnesota forward in a long-term, sustainable fashion.

The Republican Party is dead. Long live the Republican Party.

The defeat of Mitt Romney for President and the reelection of Barack Obama, on the heels of the 2008 defeat of John McCain, preceded by the popular vote defeat of George W. Bush in 2004, has finally convinced me that the Grand Old Party is not so grand anymore.

The Republican Party is in need of some creative destruction. Minnesota Republicans are leading the way in this evolutionary process, even in the face of powerful opposition from their own party. In 2008, supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX14) elbowed their way into the Minnesota precinct caucuses like a couple of Obama party crashers, much to the chagrin of longtime activists.

In 2012, Minnesota Paul supporters turned from party crashers into the party planners.

Led by Marianne Stebbins, the Minnesota delegation to the Republican National Convention voted 33 of its 40 votes for Ron Paul. "I don’t think Mitt Romney is a strong candidate," said Stebbins in the Eagan Patch. "He represents old ideas and what the party has stood for over the last couple of decades, which is not necessarily what the voters want."

It's not just a small group of Ron Paul gadflies who are working for change. Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Taxes, is also home to the Minnesota Liberty Caucus. numerous TEA Party groups, bloggers, Atlas Shrugged book and movie groups, and even small groups of BPOU activists meeting at social events publicized on Facebook.

They are disillusioned at big business joining the Democrats and labor unions in lobbying for ever more government spending. Some Republicans declined to campaign for the Marriage Amendment and either voted No or abstained (which are both counted as "No" votes). Local (now syndicated) radio commentator Jason Lewis was one of the first so-called conservatives to publicly question our country's long and expensive military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The labels of Republican and Democrat, or even conservative/no-new-taxes and liberal/progressive/tax-the-rich, are largely meaningless in this brave new political world. The real line in the sand separates libertarians and statists, those who promote liberty and equal opportunity versus those who believe in elite, bureaucratic government control and equal outcomes. These are issues that can challenge traditional party loyalties.

As Kurt Bills pointed out in his statesmanlike concession speech, Republicans must espouse its messages to voters that it has traditionally conceded to the Democrats. "If we don't become the party of addition and multiplication, we will become the party of subtraction and division."

To quote Thomas Paine, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

Republicans have a lot of work and soul-searching to do if they want to avoid becoming a permanent minority party.

Not optimal

The 2012 campaigns came to an end on Election Day, in a stunning victory for Democrats, and in disbelief for Republicans.

The day began with reports of heavy voter turnout with few problems at the polls. At the Minnesota GOP Victory Party at the Bloomington Hilton, the evening began with cautious optimism. The parking lot was full to overflowing by 7:00 p.m., with television satellite trucks stationed on the south side of the hotel. Activists admitted the possibility of losing the majority in the Minnesota Senate, but expected to retain control of the House. They were hopeful for at least a slim Electoral College win for Mitt Romney, with fingers crossed.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who ran unopposed for reelection, hosted a hospitality suite with his family and Chester, the family bulldog and mascot of the self-proclaimed Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog. The suite became the unofficial headquarters for SD44 activists, where they monitored the election returns via cable TV and a rather flakey WiFi connection, while munching on popcorn, party mix, and yes, "puppy chow."

The SD48 hospitality room, really a conference room, was standing room only with candidates and activists and the requisite TV displaying election coverage.

At his hospitality suite, U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills greeted a steady stream of supporters, as his campaign staff hovered over a laptop computer. I spent a few minutes with Bills communications manager David Strom before the candidate gave the nod, and then led his entourage downstairs to the main ballroom to deliver a gracious concession speech while encouraging the party faithful to stay engaged to fight in 2014.



Chris Fields, who challenged Democrat Keith Ellison in the Fifth U.S. Congressional District, admonished Republicans to hold elected officials at all levels accountable by continuing to discuss campaign issues like the economy and government spending. Receiving over 25% of the vote in the Fifth, Fields asserted that Republicans achieved a new credibility in the historically-Democrat district.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. —Theodore Roosevelt

A time for choosing

Kurt Bills, the Republican endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate, sent the following message to supporters. It is directed squarely at those Republicans who either stayed home on Election Day, or used their vote to "send a message" or "teach a lesson" to the Republican party "establishment," for endorsing the "wrong" candidate.

Elections have consequences. With Gov. Mark "Tax The Rich" Dayton and two liberal U.S. Senators later, how did that work out for ya?

I would add to Bills's commentary the practice of certain former Republican elected officials to undermine the candidacies of Republican-endorsed candidates by publicly endorsing their DFL opponents. The First Amendment applies to these members of the old guard as much as to any other American, but such a public repudiation of the party is also a betrayal to those of us who still work to advance Republican values.

If you have issues with the Republican Party, and many of us do, fine, next election cycle, run for delegate in your precinct, fight for changes to the platform, work hard for the candidate of your choice. But days before Election Day, it is a time for choosing. Vote next Tuesday, but please don't sabotage our fight from within.

In June 2009 Norm Coleman conceded his Senate race to comedian Al Franken.

He lost the race, after 6 months of recounts and legal battles, by 312 votes.

In December 2010, Tom Emmer conceded his race for Governor after a similar recount, losing by fewer than 9000 votes.

Both races have something in common much more important than the fact that they ended after recounts: they ended with extremely liberal politicians taking power entirely due to the defection of Republicans to third-party candidates.

In a very real way, Democrats didn’t win those elections as much as Republicans chose to lose them.

In my mind, that is shameful. Do any of the Republicans who voted for Dean Barkley or Tom Horner really believe our state and our country are better off with Al Franken and Mark Dayton as Senator and Governor?

The reasons for some Republicans to defect from Coleman and Emmer are a mirror image of each other. Some Republicans expressed dissatisfaction with Coleman because he was not conservative enough for their taste; in Emmer’s case, others thought he was too conservative.

They were looking for the “Goldilocks” candidate in the race, and voted for a third party candidate or stayed home. In the Emmer race, former Republican Tom Horner garnered over 250,000 votes, more than 25 times the margin by which Emmer lost. Not all those votes were disaffected Republicans, of course, but too many of them were.

The results are stark: Minnesota didn’t get a centrist, “goldilocks” Senator or Governor. They were saddled, instead, with two of the most liberal politicians in the country representing them in Washington and St Paul.

Republicans who didn’t vote for their Republican candidates are responsible for the passage of Obamacare, a bill that would have been stopped had Norm Coleman been in the Senate.

I am not one to believe that we should abandon our principles and simply adopt the Party line. Many of you recall that I am the Republican Senate candidate today because I ran an insurgent campaign from outside the Party structure.

I firmly believe it is our responsibility to fight within the Party to ensure it represents our principles. Ronald Reagan was an insurgent, and eventually won out against the Rockefeller Republicans after nearly two decades of work in the trenches.

During that time Reagan was both a loyal Republican and a principled warrior for his cause.

That is what each of us needs to be today. Day in, day out each of us needs to work tirelessly to persuade other Republicans to our side when we disagree; and day in, day out we need to fight to defeat Democrats who are pushing policies which if left unchecked will bankrupt our country and undermine the constitutional foundations of our country.

Ronald Reagan hit it on the nose when he declared: “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally — not a 20 percent traitor.”

That is why I am voting for a Republican straight ticket this Election Day…and why you should, too.

Political parties

As regular readers of North Star Liberty know, my favorite part of politics is the political parties. I don't mean the partisan political organizations, I mean the social events that those groups conduct!

From attending Republican election night parties, Red, Right and Brew happy hours, SD44 PUBlicans happy hours, Minnesota Organization of Bloggers events, senate district fundraisers, candidate meet-and-greets, and other such events, I have learned that Republican activists are well-informed, intelligent, passionate, interesting, successful, and just plan fun to hobnob with.

SD44 had its most successful event in years last Thursday, a fundraiser at the Medina Golf and Country Club. The attendance was great. They had a silent auction and a "wine pull." The food and drink were excellent. The men cleaned up and the women were dressed to the nines. They attracted great speakers like U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz (a district resident), Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Zellers, Hennepin County Commissioner (and district resident) Jeff Johnson, and of course local candidates David Gaither, Sarah Anderson, and Mark Stefan. (In the auction, I won an American flag and four dozen oatmeal M&M cookies freshly baked by Rep. Anderson.)

Also this year, SD44 has held happy hours at various venues around the district. You never know who or how many will show up, but you can usually count on district treasurer Geoff Shipsides to save a spot for the group. I attended events at Jake's in Plymouth and The Muni in Wayzata. They were great opportunities to meet other Republicans to talk politics and other common interests. At Wednesday's event I met a supporter and friend of Marc Berris, a candidate for Hennepin County judge who strongly endorsed him and handed out his campaign cards for good measure.

Once in a while, campaigning can almost seem like a party. The Pawlenty bus tour in 2006 was a fantastic experience. So was blogging at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, where I met U.S. Senators Fred Thompson and Jim DeMint.

Election night parties can be exciting, and of course they are a lot more fun when your candidates win than when they don't. I enjoy being a part of history in the making, along with the media, candidates, and activists on election night. But win, lose, or draw, I am always proud to stand with my fellow activists, knowing that we did our best, and looking ahead to the next campaign.

SD44 announces gala on October 18

SD44 cordially invites you to its "Take Back Our Country" gala event, Thursday, October 18 at the Medina Country Club in Medina. Here's a chance for us parade walkin', door knockin', lit droppin', sign poundin', similin' and dialin' GOTV callin' volunteers to clean up, dress up, and show up to hobnob with our fellow Republican activists and candidates and recharge for the final three weeks of the campaign. You don't have to live in the district to attend — and we won't (necessarily) be checking photo IDs at the door! Click the image for details.

You can save $10 by buying an advance ticket at www.sd44gop.org. It's a fundraiser, so please bring your wallet. It's your patriotic duty! Be there, aloha.

Dillon would be new sheriff in town

Norann Dillon is running for the Republican endorsement for State Senate in SD44 (relatively unchanged from its SD43 boundaries prior to this year's redistricting court ruling).

"My priorities are to pass a truly balanced budget without borrowing, shifts or other accounting gimmicks," said Dillon in an e-mail to SD44 delegates. "We also need to reduce the tax and regulatory burdens on employers. Together, these changes will signal certainty to the marketplace and should restore the confidence needed for investment and expansion.

"Additionally," added Dillon, "let's simplify the funding and mandates on local school boards to return more control to the people best placed to judge the values and needs of the children in their communities."

The eventual Republican candidate for Senate will face Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka).

The SD44 BPOU will have to get past some contentious intramural battles if it hopes to turn its full attention and energy to defeating Bonoff and Rep. John Benson (DFL-Minnetonka), who represents the southern "B side" of the district. A campaign lit miscue by Dillon in 2010 involving former Governor Al Quie and the resignation in 2011 of Brian Grogan as BPOU chair left party regulars split and newcomers bewildered.

SD44 convenes its 2012 BPOU convention at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 24 at Wayzata High School in Plymouth.

Grassroots cultivated at caucus

Some folks showed up over an hour before our precinct caucus was called to order Tuesday night. Either they were excited to vote in the presidential straw poll, or they relied on a postcard they received with the incorrect time shown! By 7:00 pm, when state law dictates the caucus is to be called to order, our convener had misplaced his agenda which specifies several items that must be addressed, also per state law. The room where we met had no American flag, but fortunately our convener brought a desk-sized flag for just that contingency.

The rest of the caucus went much more smoothly!

Our voting in the presidential straw poll reflected the statewide totals: Rick Santorum, 23 votes; Ron Paul, 15; Mitt Romney, 10; Newt Gingrich, 4. If anyone wondered whether the Tea Party is still relevant in Minnesota (or Missouri or Colorado), there's your answer.

We had over fifty persons sign in, plus one observer. In non-presidential election year caucuses, attendance is sometimes so low that we can't elect our allotted number of delegates. No such problem this year: we elected a full roster of delegates and alternates, who will represent our precinct at the first post-redistricting BPOU (Senate district) convention in March.

The youngest attendee will turn 18 in time to vote in November. Several Vietnam veterans were there, as was a Russian immigrant who fled Communism—only to encounter, to his chagrin, ever-growing statism from both American political parties. I recognized many from previous years, but as always there were also many first-time caucus goers.

Judging by the conversations, the top issues that brought folks out on Tuesday night seemed to be election integrity, the national economy, the right to life, and right-to-work. We had so many sign up to be election judges that we had to use a couple of pages from a yellow legal pad when the printed sign-up sheets were full.

In addition to the presidential candidates, several local candidates had letters, literature, or signs at our caucus: Congressman Erik Paulsen, Rep. Sarah Anderson, state Senate candidate Norann Dillon, and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek.

Resolutions to the party platform were mercifully few this year. My resolution to greatly streamline the platform failed on a close vote that required a division of the house. A resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to make Minnesota a right-to-work state also failed on a close voice vote. While I recognize the need for a party platform, I find the current platform too long and detailed, and the resolutions part of the convention agenda a marathon exercise in contentious hair-splitting.

Our biggest challenges will be, as always, fundraising and volunteer recruiting, and forming a new BPOU after the redistricting maps are released (by February 21). It seemed on Tuesday that there is enough dissatisfaction with President Obama and the economy, and positive energy from the Tea Party, to keep the grassroots fed and energized through the next nine months of conventions and campaigns.

More than one fresh face elected in SD43

At today's lightly-attended convention held at Wayzata Central Middle School in Plymouth, Senate District 43 Republicans elected a new chair and executive committee that includes both new energy and experience. The day began with an official censure of its 2010 endorsed candidate for state Senate, Norann Dillon, followed about four hours later by its dramatic retraction from the floor.

Brian Grogan, the 2008 and 2010 endorsed candidate for House District 43B, was elected to chair the district. He owns a financial services business, serves on the board of the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation, and was recently appointed to the Citizens Advisory Council for the Minnehaha Creek Watershed Board.

Grogan will be joined by Treasurer Jeff Kulaszewicz, Secretary Audrey Fresh, two at-large vice chairs, and vice-chairs for House Districts 43A (northern Plymouth) and 43B (southern Plymouth and northern Minnetonka)

David Gaither, one of the newly-elected at-large vice-chairs, was the senator for SD43 from 2003-2005, and served as assistant minority leader. Gaither is currently the executive director of International Education Center, a non-profit that teaches English and provides education and employment assistance to adult international students. Tracey Taylor was also elected an at-large vice-chair.

Long-time Republican activist and community volunteer Lavonne Sjoberg was elected district 43A vice-chair. Former construction contractor and Grogan campaign volunteer Mike Seuss was elected vice-chair for district 43B.

Dillon censured

SD43 chair Larry Thompson read to the convention an executive committee resolution that censured 2010 endorsed state Senate candidate Norann Dillon for representing the endorsement of former governor Al Quie without obtaining the endorsement in writing, per state law.

Neither Dillon nor her supporters disputed not having Quie's endorsement in writing. Quie told Minnesota Public Radio in October 2010 that "a telephone conversation with Dillon this morning resolved the issue," and Dillon posted an apology at that time on her campaign web site.

Dillon, an SD43 delegate, remained at the convention. Close to the end of the convention, a motion was made from the convention floor to retract the censure, debate was conducted, and in the end the motion passed.

After the motion passed, an emotional Dillon addressed the convention, thanking her supporters and stating that her efforts are about stopping what she sees as the state's move toward socialism. She said that she intends to remain active in the district. The convention reacted with a standing ovation for Dillon. Dillon was also one of four elected by the convention to represent SD43 at the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Minnesota.

Dillon was a passionate, articulate, respectful, upbeat, and tireless conservative candidate in 2010. She is a relative newcomer to the area and to politics who received long odds from some on the day she was endorsed, and came up short three percentage points in a year that the Republicans retook the majority in the state Senate for first time since 1972. A verbal conversation with Quie was apparently mishandled somewhere along the way, for which the candidate has already apologized. Yet what could an official censure have gained for the district?

Guest speakers say thanks, pitch their candidacies

Many guest speakers took the microphone to thank district activists for their work in helping to bring about Republican victories in 2010, and majorities to both houses of the Minnesota Legislature.

Hennepin County Commissioner and favorite son Jeff Johnson and 2010 endorsed GOP candidate for governor Tom Emmer both announced their candidacies for National Committeeman to the Republican National Committee.

HD43A Rep. Sarah Anderson reported on how Republican majorities in the House and Senate began cutting the size of government immediately, "as they were elected to do."

Third District Congressman Erik Paulsen noted "what a difference two years makes," while noting that Democrats are already busy organizing and targeting him with protests.

State Republican Party Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb thanked local activists (including several mentions of Norann Dillon), and along with state party secretary-treasurer David Sturrock, asked for state central committee delegate support for their re-election along with chair Tony Sutton.

Former Plymouth Mayor, current city council member, and SD43 Senate candidate Judy Johnson encouraged Republicans to volunteer locally on city boards and commissions, and as election judges.

Norann Dillon knocks SD43 this Saturday

SD43 challenger Norann Dillon will continue door knocking around SD43 this Saturday, with the assistance of members of the Minnesota Young Republicans. Dillon is such a tireless door-knocker, she must be on her second lap of the district by now.

The YRs are working hard this election cycle across the state, particularly in CD3 where the "Blue to Red" campaign is targeting DFL incumbents, including SD43 Sen. Terri Bonoff. This year's YRs are party animals with a full event calendar, a snappy new web site, and abundant enthusiasm for commonsense and efficient government, lower taxes, and enjoying campaign activity with fellow Republicans.

The forgotten man

In a thought-provoking podcast interview, Walter Hudson (Fightin' Words blog) interviews Don Allen, an African-American North Minneapolis activist who feels that the Republican Party of Minnesota has for too long written off his neighborhood, and other DFL strongholds, like so much bad debt.

Why doesn't the RPM have more boots on the ground in North Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, or Lucky Rosenbloom's Dale Street neighborhood? (Rosenbloom should be one of Hudson's next one-hour interviews.) According to Allen, some folks in the urban core think that funding distributed by the city, state, and federal governments (and spent by school districts) should be more accountable and transparent (ahem, are you listening, Pat Anderson?), and that concerns about light rail transit's impact on neighborhoods are falling on deaf DFL ears.

Allen thinks that conservative solutions to urban ills should be heard and discussed within his community. He has invited Republican officials to stop by his town hall meetings at the Sunnyside Cafe, but so far they have been no-shows. Allen wants Republican leadership, not just well-meaning twentysomething "outreach" coordinators, to begin cultivating relationships in his neighborhood.

It will take more activists like Allen and candidates like Eva Ng, who ran for mayor of Saint Paul last year; Barry Hickethier, who is challenging Sen. Larry Pogemeiller (DFL-Minneapolis) in SD59; and Joel Demos, who is challenging Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN5); running year after year, to plant conservative ideas and grow a GOP presence in the cities.

As Hudson suggests, it will likely take more like a decade than an election cycle to change voting habits, and the RPM has some tough return-on-investment decisions to make with limited resources. But with that hopey-changey thing not working out so well, what better time than 2010 to get started?

Mike Pence: back to basics

If the GOP has lost its way, people like Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN6) are trying to steer it back on course. Republicans across the country should consider his remarks on yesterday's Fox News Sunday:

...government handouts through a government bureaucracy is no substitute for broad-based tax relief and fiscal discipline in Washington, D.C.

...the quickest way to get money into this economy is not to take it in the first place.

...I think Republicans are starting to earn back the confidence of the American people that we squandered, really, in the last 10 years. I mean, look, let's be honest. We didn't just lose our majorities in 2006. We lost our way. I mean, the American people saw a Republican Party that walked away from its commitment to fiscal discipline, limited government and reform, and the American people walked away from us.

We saw -- we saw in the last Republican administration, you know, increase at the federal Department of Education, the Medicare prescription drug entitlement, and an administration that ended up taking $700 billion in bad decisions on Wall Street and transferring those to Main Street, that on top of a doubling of the national debt.

But since the last election, Republicans on Capitol Hill are returning to their commitment to fiscal discipline, limited government and reform, and the defense of traditional values.

And I believe we're -- we're beginning to get a second look from the American people, and they're beginning to see that Republicans are returning to the principles that minted our majority in 1980 and again in 1994.

...I don't think the debate in this country is about President Obama or about Democrats or Republicans. I think it's about who we are as a nation. I think it's about what we believe is the proper role of government in our lives and the proper responsibility of individuals. ...Republicans for a while were on the wrong side of that argument. We've gotten back on the side of fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility, limited government.

And I think as we continue to fight consistently on Capitol Hill and take our message to the American people, the American people are going to come back to us.

MNGOP leadership debate highlights problems, introduces candidates

It wasn't much of a debate.

Last night's event, billed as a "debate" among the candidates for chair and deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota, was really more of a forum to discuss what's broken about the state party out-of-power, and what party leadership can do about it. There was more agreement than disagreement on these points, so the issues were beside the point, although I thought that it was refreshing to finally hear these issues aired out in a public forum.

The evening did provide an unprecedented opportunity for State Central delegates, BPOU (local affiliate) activists, DFLers, and outside-the-party conservatives to meet and size up the candidates, up close and personal. It was also a great warm-up for next week's follow-up event in Maple Grove (more on that later).

So what was the consensus of the candidates on what's wrong with the Minnesota GOP?

• The party has strayed from its conservative roots, exacerbated when certain legislative candidates became incumbents(!).
• Lack of "customer service" to the BPOUs and Congressional District organizations; too much command-and-control.
• Outdated technology. Worst offender: the RNC-driven Voter Vault voter data base.

Starting with the deputy chair candidates, how would each candidate address these issues?

Bob Swinehart, a retired physicist from 3M, would apply his years of experience managing scientific and engineering departments, as well has his experience as an activist in the MNGOP (his is a current BPOU chair). He understands that the party needs to reach out to younger voters.

Dorothy Fleming, current MNGOP deputy chair, has certainly paid her dues, has a statewide network of activists, and knows party operations inside and out. Yet I didn't hear Fleming make the case for why, as an incumbent in the Ron Carey administration, she isn't part of the problem.

Michael Brodkorb, activist and (to say the least) blogger, would bring his familiarity with party workings, tech savvy, and outspoken articulation of conservative vision to the party. I wanted to start calling Brodkorb "Mr. Customer Service" for the number of times he emphasized the party's need, and his own devotion to, customer service to the BPOUs and Congressional district organizations.

As for the chairperson candidates, Carrie Ruud would bring her 360-degrees of experience as a grassroots activist, candidate, and legislator to the table.

Some in the grassroots I have spoken to are quick to dismiss Tony Sutton, current party Secretary/Treasurer as "more of the same," but as he pointed out last night, when he was executive director of the party in the 1990s, Republicans won majorities in the Legislature, which in turn served under a Republican governor. Life was good — so good that the late 1990s/early 2000s became the heyday for "moderate Republicans" who felt so free to stray from the platform and even party discipline that the name Republican became a name only.

Radio host and attorney Dave Thompson may be the dark horse of the field. Although his conservative credentials and skill as a broadcast personality are beyond question, he has no previous experience as an elected official or party boss.

I am not a State Central delegate this year, so I won't be casting a ballot in these elections, but after last night I would give the edge to Thompson and Brodkorb. I think that this duo would make the strongest statement to friend and foe alike that the Republican Party of Minnesota is committed to the transformative, high-velocity cultural change that will be needed to overcome the DFL in the elections of 2010 and 2012.

Your next chance to evaluate the candidates in person is next Thursday, June 4 at the Minnesota Republican Party Leadership Forum at Maple Grove Junior High School.

The most encouraging thing about these events is that they are not official MNGOP events. They are grassroots-driven, after-the-TEA-party efforts, which shows that the conservative movement is not only alive and well, it's gaining in strength and numbers. It appears that all of the candidates for state party leadership have taken notice.

Liveblogging the Minnesota GOP leadership debate

9:00 pm: Wrapping up, thank you, good night.

8:57 pm: Question 9: How would you work with BPOUs and Legislative caucuses? Ruud: communicate with the caucuses, do not interfere with the BPOU selection and endorsement process. Thompson: Ditto. Sutton: Ditto.

8:52 pm: Question 8: What improvements would you make in technology and how? Sutton: Voter Vault: replace with a Minnesota-grown data base, as the Second Congressional District has shown us in 2008. Devote one staff member to social networking, blogs, Internet technologies. Ruud: Voter Vault needs to be replaced. Web sites need to link the BPOUs, the state party can assist. Web meetings to bring outstate BPOUs into the process. Thompson: use the technology to win elections; tailor the communication medium to the voter (demographic). But let's remember that we must use technology efficiently to win elections.

8:49 pm: Question 7: Would you take a salary, why or why not? Thompson: I would take a salary, Chairman would be my first priority. Sutton: I would not take a salary, a volunteer organization should be led by a volunteer. "I am one of you." Ruud: I would take a salary, otherwise you limit who can serve if you don't pay a salary.

8:46 pm: Question 6: What BPOU experiences are needed in the paid staff of the MNGOP? Ruud: paid staffers should come from BPOU ranks and experience. Thompson: BPOU/CD experience is fine, but it depends on the needs of the job position. Sutton: if I am elected chair, the era of East Coast outsider staff is over. Activists expect a resource with experience, seasoning.

8:41 pm: Question 5: Do you believe that the state party has too much control over the BPOUs and congressional districts, and if so how would you fix it? Sutton: yes, and I would put the BPOUs back in control, and support the BPOUs like we did "back in the day" [my paraphrase]. Been there, done that. Ruud: Greater Minnesota needs more support from the party. Thompson: there is a sense that the state party isn't sensitive to the BPOU needs -- it's about attitude.

8:38 pm: [Back after network connection problems.]

8:29 pm: Question 3: What is your number one priority for the party? Sutton: elect more endorsed Republican candidates, to help change our state and country. "See my plan." Ruud: Build infrastructure, win elections, ensure a consistent conservative message. Thompson: elect candidates who will vote the platform, vote our values.

8:25 pm: Question 2: what attributes do you bring to the position of Chair, and why are you the best candidate? Thompson: I can inspire people to rally to the party by communicating the conservative vision of the party, all across the state. We have to stop allowing the Democrats to define us. Sutton: I understand how to run large organizations, I won't need "on the job training," I have a published plan of action. Ruud: I have a broad base of experience of running a BPOU, running as a candidate, being a legislature, running a private business.

8:22 pm: Question 1: What is the role of the Chair, and what should it be? Ruud: to service the BPOUs, give them the tools they need to elect their local candidates, to serve as a liaison to the national GOP, uphold the Constitution and platform. Thompson: communicator-in-chief, communicate the conservative vision. Sutton: set the strategic vision, operate the party to service the grassroots.

8:12 pm: Opening statements (3 minutes). Ruud: I have the grassroots experience and work ethic to help get Republicans elected. Thompson: I understand how to communicate the conservative vision and execute successful campaigns for candidates who will in turn implement the conservative agenda. Sutton: when the MNGOP had a conservative vision and was well organized (when I was MNGOP executive director), we won elections. I have the skills and experience to help us do it again.

8:09 pm: Chair candidates introduced: Carrie Ruud, Realtor, former legislator. Dave Thompson, radio personality, attorney. Tony Sutton, MNGOP officer and activist.

8:07 pm: Deputy Chair debate is concluded. Brief intermission while the stage is rearranged.

8:02 pm: Question 9: How would you repair the relationship between the state party and the "local affiliates" (BPOUs)? Flemming: transparency, decentralize, share "who we are," communicate. Swinehart: the state should lead the effort to share best practices among the BPOUs. Brodkorb: invite activists to become part of the process; leadership summits.

7:59 pm: Question 8: How would you handle conflicts of interest with your "day job," etc.? Brodkorb: Open executive committee, meet in every Congressional District in the state, more transparency. Flemming: I have no potential conflicts. Swinehart: I have no potential conflicts (I am retired).

7:56 pm: Question 7: Would you take a salary, why or why not? Swinehart: would accept expenses only. Brodkorb: would not take a salary, but salaries for Chair and Deputy Chair should be disclosed and tied to roles, responsibility. Flemming: would take a salary, because salary = accountability.

7:51 pm: Question 6: What do you believe is the role of the Deputy Chair in getting Republicans elected to state and local offices? Flemming: encourage candidates and volunteers. Swinehart: provide candidate training and support tools. Brodkorb: what we're doing isn't working, some incumbents don't want to run again, they are not getting the tools to win.

7:48 pm: Question 5: What would your role be in relation to the BPOUs? Brodkorb: customer service, providing to the BPOUs & CDs as I did as a MNGOP field staffer. Flemming: did not directly answer the question, but cited the desire of activists to engage on issues. Swinehart: deliver the tools needed by the BPOUs.

7:44 pm: Question 4: Would you change anything about the platform, and why? Swinehart: The platform could benefit from some "simplification." Brodkorb: I think we need to preserve the path that activists have via the caucuses to modify the platform. Flemming: The people we elect should follow the platform.

7:40 pm: Question 3: What would be your number one priority as Deputy Chair and how would you make it happen? Flemming: get high school students involved, "fix" Voter Vault (voter data base). Get information out to party activists. Swinehart: embrace all demographics (not just "people who look like me"). Talk to your neighbors on the issues. Brodkorb: Build the party, win elections. Win back majorities, retain governor. Help activists feel valued and included.

7:37 pm: Question 2: What attribute to you bring to the party? Brodkorb: technology expertise, communicate, bridge the technology gap. Flemming: I love being with people, listening to them, networking, writing. Getting people involved. Swinehart: management experience.

7:36 pm: Flemming: I enjoy traveling, listening to BPOUs, appearing on radio shows, getting out the message.

7:34 pm: Brodkorb: the party needs to better define the roles and responsibilities. I believe that customer service (for BPOUs and Congressional districts) should be the focus.

7:31 pm: First question: What is the role of the Deputy Chair, and what should it be? Swinehart: No strong opinion, since the by-laws are vague, but the Deputy Chair and Chair should be in agreement on it. I can lead teams, listen; cheerleading, not so much.

7:28 pm: Flemming: The party needs to get better at communication: talking points, putting the "party" back into the Republican Party. (Mentioned the local Red, White & Brew social networking gatherings.)

7:20 pm: Opening statements by each candidate. Swinehart: I have a different background than the other candidates (technical management at 3M). That's what I bring to the party. Brodkorb: The party needs to be in "customer service" mode. The party needs transparency. Committed to serving as a volunteer Deputy Chair. Recognizes the importance of (contact) list development.

7:17 pm: Introducing Deputy Chair candidates Bob Swinehart, retired 3M physicist, MNGOP activist; Michael Brodkorb, activist, blogger; Dorothy Flemming, current Deputy Chair.

7:14 pm: Meeks: Campaign 2010 begins now. Morrissey: We're hoping for change back to conservatism.

7:13 pm: My quick headcount: 125-150 in the seats.

7:10 pm: No questions from the floor. All questions from the stage. Order will be at random. Moderators Annette Meeks and Ed Morrissey being introduced.

7:04 pm: Derek Brigham from SD 45 is calling the evening to order. Most are still in the lobby noshing and hobnobbing. Sharing a table with @noahkunin (Twitter handle).

6:59 pm: Meet & greet underway in the lobby. Cameras & PCs getting set up in the auditorium. Talk amongst yourselves on Twitter, search for #mngopdebate.

6:58 pm: Set up in the press area at the debate!

Visit North Star Liberty tonight at 7:00 pm CDT for my liveblog of the Minnesota GOP Leadership Debate. I will also be monitoring Twitter @mattabe and #mngopdebate for your comments.

Stone knives and bearskins

There is a moment in one of the most popular episodes of the original Star Trek series, "The City on the Edge of Forever," in which Spock explains amidst a tangle of wires and vacuum tubes from 1930s Earth that he is "endeavoring, Madam, to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bearskins."

This quote eloquently captures the state of Minnesota GOP communications in the age of micromarketing, mobile phones, and social networking. Many of our party's chairpersons and officers, God bless them, have volunteered countless hours to successfully build the GOP and win elections in the 20th century using the same tools I saw in an old 1960s black-and-white Ronald Reagan GOP training film: phone banks and direct mail.

Our current leaders long-ago earned their delegate seats at the conventions, and leadership posts from the BPOUs to the national committee, with these tools. But the young upstart campaign volunteers of Democrat Party campaigns have grown ever more sophisticated in their use of technology to spread their message, persuade, and win elections, even as that technology evolves at an increasingly dizzying pace. These efforts are peer-produced and decentralized.

It's not technology for technology's sake; it is, pardon the cliché, part of the under-30 population's DNA. Facebook and cell phones are as much a part of my teenage kids' lives as television was integral to my growing up. First-time caucus goers from the 2008 election cycle are still wondering why they never received a single e-mail or Facebook friend invitation from their BPOU, or even know what a BPOU is. The party that dismisses or refuses to understand mobile tech, e-mail marketing, streaming video, podcasting, and social networking is the party that forfeits the future to the party that gets it.

Surely there are social marketing experts and web developers who would be willing to apply their talents and knowledge to bring the Minnesota GOP into the 21st century. So what's stopping them?

Leadership.

The elections of 2006 and 2008 will be showing in reruns in 2010 and 2012 unless the Republican Party of Minnesota finds a chair and deputy chair who get it. Grassroots activists who have spent the months since November 2008 creating and using their Facebook, Twitter, and Ning accounts, blogging, attending issue events at Trocoderos, and organizing the April 15 and May 2 rallies at the state capitol, already get it. So do Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee supporters. But the state party will be stuck with stone knives, bearskins, and minority status without a chair and deputy chair who are ready, willing, and able to lead the party into 21st century technology — at warp speed.

Minnesota GOP Leadership Debate
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Mixer: 6:30 pm
Debate: 7:00 pm
Moderated by Ed Morrissey, HotAir.com and AM 1280 The Patriot and
Annette Meeks, Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Hosted by SD45 Republicans
Robbinsdale Hopkins High School [map]
10635 36th Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55441

Debating:
Carrie Ruud, Tony Sutton, Dave Thompson, candidates for State Party Chair
Michael Brodkorb, Dorothy Fleming, candidates for State Party Deputy Chair
Other candidates to be announced

Peer production

"We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that want to show up to Lake Michigan, I'm going to start organizing it." —Rick Santelli in his February 19, 2009 "rant of the year" on CNBC

It has never been easier to find a conservative place to party in the Twin Cities than in 2009. The reason is a buzzword called "peer production." Wikipedia defines it as "a new way of producing goods and services that relies on self-organizing communities of individuals who come together to produce a shared outcome."

Thanks in part to social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Ning, and ever-lower costs of producing and sharing audio and video programming, people of all political stripes are discovering that they don't have to wait around for political parties or even special-interest groups to organize and act.

A prime example is the national "tea party" tax protests, inspired by Rick Santelli's remarkable rant on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. Protesters are sending tea bags to their elected officials and holding rallies to protest bailouts and runaway spending. The protests are local and only loosely related. The Twin Cities area tea party will be held on April 15 at the State Capitol.

Peer production can be a little rough and amateurish, and can ruffle the feathers of more established groups. Organizers of the annual Tax Cut Coalition rally, established by talk radio host Jason Lewis, were a bit miffed at being bumped this year from their customary April 15 event on the Capitol steps by the upstart tea party group. The Lewis event will now be held, in an expanded format, on Saturday, May 2 at the Capitol. The former friendly rivals are now cross-promoting each other's events.

Even before Gov. Sarah Palin established her political action committee this year, web sites, Facebook groups, and other small groups sprung up across the country to support her and their shared values. There is at least one effort to coordinate these groups, but they will probably remain independent communities engaged in peer production.

Another example is the Citizens Campaigning Against Renegade Legislators (CCARL), a completely nonpartisan group that originally organized to protest the then-proposed taxpayer subsidy of the Minnesota Twins professional baseball stadium in Minneapolis. Their current target is Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, who is lobbying for, guess what, a taxpayer subsidy for a professional football stadium.

The group blog True North, run by volunteers and unfunded by any outside group, aggregates posts from dozens of right-leaning blogs every day. It is visited daily by activists, elected officials, and media.

Young conservatives (not a contradiction in terms) will have a chance to meet and greet tonight at O'Gara's in Saint Paul, thanks to a new Facebook group with over 200 members called Red, White and Brew.

Although many individuals in these groups will participate in partisan activities as election season gears up again, conservatives in 2009 are finding new ways to connect and work together as peers to advance principle over party.

Brandon Sawalich launches website

Brandon Sawalich, who is running for chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, has launched a website to build grassroots support for his candidacy.

Sawalich is also behind the website A New Day for Minnesota, at www.mnrepublicansolutions.com, which outlines a five-part strategy for revitalizing the Minnesota Republican party, including bulking up the grassroots (BPOUs for all of you insiders) and overhauling party tech infrastructure. This echoes similar conversations at the national level in groups like Rebuild the Party (Twitter: @rebuildtheparty) and others.

(Tech note for webheads: Net Brew Design's fresh A New Day for Minnesota website uses a bit of Mootools Javascript to very elegantly let you scroll several pages of text without loading multiple pages. Check it out.)

Young love

Click image to view large version, and see if you can find Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

I have had it with the Republican Party treating voters under 30 as an "outreach" group. I had the not unexpected experience of watching a large DFL contingent march in the annual University of Minnesota Homecoming parade, complete with campaign bus and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak zig-zagging through the parade spectators, shaking hands and posing for pictures — without a corresponding presence from the Minnesota Grand Old Party.

The existing conservative and College Republican groups need the active engagement of the party: funding, candidate and elected official appearances, and accountability for growing their membership.

Besides a physical presence at colleges and universities, skillful use of Internet technologies has replaced phone banks and direct mail as the most effective way to reach this key demographic. This article sums it up well:

...young voters may prove to have been the key to Barack Obama's victory. Young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent — the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976, according to CIRCLE, a non-partisan organization that promotes research on the political engagement of Americans between ages 15 and 25.

Through a steady stream of texts and Twitters, experts agree Obama has managed to excite young voters by meeting them where they live — online.

“This is a group of people who are constantly checking in with everybody else in their circle to make a decision,” says Morley Winograd, the co-author of “Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics” and a former adviser to Vice President Al Gore. He defines Millennials as ages 18 to 26.

“This is a generation that doesn't tend to think about asking experts for opinion," Winograd says. "They tend to ask each other, and then that becomes the truth.”

Winograd says that means no decision is made without dozens of e-mails, texts or Facebook messages to check whether an idea works for the whole group — anything from “Where should we hang out tonight?” to “Who should we vote for?” — which could explain why Millennials so firmly latched onto Obama’s message of unity, he says.

Yes, the McCain campaign had an extensive web site, YouTube ads, Facebook groups, etc., but these initiatives are sorely lacking at the state and BPOU level. "The youth vote" came of age in 2008. The Republican Party at all levels needs to take this demographic seriously if it wants to avoid being marginalized in 2010, 2012, and beyond.

Escape From MPR

As in 2006, my MPR liveblog experience was a little like going to Madison to see the Gophers play Wisconsin, and sitting in the middle of the Wisconsin stands — in a luxury skybox, but still on the Wisconsin side.

After McCain's concession speech and right as Obama began his, I left the fifth floor UBS Forum in downtown Saint Paul for the Sheraton Bloomington (formerly the Radisson South). Several differences between the two venues were obvious:

• All of the video monitors were showing election coverage from Fox News
• Being a partisan event, there were Republican campaign signs everywhere
• There was a large media pit and stages for television remote broadcasts
• A wider range of ages present, with lots of men in suits and ties, and lots of young ladies in heels and cocktail dresses — and campaign staff with their cell phones and BlackBerrys
• Cash bars and lots of food, once you found the various campaign suites

Even though it was late, I ran into a lot of my cronies from various campaigns. Jeff Johnson was enjoying his election to the Hennepin County Board. The irrepressible Laura from Sue Jeffers's gubernatorial campaign was celebrating one of the Minnesota House victories. I managed to find Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN6) campaign party, and wish her well, several minutes before she made her acceptance speech before the die-hard crowd and media, after midnight. I was happy to find a few other of my fellow BPOU campaign volunteers still there. I'm not sure, but I think that I saw Sarah Janecek enter the building as I was leaving, just as Erik Paulsen delivered his acceptance speech for the Third Congressional District race.

Going up to Erik Paulsen's suite on the twentieth floor was deja vu from 2002, when a bunch of us partied in Jim Ramstad's suite (it even might have been the same room). Other than that, I did the usual wandering around looking for friends, partaking of the deli trays, and finding that most had already called it a night. With Paulsen, Bachmann, and Rep. John Kline (R-MN2) all winning, hopes alive for a Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) reelection, and at least an even performance in the Minnesota House, the mood was upbeat despite the McCain-Palin loss.

Photo by Laura Gatz

The highlight for me was definitely Michele Bachmann's triumphant acceptance speech, very exciting and a vindication for Bachmann, with the requisite TV cameras and bright lights, and supporters waving large campaign signs. One of the handwritten signs held up said "Nice Try, Chris Matthews."

I heard Paulsen's speech on the radio on the way home around 1:40 am. I had to work today.

Smilin' and dialin'

Yesterday I put in a shift at my local Republican Victory Office phone bank, calling identified Republicans to remind them to vote our Republican ticket, from John McCain and Sarah Palin, to Sen. Norm Coleman and Third District Congressional candidate Erik Paulsen, to Brian Grogan for Minnesota House (43B), to John Cooney, the Republican endorsed candidate for the nonpartisan Hennepin County Commissioner in District 6.

Phone bank work is essential, not only to remind Republicans to vote, but also to update party records with current names and phone numbers, which are constantly changing as folks move and get new phone numbers.

We're down to the final week before the general election, and your entire Republican ticket needs your help now. Contact your local Republican Victory Office to find out how you can make a difference.