Oh Tom, we thought we knew you...

"The BPOU then has a convention, each candidate states why he or she would be the best for the job. A vote is taken, and who ever has the highest vote count wins the endorsement."

Off the reservation. Turncoat. Benedict Arnold. And liar. I have heard all of these names used to describe our sitting House Representative. It is so sad. Tom Hackbarth has had such a good career in the Minnesota House. But like anything else, there is an Alpha and an Omega. A beginning and an end. After 22 years, Tom has reached the end. He lost the endorsement of the same people who have endorsed Tom in the past. This year, our BPOU chose Cal Bahr to be the person to run against any Democrat challenger.

Here is what is supposed to happen. People who would like to serve as a citizen legislature would offer his or her service to the BPOU. The BPOU then has a convention, and each candidate states why he or she would be the best for the job. A vote is taken, and who ever has the highest vote count wins the endorsement. The losing candidate(s) then shakes hands with the winner, and pledges support to the winner in the general election. It is as simple as that.

For reasons few (if any) understand, Tom has gone back on his word to support Cal Bahr. Not only will Tom not support Cal, he is ignoring the endorsement process. He is going to run against Cal in the August primary. For that intention alone, a letter of "no confidence" was written to Tom Hackbarth by his home BPOU. In other words, Tom has been disowned by the very people who put him in office. 

I supported Cal Bahr in this year's BPOU convention for some very good reasons. First, I don't care who it is, 22 years in the Minnesota House is TOO LONG! We are not careerists, we are citizen legislatures. This position is not an entitlement - it is meant for someone to serve few terms, and then turn if over to someone else to serve. 

Next, I have long been impressed by the grasp of our state constitution that Cal has. For those who have not yet met Cal, let me just say this - he is one smart cookie. Cal does not flaunt his knowledge, but when you talk to him, it does not take long for that knowledge to become apparent.  

Finally, Cal is more conservative than Tom. Not opinion, the LEA (Legislative Evaluation Assembly of Minnesota) scores bear this out. Tom's scores have been slipping the past few years. For example, Tom's score in 2015 was in the mid-40's.  That is terrible. To win the day, to bring Minnesota back from the brink, we need our Representatives and Senators to have scores in the 70's and 80's. 

For those of us who pay attention, we know low LEA scores only mean one thing - that person is becoming part of the "Minnesota Machine". And this "machine" is made up of nothing but careerists and statists.

I am sorry Tom's career had to end this way. A stranger in his own land. Should he win the primary, the victory will be very hollow. He will from now on, be looked upon as a pariah by his own BPOU. There is no amount of damage control Tom can do to undo what has been done.

He can however, do the right thing and drop out of the race. Throw his support behind Cal Bahr. Be part of the team. If he did that, at least to a degree, he would once again be the Tom we thought we knew.