Main Street or Wall Street?

"If you lose the endorsement and decide to go to primary, get ready. It will get ugly early. Oh, not by Jeff or his team - by the base."

It is starting to feel like we are being carpet bombed with money from Wall Street. That is good, right? Sure, if it were going in our pockets. But here is a dirty little secret. Raising money for a statewide campaign is hard. It is mile by mile, handshake by handshake, dollar by dollar. Most campaigns are tighter than a tightwad with donations. Every possible dollar is used to get the message out.  

A week ago, the worst kept secret in Minnesota was no longer a secret. Our own former Governor, Tim Pawlenty had returned from the hallowed grounds of Wall Street to save us from the neophytes we had running to replace Marx Dayton. Then by the miracle of all miracles, money which is so very tough to come by for normal candidates, suddenly became like low fruit on the tree for the TPaw team. What the what? A million dollars right out of the get-go?

Jeff Johnson has been cleaning up in the straw polls. He is doing well getting his message out. Unlike TPaw, he has been working on his campaign since at least February of last year. His message is vital to the interests of the residents of Main Street. But even though Jeff has worked his rear end off for the past 14+ months, he has promised each district convention (and he will again at the state), that he will abide by the endorsement. Translation = he will not go to primary. What say you, former Governor Pawlenty? Are you a team player? Will you make the same promise? Listening...

Lets cut to the chase. Did TPaw win two times? Yes, he did. Did Jeff lose last time? Yes, he did. And if you ask Jeff about his lose, he is not proud of it, but said it was one of the best things that could have happened to shape this campaign. A lessons learned was conducted, and the soft areas from four years ago, fixed. The message is basically the same, only stronger. 

I am going to make this plea one more time. Governor Pawlenty - please be a team player. Please help us beat Tim Walz. Don't fight us - help us. I really don't want to break Reagan's 11th commandment with you sir. I want us all to be on the same team. But this race is Jeff's. Give him a chance to govern to see how good he can be. Help us win. Help us find a SOS who can win.

However, here is the stick. If you lose the endorsement and decide to go to primary, get ready. It will get ugly early. Oh, not by Jeff or his team - by the base. To quote a friend of mine who recently moved to another state - "We are tougher on our traitors than we are on the other side". Remember that Tim - that is not coming from me. It is coming from many.