Tim - we thought we knew ye...

"The solution this year is so simple, it is like falling off a log. If we want to save the state, we vote MN GOP endorsed candidate. From the Governor, all the way down the ticket. If we want to stay on the path to California or New York, we vote non-endorsed purple or DFL. The choice really is as simple as that." 

Listening to some pundit on the radio the other day talk about the upcoming election, this person sounded almost gleeful. "The DFL is so dis-organized, so un-united, a united MN GOP team team could come in and clean house this November." That pundit speaks truth. If only.

However, we are not united in our quest for the Governor's chair. The way Tim Pawlenty has approached this race, has left many in the MN GOP feeling raw. So much so, if their hard fought endorsed candidate gets beat by TPaw in the primary, they might just sit the general out. Trust me - I have talked to members of the base from all over the state. This feeling is more common than uncommon. 

Is this Jeff's team being poor sports? Not at all. Besides all of which, I have heard this from folks other than Jeff's team. What is the problem? Fairness. Tim Pawlenty skipped the endorsement process for a strategic reason. And this was part of his plan all along. In fact, he came to the CD 6 convention and gave his "pitch" to the crowd right before Jeff Johnson did. The difference in how they were received were like day and night. Why? One reason, is many in the base remember the betrayal from TPaw's eight years as Governor. Others hated the fact he sucked up to the big cigars in NY and FL prior to coming to MN. That was about as "swampy" as one can get.

So now besides his million dollar ad blitz, TPaw is giving us, "Gosh, I really don't understand why we let 800 party activists pick our next Governor. We can't we just vote?" Oh Tim, we thought we knew ye. NOT! What a slime ball thing to say! If he had gone up to Duluth and took his chances and won, what would the story have been then? Hint: Same as it was in 2002. "We must protect this endorsement at all costs."

Some who worked with TPaw in the legislature said he was very poll driven in his positions. Seems like his views on the endorsement process might be a bit variable also. The political heavyweights (NOT MN GOP!) really wanted to see a Tim vs. Tim race this November. What many in our base would have called that race is the "who cares?" race. Either Tim would be bad for Minnesota.

One of my friends whose opinions I usually respect, told me, "Maybe this state needs a purple guy like Tim. After all, we are a purple state." Excuse me? Being blue or purple is what got us into this mess! We need a RED, I mean a conservative RED Governor to start getting us back on track. Four to eight more years of Pawlenty will take us from the tar into the quicksand, where there is no turning back.

The solution this year is so simple, it is like falling off a log. If we want to save the state, we vote MN GOP endorsed candidates. From the Governor, all the way down the ticket. If we want to stay on the path to California or New York, we vote non-endorsed purple, or DFL. The choice really is as simple as that.