Band of Brothers (and Sisters)

 

 

"The enemy of my enemy can still be my enemy..."

First off, let me set the record straight. For those who know me, please be patient. I am not a Progressive, I am not a Democrat, I am not a RINO. I am a Conservative. I like candidates who have conservative views. That being said, I also like to win. If there is no victory in November, there will be no change in policies. No winning, no governing. It is just that simple.

The Democrats seemed to have learned the lesson a long time ago concerning team work. In the Democratic primaries of 2008, Hillary had the lead for quite a while. However, at the end of the season, BHO overtook her. At the convention, they kissed and made up. There was no bad mouthing, no third party, just Hillary's support for the ticket. BHO won, and Hillary received her consolation prize of becoming Secretary of State.

The Republicans on the other hand, continue to tear each other up. I am just fine with having open discussions between candidates on issues like states rights, NPV, taxes, and so on. We all get smarter and more informed that way. I am not okay with personal attacks on character, on family members, or distortions of past voting records.

In the paper today, a lead story was the cash advantage state Democrats currently have. The story singled out Collin Peterson and Rick Nolan. Now, CD7 which is Peterson's district, is the second most Republican district in the state. And yet, they have elected Peterson over and over again. This district should be a slam duck for us, and yet the goal of winning this seat remained elusive. Why? Democrats remain more motivated than Republicans. They just want to win. They just want to govern.

The same is true for the 8th District. With all the hunters and the folks that want to reap the fruits of mining, this district should be low fruit on the tree for Republicans. And yet for years, this district re-elected a carpet bagger like Jim Oberstar. Why? Oberstar was Santa Clause to many. With Federal money, he built a few roads and bike trails. However at the same time, the rest of the district remains poor and hurting. Again, Democrats backed Oberstar (and now Nolan) because they want to win. They want to govern.

So as the Republicans continue with their very public food fights, the Democrats will be adding to their war chests. Soon they will tap into the Party's "big cigars" on the coasts. They don't give a rat's butt how flawed their candidate is, as long as they win (just look at our Governor for example). In the words of the late Al Davis, the manta for the Democrats continues to be "Just win baby, win!" And unfortunately, they do it well.