The Scott Problem - Take Two

 

 

"To win the general election, you can't look like the poster boy for the 1% club..."

The state primary is only a few days away now. Many have already taken advantage of the new rules for absentee voting and filled out their ballots. I think the primary battles have been clean for the most part. Issues, not people, are being discussed and sometimes debated. It does pain me however, to see valuable resources going towards a primary battle against other Republicans rather than using them in the big war coming up in November.

Yesterday, Scott Honour gave a half hour presser on what he would like to do with the state's economy. As a retired business guy, there was not one thing he laid our in his talking points that I disagree with. That being said, I will now get back to reality. Those who know of Scott's background, know how he came to make millions of dollars. He became rich by acquiring companies, streamlining them, and then selling them. In the old days, the term for that type of business was "corporate raider". Today, those people are called "investment managers".

The Left, in many of their blogs and publications have already made Scott a poster boy in what is wrong with the "out of touch" Republican Party in Minnesota. He is a "Richie Rich" - the 1% type. The Star Tribune article from a month ago told tales of buying companies and laying off people to streamline them for future sale. Some companies had to file for bankruptcy. While doing this, Scott became fabulously wealthy. So much so, he retired at 45 and brought his millions back to Minnesota. He then bought a huge mansion on Lake Minnetonka.

Back to the press conference. In the plan Scott laid out, he went after the signature achievement of the last session's legislature. He is going to stop the minimum wage increase. Should Scott win the primary, the DFL will go after Scott hammer and tong. Again, from a business perspective, there is nothing Scott said in his conference which I disagree with. However, I also agree with something Chris Christy has said - "You can't govern if you don't win."

I am backing Jeff Johnson because he understands the lay of the land. He knows the Senate will be DFL for at least two more years. He knows it is possible for the House to stay in DFL hands. He is not a political newcomer. He knows state government, and how it works. He knows what he can and can't do depending of the landscape of the state legislature. He also knows he will be able to do nothing if he can't beat Mark Dayton.

So, my advise to Scott Honour is to drop out of the race and join Jeff Johnson's team. Team Johnson could use your help and resources. Listen and learn. Use your resources to help out the entire endorsed Republican team win. Our left leaning press often looks at candidates with immense wealth as evil if they are Republican. On the other hand, Democrats with immense wealth are often given a pass by the press.