He is nice, but....

"Some say he is a RINO. Others say he is a pure Democrat. None however, say he is a true conservative..."

Time is running out. The clock is ticking. Soon it will be the 12th of January. That is the day the good folks in SD35 will make a choice on who is going to be the next Republican nominee for senator. And the choice is going to come down between a long time establishment politician named Jim Abeler, and a hard core conservative name Andy Aplikowski.

A bit of disclosure. Like many of us, I have met Jim Abeler. More than once. And he is a very nice man. A man who is deep in the faith. A family man. A community man. I could go on and on about the positive traits that Jim Abeler has. So why am I not supporting him? That pesky thing called a voting record. And of all the suspect votes that Jim made while a representative, none was more disappointing than the override vote on the 2008 gas tax increase.

There were six Republicans who sided with the Democrats on that override. None fared too well on account of that vote. It was a stupid idea raising our gas tax. And the Democrats used nothing but histrionics to stir up the crowds. "We need to keep our bridges from falling down". Some shrill voices even said if our governor at that time (Pawlenty) had spent more money on bridges, the I-35 tragedy might not have happened. Rubbish. The truth of the matter is this. Our transportation dollars are adequate to do the job. Both federal and state. That is, if millions (or billions) were not siphoned off for follies like LRT and bike paths in outstate Minnesota.

Jim as well as the other 5 Republicans fell for this sophism like a Northern going after a spinner bait. Flash forward to today. Our own Governor Moonbeam wants yet another transportation tax increase. Why? Our roads are a mess and our bridges need fixing. In other words, in 2008 we all got duped. What happened to that extra nickel per gallon that was going to fix these problems? Gone with the wind.

I got a kick out of one the letters to the editor supporting Jim Abeler. After singing his praises, the letter writer said, "And Martin Olav Sabo said Jim Abeler was one of our finest representatives." Wow! An endorsement from one of the biggest spending, liberal Democrats in the history of the world! To me and many others, that letter was really an endorsement for Andy Aplikowski. 

My view is very simple. Even though I do not live in Andy's district, I strongly support him. And I do so because this state needs fiscal sanity, and needs it now. We don't need a weak kneed RINO who can be cowed by smooth talking Democrats - that is how we got in this mess to start with. 

Like I have said, Jim Abeler is a good man. A good man for his community. That being said, he is not a conservative Republican. His own BPOU would not even endorse him. They endorsed Andy.

If you want a conservative and principled state senator, who will represent the very important SD35, vote for Andy Aplikowski. And by the way - Andy is also nice, and a very good man!