Winehole23
12-13-2010, 11:29 AM
Minn. GOP brings out the knives for moderates
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By JAMES HOHMANN (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46276.html#ixzz180f3FvvP) | 12/11/10 5:28 PM EST
In a dramatic display of the new Republican order, Minnesota’s state GOP banished 18 prominent party members — including two former governors and a retired U.S. senator — as punishment for supporting a third-party candidate (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43350.html) for governor.
The stunning purge, narrowly passed by the state Republican central committee last weekend, suggests more than just a fit of pique: by banning some of the state’s leading moderates, the Minnesota GOP moved toward extinguishing a dying species of Republican in one of its last habitats.
Those exiled warned that the measure, which bans the 18 former members from participating in party activities for two years and bars them from attending the 2012 Republican National Convention, may provoke a backlash that undercuts the party’s competitiveness in a state that’s voted for the GOP presidential nominee just once in the past half century.
“The Republican party is trying to become ... you would call it introverted totalitarianism,” said former congressman and Gov. Al Quie, a onetime vice presidential prospect who plans to stick with the party despite the penalty. “It’s just plain dumb on their part. ... In the long run, if the party persists with this, [it's] going to just become smaller and smaller and eventually something else would come in its place.”
Among those rebuked along with Quie were former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, former Gov. Arne Carlson and former state House Speaker David Jennings.
State Republican Chairman Tony Sutton said Saturday’s measure, which passed by 59 to 55 votes, was “a venting of frustration” that grew out of the belief that the candidacy of Republican-turned-independent Tom Horner cost GOP nominee Tom Emmer the governor’s race in November.
Emmer, who finally conceded the close race on Wednesday, finished behind by about 9,000 votes at the end of a recount. Horner, meanwhile, garnered 12 percent.
Down-ballot gains this year emboldened Sutton to argue that the party might be better off without the old-fashioned moderates, some of whom support abortion rights and tax increases.
Sutton’s candidates seized control of the state House, which the party lost in 2006, and the state Senate, which the GOP has not controlled since it became a partisan chamber. A conservative insurgent also toppled 17-term Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
“I think a lot of these people are not relevant politically,” Sutton said. “They represent a bygone era, sort of the era of the 'country club Republican' -– when we weren’t opposed to Big Government; we just said we could manage it better. This is [now] sort of the Reagan Era of the Republican Party.”
“It’s funny, we’ve had more success since we moved away from a lot of these folks,” he added. “You can argue we’ve become more successful as we’ve become truer to our principles.”
Still, Democrats swept all four statewide races this year — including attorney general, auditor and secretary of state — at a time when Minnesota’s outgoing Gov. Tim Pawlenty (http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/TimPawlenty) is weighing a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.
“Truth be told with the delegates there, there was just going to be no reasoning with some of them. They just wanted to take losing the governor’s race out on someone,” said one member of the central committee who voted against the banishment and fears. “We’re not into the acceptance phase of that yet.”
The excommunications bode poorly for Gov.-elect Mark Dayton (http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/MarkDayton), who must pass legislation through a Republican-controlled legislature that now understands there are serious consequences to departing from the party line. Some Republicans question whether there will be a chilling effect on newly elected legislators from swing districts who might otherwise have been inclined to cooperate with the new governor in tackling a $6.2 billion budget deficit forecast for the next two years.
[URL]http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46276.html#ixzz180dtxqqM
[/URL]
By JAMES HOHMANN (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46276.html#ixzz180f3FvvP) | 12/11/10 5:28 PM EST
In a dramatic display of the new Republican order, Minnesota’s state GOP banished 18 prominent party members — including two former governors and a retired U.S. senator — as punishment for supporting a third-party candidate (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43350.html) for governor.
The stunning purge, narrowly passed by the state Republican central committee last weekend, suggests more than just a fit of pique: by banning some of the state’s leading moderates, the Minnesota GOP moved toward extinguishing a dying species of Republican in one of its last habitats.
Those exiled warned that the measure, which bans the 18 former members from participating in party activities for two years and bars them from attending the 2012 Republican National Convention, may provoke a backlash that undercuts the party’s competitiveness in a state that’s voted for the GOP presidential nominee just once in the past half century.
“The Republican party is trying to become ... you would call it introverted totalitarianism,” said former congressman and Gov. Al Quie, a onetime vice presidential prospect who plans to stick with the party despite the penalty. “It’s just plain dumb on their part. ... In the long run, if the party persists with this, [it's] going to just become smaller and smaller and eventually something else would come in its place.”
Among those rebuked along with Quie were former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, former Gov. Arne Carlson and former state House Speaker David Jennings.
State Republican Chairman Tony Sutton said Saturday’s measure, which passed by 59 to 55 votes, was “a venting of frustration” that grew out of the belief that the candidacy of Republican-turned-independent Tom Horner cost GOP nominee Tom Emmer the governor’s race in November.
Emmer, who finally conceded the close race on Wednesday, finished behind by about 9,000 votes at the end of a recount. Horner, meanwhile, garnered 12 percent.
Down-ballot gains this year emboldened Sutton to argue that the party might be better off without the old-fashioned moderates, some of whom support abortion rights and tax increases.
Sutton’s candidates seized control of the state House, which the party lost in 2006, and the state Senate, which the GOP has not controlled since it became a partisan chamber. A conservative insurgent also toppled 17-term Democratic Rep. Jim Oberstar, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
“I think a lot of these people are not relevant politically,” Sutton said. “They represent a bygone era, sort of the era of the 'country club Republican' -– when we weren’t opposed to Big Government; we just said we could manage it better. This is [now] sort of the Reagan Era of the Republican Party.”
“It’s funny, we’ve had more success since we moved away from a lot of these folks,” he added. “You can argue we’ve become more successful as we’ve become truer to our principles.”
Still, Democrats swept all four statewide races this year — including attorney general, auditor and secretary of state — at a time when Minnesota’s outgoing Gov. Tim Pawlenty (http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/TimPawlenty) is weighing a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012.
“Truth be told with the delegates there, there was just going to be no reasoning with some of them. They just wanted to take losing the governor’s race out on someone,” said one member of the central committee who voted against the banishment and fears. “We’re not into the acceptance phase of that yet.”
The excommunications bode poorly for Gov.-elect Mark Dayton (http://topics.politico.com/index.cfm/topic/MarkDayton), who must pass legislation through a Republican-controlled legislature that now understands there are serious consequences to departing from the party line. Some Republicans question whether there will be a chilling effect on newly elected legislators from swing districts who might otherwise have been inclined to cooperate with the new governor in tackling a $6.2 billion budget deficit forecast for the next two years.
[URL]http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46276.html#ixzz180dtxqqM