http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz180dtxqqMMinn. GOP brings out the knives for moderates
By JAMES HOHMANN | 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 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 compe iveness 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 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, 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.
The MN GOP is never in a million years going to win seats in the places they already haven't done so. As ingrained as the ty tax system, welfare state, etc, and, well basically everything about this state is, they're gonna need to have one voice if any actual changes will ever be made.
and the republicans are probably out on their asses in 2 years anyway no matter how much they pander to the left.
Hard to see how the GOP increases its influence by turning against the moderate center that actually decides elections.
So it's the Rhino's booting the Teaparty? The Social conservatives booting the Rhinos? Who is booting who? The MN GOP has never been the party loyalists. Usually is mostly Rhinos. Sounds like Tea party backlash which is going on all over the country. They all promised the tp'ers the world and now are about to do another stimulus bill.
SURPRISE!!!!!
...or not
Stinks like a Stalinist purge, but that's how the close-minded, small-tent, authoritarian Repug fringe-in-now-center rolls.
Another MN stain: elects Mic e Bachman.
One would think that, wouldn't one?
But in truth, what I worry about with the hard right wing is a sort of fascistic populism. I would have thought the term "fascistic populism" should be oxymoronic, but it seems that is what is going on.
fascism:
1. A political regime, having totalitarian aspirations, ideologically based on a
relationship between business and the centralized government, business-and-government control of the market place, (uh, goes without saying: business owns govt at all levels.
repression of criticism or opposition, (eg, Repugs calling for shutdown of any medium that publicized wikileaks)
a leader cult and
(no leader, but plenty of ignorant, nasty, mean-spirited bas s and es like Angle, pitbull , DeMent-ed, O'Dummel, Brewer with ignorant, nasty, mean-spirited devotees.)
exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights.
(Repuglicized SCOTUS extremists supporting ins utions over citizens in nearly every case)
Originally only applied (usually capitalized) to Benito Mussolini's Italy.
2. By vague analogy, any system of strong autocracy or oligarchy usually to the extent of bending and breaking the law, race-baiting and violence against largely unarmed populations.
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The great political genius of the fascist, authoritarian Repugs and conservatives is repeatedly to sucker red-state bubbas and sissies, aka the populous, into voting against their own interests.
Link?
What comes to mind is the Obama administration having a web address to report those who disagree with policy, democrats trying to impose card Check, democrats trying to impose a new versionn of the "Fairness Act," etc.
But they aren't being authoritarian.
Example/link please.
Wow... That's the elitist democrats and liberal...
You really are dumb. aren't you?
oops, wiktionary.
I didn't mean the definition, I meant your extrapolation to the definition.
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