What's A Party To DO?

I have been meaning to post on this since it came out earlier this week, but I could never find the time. Today, as a follow up to this mornings post, I knew I would have to make the time. On Tuesday former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich said what many of us grass roots activists have been saying for a while.

The Republican loss in the special election for Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District last Saturday should be a sharp wake up call for Republicans: Either Congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November.

The facts are clear and compelling.

Saturday's loss was in a district that President Bush carried by 19 percentage points in 2004 and that the Republicans have held since 1975.

This defeat follows on the loss of Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois. That seat had been held by a Republican for 76 years with the single exception of the 1974 Watergate election when the Democrats held it for one term. That same seat had been carried by President Bush 55-44% in 2004.

That's the bad. If things don't change, here is the WORST!

The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.

This model has already been tested with disastrous results.

Emphasis mine! You can carry this out the the Anti-Franken, Anti-fill in the Democrats Name Here level! Last year during the election for state party chair, many state central delegates and activists (myself included) BEGGED Chairman Carey for a cogent, coherent Republican message...something we can confidently take to the voters as a reason to vote FOR our candidates (as opposed to the tired reason to vote against their candidate method that the State and National GOP has run with for the last 4 years)!

Even worse is this.

A February Washington Post poll shows that Republicans have lost the advantage to the Democrats on which party can handle an issue better -- on every single topic.

Americans now believe that Democrats can handle the deficit better (52 to 31), taxes better (48 to 40) and even terrorism better (44 to 37).

This is a catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans built up over three generations on the deficit, two generations on taxes, and two generations on national security.

The Democrats have done a better job of telling the voters where they stand on the issues. What have the Republicans done? Don't vote for X....she/he is a _____. That's it! The voting public have no clue where we stand on issues anymore!

So what does this mean for the Minnesota GOP? It means that our leadership has to get off of the "Fright" train and develop a message that shows Minnesota that the GOP shares their values and their concerns. The House Leadership has shown flashes that they get it.....however, there is only so much that they can do. As long as Ron Carey is the public "face" of the MNGOP, he has got to be on the same page as the HRCC. What the voters think about the top of the ticket (Norm Coleman, John McCain) trickles down ticket to the state house races. If there is a disconnect between the voters and the message that Ron Carey puts in the press day in and day out, we could end up losing a Senate seat, at least two of our three Congressional seats and enough state house seats to give the DFL a veto proof majority in BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE!!!!

As we head toward the Convention and subsequent state central meeting, we need to decide what we as a party need to do to prevent what has the potential to be a slaughter of epic proportions. All options should be on the table as this election is quite simply going to be the difference between having an overwhelming DFL majority for the next generation or a viable competitive Republican Party. It really is do or die time.

Please Chairman Carey...for the sake of the state party...if you will not listen to me for God's sake listen to former Representative Gingrich! The time has come to change course....please do not let it leave you behind.