Minnesota's in the Middle

All things Minnesota politics

Friday, April 27, 2007

And the Twins take a 5-3 lead and a 2 game winning streak and division lead is just 2 medicor innings from the bullpen away.

That last post is my new Twins good luck charm game is now tied and the Twins have the bases loaded with one out in the 8th. Ramon Ortiz is the man.

Speaking of things that are not as bad as they seem

This little Twins slump and tonights 3-1 deficet to the Tigers is not as bad as this

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Not all is bad

In my last post I was very honest about where the Independence Party currently sits. As of today the Independence Party is fading in the public’s eye, which in politics is really all that matters. The death of the Independence Party however will not happen unless the quality of candidates fade or the consistency of message goes away as it did with the reform party when they went with Pat Buchanan and then in some states Ralf Nader.

In 2006 the consistency of message among Independence Party candidates was at an all time high. And while you can't argue with the success of Jesse Ventura I would say the quality of candidates was as good as ever. Of course our best state wide candidate got 6% and nobody finished better then 3rd despite Tammy Lee's strong effort. That would tend to mean it would be really hard to first of all keep those who were brought on board through the 2006 election, and second of all continue to attract other quality candidates. That is where things seem to differ from the text book theories of where the Independence Party is headed. Tammy Lee, Peter Hutchinson, and Tim Penny continue to be strong advocates of the Independence Party movement, and more importantly are actively working to bring more candidates in. The fact those people do not move on and give up tends to suggest this is at the very least a party that will at worst exceed typical third party results and at best challenge to win elections. There is no doubt in my mind the Independence Party will be a meaningful factor in Minnesota for years to come.

I wish a lot of average folks were throwing $100 into the pot and I could say fundraising was at an all-time high or that the support among the public is growing in other ways, but the reality is that at this stage the Independence Party is still all about candidates, and given that we are still a few months away from needing to have someone step forward for US Senate, and even longer for any other race the buzz of course is very low. Of course US Senate is about the most difficult race for the Independence Party to make waves and it is completely possible that a high quality candidate will not emerge, but the quality of effort is as good as it was that day Dean Barkley convinced Jesse Ventura to run for Governor.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The party of Ventura?

While the Independence party continues to embrace Ventura any time he makes himself available. It feels as if they boldness of Ventura is gone, and the commitment to in your face politics is gone. This is now the party of Peter Hutchinson and although he is similar to Ventura in more respects then any Democrat or Republican he and his message are unable to convince the public that the Independence Party is a change agent.

The result is that nobody cares about the Independence Party. It used to be when the Independence Party had a convention you could at least expect an article talking about the fact the Independence Party is a non factor, now the best they did was one blog post That can all be just fine, in a few months if the right candidate were to step forward for US Senate people will take the party as serious as they ever have, but without boldness we will be left with competent candidates doing just as well as fools using the Independence Party ballot line.

Of course with Ventura you never know he might just jump into the presidential race at the last minute, or maybe he will get sick of Al Franken's BS and end force the Democrats to get serious or finish 3rd. If that happens I'm sure the party of Peter Hutchinson will be ready and willing to support that effort.

The party of Ventura?

While the Independence party continues to embrace Ventura any time he makes himself available. It feels as if they boldness of Ventura is gone, and the commitment to in your face politics is gone. This is now the party of Peter Hutchinson and although he is similar to Ventura in more respects then any Democrat or Republican he and his message are unable to convince the public that the Independence Party is a change agent.

The result is that nobody cares about the Independence Party. It used to be when the Independence Party had a convention you could at least expect an article talking about the fact the Independence Party is a non factor, now the best they did was "http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/polinaut/archive/2007/04/independence_pa_1.shtml". That can all be just fine, in a few months if the right candidate were to step forward for US Senate people will take the party as serious as they ever have, but without boldness we will be left with competent candidates doing just as well as fools using the Independence Party ballot line.

Of course with Ventura you never know he might just jump into the presidential race at the last minute, or maybe he will get sick of Al Franken's BS and end force the Democrats to get serious or finish 3rd. If that happens I'm sure the party of Peter Hutchinson will be ready and willing to support that effort.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Independence Party convention

I couldn't make it to yesterdays Independnece Party convention and have not heared if anything significant happened. There were a few major changes in leadership structure, and a new party chair Craig Swaggert took over for Jim Moore who had lead the party the past 4 years. Swaggert managed the Team Minnesota concept and is a guy who can get things done. How that will play in getting quality candidates to run with the IP we shall see.

I'm curiuse to see if anyone hinted a run for US Senate yesterday and how that recruitment effort is going, but I have no knowledge of anything beyond what I knew back in November.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Test

The goals in the past for the IP around this stage in an election cycle have always been to win 3 or 4 seats in the state house and contend for a seat in congress. The 2006 election was a setback as far as how high the goals can be knowing that the qualifications of the candidate don't often matter to the voter.
So far Ellison looks completly safe in the 5th district and although the Republicans may be wise to leave that challenge open for the Independence Party to take on one on one I really don't see Ellison dipping below 50%, and if something happens that would change that chances are the Democrats will see it with enough time to endorse someone else. Bachmann in the 6th only scrapped past the 50% mark and appears if anything to be heading backwards, but the DFL is going to find a well established candidate who has political experience leaving very little room for an Independence Party candidate to contend, but an opportunity for say 15% is sitting there.
In the first exists the Independence Parties best hope, but it only exist if Tim Penny is the candidate, and so far I'm not seeing the anti Walz feelings that would motivate him to run for that seat again. Of course Tim Penny probably remains the parties best hope should he choose to run for US Senate or State House, but I doubt he would fair any better then he did in 2002 running state wide, and wouldn't expect him to run locally. Realistically the best hope for a victory in 2008 is for someone currently in the State House to make the switch, and that will come only with a strong recruitment effort. Luckily that is the one area where the party emerged out of 2006 stronger then ever.
With no real news to report heading toward 2008 it really has to be looked at as a rebuilding year for the party, a decade after Ventura's victory all I'm hoping for is one minor legislative victory.
It begs the question did the Independence Party run the traditional course that 3rd parties tend to run of being strong for one election being solid for one and then slowly fading into the background? Is it an issue of the wrong candidates at the wrong times, or is simply a failure to put together the total package that says to every Minnesotan the Independence Party is indeed a major party and not simply a handful of good candidates and an available ballot line?
I think this party will be here for the long haul and might even become a significant force, but it will take the right candidates at the right times for a few consecutive election cycles to even get off the ground at this point. At this point it's tough to say what needs to happen, other then saying the party needs to bring forward the kinds of candidates that can pounce on any opportunity that exists.