Okay, as a Minnesotan, I have to say I was disheartened by the implosion of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game in New Orleans. This was the team that shoulda coulda woulda, but didn’t. It sure was a lot of fun to see Brett Favre don the #4 in a purple jersey, if for no other reason than it drove a lot of Wisconsinites nuts. That’s always fun.
But the football games are now behind us, so it’s time to turn my attention once again to the game of politics. A lot has happened since my last post (traveling a lot for work again, so the blog tends to fall by the wayside). Let’s see, we saw President Obama’s healthcare takeover implode much like the Vikings in the final game of the playoffs. We saw Democrats fumble the election for “Ted Kennedy’s seat” much like Adrian Peterson fumbled the football at the most inopportune times (can you tell I’m still smarting from the beating we endured in New Orleans?). We saw an underwear bomber on a Delta airplane (no Vikings quips when it comes to terror attacks) and we saw the continued assault from the left on our free market system, much like the Saints offensive line’s continued assaults on 40-year old Brett Favre. (okay okay…I’ll let the Vikes off the hook now – ‘nuf said).
With the football season done, I’m now eagerly analyzing candidates for election this November, from local races on up to the congressional elections. It’s going to be an interesting year.
I started this next phase of “Lost Republican’ism” by meeting with a candidate for Minnesota House in district 56B here in the land of 10,000 Lakes. For those of you not familiar, 56B is a somewhat conservative district in the east metro of Minneapolis/St. Paul – in the heart of Michele Bachmann’s 6th Congressional District. I met with Andrea Kieffer (www.andreakieffer.com) – a challenger to a fairly popular incumbent DFL state representative. Kieffer was a refreshing change as far as candidates go. She and her family are well traveled – having lived in a former Communist block country and other locales, but for some reason they seem to gravitate back to the cold and snow of Minnesota. As a newcomer to politics, Kieffer needs to hone her message a bit, but she sure seemed on track with the simple fact that people are concerned, above all else, with jobs, jobs and jobs.
Image from Andrea Kieffer website
I look forward to hearing more specifics from Andrea as the election season moves on. I hope to see her at caucus night here in Minnesota. And, if the opportunity avails itself, I may try to post a video entry if Andrea is willing to subject herself to a Lost Republican video interview.
Great candidates make for a good start to the season, but as we start to get into the thick of election cycle, I’m concerned that the party establishments in the GOP (state and national) are going to misread what we saw in Massachusetts. I’m concerned that the GOP, in trying to understand the tea party movement and the general uprising of frustrated citizens, will try to control the message and direction of this phenomenon, hence killing it. Hopefully candidates like Andrea Kieffer will have the opportunity to build on the uprising by truly hearing what people are saying. We’re concerned about our jobs. We’re concerned about unchecked political power. We’re concerned about seemingly endless deficits (let’s not forget that GOP’ers haven’t done that much better on budgets as of late). We’re concerned about sky-high taxes.
I’d love to see candidates this season really tuning in to what the people are truly concerned about….and then addressing those concerns head-on. So far, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen in a short hour-long chat with Andrea at a Starbucks today.
I encourage everyone to meet candidates in person. Answer the door when they come-a-knockin’. Ask them questions. Listen to their answers and understand their positions and how those positions will affect your family. It’s time to end the assault on the private sector and move to policies that will allow businesses and entrepreneurs to not only survive – we need to create an environment where they can thrive. That’s how you create sustainable jobs.
Later I’ll blog about my foray into the world of Independents. While I’m not always a fan of candidates that may split the vote, we have some compelling options in Minnesota (not another Jesse Ventura – don’t worry). More to come on that.
I think that your comment about “lost rebublicans” is right on. I met this candidate as well at a recent event. Her politics are good but her message is messy.
Whether or not you agree with liberal ways, Marsha Swails seems to be well liked by both dems and Republicans – maybe because she appears genuine. Kieffer didnt really seem to be interested in hearing my views (full disclosure: I am one of those “crazy” Tea Party folks – mad as hell about obamacare and the skiroketing federal debt). I watched her check her watch every ten seconds while I talked to her.
After reading her website, I was under the impression that she might be interested in choosing a party affiliation truly *dedicated* to freedom. Maybe she is just one of those washington republicans more interested in taking money for special interests than fighting for values.
Comment by John F. — February 7, 2010 @ 3:40 pm |
Thanks for your comment, John. I get a kick out of hearing people describe themselves as “crazy” tea party folks. I think I correctly interpreted the tone of your comment. Having attended a couple of Tea Party events, I saw many many people who are just your ordinary people, finally getting frustrated enough to get involved. I saw several at the Independence Party caucus event as well.
Thanks for taking time to read my humble blog.
Comment by lostrepublican — February 8, 2010 @ 10:26 am |