Tuesday morning news digest: Pea Pod Republicans edition

The Owatonna People's Press and Faribault Daily News report that GOP candidates share similar positions on issues. Clare Kennedy writes:

At the Steele County Republican Convention on Saturday, Sen. Dick Day, Rep. Randy Demmer and Brian Davis took pains to stand out.

The three men are vying for the Republican nomination for the First District's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, currently held by Democrat Tim Walz.

On conservative issues, the three are almost identical.

That pea-pod uniformity looks to be the theme for Republican politics this election year. From what we're reading on the right blogosphere, "Platform Republican" seems to be the rallying cry of the day at the recent wave of Republican BPOU conventions.

But the lefty bloggers at MnPublius report that the rightward choreography may be out of step with some First District Republicans.

State GOP deputy chair  "Deputy Dot" traveled to Cottonwood County to enforce a piece of the new fatwa against the "Override Six" who voted with the DFL majority to overcome the Governor's veto of the transportation bill. Zack writes:

Deputy Chair Fleming went all the way out to Cottonwood County to express her deep opposition to the endorsement of Rod Hamilton for another term. But according to my source, the activists in the room didn’t take too kindly to the State Party sticking their nose into this particular issue. Apparently, Fleming was booed and heckled during her speech. In fact, she was “all but booed from the stage.”

One Republican who was in the room said “If there is any Republican who should be worried about his job, its Ron Carey, not Rod Hamilton,” a reference to the MN GOP Chair’s decision to endorse Mike Huckabee before precinct caucuses.

One more example of the Republican Leadership being out of step with the average Republican, let alone the average Minnesotan.

We must admit to being puzzled by Zack's stressing the fact of Deputy Dot's travel. Appearances by the state chairs and deputy chairs at  county/senate district conventions and fundraisers isn't unusual.

In fact, both DFL chair Brian Melendez and associate chair Donna Cassutt were at the Winona County DFL Banquet on Sunday.  They did have the good sense, however, to praise the local elected leaders and the enthusiastic volunteers who sent them to St. Paul and Washington.   

Sounds a lot more pleasant than Pea Pod Republicans.

At Minnesota Monitor, Andy Birkey takes a look at the Knowlegis annual Congressional Power Rankings  in How powerful is Minnesota in Congress? Not very. The lack of seniority looks to be the key, though Keith Ellison is relatively high on the list, while Kline is near the bottom because of his new-found gospel of not seeking earmarks for his district.

In Forbidden fruits (and vegetables), Grist's blog, the Gristmill, picks up on Saturday's column in the New York Times by Rushford-area organic farmer Jack Hedin.  The article mentions Walz's Flex Farm legislation, which is aggressively opposed by West Coast vegetable growers.