Jim Santori, publisher of the Mankato Free Press, isn't afraid of the current manifestation of the Republican Party of Minnesota.
I was weaned on politicians like Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen from Illinois who is famously quoted for saying, “I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times.”
Who today is aspiring to join these ranks? Or do we today perceive these lawmakers as nothing more than “old fogies” with outdated ideas?
Unfortunately, the whispers in St. Paul are how the freshmen GOP are having an inordinate influence on the direction the party is going. And the loss of so many incumbents last year now has other GOP representatives looking over their shoulders.
They walk and talk very carefully as to not upset their new watchers who seem hell-bent on conflict rather than resolution.
This isn’t leadership; it’s capitulation. And to the freshmen, there is a synonym for “anti-government;” it’s called anarchy. You don’t join the Legislature to tear down government, you join to ensure it does its job of service better for the people, not the party.
Personally, I don’t recall any great leader who consistently said no without offering acceptable alternatives and then convincing others they are right.
I have great fear for the Republican Party today — both in the state and nationally. Leadership is not about blockage but offering a smarter, more reasonable alternative that people can agree upon. If no new taxes are really what’s on the table, then tell the people which services will be cut. Convince us we all have to make sacrifices and let’s get to work on doing that. It’s ownership not only for your ideas but the consequences as well.
Read the whole thing in the Mankato Free Press.
Not surprisingly, Bluestem recalled the words that opened a recent column by the conservative editor of the McLeod County Chronicle in Republicans sticking to their guns, but that may not work as planned:
Prior to the November elections, House District 25A candidate Glenn Gruenhagen of Glencoe said that if Republicans do not stick to their beliefs, "they could quickly find themselves in the minority.
What he may not have foreseen, however, is if the Republicans continue their inflexible position on the budget, as has been the case this session, the result may be the same.
Republicans like to stamp their little feet and complain about that liberal media, but really much of the talk here is simple common sense. Funny how these voices parallel that of Wayne Cox, a genuine liberal, writing in The state's GOP has lost its way - and many party veterans know it, a column in today's Star Tribune.
Photo: Everett Dirksen (center left) and today's 100th birthday guy, Hubert H. Humphrey (center right). From Life.
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