Byron Republican Aaron Miller, seeking his party's endorsement to run for Congress in Minnesota's Fighting First, touts himself as a political newcomer.
Bluestem has to wonder if that's really the problem with his understanding of the brutal 2012 primary contest that Allen Quist won against Mike Parry.
Kevin Coss of the Austin Herald reports in Walz challenger pushes for country to fix its finances:
In the meantime, Miller said he will abide by the Republican Party’s endorsement when it is given in spring next year — unlike 2012 candidate Allen Quist.
That's really peculiar stuff, since the 2012 CD1 Republican endorsing convention adjourned without an endorsement after a marathon 23 ballots.
Both candidates had agreed to abide by the endorsement, if the convention had reached one. Moreover, Quist agreed to the party's endorsement of Randy Demmer in 2010. (Quist was famously primaried himself when he secured the Republican Party of Minnesota gubernatorial endorsement in 1994 against sitting Republican Governor Arne Carlson. Carlson won the primary).
Perhaps Miller confused Quist with the other Republican who has announced for the seat, Mike Benson. Benson has not committed to abiding by the endorsement, the Post Bulletin reported in June.
There's other material that suggests that Miller should know better. The Rochester Post Bulletin reports that while Miller is a novice to running for office, he's no stranger to party process:
While Miller hasn't run for political office before, he served as Byron Republican Rep. Duane Quam's campaign chairman in 2012 and as a party precinct chairman.
Surely, precinct chairs, charged as they are with GOTV, would understand what "no endorsement" means. Maybe he just got bad advice from his consultants on talking points and district history.
The last Republican to primary without an endorsement was former state senator Dick Day, who announced five weeks prior to the endorsing convention that he wouldn't seek the endorsement in 2008 when he felt that the party of Tony Sutton had thrown him under the bus in favor of political newcomer Brian Davis.
Miller consultant Brad Biers told the Rochester Post Bulletin's Ed Felker in 2008:
Brad Biers, Davis campaign manager added, "Dick Day's liberal record in the Legislature as a tax raiser and big spender have written his political fate. Whether it's 200 people voting in the endorsement or 20,000 Republicans voting in the primary, people are tired of "politicians" who say one thing and do another."
We're curious if he'll say those sorts of things about Mike Benson, who introduced a tobacco tax hike along with Senators Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) and Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) in 2012 when the Republicans controlled the Minnesota legislature.
Miller and defense spending: pay no attention to the defense industry behind the curtain
The other curious item in the Austin Herald article? Miller's suggestion that all departments, including the military, could reduce government spending simply by going over their budgets line-by-line:
Miller said one way for the government to save money would be cutting down on wasteful spending in every one of its departments. As a command sergeant major in the Army Reserves, Miller said he saw wasteful spending in the military. Going over costs line by line, every department could find a place to save money.
That sounds wonderful, but the underlying assumption that no department has reviewed its line-by-line budget seems a bit foolish in light of the across-the-board cuts dictated by the budget sequestration. Does he believe that departments simply whacked a dollar here and a dollar there?
What's more, Miller's view of ending waste in the military runs counter to those shared by Bluestem's friends now serving. While they have shared some particularly awful stories of waste in their respective branches of the service, they suggest that the biggest barrier for more prudent investment of taxpayers' money is reforming the military procurement system itself, along with the defense industry's clout on Capitol Hill, rather than any desire to waste money on the part of the nation's armed services.
Will Miller call for those sorts of reforms related to the power of corporations in influencing government policies--or just continue to mouth Republican pieties about how departments can review their budgets?
Miller pledges allegiance to Grover Norquist
Miller is making a pledge to Grover Norquist, however. Mankato Free Press political reporter Mark Fischenich reports in Another Army sergeant hopes to take on Walz:
Miller said he will sign the no-new-taxes pledge that the vast majority of congressional Republicans have signed and would join the much smaller group of conservatives that wants to defund the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, even as other Republicans say the strategy is pointless as long as President Obama is in office and politically dangerous if it leads to a government shutdown.
Lovely. Salon reported on August 1 that Lonely Grover Norquist loses key allies on the austerity front, while today's Salon notes that The right wants Grover Norquist to be crazier.
Fischenisch also notes that Miller shares the contempt for Southern Minnesota voters' critical thinking abilities that plagued other candidates who ran against Walz:
Miller also made the same pledge that Brian Davis, Randy Demmer and Allen Quist made early in their campaigns to unseat Walz, who defeated six-term incumbent Congressman Gil Gutknecht: to persuade southern Minnesotans that Walz is conning them rather than revealing his true beliefs and values.
“He wants you to believe he’s ‘the moderate from Mankato,’” Miller said.
Yes, Mr. Biopharmaceutical Sales, do continue to tell voters that they're stupid dupes. That will work.
Image: Whatever CD1 Republican primary winner Allen Quist did in 2012, challenging a party endorsement was not one of them. Cartoon by Ken Avidor, via the City Pages.
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