MNGOP chair claims Obama's "free money to go to school" makes students unfriend Republicans

The New Ulm Journal's candidate youtubes from Hanska Partymeister and state representative Paul Torkelson's Brown County Republican BPOU fundraiser the other night were fairly lackluster.

But a newly posted video of Republican Party of Minnesota State Chair Keith Downey contained a couple of head-scratchers when it comes to reaching out to "those people" in "minority" communities and college students as the party seeks to "re-earn the trust and confidence of the people of Minnesota . . . show people that we're good people and they can like us."

To be fair, in the video Downey calls Rangers "those people" as well, which I'm sure people living in Hibbing will appreciate.

Take Downey's analysis of the Republican Party's inability to woo college students (starts at 17:27)

"I mentioned the minorities. You look at college kids. And you know, it's pretty hard to go after college kids when the President runs around telling them I'm going to give you free money so you can go to school. But you know what? They're watching their friends and they're watching their older brothers and sisters and they're getting out of school and they're living in their parents' basement, taking a part time job that they didn't study for and asking themselves whether they need to go on food stamps and federal health care and unemployment and that's the Democrats' definition of the American Dream?

We have a chance....

Where to begin? The notion that anyone promised "free money" to a generation of college students who are shouldering staggering student loan debt is condescending and out-of-touch, especially when squabbling in Congress caused student loans rates--loans, not "free money"--to rise. The eventual compromise that temporarily lowers rates--but ties them to the market--only includes caps on rates because the Senate resisted John Kline's original bill.

Downey's implication--that students are being bribed with "free money" --rather than purchasing education with a loan, just as one might finance a house or start a business--ties him to the rhetoric of the "47 percent" that worked so well for Mitt Romney. Telling students they're "takers" should win friends.

And then there's the "part-time jobs they didn't study for" line. In June, Gail Marks Jarvis reported in On the Money: Does college pay? It depends on your profession that while unemployment for recent graduates in some fields is high, recent graduates in professions like nursing, finance and elementary education encounter a strong market. Is Downey suggesting that the government dictate what course of study students can pursue (as was done in the Soviet Union) or that students be guaranteed jobs as architects? What's he really saying other than a word soup? No liberal arts?

Who are these stereotypes in their parents' basement who went to college on "free money"? Downey also seems to be unclear about the rules governing unemployment benefits, as those who haven't had jobs can't simply request and receive "unemployment."

Not that Downey seems informed about Minnesota's job market, either. At 4:54, he talks about he'd like Minnesota to become another Wisconsin:

My goal is to do what they've been able to do in Wisconsin--which is to make Minnesota a lean red state. And we have a long ways to go.

Indeed. One wonders just what Downey wants to achieve. A ban on singing without a permit in the state capitol? The exodus of Fortune 500 companies a state House committee heard about in August?

As the Minnesota Nurses Association noted in a post on September 3:

The facts are, Minnesota’s jobless rate is 5.3 percent, Wisconsin’s is 7.1 percent (source). Minnesota has more Fortune 500 companies, and more tech companies are moving to the state as well, including on-line photo service, Shutterfly, (source).

It's true that some recent college grads without a work record in saturated job markets are having more trouble finding jobs than other job seekers. What's unclear is why they would "like" a party boss who claims they're easily bribed, then promises to imitate a state with weaker economy than that which we enjoy in Minnesota. That will so get them out of "their parents' basements" to friend Keith Downey.

Here's the video; Bluestem will have a shorter clip up in a bit--as well as a look at Downey's claim that "minorities" in "inner city" precincts voted for the marriage amendment.