In Order to Be Missed...You Have to Go Away
Thursday, 14 January 2010 22:33 Last Updated on Friday, 15 January 2010 16:31
I've been talking to some friends this week about the prospect of Norm Coleman entering the governor's race. My opinion, stated back in July of last year, remains the same-- I hope Senator Coleman doesn't run.
But, it seems, the announcement is imminent. Perhaps Coleman, or his advisers, believe that Minnesota voters miss him. The problem is: In order to be missed, you have to go away.
It's been only seven months since the awful recount concluded. If Senator Coleman were to face Al Franken again today, I'm confident he'd win. But, he won't be facing Franken, he'll be facing one of the myriad of Democrats who will pontificate about the wonders of government to solve all of our problems.
Coleman's ego, like most of the egos in the DFL field, may lead him to believe that he is the only one who can get Minnesota on the right track. He is wrong.
What Coleman could do is get behind one of the other GOP Candidates in the field. Coach them, help them, polish them. Share his knowledge of "the game." Help his party and help conservatives win in 2010. He could be the hero. He doesn't need to be McCain. He can be Romney. He can be the class act, not the class smart-alec. Then perhaps, just perhaps, he could be missed.
When it comes to the prospect of being tasked by the party to do the necessary work to get a candidate like Coleman elected, I get downright depressed. You see, even if I have to compromise on scores of other issues, at the end of the day I'm not convinced that Coleman could at least adhere to the bare-bones minimum for conservatives: "Will he raise taxes?" The answer is a resounding "Yes. Yes, Norm will raise taxes." If we know this, if we really know this, then why are we even contemplating Coleman as a candidate? Because he's "been humbled" and he'll get on the phone with 2,000 delegates and make them feel important and tell them what they want to hear and do all that work to show us "he cares"?
I say to my fellow delegates: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."
I understand there's uncertainly and in times of uncertainty, it's easy to reach out for that old worn blanket. Even if the nation goes to the right, Minnesota could lurch left. There's absolutely no doubt that the DFL has an organized machine of DC-based 527's and Union organizations that will churn out votes. We will have an uphill battle.....and it's going to be a battle. The other side will bring hammers. Do we bring blankets?
This campaign is going to be about the issues. Jobs, the economy, Minnesota work-ethic and innovation. Style and rhetoric will be thrown by the wayside. While conventional wisdom favors a candidate like Coleman, 2010 politics will favor an unconventional candidate.
