Shame On You, 50B

Last Tuesday, a Republican was freely given a House seat in the highly Democratic district of 50B.  He didn't win it, or steal it.  Nope, he picked it up like a $20 he saw lying on the street.  Because the Democrats of 50B didn't think choosing their own political leaders was important, most of Bloomington no longer has a local Minnesota House Rep.

Let's dispel with any thoughts this DFL loss/Republican win was anything more than Democrats being lazy and not showing up.  Of the 32,000 or so voters in district 50B, only 5034 showed up to vote in this special election.  Of that, the Democrats only mustered 2,452, 130 less than the Republican.  This wasn't a dynamic moderate Republican resonating with the voters of Bloomington.  This wasn't an issue where outraged Democrats defected in droves to the Republican ticket.  Nope, this was Democrats, in a district which voted 65% Democrat in the same MN House race in 2012, with near 15,000 Democratic votes that year alone, not caring.  You guys just didn't show up!  The Gopher's men's basketball team is atrocious, and they still draw four times as many people to one of their God awful home games, and whether or not you have local representation in the state House doesn't hinge on the game's outcome!  What ever the reason (they had television to watch, social media posts to update or activities which they prioritized as more important) they decided a local House Representative caring for the issues of 50B wasn't important.  That's embarrassing.

I say they no longer have local representation because we know Kurt Daudt, the Republican Speaker of the MN House, told the incoming freshmen Republicans they had to vote how he told them, no questions asked, and only if they won re-election in 2016 could they start helping to mold legislation.  Kurt Daudt, a man who probably spends very little time in 50B, a man who HATES the Twin Cities metro area, especially areas with a lot of Democrats, is now making all the decisions for the House Representative of 50B, a person who I won't even name because their name doesn't matter.  He's a puppet.

Democrats, STOP FREAKING SHOOTING YOURSELVES IN THE FOOT!  Democrats talk a great game about outrage, about justice, about fighting the system, but when they have an opportunity to do the LEAST they can do, to show up and vote, they fail spectacularly.  Democrats do show up in Presidential elections, but, outside of unique situations, that's about it.  When it comes to off year elections, off-off year elections, and special elections, the majority of elections(!), they're horrific, handing Republicans easy victories, wins they should have ZERO chance at attaining.  Because of this malaise, this indifference, the GOP, a party which represents a far smaller percentage of the population, a party who fewer and fewer people identify with year after year, a party who is only concerned about the wealthiest 1% of the country, they are able to control a large portion of the Federal Government, State Government, and local offices, positions which directly dictate your quality of life.

I know some gentle flowers who will read this and get mad at me.  "Matt, all you're doing is making them mad so they don't show up the next election."  No, I'm giving these people the tough love they need to hear.  If you get upset by me calling you out, but are not FAR MORE upset about losing your local representation, I can't help you.  50B, you're likely going to see a major dip in state aide to your district because the Republicans have promised all the money back to the wealthiest Minnesotans, and what ever falls away from their gapping maws will be shipped out to rural districts in a pathetic attempt to convince rube voters the Republicans actually care about out state Minnesota.  If I make you mad by simply pointing out the factual reality of what happened last Tuesday, you should be apocalyptic about your tax dollars being syphoned away from your district.  Don't get mad at me.  Go look in the mirror and get mad at yourselves.

50B you should be ashamed, but all Democrats should be as well.  When we finally stop this crap, and start taking voting seriously, IN ALL ELECTIONS, then change will happen.  Until that point, we'll continue to kick sand into our own faces, as we dance the 'one step forward, two steps back' do-se-do.