The Star Tribune endorsed Paulsen, with their argument being he's a moderate. Why? I'm guessing it has to do with two things: 1) Years ago, he threw his name onto an anti-human trafficking bill Senator Klobuchar put forward, quite literally the least he could do to qualify, albeit briefly, as bipartisan, and 2) Erik insists he's moderate, a lie, but that's good enough for the Star Tribune. Paulsen's about as moderate as any member of the modern GOP. They say they are, but when it comes time to vote, they always vote the way the party tells them to. Afterwards, they chest bump, high five, and victory dance in the face of any Democrat they can find. Moderate my ass. Paulsen has been a right wing rubber stamp his entire Congressional career, and he's proud of it!
(Possible image of MN-03 Rep. Erik Paulsen, and friend)
The Republicans are able to reinvent themselves every election. They swear they'll be bipartisan, work with the other side of the aisle, and build consensus with the opposition party, but when they get to either St. Paul or Washington D.C., they swear a blood oath to never deviate from how they're told to vote by party leaders. The last time you saw Republicans go against their party's wishes was 2008, when 6 Republicans DARED to help the DFL override Governor Tim Pawlenty's veto of the Transportation Bill. It didn't matter that each of the 6 Republicans had VERY legit reasons to override the veto. They became Republican persona non grata, with Pawlenty personally making sure all 6's political careers were ended by primarying them; labeling them traitors to the party, embracing far right alternates who made the GOP base swoon. Fear of being primaried is why modern Republicans have no spine or soul.
But their undeniable lack of moderation doesn't stop Republicans from convincing the Star Tribune, or their voting base, they're salt of the earth, middle of the road politicians every election season. For God's sake, Paulsen, a man who darkened Ashwin Madia's skin color in campaign literature to make him look 'blacker,' in an attempt to make voters scared of him, has used the anti-human trafficking bill as the centerpiece of his campaigns. At some point you'd think he'd need to produce something else to justify his 'moderate' claim, but everyone just gives him the benefit of the doubt.
Compare that to the Democrats. Paulsen's last challenger Terri Bonoff, was more Republican than Democrat, even sucker punching Governor Mark Dayton in 2015 by siding with the minority Republicans on bills which came straight from the deepest veins of tea party hysteria. I guess you could call Terri Bonoff bipartisan, but when you constantly vote against your own party's best interests, it might be better to label you a Republican disguised as a Democrat. How was her bipartisanship received? Star Tribune clearly didn't see the facts, and the voting base in the MN-03 were convinced she was from the far left of the Democratic Party, a laughable comparison.
I guarantee, the Republicans in 2018 will frantically insist they hate Trump, always willing to work with the other side of the aisle. Heck, things are already so bad for Trump they'll probably begin distancing themselves from their records in the Fall of this year. And we haven't gotten to the removing of all government healthcare, the death of social security, the impending farming crisis with Trump's trade war, and the forsaking of the taconite industry in Northern Minnesota.
We've just begun a 21 month run, with a focused left; a left which is angry, active and engaged. This unquenchable thirst for marches and protests, phone banks and grass roots campaigns makes me feel a lot better about fighting this modern Republican tyranny.
What I'm most concerned about is the three months following the 21; August, September and October of 2018. Right now, the GOP is not only planning their 'we're really moderates' spin, they're also plotting on how to keep all non-Republican voters at home. They could come up with another fake medical scare, like ebola from a few years back. They could try to flood the market with entertainment stimulus, attacking you on all media platforms. They could impose draconian voting regulations which make it difficult for anyone to vote. They could create a fake attack or crisis to encourage your ambivalence. It'll probably be a little bit of all of the above.
Keep some of your powder dry. Don't let your fire burn off before the end game begins. Save your most intense passion for the final three months of this election cycle. Remind everyone Federal and Minnesota GOP'ers are not moderates. Be prepared to pepper the media, reminding them of the right's voting records and Trump allegiance. Show everyone the Republican's victory tweets and Facebook posts from the day after the election. Show them the GOP's chest bumps, high fives and victory dances, the ones they displayed for the least popular legislation. Lash them all to their voting record, and to Trump, and let them all go over the falls. We can rest the day after we vote these clowns out of office, the day after the election on 2018.
Then we begin the fight to take back the White House in 2020.
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