A Ray of Promise

I'm a little frustrated at the reaction from Democrats in regards to the two special election race outcomes we had on Monday.  I'd love to have won both seats by 80%, but it's foolish to think this would've been the outcome.  FOR GOD'S SAKE PEOPLE, Republicans and Evangelical Christians voted for Trump AFTER he mocked a disabled man, refused to release his tax returns, and had the Access Hollywood tape come to light.  It should be no surprise these fools, even if they're furious at the right for the disaster this country is becoming, would 'lemming' their way back to the polls to keep them in power.

The truth is Monday's outcomes in Minnesota should give Democrats a ray of promise to what is coming.  Let me explain.

Minnesota House seat 23B:

This was Tony Cornish's seat, a seat he relinquished after tales of alleged sexual misconduct came to light.  In 2012 and 2014, Cornish ran unopposed.  In 2016, only 15 months ago, he won the seat by 34.  Melissa Wagner did an outstanding job, campaigning her caboose off.  It was an uphill climb, but in the end, the Republican carried the day handily.  I know some might be down about the loss, but look at the margin.  The Dolt Republican only won by 19%.  That's not small change.  A 4-5% change would be very understandable, but 15%, in only 15 months?  That's a big deal, and mind you, this is with TONS of GOP special interest money pouring into that race, a district which the MNGOP has usually taken for granted.

Minnesota Senate seat 54:

Congratulations to Democrat Karla Bigham for winning the seat, and setting up an epic battle for whom controls the MN Senate.  This was a four point win, in a seat which went for the Democrats by 6 points 15 months ago.  One might be discouraged by this outcome, considering the point I made about 23B, but in truth, this was a far more impressive showing.

As opposed to Republicans, who seem content on labeling any sex pervert actually or allegedly found violating any woman, man, corpse or animal as displaying wholesome Christian values, Democrats have standards.  The former Democratic Senator was found to have engaged in a series of unacceptable harassing behaviors, and resigned in disgrace.  This undeniably made some voters question whether a Democrat deserved another crack at the seat.  Add in the MNGOP convincing one of the more popular Republicans in the state, 'Screaming Mad' Denny McNamara, to come out of retirement for the race, and add the undeniable 'heaps of special interest cash' advantage from the right's coffers pouring into the southeastern Twin Cities suburbs, and add the fact this is truly a Jeckle/Hyde district, split almost 50/50; it should've been the rare Republican win in the age of Trump.

Not the case.  Even with all of those disadvantages, the Democrats won.  Not only that, they kept alive a chance for the Democrats to share control of the Minnesota Senate.  Republican Senator Michelle Fischbach had to become Lt. Governor when Tina Smith was appointed US Senator to fill Al Franken's seat.  The Minnesota Constitution is pretty clear on this; the MN Senate President, even if they're from the opposing party, HAS TO become the acting Lt. Gov., and CAN'T HOLD ONTO THEIR SENATE SEAT. A judge just threw out a Democratic lawsuit challenging Fischbach holding both, but before Republicans high five, the reason he did so was because Fischbach hadn't been officially sworn in as a Senator for this session, hence the case will be reintroduced when the session begins. Fischbach will have to surrender her seat.

Did I mention with Bigham's win, the Senate has only a one seat Republican majority with Fischbach?  If she has to vacate her seat, the Senate becomes a tied body, meaning joint leadership, meaning the MNGOP Republicans won't be able to jam their bills through.

What do these two races tell us about November 2018?

First, Trump is having a downward effect on Republican enthusiasm. This tangible downward trend isn't going to correct itself because Trump is an idiot, incapable of running the country with the nuance and dignity required of the office.  On the same day as the special election, Trump announced an embracing of private businesses (toll roads) as the new way to fix all roads in the country, announced major cuts to Medicaid, a halting of Medicare expansion, and 1.7 trillion of cuts to government services to pay for the 1.5 trillion he just gave to the wealthiest Americans.  He also said the Administration plans on replacing food stamps with a box of food to be dropped off once a month to poor people.  And did I mention porn star payoffs, the Administration protecting spousal abusers, and the Russians?  Trust me, his popularity amongst Trump supporters will continue to decline, albeit not by the numbers you'd think.

Secondly, there's no way on the planet the Republicans can spend like they did in 23B and 54 in November.  In Minnesota, they have a Governors race, all statewide offices, TWO Senate races, all the US House seats, and the Minnesota House up for grabs.  The Republicans NEED to have races where there's no need to spend money, like when Cornish was running in 23B.  If they have to spend big money in every district in the state, they're screwed.  They already seem to be conceding Klobuchar's Senate seat, and so far have not been able to get together stellar candidates for any of the other races, namely because you have to become a belligerent Trump supporter to win the MNGOP Primaries, something most Republicans don't want to do, knowing it will poison the voting pool.

By the way Minnesota DFL, shame on you for not having a major candidate running against EVERY Republican this election cycle!

Lastly, the Democrats did something truly amazing.  They showed up!  WOW!  Was that too hard?  Of course not, and you made a difference.  The call needs to be made, a major campaign to ensure everyone is registered to vote, everyone knows how to vote, how to take advantage of early voting, and where their polling place is.  The last one is especially important as Republican dirty tricksters, realizing they needed to discourage Americans from their right to vote, purposely sent out mailers informing people of wrong polling places in 54 (this story relayed to me by a listener call).

A ray of sunshine, of hope, of promise, has started to burn away the cold of Winter.  Democrats, be happy, but realize we have a lot of work to do if we're going to save the country.  Remember, #2018IsEverything!!!