How Not to Rebuild the Democratic Party
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a good headline, and that this is a very good headline, but it got better once I saw the subject matter.
Just when I think the Democrats are beginning to figure out how to respond more successfully to the Republicans, I am reminded that some Democrats today are their own worst enemy. A case in point has just occurred in the Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District. Incumbent Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy is retiring so that he can run for the Senate seat that Democrat Mark Dayton is vacating. This district is very conservative although, because many Democrats in it are pro-life and pro-gun and support the war in Iraq, the split between the parties is not so great as the one between right and left.
As a citizen of Central Minnesota living in the Sixth District, I can vouch for the accuracy of that appraisal of the Sixth District. When President Bush visited here in September, 2004, he made mention of those demographics, saying that John Kerry’s values weren’t Central Minnesota’s values. With that information, let’s fast forward to 2006 and see who the Democrat recruited:
The Democrats then found a candidate who was a remarkable fit for this district, composed mostly of suburbs north of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Elwyn Tinklenberg had been longtime mayor of Blaine, one of its largest communities. He was pro-life and pro-gun, and he was a Methodist minister. He had also been commissioner of transportation under Gov. Jesse Ventura (who was very popular here).
That sounds like a good fit for the type of voters living here, though I don’t think that Mr. Tinklenberg would win in CD-6. For those that aren’t familiar with it, CD-6 is loaded with strong candidates. The person that wins the Republican primary will get sworn in in Washington in January, 2007. Michelle Bachmann, Jim Knoblach and Phil Krinkie have all served in the Minnesota legislature with distinction, with Knoblach being the chairman of Ways and Means Committee. Each of these candidates are staunchly pro-life, with Bachmann and Knoblach being the most articulate candidates that we’ve had here in ages.
By the way, Jesse Ventura was popular as governor for about a month, then saw his ratings take a nosedive. He was more a novelty than anything else.
Now let’s take a quick look at Patty Wetterling, who will challenge Mr. Tinklenberg in the Democratic Primary for CD-6:
When Mr. Kennedy announced his plans for 2006, it was expected that Mrs. Wetterling would run for the open seat, especially since several conservatives were battling it out for the Republican nomination. In 2005, however, Mrs. Wetterling announced she would run for the Senate, declaring that she “could not win in the 6th District.” This made sense because Mrs. Wetterling is pro-choice, anti-gun and has called for U.S. withdrawal in Iraq, all positions which are unpopular in the 6th District.
Mrs. Wetterling is right in saying that she “could not win in the 6th District.” If she wins the Democratic Primary, which I doubt, she’ll get clobbered in the general election.
In closing, I’d doubt that Democrats are dumb enough to choose Wetterling over Tinklenberg but I won’t rule it out simply because I’ve been astonished at some of the other boneheaded decisions that Democrats have made. Either way, another Republican will replace Mark Kennedy in DC.
Cross-post at LetFreedomRing