Shot in the Dark

Category: Campaign ’22

  • Open Letter To Hennepin County Subjects [1]

    You voted for Mary Moriarty for Henco Attorney. Granted, it was a closer race than one might have expected; the endorsed DFLer won by 20 points, rather than the expected 40-50. Still, Henco spoke: they’re OK with carjackings, home invasions, random gunfire ripping through (black and brown people in North Minneapolis) houses, and criminals getting…

  • What A Difference Two Years Makes

    Democrats, 2020: “It’s time to eliminate the Electoral College and make the Senate more “democratic” and reflective of the popular vote!” Democrats, 2022, probably: “Uh…” “…checks and balances and enumerated powers are good, Winston!”

  • Berg’s Law: On Final Approach

    Not sure how to word it, but it’s got to be a Berg’s Law in some way, shape or form: “Democrats, knowing their key demographics are driven by emotion and don’t think critically, can say pretty much anything they want; given the media’s bovine kowtowing, they know there will be no consequences for the lie”.…

  • Tuesday’s Gone

    Fleshing out my first thoughts on the most recent election: In Minnesota, the age-old wisdom prevails: money talks, bullshit walks. Tim Walz is sputtering fool, but he will be governor for the next four years. Unless his A1C level approaches triple digits, it’s highly likely he’ll complete his term and step aside for another sideshow…

  • The Biggest Losers

    The biggest losers last night: 3. Trafalgar Polling. Their “secret sauce” seems to have hit its shelf date with velocity. Utterly useless. 2. Minnesota taxpayers – as in, the ones that actually pay taxes. And the #1 loser last night: Donald Trump’s endorsement and coattails. From Keri Lake to Don Bolduc to Scott Jensen, they…

  • He Knows What Matters

    Crime. Inflation. Shortages. Unprecedented division and balkanization. Enh. President Brandon’s tackling the stuff that really matters: I suppose if you hang out at concert venues all night, you don’t need to heat your house…

  • Why I’m Voting GOP, Part II

    Because there’s an election denial problem – among Democrats… …that they’re trying to project onto the right. Because I’ve got your “Amnesty for using Covid as a cover for the most immense peacetime power grab in history” right here: Because Keith Ellison french-kissed “Anti”-Fa… …and they returned the favor with a night of “mostly peaceful…

  • Place Yer Bets

    It’s finally Election Day and we can all breathe easier now that we won’t have to see Angie Craig’s alternating rictus grin/contorted face of rage multiple times a day on television, social media and other media. But will we see Craig going forward? While I sincerely hope not, it’s difficult to know. So let’s hazard…

  • Checking Back

    I saved this tweet by “Historian” Michael Beschloss over the summer, just so see how it’d age. I feel a bit like I’m opening a time capsule. I may do more of these in the future. Beschloss – who’s built a bit of a career bastardizing history on behalf of Joe Biden, and is one…

  • Electioneering

    One of my personal traditions is, whenever I see someone in an unopposed race on the ballot, and I’d rather not vote for them or leave the spot blank, I will write in one of my pets. I think today’s Ramsey county commission race leaves is just such a choice; Ren Moran, or my cat.And…

  • Redolent

    DFL communications guy on Twitter Dash which I’m told most Democrats will be leaving, apparently on their way to Canada: Neo Marxist iconography? Specious reference to “democracy“ from a party that has been actively fighting the things that make American democracy good and useful? Yes. Yes, it really does “say at all”.

  • Open Letter To All Minnesota DFLers

    To: Minnesota DemocratsFrom: Mitch Berg, Irascible PeasantRe: Fake Beliefs DFLers, A few points of information: That is all.

  • Why I’m Voting GOP Tomorrow – Part I

    I think I voted for some Democrats in the 1982 midterms, when I was 20 and still fighting with my Democrat upbringing. The last Democrat I know I voted for was 26 years ago – because she was unopposed, and her constituent services person worked wonders (she actually went on to be one of the…

  • Normales

    The big Democrat problem with Latino voters? They keep trying to treat them as a spot on the intersectional checkbox… …which is not, more and more, how they see themselves.

  • Peaking?

    Yesterday was a big day in polling for MN Republicans. Top of the order – Real Clear Politics’s polling summary shows Scott Jensen behind, still – but the second most-improved of the GOP hopefuls: That’s over the previous two weeks – and it was the best performance of a number of underdog Republican gubernatorial candidates.…

  • Assault

    SCENE: Mitch BERG is out dropping literature for a candidate for the Minnesota state House of Representatives. As he walks toward a door, he encounters Avery LIBRELLE, carrying a shopping bag full of campaign literature. LIBRELLE: Merg! BERG: Oh, Chriiiiistchurch New Zealand is beautiful this time of year, hey, Avery, how… LIBRELLE: Shut up. Paul…

  • Coattails

    As polling results (and, I suspect, internal polling) show the GOP statewide slate is showing promise, two things are happening: First: The DFL is throwing everything they can find against the wall. Look for a raft of abstruse “Campaign Finance Board” accusations – the political equivalent of “Karen” demanding you wear a mask while out…

  • Proud To Be A Minnesotan Today

    Governor Walz picked up a vital endorsement yesterday: So let’s make sure we get this straight: An incumbent who dunks on Scott Jensen for being a “conspiracy theorist” is proud of his endorsement by a 9/11 truther who was an enthusastic employee of RT, Vladimir Putin’s propaganda network. Good one, Governor Walz.

  • How’s The Campaign Going?

    Shot: “Stop all that conservative talk or we’ll tell your dad” Y’see, Jensen’s father was apparently a Democrat, and if there’s one thing “liberals” believe it’s that sons gotta follow their fathers footsteps in absolute lockstep. Chaser: “Keith Ellison is so great…uh, my, you’re a little fella! Remember – David Brauer is one of the…

  • Enthusiasm Gap

    This email was – ostensibly – leaked by a DFL operative. If true, it indicates that the DFL is having a hard time getting people out on the street for the DFLin the Metro and ‘burbs: I’m both pessimistic and a little tiny bit…not “paranoid”, per se, but I tend to try to assume that…

  • 16 Years

    2006. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen a poll – any poll generally considered reputable – that showed a GOP statewide candidate, a Governor, Attorney General, Auditor or Secretary of State – ahead in a race before an election. We’ll come back to that. A few weeks back, my NARN colleague Jack Tomczak…

  • Whiffle

    SCENE: Mitch BERG has found a cache of hard-to-find chili paste at a Vietnamese grocery store, and is putting a half dozen in his basket. Distracted, he doesn’t see Avery LIBRELLE rounding the corner, wearing an N95 mask. LIBRELLE: (Muffled behind mask) Mrrg. BERG: Oh, ffffaaaaercrying out loud, how ya been… LIBRELLE: (Muffled) Jw Shlll…

  • Dirty Harry Meets Batman

    Shot: Representative Omar with a devastating riposte to Jim Schultz, GOP candidate for Attorney General, giving us all a civics lesson: Chaser: Keith Ellison, himself giving, in turn, a, uh, civics lesson of his own: Which is it? Is prosecuting violent local crime a job the AGO does when asked? Or is Keith Ellison a…

  • But Why Is Keith Ellison Running All Those Ads Portraying Him As Tougher On Crime Than Dirty Harry?

    Ted Nugent/Oathkeepers poll shows a supermajority of Americans blame “woke” politicians for the crime wave. Wait – did I say Ted Nugent/Oathkeepers? I meant Harvard: The correct answer to the poll is “yes’ to both, of course.

  • Can You Feel The Pain?

    To: Lieutenant Governor Peggy FlanaganFrom: Mitch Berg, Irasicble PeasantRe: Judging A Book By The Cover? Lt. Governor Flanagan, Two data points aren’t a trend – but you do seem to be trying to make your attire a campaign issue. We talked about this a few months back – your, um, exchange with “Baaaaahb from FRID-ley”…