Some of my friends who are teachers, and also Republicans, have described a life a little like being a dissident in the Soviet Union, with samizdat greetings and everything short of secret handshakes.  I remember going to one teacher conference and having a teacher furtively tell me he or she was a fan of the NARN – “but please don’t tell anyone.  You understand, right?”

I did.

Of course, that was in the cha-cha days when the DFL controlled, or nearly controlled, the Legislature.

But now, appropriations come through the MNGOP’s majority – and Tom “Look For The Union Label” Dooher is trying to make nice:

From: President Dooher [mailto :[Redacted]@edmn.org]

Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 5:03 PM

To: ‘[Redacted]@educationminnesota.org’

Cc: Governing Board [MN]

Subject: Republican members meeting Feb. 5

January 21, 2011

Dear local presidents,

Over the last two years, Education Minnesota has made efforts to involve Education Minnesota Republican members in legislative and political activities on behalf of public education.

Any GOP teachers in the audience: can we get a sniff-test on that statement?

It’s more important than ever for our Republican members to start building relationships with their legislators.

Is anyone but me thnking “I’ll just bet it is”.  Tom Dooher wasn’t banking on the DFL losing both chambers, was he?

Education Minnesota will hold a meeting of interested Republican members on Saturday, Feb. 5, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Education Minnesota headquarters in St. Paul. Education Minnesota will provide lunch and pay mileage for all members.

The agenda will cover:

1. The importance of Republican members’ involvement in education policy

2. Building relationships with legislators

3. Current education issues

4. Recruiting other Education Minnesota Republican members

And I loved this one:

5. Getting involved in the Republican party process

EdMinn has spent at least thirty years fighting the GOP at every turn.  They contributed heavily to Alliance For A Better Minnesota, which just spent an entire election cycle slandering Republicans.

The “involvement” they want, no doubt, is to do what they can to turn the GOP back into a party that Arne Carlson would recognize.

Education Minnesota political organizers and lobbyists will facilitate the meeting. Please take the time to contact politically active Republican members of your local and encourage them to attend. Interested members should RSVP to Jim Meyer, Education Minnesota political organizer, at [Redacted]@edmn.org or [phone number redacted] by Wednesday, Feb. 2. We need at least 15 participants to hold the meeting.

I wish it weren’t at the same time as the show.  I’d love to see if anyone shows up.  Even more, I’d love to see if any of the local presidents actually know any Republicans.

In solidarity,

Tom Dooher

President

In mockery,

Mitch Berg

Admiral.

This entry was posted by by Mitch Berg on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 7:03 am and is filed under Education, Minnesota Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.