Waves

Watching last night’s gubernatorial debate in Rochester, it’s easy to see why Governor Messinger’s Dayton’s handlers didn’t want to have too many televised debates, and wanted to make sure they were only televised on outlets like C-Span and Farmington Cable Access.  He was awful.

At one point, I could have sworn I heard him mumble that he lowered taxes by $2 Billion.  What the flaming hootie-hoo?  Someone sic Catherine Richert on that claim!

Jeff Johnson wiped the floor with Dayton.  If the Johnson campaign doesn’t have comparison shots of Dayton and Johnson answers on TV and Youtube in the next week, they’re insane.   

And today comes news that the Duluth News Tribune (and perhaps the entire Forum chain of papers) has endorsed Johnson.

Among Johnson’s priorities are to reduce taxes and shrink government. While that sounds like Republican boilerplate, the reality is that if Minnesota is to compete in a competitive national economy, it has to improve its tax climate and streamline its ossified regulatory systems. Johnson can’t do it alone, but as governor he can force lawmakers to talk about it.

Johnson is young, educated, experienced in public service and the private sector, and focused on issues vital to his state’s future. Minnesotans would do well to make him their next governor.

And if voters in Greater Minnesota return the MNGOP to control in Saint Paul with Jeff Johnson as Governor, we can make some progress. 

(And, naturally, if the GOP keeps itself focused.  Which may be the biggest battle of all.

By the way, the performance of IndyParty candidate Hannah Nicollet was puzzling.  Not only because she was so clearly uncomfortable on the set, but because so many of her positions seemed out of character for the “Ron Paul supporter” she had been.  Raising gas taxes?  Hello?

Don’t get me wrong; I probably agree with Ron Paul-clique libertarian Republicans 80% or more of the time.  I’ll vote for a Libertarian before I vote for a typical IP candidate like Tom Horner, Tim Penny or Peter Hutchinson – “Good Government” wonks who like to twiddle with the buttons and levers of government, but be less obnoxious about it than Democrats. 

Which was why when Nicollet was endorsed, I criticized the IP because it seemed like a bald-faced play to wedge the Ron Paul faction out of the GOP on the DFL’s behalf.  

Now, I’m not so sure; she seemed like she’d been locked in a room with Tim Penny and Dean Barkley, and had gone Stockholm on us. 

At any rate, given the latest polling results, it looks like this may be the year the Independence Party is finally put out of our misery.