One potential headache for the MNGOP this fall has evaporated.
The possibility that Col. Joe Repya – war hero and longtime grassroots GOP leader – would run for governor as an “Independence” Party spoiler, soaking five or so percent of the votes away from a MNGOP candidate, might have been a problem come November.
No more; Repya is bailing out of the race:
“It has become clear to me that, much like the DFL and the GOP parties in this state, the (Independence Party of Minnesota) fails to stand by its own rules and principles. At issue, the (party’s) decision to essentially nullify the state convention endorsement process,” Repya said. “This action, in my opinion, severely damages the IPM’s chances of truly becoming a viable and strong third party option….Their action will further erode and (tarnish) the IPM brand while relegating it to a permanent position of political “spoiler.””
Well, no. The “Independence Party”‘s big problem is that it was a “party” based around one celebrity candidate – Jesse Ventura – who got elected governor during a fit of collective silliness in a sillier time. The rest of the party, afflicted with a grave case of self-importance, has soldiered on ever since, clinging to the faint fringes of relevance and – based on its ability to barely eke out 5% in one of the 2006 constitutional officer races – existence as a major party.
Repya’s candidacy had the chance to be a little more; Repya has a long history not only as a grass roots organizer, but as an organizer whose roots predate, and share a lot of personalities, with Minnesota’s large and successful Tea Party. He was well-placed – within the context of the IP’s traditional ineptitude – to take advantage of the Tea Party, withy a message that could very well have peeled a few of them away. And the media knew this, which was why Repya’s IP bid got so much media play; he was a disaffected Republican who left the party in a whirl of publicity last year, prompting media that had always looked at him (and all conservatives) as something just a little less than human to suddenly christen him “the voice of disaffected Republicans?”, someone that the MNGOP rank and file needed to pay strict attention to; they were setting him up, much like a Mike Huckabee, to be a spoiler against the GOP.
Anyway – here’s hoping that this is the year the “Independence” party finally fails to get 5%, and finally gets shuffled off the stage and back to minor party land. And good riddance.
After reading the back forth letters in the article, I’m still at a loss to understand what the supposed rule change was that was the public rationale for Repya’s decision to exit the race. It seems to me that maybe he was looking for a reason to back out of the race gracefully and this may have been it.
Count me among those who is generally unimpressed with the Minnesota “Independence” Party. I do appreciate that they probably siphon off more votes from the DFL than they do the GOP but that’s a crutch Republicans can ill afford to rely on to win competitive State-wide races. Other than that, they don’t seem to add much to the debate other than saying “we’re not like the other two.” Although in fairness, it seems to me that candidates from pretty much any party who offer the most substantive and fleshed-out policies are usually taken out in the primary. 😉
More so the pity for our little Republic.
“Anyway – here’s hoping that this is the year the “Independence” party finally fails to get 5%, and finally gets shuffled off the stage and back to minor party land. And good riddance.”
Will some kind soul open the door to the dustbin?
To put a spin on Will Rogers’ famous quote and apply it to Col. Repya:
“I never met a political party that I did like.”