To hear the local left and media – pardon the redundancy – you’d think Target came out advocating killing puppies.\u00a0 In fact, for the left and media (ptr), it may have been even worse – committing apostasy.<\/p>\n
But is the “news” \u00a0bad for Emmer, the “MNForward” PAC, or even for Target?<\/p>\n
There are a couple of reasons I’m going to suggest “no”.<\/p>\n
Dayton’s Already Won The Base<\/strong>: A friend of this blog once suggested to Tom Emmer that he needs to quit trying to win the conservative base. \u00a0There may be a point to that. \u00a0But this issue – especially the “Emmer is Anti-Gay” slur, about which more below – is the same thing in reverse; it’s the left’s attempt to inflame the lefty base over some of their big code words; “anti-gay” and “corporate money”. \u00a0It’s possible that people who haven’t been converted to one side or the other might pay attention to this story – but for a variety of reasons, I think that at the very very worst this story has short legs.<\/p>\n That Sweet Stench of Desperation<\/strong>:\u00a0But there is <\/em>a reason to try to get the lefty base all riled up – because they are in the midst of a lethargy that reminds me of Republicans in 2008 or 1996. \u00a0The widespread, outside-the-party-meeting passion is all <\/em>on the right these days. \u00a0The DFL knows it – and has do to something <\/em>to get their base to give a damn, especially given the spectre of having to go out and get people excited about Mark Dayton<\/em> in less than a week. \u00a0And so the left needs to create a boogeyman.<\/p>\n Now granted it’s a purely negative campaign – “Vote for Dayton or…um…there’ll be a conservative in office!”. \u00a0But consider the alternative; “Vote for Mark Dayton; he’ll tax people who work hard enough to earn over $250K, and probably the rest of us too. \u00a0And then…um…”<\/p>\n And a negative campaign is better than no campaign at all.<\/p>\n Emmer Is Not Anti-Gay<\/strong>: There are probably a thick dollop of DFLers and not-that-smart independents who hear “supports traditional marriage” and think “hates gays”. \u00a0But people in the real world, the world of the intelligent, do in fact know that the vast majority of people, regardless of their politics<\/em>, both accept gays as equals and, judging by the voting on gay-marriage referenda nationwide, do not <\/em>accept the idea of gay marriage. \u00a0It’s a bit of cognitive dissonance; smart people see cynical people saying “that means he’s rabidly anti-gay” to dumb people, and shake their heads in disgust. \u00a0And, jokes about “Governor Ventura” aside, most people are smarter than that.<\/p>\n Although perhaps the Emmer campaign needs to send the sound bite from his appearance on the NARN at last year’s State Fair to those who believe A4aBM’s slur:<\/p>\n AUDIENCE MEMBER: What do you think about gay marriage?<\/p>\n EMMER: \u00a0I don’t care! \u00a0[Audience laughs] \u00a0No, seriously – I believe marriage is about procreation – but this next election is all about jobs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I suspect that’s not too far afield from what the vast majority of Minnesotans – regardless of their politics \u00a0– believe.<\/p>\n It’s Not A Gay Gay Gay Gay Gay World<\/strong>: \u00a0Look – in any population, you’re going to find 1-2% of the people are actively gay, and probably 1-2% of the population who genuinely hate gays. \u00a0In between you have the rest of us; people who would fight for a gay person’s right to political and legal equality (to say nothing of their right not to get beaten up), but need to be convinced about gay marriage. \u00a0And among that 96% are not a few people who either care enough about politics to ask “er, how is this “anti-gay?”, and not a few more who say “someone hates gays? \u00a0Sack up, fellas, I got plenty of people who hate me for being a Korean grocer\/white Christian\/Lebanese mortgage broker\/Armenian professor\/Jew. \u00a0Life’s tough; have a falafel and join the freakin’ club”. \u00a0 Either way, playing the victim card only gets you so much traction when times are as tough as they are.<\/p>\n Especially because…:<\/p>\n MNForward Is Right<\/strong>: MNForward’s agenda has nothing, bupkes, to do with social policy. \u00a0It’s about trying to make sure we get a responsible government – one whose policies will not actively trash this state’s already dicey business environment. \u00a0Jobs are hard to find these days; the last thing we need is to make it harder to create, get and hold (private sector) jobs.<\/p>\n James Carville said it; “it’s the economy, stupid”. \u00a0And deep in their conference room down on Plato Boulevard, you just know the DFL has to admit to itself that this is a lousy year to be selling dime-store socialism – but it’s the only card in their hand. \u00a0And so they have to draw attention away from it, which leads to…well, see the “Sweet Stench of Desperation” section, above…<\/p>\n I think that when the dust settles on this that, even if <\/em>the media manages to hush up the genuine discussion about A4aBM’s funding and the speciousness of the “anti-gay” claims, that Tom Emmer and, most likely, Target will both come out ahead. \u00a0The whole flap reeks of last-ditch desperation.<\/p>\n And even Minnesota voters don’t get that <\/em>silly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To hear the local left and media – pardon the redundancy – you’d think Target came out advocating killing puppies.\u00a0 In fact, for the left and media (ptr), it may have been even worse – committing apostasy. But is the “news” \u00a0bad for Emmer, the “MNForward” PAC, or even for Target? 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