Meanwhile Janos/Ventura is running around the continent and popping up on the talk shows ostensibly promoting his new book, dropping hints that he might run against Coleman and Franken as the IP candidate.
I am guessing that James/Jesse is just posturing to sell books and to put his name in public again.
But what is interesting is what this whole thing tells us about our former governor and his approach to party building.
Those who remember the 2000 congressional election remember that all three major parties had endorsed women in the race to succeed the dying Bruce Vento. But the governor got former Ramsey [and Washington] County Attorney Tom Foley to run for the seat and supported him against his own party’s candidate. Foley went on to defeat and justified obscurity and Betty McCollum went to Congress.
Now James/Jesse might actually run against his own party’s candidate for Senate. And it seems that many in the party might jump for joy at the chance to support him.
The traditional parties have had problems building parties when they have encouraged people to participate, joining up, caucusing, organizing, and [lastly] endorsing and then been unable [and in some cases unwilling] to nominate and elect those candidates.
Apparently, the IP thinks it is above all those problems. Or maybe they are just cowed by the presence of the one person they have actually managed to get elected.
They also decided to support Elwyn Tinklenberg [who did serve in James/Jesse’s cabinet as Commissioner in charge of Light Rail] in his attempt to unseat Michele Bachmann, even though the DFL has already chosen him.
So [if I had friends] I might ask my IR friends:
- How do you build a party this way?
- Or maybe we should ask whether you really want to build one?
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1 comment:
Theres the Independence Party of principal (Jesse Ventura and his supporters) and then theres people that see a party that can be manipulated doing just about anything. Stephen Williams is a nice enough guy built US Senate is the big leagues, he's the equivlnt of the #7 hitter for an average High School team.
Party building is a two way street the party can't wait until after filing to endorse's up ta candidate because the stephen Williams campaign needs to cris cross the state?
Sometimes principal is bigger then party building. It up to us to select a candiate not Jesse Ventura.
I'm still waiting for the party to promote Williams.
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