Jay Duggan. February 24, 2021
There are only 2 people running to lead the MNGOP. Mark Koran and current MNGOP Chair Jennifer Caranhan.
Recall Walz, Rocks & Cows, Action 4 Liberty, MGR, and others in the last election cycle spent THEIR OWN MONEY AND TIME and solicited their own network to rally people and/or: stage events, direct volunteer efforts, distribute literature, produce marketing content to advance conservative candidates, and spread a message that the DFL has gone off the rails, is wholly owned by the Mpls kooks, and doesn’t represent regular people anymore.
The Party was more than happy late in the cycle to latch on to the “Rocks & Cows” Mpls DFL is self-centered crazy political truth/message and get all of their victories in Greater MN (except for 1 guy w/a metro OIL REFINERY). The message won, and the Party focus and poor messaging in the metro failed.
Number of times during the entire election cycle I experienced or heard ANYBODY from the MNGOP reaching out to ANY of the grassroots organizations to offer anything, ask for help, or coordination, or if they could enhance or help any effort? A BIG FAT ZERO. I know Trump ground staffers reached out a little, but that’s about it. ZERO.
DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Yes. If Action4Liberty had coordination or resource sharing there might be two new Erik Mortensen’s instead of one. Rob Farnsworth would have had 40 more votes and be a Rep. Gene Pelowski would have had an opponent. Thomas Manninen covered a district the size of Vermont for less than $10k and still closed a 25pt gap to 4% and some extra grass roots and party coordination could have put him in more places at once to maybe close that gap.
I don’t know if Mark Koran can do everything he wants to implement, but I do know what Jennifer Carnahan has done. She has built a narrow closed group concentrated on a couple dozen large donors, excluding everybody else, and has not delivered a statewide win ever.
Grass roots conservatives are excluded, and the excuse is we attack incumbents. Forgive us for remembering campaign promises. However, would our Party go further if we sat down and figured out together the limits of what was possible and worked together to get it done? I’m not 100% positive it could be done under Koran, but I know it won’t even be tried under Carnahan.
I’m willing to give Mark Koran a shot not because he’s the salvation, but because his ideas of professional organization, and bringing us together in one direction, and building a true machine of support everybody can tap into sounds like something the DFL already has and something we need.
I have seen what Jennifer has to offer. Its just not enough and I see no evidence is going to change any time soon. What we harvested this last election was the result of a Trump on the ballot and Trump asking for money and a message the DFL has abandoned regular working ppl and Greater MN. We won’t have 2 of 3 next year.
I’m not going to live in state that accepts 1 year plus lockdowns and a failed MNGOP that can’t develop a unique identity and message to oppose the DFL. We are going to be Chicago and Illinois in a couple cycles without a real fight, and Jennifer is not the general to supply the army we need to win that battle.
A quality MNGOP Party leadership alone won’t solve our problems. Politicians need to grow some spine and start delivering on a conservative platform that we know works, instead of promising the DFL defined agenda with a “cheaper, better, nicer” spin. But even politicians with a spine won’t get very far if we have all DFL statewide office holders and can’t get a House majority.
Replacing Jennifer is just one step on the road to getting serious, and it needs to be done NOW.
