This must be a little hard for the folks at the Stib to stomach...

From the keyboards of the Strib:

Minnesota Poll: Equal numbers identify with GOP, Democrats

Republican support is holding steady, while DFL is down despite dissatisfaction with Washington.

A new Minnesota Poll shows that Minnesota's political landscape is almost equally divided between Republican and Democratic voters.

In the poll, conducted last week, 29 percent identified themselves as Republicans, exactly the same percentage as a year ago, despite President Bush's record-low approval ratings and the conventional wisdom that Republicans are likely to suffer net losses in this fall's election.

Those who identified themselves as Democrats stood at 25 percent, close enough to be considered even, given the margin of sampling error, but down from 31 percent a year ago.

"While people are upset with issues on the national front," those with core beliefs are still aligned with a party that hasn't changed," said Republican Party chairman Ron Carey. "The conventional wisdom says we're way down, but Democrats better keep the corks in their champagne bottles."

DFL spokesperson Jess McIntosh said the fact that hard-core Republican voters still accept the label isn't surprising.

And the following is nothing less than amazing:

Combined with those who say they lean toward one party or another, the latest poll showed Republicans with 37 percent and DFLers with 36 percent, again virtually even. Republicans currently control the governor's office, the state House of Representatives, one of two U.S. Senate seats, half of eight U.S. House seats and all but one of five statewide constitutional offices.

But now is not the time to rest on laurels, as a rare, tiny example of the "stopped clock phenomena" is demonstrated by a DFL spokesman:

"It's whether they are motivated to get out and vote," McIntosh said. "Republicans in national and state offices have betrayed GOP principles, like the right to privacy and fiscal responsibility." (emphases mine)

Okay--he's got a point there--at least with the "fiscal responsibility" part; and you can add the illegal immigration issue to that mix as well.  In order to be successful this November, the national GOP needs to energize voters, and they're not going to pull it off with empty rhetoric. 

I wouldn't have thought it up to this point, but it looks as if Minnesota has a real chance to go into the red column, but momentum needs to be generated to get out the vote.  And it's not going to be done via namby-pamby RINO cowtowing.  It needs to be done with steady, conservative leadership.

To the Minnesota and national GOP I say this:  You literally have an army at your disposal, just chomping at the bit to support a real, conservative agenda; but that conservative also agenda needs to be backed up by action, not just rhetoric.  You have millions of Minnesotans who are willing to go to bat for you, but there is nothing more frustrating than putting your heart and soul, blood, sweat, time and treasure into what you believe will be a conservative agenda, only to be stood up at the political altar time and time again (some old saying about "fool me once" comes to mind).  Those who lean Republican in this survey don't lean that way because Republicans are "Democrat-Lite." They "lean" that way because they believe that conservative principles are the best way to govern. Period.

There has probably never been a better time to turn Minnesota red; but GOP lawmakers/wannabees--heed this: 

Start fighting for the conservative agenda, or you will find yourselves to be the ones stood up at the altar come November. 


(Filed under elections, RINOs)