Emmer And Meeks: The Man And The Plan

Okay, so Tom Emmer is our endorsed GOP candidate for Governor.  Rah-rah, unity and all that sort of thing, but we still have a problem.  The big downside to Mr. Emmer's candidacy, from my perspective, was that I heard a lot of high-sounding conservative rhetoric, but no clue whatsoever as to what the practical policy initiatives would be if he were elected.  The big complaint about Marty Siefert was the opposite, that while he had a detailed policy plan all mapped out, it was TOO specific, and did not offer enough change from the status quo.  Rhetoric can win you an endorsement, obviously, but you can't effectively govern without details, nor can we sit and suffer from past DFL mistakes while such policy initiatives are slowly divined from basic conservative principles, some time after the election.

That's why I am so enthused about Mr. Emmer's choice of Annette Meeks as the Lt. Governor candidate.  To some extent she balances the ticket as the "establishment Republican."  Far more importantly, as Mr. Emmer said more than once, she comes with a complete "Policy Blueprint" for Minnesota. Considering it was written almost 12 years ago now, it is surprisingly applicable to today's situation (which tells you how government has stagnated under a DFL-controlled Legislature). It's not perfect, but it's quite good, and all that a pragmatic policy wonk like me could want.  

But here's what I find strange.  The Blueprint is highly detailed-- 292 pages-- a level of detail greater than that of Rep.  Seifert's policy papers, yet isn't that radically different from Mr. Seifert's proposal, nor from the miserable status quo!   Collectively, of course, the Blueprint is, as intended,  "bold enough to be consequential; not so daring [as] to be dismissed out of hand."   But that's the point.  Can those who bought into the promised perfect be happy with the pragmatic possible?  The Blueprint is not a radical departure from what is being done today, but it is probably about all that can realistically be done, even with a DFL in the minority

 It is EXACTLY that situation that must necessarily eventuate before the Emmer-Meeks Blueprint can begin to be implemented.  It is now time to unify beyond conservative ideology and concentrate on the only thing that can make it reality, which is electing (lots of) Republicans to office.  Nothing can change so long as the DFL remains in control of the Legislature, because they have proven not only incapable of, but openly hostile to, such commonsense good governance.  The Blueprint may not be a radical change, and it cannot be implemented except piecemeal, over time, but it represents the beginning of a radical change to the way we think about government, and how we govern ourselves, keeping the government functioning while slowly returning us to more individual freedom and carefully constrained, fiscally responsible government in Minnesota.  It's time the phrase "elections have consequences" worked FOR us, for a change.  .