Time to Roll Up our Sleeves!
By Randy Sutter
May 23, 2023
The margin of the DFL victory in our state last year was very small. Yet, our DFL legislature is brazenly acting like they have a popular mandate.
They are enacting laws that do not reflect our values or those of a majority of Minnesotans. They feel that they can host public drag queen performances in the rotunda of our capitol. They feel no need to return the massive state budget surplus to us. Rather, they intend to spend it like there is no tomorrow.
Well, there will be a tomorrow. We need to ensure that it will be the tomorrow that we and the hard-working people of this state deserve.
We must work to restore a rational, realistic government to our state. We must work to return legislators to St. Paul who will demand
- strong oversight of welfare programs,
- performance in our public education system, and
- accountability in the management of our state departments and agencies
We cannot rely on a "red wave" to make it happen. We cannot rely on simply recruiting good candidates and holding rousing rallies, although these are important. The key to making a difference in the tomorrow of 2024 is the work that we do starting today.
Let's begin with some attitude adjustments.
- We are not going to win if our focus is fighting other Republicans. The person sitting next to you may not agree on every plank in our platform, but if they agree with most of them, we need them. Every one of them.
- We should have a spirited debate about who the best people are to stand for party and public office, but once we elect our leaders and endorse our candidates, the divisions must end. We must walk out of our conventions united.
- Refusing to vote is not an option. Regardless of your view of election integrity in this state, every one of us must vote. And we must vote in every election, be it a primary or general election, presidential or school board.
Let's be real. We are not in a position to insist on changes in the election rules. Yes, we can try. We can petition our city councils to use paper ballots. We can sue to require our city clerks to clean up our voter databases and demand balanced ballot boards. And we will be successful with some city councils and some courts. But these efforts will not be broad enough to get the changes we need.
We must play the game according to the rules we have. With elections, you need to play the game better than your opponent if you want to win. And you only get to comprehensively change the rules if you win.
Starting today, we must work to win. I promise you your new Executive Committee will focus on some key initiatives, organize volunteers around them, and ramp up these efforts. I am talking:
- Identifying and targeting Republicans that vote infrequently
- Developing and implementing ballot-chasing plans
- Reaching out to minority communities that share our values
- Improving communications and messaging
- Connecting with non-affiliated community organizations
- Coordinating and promoting local events with candidate support
- Fundraising
We will be meeting with your BPOU (Basic Party Operating Unit) leadership to get organized and rolling. But your BPOU leadership and we on the Executive Committee cannot do this work alone. In reaching out to you today, I am asking that you join us in setting up working groups of volunteers on the initiatives I've mentioned. If you need help, reach out to us and to your state party leadership for advice and training.
If we want to improve our election outcomes, we must all contribute. Reach out to your BPOU leadership and let them know that you want to be involved. Or go to www.CD3mngop.com and let us know. We will get back to you.