Johnson: GOP can win the 3rd
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Required reading -- for both Republicans and Democrats -- comes today from Jeff Johnson, the former state representative from Plymouth, defeated candidate for attorney general in 2006, and now a candidate for Hennepin County Commissioner.
Johnson, writing in the Star Tribune on the 3rd District race has words of advice and caution for Republicans who may be fretting that the district is unwinnable for conservative Republicans.
Taking a few shots at those who think the only way the seat can be held is if Republicans nominate a moderate, Johnson contends a true conservative can energize a base that needs energizing.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a Republican who believes that we should drive moderates out of the GOP. I believe our party should be broad and deep, welcoming those who support many of our core beliefs even while disagreeing with parts of our platform. I just don't think that those of us who are conservatives in the Third have to choose a candidate who is much more liberal than we are in order to win next year.
If Johnson's treatise sounds familiar, it's close to the one the Republicans used to great success in the election of 2002, as delivered then by Ron Eibensteiner in 2002 (i.e. "Talk about the issue that the voters cares most about, and keep your mouth shut about everything else.")
Eibensteiner, you'll recall, was forced out of his job for straying from the principles embraced by some of the most influential party members.
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