Dakota Beacon

I received a copy of this epistle to the activists and disciples of the Republican Party - those who have identified themselves as such and made a commitment of some kind to promoting the party.  Well, after reading it, it seemed clear to me why the Republican Party in Minnesota (as well as so many other places) has been, to put it politely, a dog’s breakfast.  

The incessant harping on giving up any idea of debate or dissent from any party line, the slavish devotion to raising money for its own sake, not to advance sound principles of government, the crass “primary purpose” of winning elections as an end in themselves, have left most people who take an interest in where their state’s politics are going, very cold.  

The Republican Party of Minnesota looks and acts like a machine, not an alliance of people with a sound, common purpose - namely, to stop the drift to the left, to become solvent, to end the reckless policies which encourage crime (both street crime and the white collar variety), to make our justice system work, to absolutely ensure fair and honest election processes and to save our economy from collapse under the unbearable weight of debt.  That’s all we ask.  Just a good effort, a win at the polls on the merits of our cause, not to beef up our corporate donations, i.e. prostitute the party and give control over to these corporate entities.  That’s what has gotten us into trouble as it is.  When that moves from party political coffers to those of elected candidates we have instant fascism.  

The letter seemed like a challenge to the people, the grassroots, rank-and-file as well as right-leaning independents.  It needs an answer from someone who cares who looks at these schemes from the outside, the ordinary citizen who wants a better, freer (and thus infinitely safer) country for his children and grandchildren.  We should be loyal to our founding and our Constitution, not to some party guy who wheels and deals, whose candidates strategize with their Democrat partners to control us and herd us.  We have seen the damage done by a weak Republican Party that poses little or no opposition to the evils their counterparts are promoting - porn in our schools, irresponsible spending, lack of concern about illegal immigration, the pac-man-like globalism that is threatening our very sovereignty, failed elections which are so obviously fraudulent as to be insulting - these and many other issues which we, down here, see as vital.  And the Republicans have historically been impotent at best, cooperative at worst, in creating these crises.  

Chairman Hann’s letter needed an answer.  I just took it point by point.  Perhaps not the best way to touch on all that is wrong with the party, but at least one way to touch on what is wrong with Hann’s message here.  For the sake of clarity, Mr. Hann's words are as he wrote them; my answers are in italics.  

From Chairman David Hann

The primary purpose of the Minnesota Republican Party is to win elections. 

Right away Hann is on the wrong path.  This is not a compelling reason for someone to support the Republican Party.  It’s like saying, “Buy my product because I need to make money.”  If you really have a desire to lead, give people a reason to support you and your candidates!  Say instead: “I have a product you need and you will love.  My product is better by a mile than that of my competition.”  (Or is this your thinly veiled threat to pull the same election shenanigans the Democrats have been using, as some idiots have suggested you do?)

Our Party is founded on the same principles as our country and those principles need to be advanced and defended. Sadly, the Democrats have abandoned those principles. It is the duty of Republicans to make sure those founding ideas are not lost. 

Wait a minute.  The principles our country was founded on were a government of laws, not of men; fair elections; a Constitution as the final Law of the Land.  Nowhere in this letter have you addressed the pervasive and persistent concerns about the obvious election irregularities we have seen proven which continue - even in the technical aspects of the Republican Party’s conventions, as witnessed in Bloomington as recently as last Saturday.  Where is the call for election integrity?  Any ideas about solutions for this?  Minneapolis was a hotbed of election fraud, highlighted on national news programs in 2020.  What progress has been made by the Republican Party in correcting this?  

We have a great cause. 

Yes.  We know.  You stated that your greatest cause, your “primary purpose” was to win elections.  Presumably by any means and for any end.  

Despite the disappointing results from last November’s election, there are reasons to be confident that better times are ahead for us politically. One bright spot is the significant margin of victory for Brad Finstad in the CD1 congressional race. We now have and expect to maintain half the Minnesota congressional delegation.

We lost a few key state house and senate districts by just a few hundred votes. The margins which kept us from achieving majorities were very thin. Those losses appear to be more the result of in-fighting among Republicans than any rejection of our ideas. This is a problem that can be corrected if we have the political will to do so.  

There is a saying:  “It takes two to tango.”  You absolve the so-called “centrist” (left-leaning) wing, those who advocate close cooperation with Democrats, from any blame for so-called “in-fighting”.  For some reason the only road is your road.  Many of those who oppose you have been Republican voters for longer than you have been alive.  Who died and made you people royalty?  Contrary to those careful, power-hoarding hacks’ belief, the party will only grow if we permit the voice of the people in our counties and districts to be heard and followed, not silenced, as you would have it.  What is needed is a relevant message, not that the “primary purpose is to win elections”!  Who cares about your re-election if those re-elected have no greater purpose?  That is precisely the problem with the Republican Party.  We all saw what happened when there seemed to be a bigger, more important and less selfish goal, when the goal was to restore America’s greatness, enforce our borders, ensure our liberties under our Constitution, facilitate energy independence.  The evidence was right before your eyes in the millions of enthusiastic American voters who attended the Trump rallies in 2020.  These are the goals Trump represented to these people.  And I think we both know that he was re-elected in 2020.  By a landslide.  Let’s not play silly games.

And while we were vastly outspent by the DFL, our state-wide candidates came close to winning; two of them came within a fraction of a percentage point. My conclusion is that the vast sums of money spent by the DFL were needed to mislead independent voters into voting for the DFL candidates.

Our challenge is simple and achievable: First, we need to become a more focused, effective organization internally. The energy, time, and money we spend working against other Republicans needs to come to an end. 

The opposite is true.  What YOU see as “in-fighting” or “working against other Republicans” is really a normal and necessary part and parcel of any form of self-government.  If a Republican candidate or party leader cannot gain the confidence of a majority of Republican party members through debate and presenting their case and candidacy successfully and prevailing without stifling debate and argument, how on earth can such a candidate be effective in leading a party with a REAL mission or standing up to Democrats if serving in a legislature?  It should be obvious that the best and surest way to grow the party and to produce effective and popular leaders and win over independent voters to your cause is first to have one beyond merely getting elected and then prove your mettle in local districts and counties without shutting everyone else down.  That is called bullying, and it never wins people over.  

If the Republican Party offers candidates whose primary goals are to preserve our republic by adhering to the principles which once made our nation great, a respected force for good instead of a selfish, war-mongering, corporate-funded cluster of cynics and sharp dealers it will win over large swaths of independent voters.   Many of these independent voters have left the Republican ranks for just that reason - the Republican Party no longer offers a contrast with the Democrats because of leaders like you, who keep trotting across the aisle to make your friends instead of finding your friends among those who share conservative and constitutional values.  Policies and practices such as have been employed by the Republican Establishment to shut out the party base are turning more Republicans into independent voters every day.

Second, we need to build a broader enterprise approach to our campaigns and learn to cooperate more with our Republican allies. 

Who are Republican allies?  Republicans who are allies or allies who are not Republican?  Are these allies aligned with the Republican base?  Or just with you?  Again - first win them over to our great cause!  Then build with them!  

Third, we need to make a stronger effort to win over independent voters in metro area counties. 

A good place to start is to work to end the ballot harvesting that is going on in these metro areas.  There is no point in talking about winning over voters when you know that Democrats are eating your lunch throughout every “election season” (why not make it one of your primary goals to eliminate this form of fraud?  Some are actually advocating that Republicans join in this fraudulent practice - either in order to take advantage of opportunity for thieving as well, or in the naive belief that this is honest.  We have heard damning testimony from the victims of ballot harvesting - not the losing candidates, but the citizens who were bullied into giving up their ballots to the thugs who harvest them).  

And we need to raise more money.  

Ah, now we’re getting to the real point - raising money.  Money is your honey.  It opens the door to individual opportunities.  The cynicism in this party is crystal clear.  This party will always sell out its constituents for a fast buck.  There is no principle practiced in the MNGOP.  In my youthful naivete, I used to donate to the party.  No more.  Now I tell others to donate only to those candidates they believe will be loyal to their principles, never to the party, to be parceled out to party favorites - or worse, as in some cases, used to support opponents.  Mitch McConnell raised this to an art form.  It is a way of totally controlling the party from the top down rather than by the grassroots Republicans.  We must donate to the candidate’s campaign, not to party treasure chests to give people like you absolute control.

We are working on all these objectives and with the help of all our BPOU activists and leaders, we will recapture the House majority next year and lay the groundwork for more success in 2024, and beyond.

We have been seeing exactly how you have been dictating and manipulating local BPOUs by hijacking their meetings, as was observed in Kittson County.  (And now for the big wind-up and pitch.)  

When we stand together, we stand stronger.  

Okay.  When the Republicans get together in Kittson (or some other) County and elect officers, pass resolutions, elect delegates, etc.  stand with them.  Don’t try to overthrow them and overhaul the work they have done.  Just stop this and you might see the Republican Party in Minnesota become a virtual powerhouse.  (But you might not have total control of it.)

There is nothing wrong with raising money.  It, too, is a necessary part of campaigning.  Winning elections is important.  But these without a philosophy that serves the people and the country and protects and enforces our Constitution are worthless.  When we elect this stripe of Republican we wonder a couple of years later why we have been so unsuccessful in stopping the Democrat juggernaut.  Why are we in greater debt even after electing a Republican slate than we were the day we cast the vote?  Why do damaging policies like shutdowns and mandates continue?  Because there is no effective opposition to push back against them.  Nothing will change if all we care about is the “R” after the name.  If it is not accompanied by principles and values which support our Constitution and our nation and people, that “R” means nothing.  And when it seems necessary to Republican power brokers to silence the voice and will of the people in order to grease the machinery for “centrist” candidates and corporate donors, then this party has no soul.

Thank you,

(You’re welcome.)

Chairman David Hann

Republican Party of Minnesota