Minnesotans for Limited Government (MNLG) is a newly established political action committee dedicated to promoting the idea that individual and economic freedom be the first consideration of any government.
We are having a kick-off picnic to celebrate MNLG and the summer! We will be grilling burgers, brats and hot dogs along with serving an assortment of other goodies.
Along with great food we will have numerous great speakers including:
Twila Brase, Barb Davis White, Sue Jeffers, Ed Matthews and Marianne Stebbins
Check out our website at MNLG.org for more information
~ ~ ~
The picnic is Wednesday evening, June 25 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Location:
Island Park - Shoreview
3655 Victoria Street
Shorview, MN
Thursday, June 19, 2008
When In The District
Yeah, it's been a while...
Hey - if you're in 66B, you know the big non-political event of the year is the Minnesota Street Rod Association convention at the Fairgrounds.
Of course, the personal is political, and noplace more than Saint Paul, where "neighborhood activists" got the annual "cruise" - from the fairgrounds down Snelling, and from the Capitol to Porky's - banned. These people - largely the same folks who banned smoking in bars, and want to ban billboards, because they think that a major city should sound and smell like a farm town - complained about the noise (one lousy night a year!), and developed enough pals at City Hall to make their wishes overrun those of the thousands of people who used to drive miles to sit along the route and watch the amazing display of Detroit muscle.
Blah.
Anyway - the convention survives, and I hope to see you there; I'll be broadcasting from the Patriot's new spot on Dan Patch Avenue. Stop by, I'll look forward to seeing you all!
Hey - if you're in 66B, you know the big non-political event of the year is the Minnesota Street Rod Association convention at the Fairgrounds.
Of course, the personal is political, and noplace more than Saint Paul, where "neighborhood activists" got the annual "cruise" - from the fairgrounds down Snelling, and from the Capitol to Porky's - banned. These people - largely the same folks who banned smoking in bars, and want to ban billboards, because they think that a major city should sound and smell like a farm town - complained about the noise (one lousy night a year!), and developed enough pals at City Hall to make their wishes overrun those of the thousands of people who used to drive miles to sit along the route and watch the amazing display of Detroit muscle.
Blah.
Anyway - the convention survives, and I hope to see you there; I'll be broadcasting from the Patriot's new spot on Dan Patch Avenue. Stop by, I'll look forward to seeing you all!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Party Crashers Like Us
The biggest buzz in the Minnesota GOP in the current electoral cycle has been, regrettably, not been the whole "beating the Democrats" thing.
It's been the whole Ron Paul "Revolution".
Whatever side of the situation you're on, let me just say - I've been there and done that.
I left the GOP in 1994, out of disgust with the GOP's support for Bill Clinton's 1994 "Crime Bill", which did fairly ghastly things to Americans' civil liberties. I joined the big-L Libertarian party, and ran for office (The story's right here).
I came back about ten years ago because I realized that the reason the Libertarian Party could be so ideologically pure on liberty was that they were never going to have to prove anything to anyone; they were never going to have to put their beliefs through the scrum of interaction with other peoples' ideas, the eternal "tug of war" that politics really is.
And when I came back, I was regarded with suspicion by some of the regulars in my district. It was almost funny, back then; the district conventions would like up with about half the people to stage right whose only apparent issues were abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research, and the other half to stage left who were into everything else - taxes, guns, terrorism, growth, what-have-you. Talking amongst ourselves, some of us thought that some of the Fourth District leadership might be a lot happier if we'd all just shut up.
But we didn't. -
And so I, and the few other Libertarian Party refugees, jumped into the fray and did our best to pull the district toward our agenda. We didn't win every battle - but we made our presence felt. And some of us are still involved with the party.
That brings us to this year. Whatever you think of Ron Paul's politics (my take: gratifyingly pure from a libertarian perspective - which is a perspective that can lend a lot of great points to the larger GOP, but can only exist as an entire political philosophy in a hothouse. You're more than entitled to your own opinion - indeed, if you're an SD66 blog writer or feel like leaving a comment, by all means do!), the good news is that he brought a lot of enthusiastic new people to the party - and to SD66.
And while some in the Fourth, the City and the District are upset about some of the things that the influx has brought to the party (a concern about long-term commitment to the party, as opposed to Ron Paul alone), they bring something the Fourth CD and District 66B desperately need; enthusiasm.
So here's my hope; that the "old line" Republicans in the district will take the influx of Paul supporters and their agenda for what it is; a challenge to put up or shut up; to espouse your own principles (and, if necessary, refine them) as effectively as they do theirs. To bring the same energy to the table that they do. To represent for your own beliefs, whatever they are.
Viewed that way, the Paul influx is a gift.
And I hope, in turn, that the Ron Paul supporters will learn something from those of us who've been banging away for this party for years, sometimes decades; that there's a lot to learn; that while politics starts with passion, it ends - inevitably, since our government governs with the consent of all of the governed, one way or another - with compromise. And that compromise is like that tug of war I keep writing about; the best you can do, always, is pull that compromise as far your way as your reason, your dedication and your passion can pull it.
So let's get out there and pull. Together.
(Cross posted at Shot In The Dark)
It's been the whole Ron Paul "Revolution".
Whatever side of the situation you're on, let me just say - I've been there and done that.
I left the GOP in 1994, out of disgust with the GOP's support for Bill Clinton's 1994 "Crime Bill", which did fairly ghastly things to Americans' civil liberties. I joined the big-L Libertarian party, and ran for office (The story's right here).
I came back about ten years ago because I realized that the reason the Libertarian Party could be so ideologically pure on liberty was that they were never going to have to prove anything to anyone; they were never going to have to put their beliefs through the scrum of interaction with other peoples' ideas, the eternal "tug of war" that politics really is.
And when I came back, I was regarded with suspicion by some of the regulars in my district. It was almost funny, back then; the district conventions would like up with about half the people to stage right whose only apparent issues were abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research, and the other half to stage left who were into everything else - taxes, guns, terrorism, growth, what-have-you. Talking amongst ourselves, some of us thought that some of the Fourth District leadership might be a lot happier if we'd all just shut up.
But we didn't. -
And so I, and the few other Libertarian Party refugees, jumped into the fray and did our best to pull the district toward our agenda. We didn't win every battle - but we made our presence felt. And some of us are still involved with the party.
That brings us to this year. Whatever you think of Ron Paul's politics (my take: gratifyingly pure from a libertarian perspective - which is a perspective that can lend a lot of great points to the larger GOP, but can only exist as an entire political philosophy in a hothouse. You're more than entitled to your own opinion - indeed, if you're an SD66 blog writer or feel like leaving a comment, by all means do!), the good news is that he brought a lot of enthusiastic new people to the party - and to SD66.
And while some in the Fourth, the City and the District are upset about some of the things that the influx has brought to the party (a concern about long-term commitment to the party, as opposed to Ron Paul alone), they bring something the Fourth CD and District 66B desperately need; enthusiasm.
So here's my hope; that the "old line" Republicans in the district will take the influx of Paul supporters and their agenda for what it is; a challenge to put up or shut up; to espouse your own principles (and, if necessary, refine them) as effectively as they do theirs. To bring the same energy to the table that they do. To represent for your own beliefs, whatever they are.
Viewed that way, the Paul influx is a gift.
And I hope, in turn, that the Ron Paul supporters will learn something from those of us who've been banging away for this party for years, sometimes decades; that there's a lot to learn; that while politics starts with passion, it ends - inevitably, since our government governs with the consent of all of the governed, one way or another - with compromise. And that compromise is like that tug of war I keep writing about; the best you can do, always, is pull that compromise as far your way as your reason, your dedication and your passion can pull it.
So let's get out there and pull. Together.
(Cross posted at Shot In The Dark)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
This Is 66B
District 66B is dominated by union politics - especially the teachers union. It's also the home of more charter schools per square mile than any other areas in the Twin Cities.
The district is home to many, many government workers. It's also suffered greatly over the years from the folly of excessive government.
District 66B is home to many immigrants, people who came to this country for freedom. It's also dominated by the DFL - the party for whom "Freedom" means "dependence.".
We are the District 66B Republicans. And we think we have a better idea.
Stay tuned. There's much more to come.
The district is home to many, many government workers. It's also suffered greatly over the years from the folly of excessive government.
District 66B is home to many immigrants, people who came to this country for freedom. It's also dominated by the DFL - the party for whom "Freedom" means "dependence.".
We are the District 66B Republicans. And we think we have a better idea.
Stay tuned. There's much more to come.
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