The candidates come to the Neighborhood - Part 1

It's not how I'd planned to spend Valentine's Day, but when the two main Republican gubernatorial candidates make presentations within 3 blocks from your house, you really have to go. And that's what happened today. Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert appeared before a group of Republicans, primarily from House District 50B, this afternoon at Lakeside Homes in New Brighton. The contrast in styles is unmistakable and the decision before state Republicans is a difficult one.

The stakes could not be higher. The DFL commands large majorities in both houses of the legislature and there are a number of high-profile DFLers who are attempting to take the governor's chair, which has been out of DFL hands for 20 years now. While 2010 has the potential to be an excellent year for Republicans, there are no guarantees and the voice and vision at the top of the ticket could well be decisive, not only for the governor's race itself but also for races down the ticket as well.

At the outset, it's important to say this: both Tom Emmer and Marty Seifert are streets ahead of any potential DFL candidate. Whether you are looking at Mark Dayton, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Matt Entenza, John Marty, Tom Rukavina or any of the the others, you will get a committed liberal who will, if given a DFL legislature in partnership, move this state decisively to the left. You will get a completely untrammeled public sector and you will see punitive taxes imposed on businesses and individuals. In other words, you will see California-style governance. As those who have paid attention to the horrible situation in the Golden State well understand, that would be disastrous for this state.

Emmer and Seifert know this and both mentioned it at the outset of their respective presentations. Both candidates have young children and both candidates said that they worry about the bills that the spendthrifts in the DFL are running up right now. Both argue that we're at a point where fundamental changes must take place. Each candidate argues that he is the one who can effect the changes that are needed. How each proposes to enact these changes is where things get interesting. And we'll be talking about that in the coming days. I'll devote a post to each candidate and then offer my thoughts in a separate post. It's not the sort of thing you can cover in a single blog post.

Next: The Visionary