Windmill with a Spoiler

One of the problems with being gone for a week is that a lot can happen in the interim. The most important event of the week, at least politically, was the DFL gubernatorial primary, which delivered victory to Mark Dayton, barely, over the almost invisible DFL endorsee Margaret Anderson Kelliher. While I realize analyzing the campaign of Matt "Don Quixote de la "Entenza is like paying attention to the performance of the New York Knicks in recent years, I'm still interested in the role that Entenza played, in which he spent millions of dollars and never attacked Dayton once.

I've hinted around the question before, but let's ask it flat out:

Why the hell would you run for governor and not try to win? Because that is what Matt Entenza did in this cycle.

Speed Gibson makes an interesting point:

What enables a Matt Entenza? Money, of course, enough to be a net loss for the DFL. Money, not really his own, that he is apparently free to spend frivolously, like hiring private surveillance of rival Mike Hatch. Free money to spend on, to create in fact, a campaign nobody really wanted. Had he not entered, I doubt you'd have heard much grumbling among Democrats how neither Dayton nor Kelliher had the right stuff and therefore need another candidate in the Primary. Except for the money, Matt Entenza is what Patrick Reusse would call a "non-factor."

But as Speed notes separately, Entenza's campaign was a factor:

I think most would agree Kelliher would have won had Entenza stayed out. He was preaching the same "balanced approach" "Minnesota values" non-specifics as Kelliher that don't interest Dayton supporters. They want "soak the rich" until the budget is balanced, then soak them again to "re-invest" in ... you know the pitch: no meaningful spending cuts at all.

I do agree -- without Entenza's interference, which apparently included a last minute ding at Kelliher about No Child Left Behind, it's quite likely that Kelliher would have won. In fact, since Entenza spent millions on ads that often were bashing Tom Emmer, you could consider his entire effort a multi-million dollar, in-kind contribution to the Dayton campaign.

But again the question nags: why the hell would Entenza, and his seemingly rational millionaire wife Lois Quam, spend millions of dollars on a campaign that was a non-starter from the beginning? In particular, what could Quam get for the money that was spent?

I still think the answer lies here:

Founded in the spring of 2009 by Lois Quam, an internationally recognized visionary and leader on the emerging New Green Economy (NGE), and universal health care reform, Tysvar is an independent, privately held, Minnesota-based NGE, and health care reform incubator.

Our mission at Tysvar is:

• Bringing scale to the New Green Economy
• Universal health care reform

We are a strategic advisor and incubator of ideas, organizations and people working to facilitate and build the NGE to scale, which means our goal is contributing to a viable, profitable and socially responsible industry of sustainability, clean technology, and renewable energy sources.

One thing is certain: if Tom Emmer wins the election, you can forget about NGE initiatives gaining much traction in Minnesota, because private venture capitalists aren't likely to fund such initiatives unless the government is willing to hobble existing enterprises that leave NGE initiatives in the dust. You could build thousands more windmills on the Buffalo Ridge and they wouldn't come close to producing the reliable energy of a nuclear power plant, or even a coal-fired plant.

Would a Mark Dayton administration be willing to hamstring existing industries to benefit an NGE agenda? Let's look at his website:

“Green” technologies mean cleaner energy, a safer environment, and new jobs. As Governor, I will lead the way to that future, and develop incentives that will bring green energy industries to Minnesota.

More to come soon, please check back.

Don't worry, Mr. Dayton. I will. And I would also encourage the Eric Blacks, Bill Salisburys, Rachel Stassen-Bergers, John Cromans and Pat Kesslers of the world to check back, too.