Your Hands Are Now Dirty Mr. Petersburg...

The ideals of freedom and liberty are not exclusive to one race, creed, sexuality or socioeconomic status. The beauty of the Thomas Jefferson/Ron Paul model of governing is that it is inclusive of anyone that yearns to have a say in their own destiny. A recent political flyer distributed to voters in my district states that I am out of touch with taxpayers and out of touch with "Our Values." Let me give you a few examples of recent "republican " values regarding the sanctity of marriage. A former Vice-chair for the Minnesota Republican Party, Michael Brodkorb, was recently fired for having an extra-marital affair with married State Senator Amy Koch. Mr. Brodkorb has also filed a lawsuit seeking damages for discrimination due to his gender. Mr. Brodkorb's lawyer stated in a Huffington Post article from March 3rd, 2012  "It is clear that Mr. Brodkorb was terminated based on his gender. He intends to depose all of the female legislative staff employees who participated in intimate relationships, as well as the legislators who were party to those intimate relationships, in support of his claims of gender discrimination." So when the party says that I am "Out of touch with our values" I take that as a compliment.

The party flyer states that I oppose a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. This is true. I do not believe that marriage, of any type, should be defined by the government. My actual quote in the Mankato Free Press from July 29, 2012 states "I don't think government has the right to have involvement in any marriage, be it heterosexual or homosexual," Here is the quote from the Owatonna Peoples Press from August 3rd, 2012 "Maybe it's my libertarian leanings, but I just don't think it's the government's place to dictate social policy...If we allow same-sex marriage, it doesn't diminish the meaning of my marriage," Prior to a 1967 Supreme Court decision, interracial marriage was banned or restricted in most States. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 was a powerful move that promised freedom for slaves during a time when the population still approved of owning people as property. These are just a few examples from our history where our leaders have challenged the rule of the day in order to remove the shackles of prejudice and bigotry. The dream of equality should be available to all men and women.

I was born and raised in the Catholic church, I believe in God and Jesus Christ, but I have a problem with people that think they have the right to impose their religious beliefs on another. The republican party leaders and my opponent are trying to tell me, and you, that by not accepting their version of reality, we are somehow "out of touch." I find that way of thinking weak, destructive and intolerant. This primary isn't about mindlessly voting for the "endorsed" candidate. It is a chance to vote your heart and conscience. A chance to finally and fundamentally change the way we do political business in Minnesota. Don't let the party puppet masters talk down to you, scare you or lie to you any longer. On August 14th, take control of our future by voting for me, and show the two-party establishment that the people still have a voice.

Public Service

Running for public office is a daunting task, especially when one decides to challenge the established way of doing things. This election cycle I decided to run for the Minnesota legislature. I did not, however attend our party's nominating convention, so I am currently running as the un-endorsed candidate. The decision to run was made late in the process, but within the State deadline for filing. As a member of the Republican party for the past 20 years I have worked on many campaigns. I have tried to be faithful to the party platform and to my Libertarian way of thinking. I have watched our party struggle to maintain credibility over the last couple of election cycles as we continue to nominate RhINO's as candidates. We watched the head of our party, Tony Sutton, try to bankrupt the party with a fools errand when he decided to pay for an election re-count. We watched our party vice-chair get involved in an extra-marital affair with one of our Senate leaders. We watched our party struggle to pay the rent on our offices in St. Paul. The time to step forward as a candidate, a Republican candidate, would seem rather tenuous.

Running as the un-endorsed candidate offers a great sense of freedom and separation from the party leaders and their past struggles. I was asked by many long time party supporters why I didn't run as an independent? Good question. But the fact remains, that in the current political climate, we are ruled by the two party system. You have to run as a Democrat or a Republican. And after investing 20 years, why not try to change the party from the outside, since they seem unwilling to change from within. One way to change the system is to reduce the influence of special interest groups and money. I have tried to do this by placing a self imposed limit for campaign contributions of no more than $100. Another way to change the system is by not seeking an endorsement of any kind, from any special interest group. It is my hope that by doing this, I can remain accountable to the people I will hopefully be fortunate enough to represent.

Representative government should be about the people. Government should provide the basic structure for people to prosper, with a minimal amount of interference. Our founding fathers felt strongly about trusting people, rather than government. I am a firm believer in the wisdom of many of our founding fathers, most especially Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. These men had the courage and foresight to do something wonderful, something that challenged the established way of thinking. I am honored to follow, even if in a minor fashion, in the footsteps of giants.

DFL running for the hills

As the election results come in from Massachusetts it is apparent that Scott Brown will be the new Senator. Some in the media are calling it "The Scott heard 'round the world!" And on January 26th in Minnesota Senate district 26, we will hear another shot, as Mike Parry wins the special election for Senator Day's seat. The DFL and Brian Melendez belong to the party of bankrupt ideas. They can no longer connect with the man on the street and they know this. They realize that their message is falling on deaf ears and as an act of desperation, they are resorting to sleazy tactics and out right lies to try and smear the GOP candidate. They call him a "racist" for having a difference of opinion with the President, yet these are the same people who will protect Reid and Clinton for having said real racist and insensitive comments about President Obama. I work on Mike's campaign, I am of mixed heritage, Mexican-American to be exact, pretty sure he is not a racist.

The other slander against Mr. Parry is that he is a "homophobe." In one of his early tweets he states "Whats with the Dems and pedophiles?" Nothing homophobic about that statement, and more likely a comment on the Roman Polanski escapade than the Matthew Shepard act. And what's with the Democrats, like Whoopi Goldberg, Debra Winger and Woody Allen supporting a despicable child rapist? How can the DFL even defend their position by siding with this type of scum? And even worse, it was the DFL liberal bloggers that made the leap from "pedophile" to "homophobe." Is the DFL and their liberal blogging attack dogs suggesting that all pedophiles are homo-sexuals? The DFL should apologize immediately to the Gay and Lesbian community for making such unfounded accusations and disparaging generalizations.

This discussion should be about one thing, and one thing only, the issues. Do you get that DFL and Brian Melendez, the ISSUES. The issues are what the people in district 26 want to talk about. They want to talk about the over spending at the State Capitol. They want to discuss having better educational options for their children. They want to discuss jobs and taxes, and transportation and health and human services, etc, etc. And guess which candidate is focusing on the issues? Guess which candidate has a real plan for change? Guess which candidate is used to creating jobs and signing paychecks instead of receiving them....Mike Parry. It is no coincidence that at each candidate forum, the other two opponents are trying to make their message sound more and more like Mike Parry's. And the reason for this is that Mike's message is the one that resonates with the voters in this district. But don't worry DFL, after the 26th, you will have about 10 months to work on your new message. Preferably one that places an emphasis on the issues. But with a leftist fanatic like Brian Melendez at the helm, chances are you'll stick with what you know, lies, mud-slinging and bankrupt ideas from a small thinker.

Where's Engbrecht?

Why is the DFL party keeping Special election candidate Jason Engbrecht on such a short leash? Could it be his general lack of public or political experience (other than his short stint as a school board member) which surely must qualify him for a seat in Minnesota's esteemed Senate. The other candidates in District 26 seem to be involved in various meet & greets, consulting with local business leaders and other community based directors. I hear them on the radio, see them on television and read various articles about them in the local papers. But the silence from the Engbrecht camp is almost deafening. But this should be expected from a camp who couldn't even excite more than 20 people to show up to its endorsing convention.

A quick search of all of the candidates on google lets us quickly see who is being talked about and who isn't. Mike Parry pulls up 207,000 search results, Roy Srp 169,000 and Jason Engbrecht a lowly 81,900. For crying out loud, even the mayor of Northfield pulls up at least 119,000 results! It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or a physicist, to see that there is a genuine lack of excitement for the DFL backed candidate. The only people that seem to be interested in Engbrecht are the Left wing bloggers on the DFL payroll. The DFL is so worried about this candidate and his chances of winning that they are using the tactic of last resort to try and win, smear his GOP opponent.

Frankly I don't blame them. When your ideas are bankrupt and your ideology so out of tune with the residents of district 26, what option do they have left? And speaking of ideology, why doesn't the DFL have their platform listed on their homepage? What is Brain Melendez trying to hide? If you are proud of your party and the ideals it stands for, wouldn't you proudly list them in an easy to find and prominent location or tab on your website? I suspect Mr. Melendez is smarter than most give him credit for. He obviously knows that he has sided with a party of broken promises and failed agendas. The smart thing to do is to hide what you believe and try to fool the public into voting for whichever sacrificial lamb decides to step forward each election. And if you can make the other guy look like a 'bad person' and can successfully keep your guy from contacting anyone, then you may have a shot at winning!

Way to go DFL! Your plan seems to be moving along. That is, until ultimately, your candidate has to appear in front of the public to debate his opponents. Hopefully you have been coaching him well over the last several weeks. Getting him indoctrinated into the philosophy of the left. Just remember there will be no teleprompters, no life-lines and no chance to make another 1st impression. And DFL, if you're lucky, he won't come off looking like the unpolished, inexperienced, aloof novice we believe him to be.