Making Republicans Better -- Tell the whole story

Here’s the complete press release issued by the GOP --

They Said It!

Rochester DFL “Icon” A.M. (Sandy) Keith On Governor Tim Pawlenty:

“And Rochester DFL icon A.M. (Sandy) Keith, a former state senator, lieutenant governor and chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, has already swung his support to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. ‘I love the guy; he can stay at my house if he wants to,’ said Keith, now executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance. Pawlenty, Keith said, has done more for Rochester than any governor since DFLer Rudy Perpich.” (Conrad deFiebre, “DFL Poised To Meet In Rochester,” Star Tribune, June 8, 2006)

And Here’s the context from the Strib story--

And Rochester DFL icon A.M. (Sandy) Keith, a former state senator, lieutenant governor and chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, has already swung his support to Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

"I love the guy; he can stay at my house if he wants to," said Keith, now executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance. Pawlenty, Keith said, has done more for Rochester than any governor since DFLer Rudy Perpich.

Both Keith and Bishop [former Republican representative Dave] noted that Pawlenty's largesse to Rochester -- $27 million for bioscience and higher-education initiatives, plus delivering his 2005 State of the State address there -- began after DFLers unseated two GOP legislators in the 2004 election and nearly toppled a third.

"That was an attention-getter, wasn't it?" said Bishop. "The reality is that Rochester is a swing district and it has been for longer than people thought."

Politically, what better reason to ship tax dollars to Rochester? But principled?

Update: Thinking about this, Keith's comments don't say much for Democrats either. Keith says Pawlenty can stay at his house. Keeping with the implied metaphor, Democrats will sleep with anyone if the price is right.

Meanwhile, the GOP, which spends money on domain names like they were ballparks, has spawned yet another website, RepublicansLoveRochester.com, with a statement that defines constituency politics --

"While our friends in the DFL will be throwing a lot of mud during their convention, Republicans will continue to highlight our accomplishments for Southeastern Minnesota in the areas of bioscience, transportation and higher education," Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Ron Carey said.

Note, these "accomplishments" are not the result of Republican policies, but the result of Republican largess tossed to a swing district for political, not necessarily "necessary" reasons.

Describing the new site, the GOP press release states --

In addition to spotlighting GOP accomplishments for Southeastern Minnesota, the new website will also feature a poll asking visitors to choose which DFLer will launch the most negative personal attack on a Republican over the course of the DFL State Convention.

Under the “Must Reads” banner on the site the GOP includes a story entitled “Mark Dayton: Blunderer.”