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Editorial: GOP field leaves room for moderate

Candidates are preparing to offer voters a hard-right turn.

Last update: October 5, 2009 - 9:48 PM

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ASSESSING THE FIELD

"We are solid conservatives. There are no RINOs [Republicans in Name Only] up here anymore."

Former State Auditor Pat Anderson at the Oct. 2 GOP gubernatorial candidates' forum.

The eight gubernatorial candidates showcased at last weekend's state GOP convention differed on a few minor matters. But they conveyed a singular, clear message: They aim to ask voters to let them steer state policy sharply to the right.

Absent from the state GOP field is any remnant of the moderate Republican mentality that produced the name "Independent-Republican" in the 1970s, and that fostered leaders including U.S. Sen. Dave Durenberger in the 1980s and Gov. Arne Carlson in the 1990s.

In fact, many of the ideas voiced at a candidates' forum Friday night spring from a point on the philosophical spectrum to the right of that occupied by this decade's most prominent Minnesota Republicans, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman. The new GOP crop's conservative bent goes well beyond "no new taxes." Consider:

• Rep. Marty Seifert, who won Saturday's straw poll, said he wants to roll back business taxes and undertake a "wholesale elimination" of business permits and regulations, many of which pertain to health, safety and environmental protection. Seifert also said he would have made deeper cuts in aid to the poor and disabled than Pawlenty did this spring, and would deny state aid to any city that did not actively enforce federal immigration laws.

• Rep. Tom Emmer, the straw poll's second-place finisher, said he believes the planned construction of any additional light-rail transit line should be stopped. He also favors direct election of district court judges, ending the gubernatorial appointment system that has served this state well for 151 years.

• Former State Auditor Pat Anderson wants to drastically reduce state aid to cities. When asked whether she would support elimination of the Metropolitan Council, a 40-year-old urban transit, wastewater, economic development and urban planning agency, she said "Yeah!" She would consider preserving the council's role in sewer management "at the most."

• Sen. David Hann favors ending state policies that encourage development of wind, solar and biomass energy. Instead, he would lift the state's moratorium on new nuclear power plants.

• Rep. Paul Kohls said he wants the state's 2012-13 budget to be no larger than the 2004-05 version. That biennium's budget included deep cuts to higher education, early childhood education and health care for the poor that have since been partially restored.

The candidates were scornful of state policies that have held sway for the past half-century, some -- like the Metropolitan Council, pollution control regulations and MinnesotaCare -- of Republican origin. They want to rein in state investments that have been credited for the economic success and high quality of life that Minnesotans have known relative to other Midwestern states.

The magnitude of the change Republicans are touting deserves Minnesotans' notice now. To be sure, the 2010 state election is more than a year away. But precinct caucuses, the events that will be formative to an election, are set for Feb. 2 -- less than four months off.

Candidates not yet in the GOP field are making crucial soundings now about their prospects. They undoubtedly have noticed that the current field leaves ample room for one or more candidates with positions closer to what has long been the state's political mainstream. It's at this stage in the campaign that those possible contenders are looking for signs that other Minnesotans share that observation.

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