Minnesota's Independence Party isn't Jesse Ventura's party anymore. In fact, the political organization that Jesse could have built, but didn't, hasn't much reflected the wrestler/commentator/politician/self-promoter since he declined to seek reelection as governor in 2002.
At its state convention in Bloomington today, the IP has its latest chance to revive and redefine itself. Three candidates are running more than token campaigns for the party's endorsement for governor. One of them -- PR executive and former Republican staffer Tom Horner -- is a person of stature and political experience. He has the potential to be a serious contender in the general election.
Whether that potential is realized will depend at least in part on whether the tiny IP is capable of functioning as a genuine, disciplined political party. In recent years, it has not.
To be sure, the IP has retained "major" party status in state law, and the eligibility for public campaign money that goes with it. But the third party has neither promulgated a coherent, consistent and distinctive message nor created an effective network of grass-roots activists to do the nitty-gritty work of politics -- raising money, recruiting local candidates and volunteers, delivering a message and turning out the vote on Election Day.
The absence of those assets has contributed considerably to the poor showing of the IP's statewide candidates, post-Ventura. Despite the hard work, qualifications and sound ideas of IP gubernatorial candidates Tim Penny in 2002 and Peter Hutchinson in 2006, neither could build on their own the advantages that flow automatically to other major party nominees. Both came in third in three-way races.
It says much about the maturity and capacity of the IP as a political organization that none of the three active candidates at today's convention says he will abide by the convention's decision and end his campaign if not endorsed. That pledge is routinely exacted from serious candidates for endorsement in the state's two big political parties for good, party-building reasons. Settling intraparty contests at a convention builds interest in the inner workings of the party. An early decision allows the party to rally around the candidate of its choice in time to maximize that candidate's general-election chances.
The IP candidates may think they will generate public interest by presenting voters with a contest in the Aug. 10 primary. In fact, they will muddy their party's already cloudy message. They'll also make themselves vulnerable to intraparty mischief. With no serious contest for governor looming within the Republican Party, GOP primary voters could swamp the smaller IP primary pool and help elect a candidate who they think will pose the least threat to GOP chances in the fall.
Minnesota's election laws and political tradition are exceedingly welcoming to third parties. That can be a good thing, especially when the two big parties are failing to address legitimate public concerns. But those same laws and traditions can also prolong the life of a weak party. And a weak third party can be a hindrance to democracy by thwarting majority rule.
