by Steve Timmer

Mar 18, 2013, 10:00 AM

Patrick: the patron saint of moderate Republicans

You get it, right?

The war for the Republican soul continues unabated. In a front page story today, March 18th, the Strib’s Kevin Diaz recounts the difficulties faced by the RPM in finding an “A” candidate to run against Sen. Al Franken. We could be looking at a grudge match between Kurt Bills and Pete C’mon, they’re wimmin! Hegseth for the Republican endorsement in 2014. Kidding. Sort of.

Whistling past the graveyard, party chair Pat Shortridge is quoted in the article:

“Al Franken is many things, but he is no Amy Klobuchar,” said Minnesota GOP Chairman Pat Shortridge. “He starts at a much lower base of support, and he’s a much more polarizing figure [emphasis added]. … He certainly unites our coalition.”

Unlike, Pat, say, Marianne Stebbins, the hostess on the RPM’s trip to oblivion?

Kline won’t bite, and Paulsen won’t bite, and Bachmann, well, who knows? If Kline or Bachmann actually did take on Franken, they’d lose and the RPM would probably lose a seat in Congress, too, given the changes in the Second District, and Jim Graves strong showing last time around in the Sixth District.

As the Strib story says, deep divisions in the RPM continue. And as reported here yesterday, the day after the election, a party activist (Harry Niska) lit out after a tea party type (Bonn Clayton) who had been touting two tea-party-type Supreme Court justice candidates, claiming that they had the backing of the entire RPM. One does not wake up the day after the election and decide to file a complaint in the Office of Administrative hearing and get it done the same day, at least not the extensive complaint filed by Niska. This one had been in the works for a while, the product of some seething anger.

It isn’t let bygones be bygones time at the RPM.

Norm Coleman and Laura Brod wrote a plaintive can’t we all get along op-ed in the Pioneer Press in recent days.

The answer, Norm and Laura, is nope.