by Dan Burns

Apr 7, 2020, 8:00 AM

A big fat schism in the Minnesota GOP

OK, “big fat schism” is quite probably excessive, though as long as you’re here you can certainly read on and make up your own mind as always. Here’s what prompted it:

The chairwoman of the Minnesota Republican Party is under fire after describing the Minneapolis Parks Board’s decision to close beaches and waterparks for the summer as “extreme communist control.”

Jennifer Carnahan made the comment on Twitter Friday morning, taking exception by the decision that was announced Thursday evening that Minneapolis’ outdoor aquatic facilities will be closed for the entire summer in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Bring Me The News)

And:

In a video released before Walz’s speech, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said that he was “walking hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm” with Walz, even though Gazelka is a Republican and Walz is a DFLer.
(MPR)

Conventional wisdom in early 2017 was that many Republicans were of course shocked and disgusted at Trump in the White House. And some past GOPers, most notably some suburban women, did change their voting patterns, in 2018. A relative handful of prominent Republicans – including a few neocons with a lot of Iraqi, and American, blood on their hands – are making a big deal of rejecting the demented imbecile. But based on what people are telling presidential job approval pollsters, for the most part long-time Republicans are sticking with Dear Leader, no matter what.

And in this instance, since Trump has publicly “accepted” at least some realities about COVID-19, it’s Carnahan, not Gazelka, who could be said to be bucking him with her public stance. Which I suspect she’ll mitigate somewhat, this week, in any case.

All that said, I have no idea to what extent Party of Trumpers in Minnesota and elsewhere might actually be privately split on the guy. Certainly there are plenty for whom he’s a lifelong socio-political fantasy come true, and some whose support is considerably less enthusiastic but is not likely to end. Hopefully I’m wrong about that last part, and there will be a lot of conservative sit-this-one-outers in November.

Update: (April 10) I was wrong about Carnahan pulling back on her stance, here. On the contrary, it’s Gazelka and others who have become oppositional. Likely they’re hoping to somehow take advantage of what they believe to be public impatience with COVID-19 government policy in the state. Note that Democrats continue to hold wave-level national generic ballot leads.

Comment from Mac Hall: Impeachment changed the Republican Party forever … and I am not talking about Trump … but Andrew Johnson and the “Radical Republicans” that brought the charges against him (FYI Radical Republicans were critical of Lincoln during the Civil War, for his failure to support the recruitment of black soldiers into the Union Army; supported women’s suffrage and trade union rights). Turns out that the “Radical Republicans” were too radical for the Senate and Johnson was not convicted.

No, today’s Republicans are different than even four years ago — wait who was president four years ago? Today, the deficit does not matter and every issue can be framed as an something to exploit and demean the Democrats. Case in point … the Mpls Park Board decision … which some may not like on its merits but it was done under the Republican philosophy that “decisions are best made at the local level” … well, isn’t that what the Park Board is ? Wanna bet that Mrs. Hagedorn would never have considered dipping her toe into a Mpls swimming pool this summer if the Board had left them open ? Wanna bet that if the Park Board asked for a funding increase, she and other MNGOPers would be complaining ?

Today we are learning on a daily basis what happens when you cut government down to the levels that you could drown in a bathtub.

BTW … didn’t Trump say last month that the coronavirus crisis could last until July or August … so wouldn’t a prudent business manager want to alert potential employees, vendors, and families as early as possible ?