If you need any more proof that the American electorate needs a collective enema, you need only look at the insanity that is Minnesota politics. In what should be a solidly conservative State, Minnesota voters have an almost schizophrenic voting history. Minnesota was one of only 5 states to vote for Jimmy Carter in 1980, and the ONLY state that did NOT vote for Ronald Reagan in his landslide 1984 reelection victory.

More recently, we elected Tim Pawlenty, a moderate Republican, twice. But prior to that, Minnesota inexplicably elected former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura, an Independence Party candidate. We are still the butt of jokes on late night television as a result of that debacle.

True, we elected Republican Rod Grams, a solidly conservative Senator, for two terms, then turned around and replaced him with left-wing Democrat Mark Dayton – one of the most liberal Senators in history, and renowned for being the only Senator to hysterically abandon his office during a “terrorism” scare. Even the liberal Newsweek called his actions “erratic” and put his (wild-eyed) picture on the cover.

We also have the embarrassing task of trying to explain to the nation how we ended up with Al Franken, a failed far-left radio-host and washed up comedian, as our U.S. Senator. OK, in Franken’s case, Republican Norm Coleman actually won, and mounting evidence points to extensive voter fraud by ACORN affiliated operatives who helped push the recount over to Franken’s column. But still, Senator Al Franken? Merely uttering that phrase makes a sane person choke with disbelief.

And now, the Democrats have once again nominated the aforementioned Mark Dayton, who, in addition to his reputation for bizarre, almost frightening behavioral “difficulties,” is basically running on a one-plank platform – “making the ‘rich’ pay their ‘fair’ share of taxes.” Never mind that this arrogant trust fund baby (he is heir to the huge Dayton-Hudson fortune) hides his own wealth in numerous tax-sheltered instruments. You see, Dayton isn’t satisfied that regular hard working Minnesota citizens are already paying one of the highest state income rates in the nation – 8% – he wants to gouge the state’s most productive small business people even more.

And make no mistake, when liberals like Dayton talk about taxing “the rich” they aren’t talking about the uber-rich like Mr. Dayton and his friends – their wealth is safely tucked away in the Cayman Islands. He is talking about gouging “Joe the Plumber” and all the other small business owners who create the majority of the new jobs. And taxing them costs every Minnesotan – in higher prices and lost jobs.

But how is it that a kook like Dayton, whose disturbing history Minnesota voters know all too well, even has a chance? The answer is that Minnesota, like most of America, is divided into two fundamental groups: Producers – private sector workers and the large and small businesses that employ them, and Parasites, a whole menagerie of government union members, welfare recipients, and everyone else who, directly or indirectly, have their snouts in the government trough.

Look at any map showing how counties across America voted in the last couple of presidential elections, and you will see that Democrat voters are heavily concentrated in urban areas – the very areas where we find the majority of those who are on the government dole, along with the whole army of government workers who get paid to administer the endless list of social welfare programs. So they invariably vote for those who promise to keep those checks coming – Democrats.

The Tea Party phenomenon is nothing more than a reflection of the growing irritation of the country’s producers – the people who pay the bills (including the salaries of all those government workers) want Congress and the President to listen to them for a change. Thus in every election, the only real question is whether more producers or more parasites will show up at the polls.

November 2010 will tell the tale – here in Minnesota, and in the Nation at large.

John Caile

http://havegunwillvote.blogtownhall.com/