Letter: We need more responsible government

From: James Bobier
Chair Senate Dist. 18 Republicans
On March 13, the Republicans of Senate Dist. 18 are holding their first endorsing convention since 2002.
This is an exciting time as we have four candidates vying for this office and at a time our state is seeking real solutions to the problems of Minnesota.
It is interesting to read certain newspaper editorials from our area weighing in on who is the better candidate and even who is the most Republican. It is surprising to me that these authors can have such great insight into the Republican Party, yet I do not remember these critical authors ever attending our monthly meetings, walking parades, helping candidates or contributing in any way.
What I can comment on is that many of the active members of our McLeod, Meeker and Wright County Republican parties are demanding a return to more responsible government.
This includes not spending more than you have, respecting the individual rights of our citizens and acknowledging that all levels of government must have a limit.
Reaching across the aisle should not be judged just by practicing this method but by the results of using this method. Can anyone claim that the reason our state and nation are suffering today is because our elected officials are not reaching across to the other side enough?
Indeed, the converse is true: one party agrees to increase spending for their bill if the other party agrees to increase spending for theirs. This is the root cause of the frustration fueling the resurgence of tea parties and grassroots groups.
If a new bill is being proposed that continues to enlarge government that we can’t afford, I pray that our elected Republicans will vote no and keep saying no until a constitutional bill is offered that will not make matters worse.
Some would have you believe that the Republican leadership in Senate Dist. 18 is entrenched power brokers wielding strong powers behind-the-scenes. This is ridiculous and anyone showing up at our events would know this.
The truth is, that many of our current party leadership are new and were not involved with political party’s leadership before 2008, including myself.
The reason I and many active members became involved is because of our concerns about the continuing erosion of liberties we are seeing and the further growth and spending of government beyond our means. We are concerned with the future of our children.
Minnesota is fortunate to have a caucus system that allows anyone wanting to support the Republican Party to get involved with the process to endorse our candidates. My job as Senate Dist. 18 chair is to arrange for a convention for the benefit of the delegates and for them to choose whom to endorse.
The delegates are interested to know which candidates commit to honor the endorsement decision from our convention. One could ask why a candidate would go through all of the work to speak to our delegates and ask for their endorsement, if they can not willingly commit to honor the endorsement decision from the delegates.
Lastly, our government was organized with the understanding that power was to be shared between the federal and state levels. However, the last 60 years the federal government has steadily encroached on the power of the states. This is a serious cause of concern.
A recent Rasmussen survey revealed that 59 percent of “likely voters” believe states should have the right to opt out of federal programs with which they don’t agree. Such a number would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Again, this shows that the voters recognize this and are seeking a correction through electing conservative Republicans for the upcoming 2010 elections.
Dist. 18 includes all of Meeker and McLeod counties, plus the following area in Wright County: the cities of Howard Lake, Cokato, and Annandale; and townships of French Lake, Middleville, South Haven, Southside, and Stockholm.