There's a Liberal Colorado Model but what about a Minnesota Model?

There's an interesting, Weekly Standard article by Fred Barnes about efforts by Colorado liberals to take over that state politically. It's touted as The Colorado Model and is viewed by some as the model for a liberal takeover of other states. Funded by mega donors who are willing to spend lots of money to defeat conservative, especially social conservative candidates, they've had quite a bit of success -- winning the governor's office, the state legislature and a US Senate seat.

They've not just targeted political offices but are also building the political infrastructure to sustain their efforts. Barnes, notes after talking with Eric O'Keefe, of the conservative Sam Adams Alliance in Chicago, that there are seven "capacities" necessary for political success...."the capacity to generate intellectual ammunition, to pursue investigations, to mobilize for elections, to fight media bias, to pursue strategic litigation, to train new leaders, and to sustain a presence in the new media." He then goes on to point out organizations and initiatives started to address these capacity needs in Colorado.

Some say that Colorado will serve as model for other states if successful. I think that sort of model is already being instituted here in Minnesota. Liberal think tanks, media mouthpieces, grassroots training organizations, grassroots mobilization efforts and tons of money being poured into local legislative seat races are happening. (Liberal interest groups outspent conservative ones by almost five to one in 2006 in Minnesota; lots of that money came from out of state.) In the last two election cycles, state House Republicans lost a couple dozen seats. Some of that was due to a changing political environment, e.g. the war and frustration with the party in power in Washington, but some was due to massive grassroots and political efforts.

I think conservatives are waking up to the realities of what's happening and responding accordingly, meaning putting more effort into grassroots efforts. I doubt they can match the money of the left but what they have going for them are ideas and the sensibilities of a majority of the people are with them. The left is made up of the extreme social ends of society -- liberal elites and the poor who are often dependent on government. The right appeals to those in between. The left believes that government is the answer to society's problems and accordingly supports high taxes to support their efforts. The right believes that government has a more limited role and the needs of people are best met by individuals and private groups. I believe the right has a more accurate picture of reality because it's rooted in an accurate view of human nature. As always the struggle politically speaking is effectively articulating that vision and moving people to act on it.

The challenges liberals face in Minnesota in a political environment favorable to their party, the Democrats, are an unattractive candidate at the top, e.g. Al Franken and the beginning of a record they'll need to run on -- they've raised taxes by billions of dollars and have aggressively been pushing liberal social policies. Those will start to turn the pendulum in the other direction.