Republican hypocrisy continues

After endorsing US Senate candidate, Uniparty MNGOP players decide to primary him—a surprise but not really a surprise

33 delegates in Otter Tail County were suspended in 2023 because they didn’t support the endorsed candidate—the candidate in their eyes was not a true conservative and has been shown to have changed precinct caucus delegate lists, an illegal activity.

Then in 2024 the new Otter Tail delegates were left out completely from CD7 and the State Convention, by fiat from the Party Chair who has no authority to leave them out. In CD7 convention the MNGOP Exec Director recommended they not be seated (putting this gently) or there would be trouble.

The delegates who shall not be named (seated)…

At State Convention on May 17 it was obvious to everyone no one on stage wanted to talk about it, filibustering for 5 hours before giving 5 minutes to each side and refusing to vote on the matter of actually seating the delegates even though the room clearly supported that as demonstrated by the standing ovation given during the 5 minutes in support of 2024 delegates being seated.

Then the next day, May 18, Royce White was endorsed for US Senate in a 67% first ballot vote and invited the Otter Tail 2024 delegates who were denied seats up on stage with him for his acceptance speech while those on stage breaking rules and blocking discussion had to step down.

A New (the Same) Primary Opponent

Now, the GOP has put forth the same candidate that lost at the convention, Joe Frasier, to enter the primary. The first words of his convention speech were: 7,295, I want you all to remember that number… that’s how many days I served in the military. (That’s 20 years, why not just say that?)

Well, that opening line was less than persuasive to me for the following reason. I’ve been a writer (starting from when I was first paid for writing around age 16) for almost the same number of days (and also about 20 years). Should anyone care about that? What did I write about? How did I write? For whose benefit, to what impact?

For those that have studied, the United States military, part of the military industrial complex warned about decades ago by an outgoing president, has been shown to be used for endless wars and has likely contributed heavily to human trafficking globally. Many commanders have been removed from the military since 2017. There’s obviously a cleanup process occurring in the ranks and a re-organization, including with the Space Force, a new branch.

So, merely serving in the military, even for a very long time, is not immediately notable, because the reasons for serving are what matter. One’s character and arc of life are what matter. Are you a man of God? Are you willing to speak the truth? Are you willing to do what you say you will do?

According to some, Frasier indicated he would abide by the endorsement, but was asked right after the convention result whether he would, and it appeared he would now have to think about it.

Who Decided? Who Benefits?

It seems likely that Frasier would need to consult with those he may have made agreements with when deciding to run for US Senate to begin with…

Perhaps the likes of Tom Emmer and others behind the scenes who guide acting leaders on what they will do?

I put Tom Emmer’s name here but I’ve never met him and we’ve never spoken so this isn’t personal, I hope readers understand. But really Emmer is just a placeholder for the various political interests that collectively it seems hope to silence the deplorables like me and you reading this from actually using our voice to affect the future of our children. To make this concrete: remember that Emmer’s paid staffer in CD6 blocked his opponent from even participating (and even from speaking) in the CD6 Congress endorsing election—that’s right, Emmer won by default. Now, if the candidate who was blocked decided to primary Emmer, I think that would be reasonable, because delegates were denied a chance to vote on the matter.

The Delegates Spoke, and the People Will Speak Again

Coming back to Day 2 of the State Convention on May 18… the fact is that 924 men and women, all delegates, cast a vote for Royce White, and only 391 for Joe Frasier. That 924 would have been even higher had the 2024 Otter Tail delegates been seated, and even higher had many deplorables from across the state not opted out from paying large expenses (about $750 including travel and hotels) to attend the convention in St. Paul.

In my opinion, it would have been more like 80% for Royce had the true Otter Tail delegates been seated and everyone else on the fence paid the money to come.

Based on Trump’s reported election numbers in 2016 and 2020, and Royce’s America First principles and policy platform—such as ending endless wars—the only way that Frasier defeats Royce in an election, if those same voters show up for a primary, would be for the election to be rigged, which is actually trivial to do given mail-in balloting and the black box electronic voting apparatus combined with effectively no audits permitted.

Around 2022 or 2023 Trump said of the media when they questioned his lack of campaigning for an election that was still about 2 years away: I say, they are stupid and corrupt.

And that is unfortunately the case for the MNGOP with this decision to ignore the voice of the people and run a primary candidate—the same one who already lost the vote of delegates following the process—against the victor, Royce White.

America First or America Last?

There were a number of America Last GOPers who I and others have watched carefully for the last 2 years, some of them actually quite effective operators to be fair, who took photos and took credit for and pretended to help Royce just before or immediately after his endorsement, perhaps tryin to get in his graces or even become part of his campaign—the enemy behind the wire is more dangerous than the one outside. This is a reasonable strategy if one is politically motivated, to play both sides.

But what will those posers do now? Will they continue to pretend to support Royce or revert back to Frasier now that those they are aligned with, the establishment GOP, has put their candidate back in the ring?

And who will the BPOUs support? Many had already decided not to support Royce. The conversations will continue and those just joining the conversation will see who is who, which is useful in itself.

Not Another 4-Year Election

For context, remember that in 2016 before the election President Trump said, This is not another 4-year election, this is a crossroads in the history of our civilization that will determine whether we the people reclaim control over our government.

History of our civilization. Not America’s. The world’s.

Not another 4-year election? Indeed. We shall see what was truly meant by that soon enough, I imagine.

Recall as well that on inauguration day 2017, President Trump was flanked by two military lines, the front two were JAG and MI, and Trump said, We are taking power from DC and returning it back to YOU, the PEOPLE.

I have often asked myself, Are we ready for that?

Maybe the last 7 years, but particularly the last 3-4, have been a unique preparation for that very thing.

It could be said that God is scripting all of this and there are roles for each of us to play. It’s more interesting to not know what will happen the next day, and to be faced with daily choices about how to live, how to love, how to care for one another.

Increasingly I have become intolerant of corruption, intolerant of lack of integrity, intolerant of deception.

So I call it out.

What anyone can do…

Listen, learn, speak, and act.

“There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to the one who is striking at the root.”