Minn. GOP brings out the knives for moderates

[cali]

In a dramatic display of the new Republican order, Minnesota’s state GOP banished 18 prominent party members — including two former governors and a retired U.S. senator — as punishment for supporting a third-party candidate for governor.

The stunning purge, narrowly passed by the state Republican central committee last weekend, suggests more than just a fit of pique: by banning some of the state’s leading moderates, the Minnesota GOP moved toward extinguishing a dying species of Republican in one of its last habitats.
ans the 18 former members from participating in party activities for two years and bars them from attending the 2012 Republican National Convention, may provoke a backlash that undercuts the party’s competitiveness in a state that’s voted for the GOP presidential nominee just once in the past half century.

“The Republican party is trying to become ... you would call it introverted totalitarianism,” said former congressman and Gov. Al Quie, a onetime vice presidential prospect who plans to stick with the party despite the penalty. “It’s just plain dumb on their part. ... In the long run, if the party persists with this, going to just become smaller and smaller and eventually something else would come in its place.”


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46276.html#ixzz18OWPi53o

[Occam Bandage]

1. That's probably going to work out pretty well for them.

They convincingly won both the state House and Senate, but there's going to be a Democratic governor. Their best bet is to band together, hold the state hostage, and force Dayton to either do what they want or shut the state down. Making a few examples now will keep the troops in line, strengthening their bargaining position.