Worn out and tired is what some call the Republican Party of Minnesota, more commonly referred to as the MNGOP. Minnesota’s right-wing political party must quickly develop new talking points customized for Minnesota’s right leaning population that focuses on issues that more people have in common. Antiquated talking points don’t win elections. Small government, fiscal responsibility and the famous “Take back America” are Republican mantras that, when analyzed, make the Republican Party sound like a political unit in Nazi Germany. The 2014 election year is critical for Republicans in Minnesota. With the attractiveness of a wart and the attitude of a rattlesnake, the Republican Party of Minnesota has alienated more voters than they have attracted.

Minnesota GOP endorsed candidates are not (and cannot) win elections in the inner city. The party has abandoned college campuses and the 18-35 demographic altogether. With liberal college organizations like the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG),  who disguises the activities as “non-partisan” and is secretly a right-leaning liberal incubator for Minnesota’s DFL platform (check out the MPIRG blog on Tom Emmer possibly working at HU), leaves the unattractive activities of the Minnesota GOP in back of the class and labeled invalid.

2014 presents a possible paradigm shift in the political atmosphere of Minnesota. The state’s ruling party, the Minnesota DFL, is presenting several vulnerable or weak candidates for 2014. This includes Democrat incumbent senator Al Franken, St. Paul’s Washington DC representative in Congress Betty McCollum and governor Mark Dayton, who waited until his election year to announce a $1.2 billion dollar surplus citing “Building a better Minnesota.” Of course our beloved governor did not tell us the money was there mathematically in 2013. With DFL candidates positioned as low hanging fruit to be picked off by another political party, the MNGOP is so far lost on the “right” they can never recover to pick up the necessary popularity and voters to win these races. Some say Democrats in Florida are more conservative than Minnesota Republicans. In short, the MNGOP is heading for political extinction without an emergency makeover.

Minnesota DFL outreach director Mona Langston wrote this message about the MNGOP: “You [Republicans] would recognize how it looks when the bottom drops out better than I. We [the DFL] are on a streak and like all streaks at some point it will come to an end, but not right now; your party is in shambles and has been since Bush left you all high and dry with egg on your faces.”

MNGOP party chairman Keith Downey and secretary Christopher Fields continue to ignore sound advice. Community engagement, image and collaborative efforts remain mute in favor of the continued dry and antiquated “preaching to the choir” deployment of messaging. While the MNDFL has all-inclusive community town hall meetings, networking events at local restaurants and night clubs with celebrity spokespersons thrown in at an affordable price to the average working person ($25-$75), the MNGOP prices their events as if they are royalty, and the average working person in Minnesota sometimes will not pay the astronomical $100-$250 per ticket to listen to a game plan by a bunch of political losers. Using that  $100 to $250 of hard earned money and taking your friends to lunch, buying a new pair of shoes or getting your car washed seems like a better fiscal choice.

Money is a big concern for the MNGOP.  It is one of the many significant reasons the party does not feel the need to engage local and statewide college students or campuses. Students have limited funds to donate to the party or candidate. The MNGOP does not pay their boots-on-the-ground, whereas the MN DFL provides cash, food and transportation for the majority of its volunteers in the metro area. Those are just a few of the benefits of being on top.

Another concern for the MNGOP is a shrinking, old and dying population of delegates and supporters (55+). Party officials complained in 2010 and 2012 because local Basic Political Operating Units, commonly known as BPOU’s, raised money for candidates versus the state party offices. Delegates and supporters responded by saying it was better to send money to their favorite candidates than help the state party office pay off their debts. In spite of Tea Party babble and MN GOP antiquation, advocates of the outspoken group who started off more about the people versus a party (1850s) have a severe public relations problem that might only be remedied by a total overhaul. Today, the MNGOP cannot support any local candidates because of the massive debt incurred from the party’s past executive mismanagement. The MNGOP debt tenure happened under three past party leaders. Simply put, if you are a great possible conservative candidate, think seriously about running as a “conservative democrat” versus being associated with MNGOP.

The Republican Party of Minnesota needs a wakeup call. What are they willing to do that can present a positive image to the people of Minnesota? Are the Republicans in Minnesota willing to continue the sacrifice of top-endorsed candidates?  Is going through the political motion of campaign only a teaching ground with no wins possible? It would seem the MNGOP is only moving around chairs on a sunken political ship.

Fiscal responsibility, small government and liberty mean nothing to a Minnesotan without the inclusion of civil rights, education for all, the freedom to marry and economic sustainability for all families in Minnesota. If the MNGOP and some Minnesota Republicans continue to ignore the lone college student who is the future of any political movement, expect not only the MNGOP, but Republican offices across the United States to grow dark and become extinct. In the end, Republicans will be diagnosed with the ailment of stupidity and arrogance.