Sorry, but this is way too close for my liking. This is going to look bad if Bills finishes under 50%. Remember, Carlson is a total nobody who just appeared in the last month. He didn't even have a real campaign outside of that Fox ad. If it weren't for that bit of agit-prop and the tantrum throwing GOPe, Carlson would be finishing around 10% like the other guy named Carney. Not cool.
Bills' chances are going to hinge entirely on the grassroots. It's abundantly clear that the GOPe in MN is STANDING DOWN. I've heard more than a few stories about local GOP offices where they will have signs and supplies for every candidate but Bills. They hate him so much, not just because of his association with Ron Paul, but because he routed their chosen ones, Dan Severson and Pete Hegseth.
It's really unfair too. If not for Ron Paul, I see no reason why Bills wouldn't have the support of the mainstream. He could have gained much respect on his conservative record and lifestyle alone.
I had Bills as a teacher in High School, and he was nothing but honest, a classy teacher and a family man. Bills didn't back away from his Paul support when he so easily could have, just to appease the GOPe base.
In fact, he stood true to his principles, the same ones that had him criticizing Keynes back in my old economics class and endorsing Ron Paul shortly before the February caucuses. His support for Paul was not new then, nor was it opportunistic. Bills was at my father's caucus in 2008, when the man was still a only a teacher (he hadn't been elected to the state house yet), and he supported Ron Paul that year too.
Now, the GOPe doesn't want to give the real Kurt Bills a chance. They see only Ron Paul when they look at him. They've turned him into a target, a symbol, a whipping boy for their hatred of what RP supporters were able to do in this state.
To me, that means we should do the same. Please don't let Kurt Bills down this autumn.
