Its Time For Serious Change At The Bills Campaign
I’m sorry to not let this go and just “get over it”, because it really bothers me. So here goes.
Dear Kurt Bills,
Your campaign can’t attack the news paper. Your campaign manager can’t lash out and claim favoritism and question the journalistic standards of the largest paper in the state.
Should it be done? Sure, but by the party maybe, bloggers for sure, and through letters to the editor from supporters, not an angry salvo with your header on it signed by your campaign manager.
This is something that even I learned over my years watching from the cheap seats.
Is the Star Tribune left leaning? Absolutely. Any honest person can sit back and compare the coverage of Bachmann, Ellison both “extreme in their own right and left principles…. something you don’t see in the failed liberal paper. Again, I can say that, Kurt Bills and his official campaign cannot.
Think of how the Strib covered Coleman to how it does Franken. Klobuchar now as the person in power to Mark Kennedy back in 2006, the roles reversed and so has the coverage. Emmer vs. Dayton with this unserious Tom Horner thrown in simply to confuse people who may accidently be draqwn to conservatism. You know, the only politicians who can really sell liberalism is the ones who call themselves independents or Republicans……
It doesn’t take a Doctorate or fancy tittle from a University to see there is a rush to debunk any GOP claim and aid any DFLer in most of the MSM today.
But your campaign manager can’t say “its daddy’s paper” or make prom queen references”. Your campaign manager also can’t say a newspaper is “Pravda on the Mississippi or if he does, he needs to do so with class, professionalism, and in a way that voters will take to heart. Throwing grenades often makes a huge mess and scares people.
And if the manager can’t find the right words to discredit the results with out looking like a two-bit bitter blogger, the manager can tell others who have the media’s ear to say it. Hey look, I found a better way.
Are most polls in Minnesota slanted to favor Democrats by over sampling? Yes. Next question.
But no. You’ve been releasing these polls showing you down but following the Welsstone way so you are banking on polling already so now you can’t make the pivot that you had to know you would need to. Its not like you are the first candidate to ever run statewide. Someone had to clue you in that this day would be coming and an angry screed was not the answer.
I’ve been on record that Mike Osskopp has got to be let go from the Kurt Bills campaign and I feel even stronger that it is not too late. But his resignation must be taken by Monday. And it should be public at this point now that his own behavior is now overshadowing the candidate’s.
When your opponent can basically say that they aren’t even going to acknowledge you for your crazy comments or can elude to the less than professional campaign manager, you’ve already lost. Its and it is time for local candidates to decide whether or not they want to be associated with you because they still have a chance.
When your name is on the lawnsigns and ballot, what your campaign, and staffers do on your behalf does reflects on you. Do the right thing Kurt Bills and get someone who knows what the heck they are doing. There’s still time. Its not personal, this is politics and you as the candidate need to consider this a business decision. It didn’t work, time to move on and part ways while you still have a chance.
Its time for a come to Jesus meeting Kurt Bills.
A major shake up like this could be used to draw positive attention to you, that maybe voters should give you a second chance and hey look, youre serious now. Attention gained, good or bad, but while all eyes are on you, make people see you are serious by handing out pink slips to anyone who approved that release, and say….
“Let me talk to you about the federal spending and budget deficits and how Amy Klobuchar has helped them go our of control during her tenure as a US Senator.”
This can be won, you can get back on track, but you have got to make some major internal changes Rep. Bills. I’ve been told to back off and let someone else approach you, that “this sort of thing can’t come from me because you supported Hegseth or ….” Well, every time someone told me to back off, something else was done by Osskopp that gave me that #headdesk feeling.
If you’d like, I’d be happy to talk this over with you personally but I know that unless I say this here, its never going to draw enough attention to make it past your filterers and handlers. Its not personal, this isn’t about you. If I wanted you to lose I’d sit here quietly and do nothing. Heck, I’d regurgitate Osskopp’s releases.
In 2010 someone needed to go kick down the Emmer campaign door and grab Emmer and shake him and say do you realize that this race was yours to lose, you are now losing, but its not too late………. Out of respect for those supposedly so much smarter than me, I sat by quietly.
Well, consider this your unruly office entrance by me in hopes of saving your campaign from itself. You can win this, I’d really like you to win this. But its not going to happen if you continue to allow someone to run your campaign like this.
Too long, but well said. Somewhere there is an old adage about “never picking fights with people who buy ink by the barrel.
I don’t see Bills giving Osskopp the boot over this press release, even if he wanted to take your advice and do so.
Letting Osskopp go would leave Bills with the choice of a)admitting he never approved the press release before it went out, which would make Bills look like he doesn’t know what is going on with his campaign or b) admitting that he did approve of the press release and is firing Osskopp for putting out a press release that he, namely Bills, approved in the first place. Not very good choices.
Something has to be done. The campaign is a wreck. Bills has never even been to our BPOU (County) and now some staffer is calling asking us to organize a lit drop.
Get the candidate here, earn some free media. Talk to people.
The other day there was a release that Bills was speaking to a HS class and GOP exec committee. Why? Go meet the undecided voters who will decide the election.
And where did all those delegates from the State Convention go ??
Why is anyone even spending time on this.
Bills is dead man walking.
Run away and spend time on folks who can get elected.
The GOP needs to treat Bills like the rest of Minnesota is – a joke that no one is listening to.
Sadly, I predict the Bills factor may impact some close legislative races and in the end tip part of the legislature to DFL.
I hope being able to party in Tampa was worth losing the state legislature.
Sam, I don’t understand why so many people want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. So he isn’t your favorite candidate and doesn’t agree with you 100%. So what? Your only choice is to at least TRY to get him elected because, if you don’t, Harry Reid, and possibly Mark Dayton, are going to run your life for at least the next two years. The best way to help the whole ticket is to help the whole ticket. At least Andy offered some very helpful advice, and I know is working hard beyond that. It doesn’t count as a “lost cause” if you deliberately throw it away.
I agree with Andy, BPOU Chair, and J.Ewing. Help the candidates as much as possible. Be a part of the solution. Help turn the election night parties into Victory Parties. Focus on the races are on are the line – like those identified by Minnesota PAC. Those 12 seats can be ours with enough help. To join Minnesota PAC, all you have to do is commit $12 to 6 candidates and MNPAC for a total of $84. AND, volunteer 2-4 hours for the 6 races that need volunteer help. It is easy, and it does make a difference!
And for those who took Caucus night Delegate positions by lying to their neighbors, (e.g. “I’m supporting Santorum!” “I’m young and excited to get involved!” “I want to help elect Republicans!”), who cares. They are obviously not real Republicans and not one of us, because we don’t use their methods. (And we don’t need marijuana to sleep at night.)
J. Ewing,
The issue is not just the Bills has no chance of wining, but that he has and is becoming a joke an anchor to other candidates.
It seems every week the Bills campaign does something to embarrass itself and the rest of the GOP.
Would I like to take back the Senate – sure but Bills is not going to win.
It was going to be a hard battle for a great candidate (not sure any of the folks had a chance) but Bills is a horrible candidate.
One need to look at resources and what is best path to victory.
I have already seen local DFL candidate using Bills to go after good, conservative GOP legislators by using the stupid comments that have been made.
You can either spread yourself thin and make sure we lose all the races or take a honest look at things and say, we need to spend out time where we can win.
Bills is not going to win and there is not enough time between now and election to fix the many things that are broken.
But there is still plenty of time for the Bills campaign to take down the rest of the GOP.
Cut your loses and marshal your forces where they can be used.
Spending time and money on Bills is not going to change the Senate election, but it sure might tip the balance to the DFL for John Kline or the MN House.
What you say makes sense if you assume that races cannot be won by a little hard work or a sudden mistake by the opponent, or that resources are absolutely finite. I don’t believe any of those things. I’m going to be helping the “12″ that Andy has suggested, the Bills campaign, the Kline campaign and my local races as best I can. More than I can, in fact. Sometimes another $10 or $12 makes a difference. If it isn’t enough, so be it, but better to go down swinging rather than giving up. Heck, if I took your approach, Romney would have already lost.