The case for Alan Fine

...a. k. a., the case against Tammy Lee.

(cross-posted at Northern Alliance Wannabe)

I'm disturbed to see some of my MOB brothers and sisters - purported conservatives - throwing their support behind Tammy Lee for Congress in the MN 5th.

The argument some are making is:
1. They want anyone to win other than Keith Ellison
2. Fine can't win, and Lee is at least a fiscal conservative

I think we're all behind #1, but I don't buy #2 for a second, and here's why.


Fine can win

Some claim that Fine cannot possibly win because no Republican received better than 26% of the vote in the last three elections. This is a false argument, because it ignores that there were different candidates in those elections.

By that logic, we should have all just stayed home in 2000, because Bush could never have been elected President. After all, "the Republican" only got 41% of the vote in 1996!

Data from the MN 5th in recent elections is irrelevant because "the Republican" (not Fine, by the way) was up against an unbeatable Marty Sabo. There's no denying that the 5th is a hard left district, but the election dynamics are different enough this time around to make comparison to previous elections misleading.

Two things I observe:

Poll data for the MN 5th is nowhere to be found.

The Star Tribune is going way out of its way to smear Alan Fine.

This tells me that the Strib is scared that Fine can win.


Tammy Lee is not a fiscal conservative

Her slogan, "Fiscally responsible. Socially progressive." is catchy, but let's break down her positions in her own words.

Her platform on education (emphasis mine):

Yes! Investments in early childhood education, quality Pre-Kindergarten, and Head Start

Yes! Fully fund the federal government's share (40%) of Title I and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) requirements to educate disadvantaged and special needs students in public schools.

Yes! Fully fund Title II federal requirements for teacher and paraprofessional training and development.

No! Diversion of taxpayer dollars for private school vouchers.

No! More unfunded federal education mandates

What I see is a lot of funding (i. e., tax increases). The only thing she doesn't want to fund is vouchers. She'd rather keep the money going to failing schools.

Her platform on energy (emphasis mine):

Yes! Re-direct the $6 billion in tax breaks that Congress is giving to Big Oil companies to research and development of alternative and renewable energy sources.

Yes! Encourage responsible investments in light rail and mass transit with federal matching grants for states.

Yes! Increase the CAFÉ standards (corporate average fuel economy) for U.S. vehicles.

Yes! Require at least 20% of our electricity comes from clean, renewable sources by 2020.

Yes! Encourage greater use of wind power and other alternative energies - for consumers and corporations.

Again we see higher taxes, not just for "Big Oil," but for all of us in the form of mass transit boondoggles, and we will see higher costs for cars and fuel as a result of the federal mandates she supports.


Tammy Lee is a liberal, not a moderate

If you're still thinking of voting for Lee just because she's "not Keith Ellison," let's look at some more of her positions.

She's pro-amnesty for illegal immigrants. She wants to "[p]rovide an earned pathway to legal citizenship for undocumented workers who are law-abiding and already contributing to our economy."

She wants to cut-and-run from Iraq. Her position is to "[i]mmediately begin the process of U.S. troop withdrawal."

She trusts the "world community" to combat the Axis of Evil. She wants to "[o]rganize a multinational response to stop Iran's nuclear program," and she wants to "[p]ursue multilateral negotiations led by the United Nations' Security Council to put pressure on North Korea to stop its missile production."

She's pro-abortion. She "will support a woman's right to choose." And are you ready for some more taxes? Lee also wants to fund:

Sex education in our public schools.

Access to contraception - especially emergency contraception. We can dramatically reduce the number of abortions through emergency contraception.

Healthcare coverage for pregnant women and their children after they are born. Requiring S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) to cover pregnant women and their children throughout the pregnancy and the first full year of the child's life.

Child care subsidies for working mothers.

Making the adoption tax credits permanent.

Just how different are these positions from those of Keith Ellison?

The bottom line is that Alan Fine does have a chance to win this election, but only if Republicans and conservatives unite behind him. We need to make sure that Tammy Lee is the Ralph Nader of this race, not the Ross Perot of this race.