Inside Politics

COLD AIR

Could a national Republican Party resurgence come from the frozen climes of the North? Possibly, explains Ed Morrissey in a blog at HotAir.com, citing Minnesota political specialist Eric Ostermeier.

“It took four years of George Bush’s second term to push Republicans to a recent nadir in registration in Minnesota. It only took six months of Barack Obama to push the GOP back into parity with the DFL, the state’s Democratic Party. Eric Ostermeier at Smart Politics looks at the suddenly stronger Republican Party and draws at least one of the correct conclusions,” Mr. Morrissey writes.

“Eric explains that the change has come quickly. In four earlier polls this year, Democrats had double-digit leads on party ID in Minnesota, including as late as June, when the gap was 13 points. That’s how much ground Republicans have gained - in a month.”

“What happened? The CBO began scoring ObamaCare, and the House shoved cap-and-tax down the throats of Republicans. Even after Porkulus, people clung to the belief that Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid represented a moderate middle rather than a radical Left, and that their leadership would focus on prosperity rather than socialism. After June and July, those pretenses disappeared, even in Minnesota.”

So is this the Republican 50-state strategy?: Give Democrat leaders enough rope. Mr. Morrissey sees potential: “This shows that Republicans can beat Democrats by focusing on their overreach, and by having common-sense alternatives that support prosperity rather than destroying it. Even in Minnesota, people can learn those lessons, which says something for a state that just sent Al Franken to the Senate. If we see this trend in Minnesota, you can bet it’s happening in plenty of other states, too.”

BLAZING GUNS

Sen. Mark Udall, Colorado Democrat, is sticking by his latest pro-gun vote in an Op-Ed published in his home-state’s biggest paper, the Denver Post.

The paper took him to task for voting to support a measure that would have allowed residents to carry concealed firearms across state lines. But Mr. Udall said the paper oversimplified the vote.

“The Denver Post suggests that I rethink my vote for legislation that would allow individuals who legally acquire a concealed firearm permit in their state to carry their firearm when they travel to other states. [“Senators misfire on gun measure,” July 24 editorial],” Mr. Udall writes.

“While the Denver Post did not acknowledge it, the legislation also required that a person holding an out-of-state permit also comply with state laws governing the specific places and manner in which firearms may be carried. It was not a writ of immunity for anyone committing a crime with a gun,” as Mr. Udall characterized the Post’s initial editorial.

“Gun issues are controversial. They spark heated debate and inflame public opinion. When these issues come up, one can choose to fan the emotional flames, or one can objectively consider the facts.”

HARD COUNT

DavidShribman at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has some archaic political advice for President Obama and congressional Democrats: Watch the count on health care, citing the lopsided margins by which Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965 passed.

“Here are some numbers that you need to remember as you watch President Barack Obama and Congress wrangle over a blizzard of figures at the heart of a proposed dramatic overhaul of the way Americans receive their health care: 372-33, 77-6, 307-116 and 70-24.

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