Mediaite catches Minnesota gubernatorial candidates in the act of a very difficult dance:
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt kicked off a Republican gubernatorial debate by asking all five candidates if President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and got a torrent of word salad in response.
Hewitt was among the moderators Wednesday night for the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial debate between candidates Dr. Scott Jensen, State Senator Paul Gazelka, State Senator Michelle Benson, Dr. Neil Shah, and Mayor Mike Murphy.
In what could become a defining characteristic of GOP debates going forward, Hewitt’s first question sent each of the candidates into what can only be described as a game of verbal Twister.
“In your opinion, did President Biden win a constitutional majority of the Electoral College? If yes, how definitive is your conclusion, and if no, could you please explain which states you think are in dispute,” Hewitt asked Jensen (apparently speaking from a part of Minnesota that has not yet been reached by the invention of the microphone).
“I don’t know. I don’t know. And I think that you have to take that attitude towards 2020,” Jensen replied, then launched into a lengthy response in which he promoted several types of voting restrictions.
It’s not surprising, of course, but you hope for better from the local crop of politicos. But, no, being a leader sometimes means being alone, and the herd, in the Republican case, is far more important to these candidates than getting the issue right.
Getting it right means either presenting convincing evidence of electoral malfeasance, or accepting the result unambiguously and with a good attitude. Muttering darkly about unsupported conspiracies or Divine promises or some other garbage is so thoroughly unconvincing that it should – but won’t – terminally damage their reputations with every independent voter in Minnesota.
