Agreed

Also, just because no one has said it, doesn’t mean we ain’t thinking it...

I got a god dam political text from Ellison volunteer. WTF? Never had anything political before texted to me. Asked me to support Ellison. I replied “HELL NO! God dam Democrats are more interested in taking care of illegals than there own people”! Didn’t get a reply.

I just got a call saying to go meet Jason Lewis Saturday. Guess I’m doing better than you.

Although I did get a few texts from “Trump” saying to donate money now and he’d personally quadruple the amount given.

There will be less occupations in the private sector after potentially alienating folks and having ones personal life front and center.

I'm applying to med school so I can deliver free market, direct patient care.

The point is to support a candidiate to get the message out and then show voter growth by voting for them. Also, I don't embolden a party to continue to pick the same candidiates year after year that I dislike or have total lack of enthusiasm.

I dont intend for my candidiates to win at all.

That line of thinking makes your effforts not relevant in the fight to preserve and strengthen our 2A rights.  It's happening now, with candidates and politicians who are definitely not perfect, but it's happening now.

It’s still just yelling freedom while being disembowled.

No, someone might actually hear you yell, "Freedom" while having your guts ripped out. Almost no one looks at the vote totals for third-party candidates unless the difference between the two major party candidates was less than the third-party total. And even then it's just to wonder why that 3-5% thinks throwing away their general election vote matters.

Things the leftists have been doing, like passing obamacare?  They were able to do that because the dems cheated enough to give Al Franken the win in a close race, which was close because right-leaning third party voters made their statement.  So, I suppose libertarians are relevant in a sense.  They can help push the left to win in closely contested state races (we actually have a lot of those in MN).

If you're making a statement about libertarians not being aligned with the right or republicans, I guess I agree based on how their votes impact the general elections.  It does raise the question of how exactly libertarians think they fit into the pro-2A effort.

Mediocrity?  Not only have MN republicans (and some rural Dems) held the line against a state AWB, we've got concealed carry and suppressors in the last two decades.

Hell, MN would have gone for Trump in 2016 if not for McMullin's independent candidacy.

Are we a completely free state?  Of course not.  But the 2A effort here is led, staffed, and given it's critical mass by republicans and it's a long way from mediocre.

Look at the Trump Effect.  That occurred within the Republican's system of state primaries/national convention, even despite the never-trumpers' best efforts.

If libertarian-leaning people want to be engaged in the Republican party, bring something to the primaries that makes people want to vote for you.  Trump showed us that's not so much being a middle of the road candidate, but more about having mass appeal.  Sometimes what we think of as rather extremist viewpoints are very commonly held, but the person asking for the votes has to be enough of a natural leader to make people want that person to represent them.  Not everyone has what it takes to be a politician (I sure as hell don't have the magnetic appeal in general or the inclination to kiss donors' butts for campaign money).  Not every weird Harold with a perfectly crafted platform is going to get voters to give him the time of day.  It's a gross business, and a LOT of what would be the most highly qualified candidates want no part of it.  IMO.

I get it, I really do.  This strategy has been going on since long before you or I were casting votes, and I don't expect that it will stop anytime soon.  My first ever vote cast in a presidential election went to Colonel James Gordon "Bo" Gritz, and 4 years later I voted for H. Ross Perot.  At that time in my life, I felt much the same way that you do now, and a large part of me still does.  Unfortunately, the next 25 years or so made it clear to me that refusing to participate in a game that I don't approve of does nothing to prevent the game from being played.  I don't believe that any party is "owed" votes, as SJUhockey has stated, but my viewpoint on politics is more practical now.  Here in MN, we have some darned close races, and small numbers can decide which way things go.

The 2016 republican primary race was the first time in my adult lifetime where I really felt like we had some great candidates.  Ted Cruz was practically my dream come true for president, and my wife and I put a lot of time, effort, and money into supporting him.  I also would have been very happy with Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, or Rick Perry.  Heck, Ben Carson or Carly Fiorina probably would have done a great job too.  None of these people were perfect (Except Cruz), but I'd have been pleased as punch to vote for any one of them.  The  primary resulted in Donald Trump as the republican nominee.  He was not anywhere near my first choice, but I voted for him.  I'll be darned if I don't like him and agree with most of what he's done.  I also have my doubts that Ted Cruz would have actually been able to win the national election, so if my guy would have won the primary, we might very well have Hillary Clinton as president right now.  I was a kid when Reagan was president, so my firsthand experience has been with George HW, Clinton, George W, Obama, and now Trump.  Trump is by far the best in my lifetime, and it's not even close.

Obviously, there are still plenty of major problems in the USA, but things are moving in a better general direction than they have in many years.  Good things in politics seem to happen very slowly, but bad things happen in an instant and they are very hard to undo.  There are good things happening now, but they can be hard to see.  Those good things would not be happening with democrats in power, and a lot of other bad things would be happening.  If you insist on taking an "all or nothing" political stance, you have to learn to get used to getting nothing almost every time.

I think this is a really important point to make.  It is way too easy in our current culture (largely because of the internets, as mentioned before) to see problems and want to burn everything down.  Usually there are much better ways to get positive change.

I'm 44, did you think I was older, or younger?

I’ve always been of the opinion that gridlock was the best thing for government. When dems have control they punish us and when republicans have it they don’t benefit us.

Guess my goal is just to not let any dems punish us.

But, what do I know. I couldn’t even vote for Perot

Exactly, I just can't wrap my head around the stubbornness of people who'll cut off their nose to spite their face (as my beloved grandmother used to say). The primaries are when you choose the candidate you like the most, if your guy didn't win let it go and work harder next time. Once you hit the general election 1 of the 2 major party candidates are going to win, your best play is to figure out which of those 2 more closely aligns with your views, even if that candidate is only marginally better on some issues than the other. You should also weigh the national party platforms and decide how the candidates' vote will decide not only which legislation passes but who controls the committees and even the chamber gavel.  And if you have to hold your nose to vote in the general, you hold your nose and vote.  Voting for a 3rd party just to "send a message" only has the other side laughing at you for helping to elect their guy, why do you think they send out those last minute mailers trying to help the 3rd party candidate in close races?

Well congratulations. You’ve earned your little red badge of courage. Now we just need more like you so we can wake up Nov 2nd to governor Tim Walz and the rest of the anti-gun, anti-cop, sanctuary city loving lib assholes.

Erud was advocating that you need to vote for the Republican, you may want to re-read it.

Out of everything I’ve typed in this thread over the last day, you take one paragraph out of context and somehow interpret it to mean the exact opposite of my whole point?  Sorry, not sure sure how to respond to that.  

If somehow you haven't gotten to it yet, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Done, straight ticket

I find it interesting that Doug Wardlow has the highest number of Republican votes in the statewide races at the moment.
https://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/Results/AllStatewide/115
334,000 at the time of this posting.

Amy K. has the highest number of Dem. votes.

I am disappoint with MN

Not looking good for the AG’s race

It's looking downright awful (as usual) in all of the statewide races.

While I live in WI, I work in MN so I keep tabs on your elections. Looking like Democrats are winning by pretty big margins in the state's major elections. Wisconsin isn't faring much better.

I can't believe that it looks like the POS Ellison is going to win.  

So now that Ellison is likely to win and Walz has won... are we the next state to fall with an assault weapon ban?  I can't stand Tpaw... but would we have been better off with him?  This fucking sucks.

Yeah, we're in trouble..

Damn, just like I feared on our state level  At least these commies tell us in advance of what they want from us.  For every freedom loving, 2A supporter that chose not to vote, SHAME ON YOU!.  We were told well in advance through their own mouths what their objectives/intentions/goals/aspirations are & they still won.

The good guys got wiped the F* out in the suburbs this year.  The number of outstate votes in MN just can't make up for the suburban white RINO/NeverTrump flight from Trump's GOP.  Sweep for the gun-grabbing commies for the statewide offices and we'll see how bad the state legislature looks in the morning but this is looking terrible for our taxes and gun-rights.

I thought I head on Fox 9 that we’ll take the senate?

Looks like we hold Senate and lost house at state level

Edit: is that enough for a successful gridlock?

Why the hell does this state have to be so damn bi-polar?

Thank GOD!

Edit: (former) Hennepin Co. Sheriff Rich Stanek looks to have lost to someone I've never heard of... what a shit show.

This state is in HUGE trouble!!!

Indeed!

Obama cloned sharia law muslim Attorney General!
The state is complete gong show mess!!!

So who's all going to the Libertarian Party victory rally today?