Pat Anderson receives endorsement of the Minnesotans for Limited Government

Minnesotans for Limited Government, a Political Action Committee working to bring the principles of limited government back to politics by educating the public and supporting liberty-minded candidates, has endorsed Pat Anderson for the Republican Party nomination for governor.

"The Minnesota Republican Party has a number of conservative candidates running for governor," said MNLG Chairman Rick Karschnia. "But out of the field, Pat Anderson stands out for her long history of putting the principles of individual liberty and limited government to work in a number of executive positions. She's the only state commissioner who ever used her position to eliminate her department and put herself out of a government job."

Anderson's promotion of the idea that individual and economic freedom be the first consideration of any government action played a strong role in her endorsement.

In remarks at the MNLG candidate recruitment night September 3, Pat noted, "In recent years I have seen a new Republican movement coming back, and it is a liberty Republican movement. I feel so blessed, because that is who I am, that is who I have always been."

"I am grateful to the Minnesotans for Limited Government for their support," said Anderson. "The liberty groups are uncompromising and a tough sell. They hold candidates' feet to the fire on the fundamental principles of individual liberty, private property and the rule of law. You really have to earn their trust and their endorsement, not just by talking the talk, but by having walked the walk, and I am honored that out of this field of candidates for governor, Minnesotans for Limited Government believes I can best turn those principles into workable policy."

MNLG is open to any individual who is passionate about liberty and limited government, and actively recruits and supports candidates for public office at all levels. Check out the group's website at http://www.mnlg.org/.


Pat Meets the Press

Pat was the gubernatorial guest on At Issue with Tom Hauser this past Sunday. She dismissed the gender question, making a point she has made before, this race is not about gender but about having the executive capacity to lead. Pat not only puts the gender issue to rest in the five minute format, she points that welfare reform must be done in a constitutional manner, and proposes the use of vouchers to expand educational choice beyond district schools. Noting that the budget problem calls for more than simply a freeze on spending she makes the key point about fixing the budget deficit - "We have to change our tax structure" - and she gets to the root of the problem and describes how she'll get things done. Watch the interview here.

You can see Pat's ability to go one-on-one with the media and make points even when the media wants to go in a different direction. Interviewed by two media veterans, Pat more than handles her own. Watch how Pat uses questions by KSTP's Tom Hauser and WCCO's Esme Murphy to make the points she wants to make - not necessarily the answers they are fishing for.



Pat Walks the Walk - Even When It Means Walking into the Belly of the Beast

Politics in Minnesota writing about the pilgrimage of DFL candidates to worship at the altar of AFSCME Council 5, the 43,000 member state, county and municipal workers union, makes the parenthetical note -- "[By the way, the only GOP contender set to participate in the AFSCME screening is Pat Anderson.]." (http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/2009/sep29/3686/unions-ready-rock-governors-race) But while DFL candidates go bowing and scraping for support, Pat's mission is to explain who's the boss.

"In both my two previous statewide races for auditor, I participated in the screening," says Pat. "I tell the board right up front that I know they are not going to endorse me, but I want to explain my positions and that's why I am talking to them. After all, their members might end up working for me again."

"What some of the candidates don't understand is that as much as we might not like it, government unions are a fact of life right now. Union contracts already negotiated by law have to be honored even if that limits some of the reforms we'd like to make. The Governor has to pursue her goals in that context, and setting expectations and defining to the unions what needs to be done in the best interest of the state is a start."