MC has been greatly amused by the wide range of reactions to the mere posting of some State Central delegates email addresses less than 24 hours ago. Some applauded, seeing, correctly, that the posting was meant to break the back of the few party hacks who hand out the list to favored allies. Those hacks also prevent other State Central delegates from contacting each other. Why do we allow this to happen? Others saw the logic but suggested posting in ways that prevented spam bots from harvesting them; these people were MC's favorite because they both "got it" but wanted to minimize any downsides. Last were the over the top anal-retentive types MC fully expects to see as walk-ons in the sequel to "Fargo." Good grief people: get over yourselves. You're not that important and if a stray spam email ruins your day you might want to think about getting a life.Lessons from email gate (a friend of MC sent an email in which someone had characterized this flap as such; doesn't take much in a moribund Minnesota Republican Party, does it?):
1. Your email is not private. Emails are given out routinely but usually to the favored few. This is what was at stake when MC posted the emails.
2. Why does it take a mistake by a candidate for Deputy Chair to have people realize how difficult it is for us to talk to each other? What is wrong with us that we find that normal?
3. The email list of State Central delegates and alternates is NOT a trade secret no matter how pathetically the current leadership may try to assert that in order to bully critics into silence. MC was threatened with just such a lawsuit merely for contacting them! We stood them down and no lawsuit was commenced (pity: think of the video depositions we would have posted here!). So forgive us if we think the spam whiners strike us as, well, whiners. We understand the point but many were creepily baby-ish about it. Back under your rocks with you!
4. If you do not want to be contacted by other Minnesota Republicans you should not be a delegate or an alternate. What's the point? To bark on cue from the Old Guard? We've had quite enough of that, thank you.
5. What will be done about the State Central Committee staying in touch with itself when we meet June 13th? MC does not think itself crazy for wanting elemental democracy in our party. We can both protect the super-sensitive types while allowing contact amongst the rest of us.
6. The email addresses in the post below have been deleted. We have distributed them to enough people that State Central delegates may actually be contacted by activists. Scary!
7. Commence feeling foolish. You know who you are.
