The last time the DFL elected their candidate as governor, I was still young.The year was 1986. Since then, pundits have pontificated on why the DFL hasn’t elected another governor. Recently, Sen. Tom Bakk asked former Gov. Wendy Anderson for his opinion on why the DFL has had such a long dry spell. Here’s what Windy Wendy said:

Sen. Tom Bakk, a 2010 gubernatorial candidate, said he asked former Gov. Wendell Anderson why he thinks that is so. Bakk said Anderson’s answer was that [DFL] candidates over the past two decades haven’t appeared genuine enough to Minnesotans.

There’s truth to that opinion. DFL candidates can’t appear real because they’d never get elected if they told people what they really believe. While DFL activists wouldn’t hesitate in voting for a candidate that refuses to say no to the DFL’s special interest allies, John Q. Public won’t. Another thing that John Q. Public won’t vote are politicians who vote to increase spending to unsustainable levels.

Most importantly, John Q. Public won’t vote for politicians whose first instinct is to raise taxes. With Sen. Bakk’s fingerprints all over the DFL’s proposed tax increases, it’s my opinion that he’s fighting uphill into a hail storm.

Based on this information, I think it’s appropriate to say that Sen. Bakk is fighting uphill against hurricane-force winds:

The 1999 tax cuts are no longer sustainable, he said. And he says it won’t be enough to tap the state’s wealthiest earners with more taxes.

“We can’t solve a problem this big on the backs of 80,000 people,” Bakk said of so-called “soak the rich” plans. He said that means all taxpayers sharing in the pain. “I understand it’s a tough sell,” Bakk said of the plan. “Are people going to be willing to listen to the tough medicine? I don’t know.”

A tough sell? No, no, no. A tough sell is trying to sell people on tax increases during a severe recession. Sen. Bakk telling John Q. Public that he’ll raise taxes on everyone is the equivalent of Walter Mondale’s promise to raise taxes during a debate in 1984. The term that most accurately describes that admission is political suicide.

That’s before we start talking about how Sen. Bakk’s promise will sell in a Tea Party world. I’m not alone with that opinion:

University of Minnesota-Morris political science professor Paula O’Loughlin doesn’t think that approach will pack as much punch as some suspect it will. Guts, she said, don’t score political points. “That’s not the way politics works, even in the 21st Century,” she said. “Being honest and forthright about what is needed does not always serve your political interests.”

And a pro-tax stance will be risky, O’Loughlin said. “They’re not going to like it — even the DFLers,” said O’Loughlin, who named Entenza, a former DFL House minority leader, and former U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, a Republican, as leading contenders in their respective parties.

Unless political realities change, expect DFL delegates to return Sen. Bakk to the Senate.

Technorati: Tom Bakk, Wendy Anderson, Walter Mondale, Governors, Taxes, Spending, Matt Entenza, DFL, Jim Ramstad, MNGOP, Election 2010