Contact: Bob Carney Jr. -- (612)-824-4479 (home and business)

                                          (612)-710-2212 (cell)

Note: please use this e-mail temporarily -- bobcarneyjr@msn.com

My e-mail address at republicancontract currently has technical problems -- Bob

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For an archive of all news releases, and more information, please visit: www.republicancontract.com

Minneapolis, MN, August 4, 2010 -- Bob Carney Jr., a candidate for Governor in Minnesota's Republican primary, today announced his plan to make this year's Republican primary "a referendum on Tom Emmer."

Carney has offered to conditionally withdraw if he wins the primary -- if the Republican State convention is reconvened, and endorses "a reasonable, mainstream candidate" for Governor, who recognizes and accepts the limited role of unallotment in the budget process.

Carney declines to name specific individuals he would accept as "reasonable and mainstream," believing this would put such people in an awkward position. "But I want to assure the citizens of Minnesota, especially Republicans, that I will be reasonable in accepting an established and widely recognized Republican leader as a replacement for the disastrous, barhopping Emmer."
 

Carney's announcement is "hard news"

Carney believes his new plan is "hard news," and that Minnesota voters deserve to hear about it.

"Until I announced this plan, the media have told Minnesota voters Emmer faces no 'major' opponent in the Republican primary. In effect, the only possible alternative to an Emmer victory would be a 'token' or 'perennial' candidate heading the Republican ticket in November," Carney said.

"But this is no longer true -- and the voters of Minnesota deserve to know it," Carney added.

Carney believes Emmer would harm the Republican party if he continues into the fall general election as the nominee, and that Emmer would be a disaster for Minnesota if he were to become the Governor.

Carney said Minnesota voters can rest assured they can vote for a mainstream Republican alternative to Emmer in the Republican primary. "I am now on the ballot as a proxy for that alternative candidate," Carney said.
 

Carney receives a "favorable review" from the Star Tribune...

Carney received a generally favorable review from the Star Tribune editorial board in their Monday endorsement editorial. The Star Tribune made no recommendation in the Republican primary, but did say Carney "offers moderate Republicans who have not followed Horner out of the party an option on the primary ballot."

However, the Star Tribune concluded Carney's campaign was "politically ineffectual," evidencing "how near to extinction the once-dominant moderate faction of Minnesota's Republican Party has become." The two paragraph portion of Monday's Star Tribune editorial addressing the Republican primary follows this news release.

"Sadly, I think the Star Tribune's comments are accurate regarding the difficulty I have had in advancing my issues and my candidacy. I do appreciate that the Star editorial board gave serious consideration to what I believe has been my campaign's thoughtful and substantially complete offering on the issues. I believe what the Star published is an endorsement of the quality of my work regarding issues and challenges that Minnesota faces. However, at this late stage in the campaign, I think my conditional offer to withdraw -- making the primary a referendum on Emmer -- is my best available option. This course of action is calculated to both serve the best interests of Minnesota, and to help our Republican party, which in my judgment is clearly in need of help," Carney said.

...but not Emmer

“By contrast, the Star Tribune's silence about Tom Emmer's candidacy is deafening,” Carney said.

“It's not unusual to see an editorial dismiss token or perennial candidates without further comment. However, it is unprecedented for the Star Tribune to take this approach for a top-of-the-ticket Republican candidate who was endorsed unanimously at a state convention. This just demonstrates how seriously our Minnesota Republican party has gone off the rails,” Carney said.

The editorial noted Mr. Emmer is the Republican endorsed candidate, and said Carney's “realistic” budget plan was “more detailed than any yet seen from Emmer.” Those two statements are the entirety of what the Star Tribune wrote about Emmer.

“This is as close as the Star Tribune could possibly come to saying absolutely nothing about Emmer. It brings to mind the old saying: 'if you can't say anything good about someone – don't say anything at all,” Carney said.
 

Carney is a "candidate - journalist"

Carney considers himself both a candidate and a journalist. On Monday, August 2nd, Carney posted Tom and me -- episode three -- another in his continuing series challenging and critiquing Emmer. Tom and me -- episode three examines Emmer's promotion of a Tips Credit for servers, and Emmer's subsequent denial that he advocated cutting the wages of servers. "This denial flies in the face of the facts, as Tom and me -- episode three clearly demonstrates," Carney said. The video is embedded at Carney's news and information web site: www.republicancontract.com.

Carney's Tom and me video series has detailed Emmer's:

• Refusal to engage in debate or discussion about issues (episode one)

• Advocacy for what appears to clearly amount to secession from the union (episode two)

• Ill-conceived Tips Credit plan, and subsequent false and misleading statements (episode three)

"As I have studied Mr. Emmer's positions closely, and have observed how he operates, I've become convinced that Mr. Emmer simply must be replaced on the Republican ticket," Carney said.

Carney's assessment of the failing Emmer candidacy appears to be backed up by both the Star Tribune's "slack jawed editorial silence," and by a recent Star Tribune poll, showing Emmer would lose to either Senator Mark Dayton or Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Kelliher by about ten points. "Emmer's base of support is about 30 percent in both match-ups," Carney said.

If Carney does not win the Republican primary, he plans to continue his journalistic work beyond August 10th, -- with more episodes of Tom and me, and with additional video and print based journalism projects involving other candidates.

<end>
 

The following two paragraphs followed the Star Tribune's Editorial August 2nd, endorsing Tom Horner for Governor in the Independence party primary, separated by an ellipsis from the Independence party endorsement. This is all the Star Tribune had to say about the Republican party primary.

. . .

One reason Republicans might be inclined to stray into the IP primary is that the contest on their own primary ballot is not competitive. GOP endorsee Tom Emmer faces only token opposition from perennials Ole Savior and Leslie Davis, and a principled but politically ineffectual challenge from Bob Carney Jr. The GOP primary warrants no recommendation from this newspaper.

Carney, a Minneapolis journalist, offers moderate Republicans who have not followed Horner out of the party an option on the primary ballot. He's a critic of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2009 unallotment, which he considers an unconstitutional executive-branch power grab. His realistic budget plan -- more detailed than any yet seen from Emmer -- includes a $3 billion tax increase. The fact that Carney has been unable to mount even the semblance of a campaign reveals how near to extinction the once-dominant moderate faction of Minnesota's Republican Party has become.