Carney will hold news conference Friday, August 6th, 4 PM, Room 125, State Capitol

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

                                          (612)-710-2212 (cell)

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Minneapolis, MN, August 5, 2010 -- Candidate-journalist Bob Carney Jr. responded today to a personal "smear" by the Minnesota Republican party -- the party's response to his plan to make this year's Republican primary for Governor "a referendum on barhopping Tom Emmer's failing candidacy."

Carney will go to GOP State Headquarters at 10 AM Friday, August 6th, to present a list to the state party of people Carney believes are "reasonable, mainstream" alternatives to Emmer. If the Republican party does not issue a "correcting statement" by 2:30 PM, Carney will "name names", posting his list publicly on www.republicancontract.com, Carney's news and information web site.

Carney will hold a news conference at the Capitol, room 125, at 4:00 PM.

Yesterday Carney held a news conference to announce that if he wins the GOP primary, he will withdraw if the Republican State convention is reconvened, and endorses "a reasonable, mainstream candidate for Governor, who will pledge to limit the use of unallotment, and to support an unallotment reform bill."  A video of the news conference is on www.youtube.com (enter bobcarneyvideos in the search box), and is also on Carney's www.republicancontract.com news web site.

Yes Virginia (and Warroad), there IS a Minnesota Republican Primary

Carney's announcement fundamentally changes this year's Republican primary. "Republicans, and all Minnesota voters, now have a choice between Tom Emmer and a full menu of reasonable, mainstream alternatives.  This year's Republican primary must be a referendum on Tom Emmer," Carney said.

Replacing a candidate for Governor close to a general election is not unprecedented for the Minnesota Republican party. In 1990, news reports of a scandal involving the Republican nominee, Jon Grunseth, first prompted Arne Carlson to re-enter the race as write-in candidate. Grunseth subsequently withdrew his candidacy nine days before the election, replaced by Carlson, who went on to win the election.

"My Dad was an election judge that year -- he didn't get home until one in the morning. Let's try to get the recall carried a little earlier this time," Carney said.

Republican Party "smears" Carney -- Carney demands "correcting statement"

Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio reported: "Minnesota GOP spokesman Mark Drake said the party remains united behind Tom Emmer, and he doesn't know anyone who takes Carney or anything he says seriously."

Mr. Carney will present rebuttal evidence to Mr. Drake's statement to the Republican party Friday, to the extent that the form of such a statement can be rebutted.

"But let's leave me out of this. In fact, the whole point of what I'm doing is to leave me out of it, Carney said. If I win the primary, my only going forward will be to hold the GOP Convention's feet to the fire until they endorse someone else besides me -- a reasonable, mainstream Republican that they can accept," Carney said. While Carney would be willing to accept the convention's endorsement, he believes this is only a remote possibility.

"I believe Mr. Drake, speaking for the Minnesota Republican party, has smeared me. As corrective action, I will go to GOP Headquarters at 10:00 AM Friday and demand that an authorized spokesperson for the party issue a correcting statement," Carney said. The statement is as follows:

The Minnesota Republican party apologizes to Mr. Carney for a statement made by Mr. Mark Drake yesterday, suggesting Mr. Carney should not be taken seriously. We acknowledge that evidence Mr. Carney has presented to us, including extensive excerpts from a 2006 videotaped interview with Republican Minnesota House Speaker Steve Sviggum, and the Star Tribune's Monday, August 2nd, endorsement editorial is evidence that Mr. Carney deserves to be taken seriously. Mr. Carney has presented to us a list of people he considers to be "reasonable, mainstream" Republican replacement candidates for Mr. Tom Emmer. We believe the people on Mr. Carney's list are "reasonable, mainstream" Republicans. Mr. Carney has assured us in a notarized written statement that if he wins the Republican primary, and if the Minnesota Republican convention reconvenes and endorses any of these individuals, and if the endorsed individual pledges: "to limit the use of unallotment, and to support an unallotment reform bill," Mr. Carney will withdraw as a candidate, allowing the Minnesota Republican party to replace him on the General Election ballot with the endorsed replacement candidate.

If the Minnesota Republican party does not issue the above statement by 3:00 PM Friday, Carney will post the list. "I would rather not do that, because it may be embarrassing to the individuals I name. However, under the present circumstances, if the Minnesota Republican party does not issue the above statement, I will 'name names' -- I think Minnesota voters need to know what options they have when they cast their primary election ballot. If I do have to release the list, I am sure Minnesota voters will agree the people on the list are "reasonable, mainstream" Republicans, and that there would be no excuse for the Minnesota Republican party not to endorse one of these individuals as my replacement if I win the Republican primary," Carney said.

Tom and me video series will continue "unless canceled by the voters, or Emmer"

Carney vowed to continue his Tom and me video series until Emmer is off the Minnesota ballot.

"The voters can cancel this series in the primary, it would then conclude with one or two wrap-up episodes. Mr. Emmer can cancel the series at any time by withdrawing as a candidate, the wrap-up would be the same. I remain willing to sit down with Mr. Emmer for extended videotaped discussions, this offer was made to him months ago, but he has refused it. Otherwise, I will continue with this series until November. I plan to do additional videos on both the DFL and the IP nominees -- and as with Mr. Emmer, I will first solicit their cooperation in doing these video projects," Carney said.
 

Many see Carney as a "reasonable alternative" to Emmer

Contrary to Mr. Drake's recent smear, before Carney's plan to make the Republican primary "a referendum on Emmer," many individuals and organizations have been taking Carney seriously as a candidate in his own right.

Carney's status as "the reasonable alternative" to Emmer in the GOP primary was confirmed by a Star Tribune editorial published Monday, August 2nd. The editorial text follows this news release. In the last week, articles about Carney's candidacy have been published in (hyperlinks are to the articles):

The Star Tribune (also in print edition)

Minnesota Public Radio

The Marshall Independent

The New Ulm Journal

The Austin Herald

The Owatonna People's Press

The Original Tea Party of Minnesota

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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.