Over the next few weeks Guy Collins (SD-45A) will post his thoughts on the '06 elections: national, state, and local, (with more of a tilt toward the local) This is a multi-part series with the theme of Pride, Perspective, and Perseverance.

Pride Perspective Perseverance (Part IV - Perspective)
What do the results form the recent election mean, on a state and national level?  

I believe at both levels there is a consensus among activists and pundits that on Tuesday, while Republicans lost fairly big, conservatism did not lose.  Cases in point include Michele Bachmann in MN CD 6, and the success of the marriage amendment again in 7 of 8 states,  successful eminent domain-curbing legislation, and so on. 
 
While the defeats were discouraging, they could have been even worse if the volunteers nationwide in the 72 hour GOTV effort had not done an excellent job in turning out known Republicans.  Sadly, too many of these people that we did turn out ended up voting against the Republicans. 
 
The most discouraging part of the results was the loss of great candidates -  people who have, and would continue to,  fight hard to serve  ALL people.  Sadly these public servants got swept up in this mini-wave of anti-Republican revolt.  I'm not talking about people like George Allen- who by all accounts ran a poor campaign, or Lincoln Chafee - "don't let the Republican door hit you where the good Lord split you", or even Mark Kennedy, who was fighting a steep uphill battle from day one, in a race that would've been tough for any candidate to win, even in a Republican neutral race. 
 
I'm talking about people like Rick Santorum, who was unfairly, and frequently, savaged for saying what he believes and sticking to it (the horrors!).  What is under-reported (surprise) is that he was a bi-partisan champion for the less privileged in America and abroad, doing way more in his few years as a Senator, than liberal heroes like the late Paul Wellstone and Ted Kennedy have done in their entire careers. 
 
I'm also talking about a wonderful woman named Mary Kiffmeyer, who worked harder than any public servant I know, excelling in her job, traveling to every nook and  cranny of this big state, to educate and motivate ALL voters - yes, even including dark blue places like Duluth, inner city Minneapolis, and St. Paul.  She gets rewarded by being replaced by a former communist who is proclaiming to "protect your vote"  We'll need to wait and see if the "your" he's referring to includes illegal aliens. 
 
I'm also talking about people like Pat Andersen, Jeff Johnson, and Phil Krinkie, who in their past have excelled in their jobs, and have been largely non-partisan (Andersen even was endorsed by the Star Tribune).  The saddest part about this, I believe if people knew more about these candidates, they would have fared better.  Again. part of their loss is due to  anti-Republican sentiment, but also, I believe the state party could have used their financial and human resources much more wisely in supporting state candidates.  Here's hoping our party sees the opportunities and adjusts for them in 2006.  The difficult pat is, once lesser known constitutional offices are lost, its difficult to get them back, until you have a party wave like we experienced this year.  People just don't take the time to know or care about what these office holders do.
 
But the silver lining is, by all accounts, the local and national activists and pundits are fired up and rededicated, vowing to redouble their efforts to bring true conservatism back in the mix between 2006, and 2008.  I'll post more on that upcoming in "Pride, Perspective, Perseverance, Part 5 - Perseverance"