by Steve Timmer

Nov 18, 2012, 9:00 AM

We have them right where we want them!

Since Katherine Kersten had an extra week after the election, she was able to concoct a more elaborate defense mechanism fantasy for herself and her friends (“Liberals think they won. Not for long.”) for this week in the Strib op-ed pages. Her fantasy is that the Republicans didn’t suffer a defeat, but rather engaged in strategic repositioning that will allow them get their message out in 2016 and beyond!” (Can’t you hear Buzz Lightyear?)

The entrails of the owl that used to live in Kersten’s backyard tell her so. The entrails told Katie to take heart in the fact that the Republicans made startling gains in key demographics. Katie will tell us where:

Compared with 2008, the party was up among men (four points), whites (four), younger voters (six) [really?], white Catholics (seven) and Jews (nine).

Impressive! Are these groups growing in relation to other important demographic group?

Do you see more and more of anybody in these groups compared to say, young unmarried women, Hispanics, Asians, blacks, both American and African, or Muslims? Perhaps without meaning to, Kersten unwittingly identified the Republican party’s looming demographic problem.

And Katherine was also gladdened by this:

At other levels of government, Republicans did surprisingly well. “The presidential election results looked a lot like 2008’s,” explains political analyst Michael Barone. “But the farther down the ballot you go, the more the results look like 2010’s” — a banner year for conservatives.

You know, here in Minnesota, I completely missed that. I guess I was distracted by Amy Klobuchar’s 30 point blowout of Kurt Bills in the only state-wide race here this year. Or maybe it was the disseizure of Chip Cravaack of his Eighth Congressional District seat. Or the retaking of both houses of Minnesota Legislature by substantial margins after the Republicans held the bodies for only two years.

I’ll admit I may have been blinded to the outcomes that Barone points to because I was looking at the defeat of the two divisive Republican social issues — the marriage amendment (and you must follow the link to the photo credit) and the photo voter id amendment — that I just didn’t notice everything that Barone and Katie take as positive signs.

Whatever the reason, though, you can really see the ominous trends for the DFL now that Katies points them out; our time is borrowed for sure. It is really a shame we did so well.