Former St. Paul Mayor and U.S. Senator Norm Coleman is nothing if not flexible.

• When  leftist radicals were de rigueur in the 1960s, Norm 1.0 was a leftist radical.
• When Skip Humphrey and Bill Clinton were on top of the political world, Norm 2.0 clung to them and the rest of the Democratic establishment.
• When the easier path to higher office appeared to be through the GOP, Coleman retrofitted into GOP Norm 3.0.
• When the Tea Partiers became power brokers, Norm 3.0 dutifully donned a tri-corner hat, formed a Super PAC to fund Tea Party-backed candidates, and endorsed Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann for, I kid you not, Vice President.

Then in 2012,  the going got tough for Senator Coleman and Tea Partiers, so the tough got a poll. In a St. Paul Pioneer Press commentary this week, Coleman advises Minnesotans  that he is in possession of scientific evidence indicating that “Minnesotans are not anti-government.”

New Norm

Accordingly, Senator Coleman is now telling his fellow Republicans that they should be more like him, Norm 2.5, center-right Norm.  Specifically,  Coleman’s commentary calls for his conservative followers to adopt a brand of conservatism that is “intent on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government,” while “ensuring that those who most need help in our society are able to have the support they need.”

This evolution is welcome news.  In the past Senator Coleman and his party often chose to perform his government repairs with a wrecking ball rather than WD-40.  For instance, in a 2005 vote Senator Coleman, according to www.ontheissues.com, voted to “reduce federal spending by $40 billion over five years by decreasing the amount of funds spent on Medicaid, Medicare, agriculture, employee pensions, conservation, and student loans.”

“It’s time to listen to what Minnesotans want”

But now Coleman’s commentary tells his followers that “it’s time for conservatives to listen to what Minnesotans want.”  Recent public opinion surveys tell us in no uncertain terms “what Minnesotans want:”

• A solid majority want to increase taxes on the wealthy, tobacco and alcohol.
• Only 23% of Minnesotans support “no new taxes,” the Gospel preached by Minnesota Republicans  for decades.
• An overwhelming majority of Americans, and presumably Minnesotans who gave President Obama an easy 8-point victory in 2012, oppose cutting government services related to the environment, healthcare, energy, scientific research, agriculture, roads and infrastructure, crime, food and drug inspections, natural disaster relief, education, and almost all other areas.

(Incidentally,  opinions’ on guns, marriage equality, voting restrictions, abortion, stem cell research and other social issues also are leaning decidedly left these days, but Coleman wants conservatives to de-emphasize social issues, so we will ignore “what Minnesotans want” on social issues for the purposes of this discussion.)

In other words, “listening to what Minnesotans want” leads Senator Coleman, after all these years in the political wilderness, back to the Democratic Party agenda.

Welcome home, Senator Coleman.  Welcome home.

– Loveland

Note:  This post was also featured in Politics in Minnesota’s Best of the Blogs and MinnPost’s Blog Cabin.