Republican Sign Spammers or Fringe Candidates Who Really Like Irony?

The corner of 31st Ave N and 4th St N.

The 3100 block of Emerson Ave N.

The corner of 22nd and Emerson.

The corner of 24th and Emerson.

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

There are probably many more pieces of sign spam like this.  But on my normal bike routes alone, I have seen Republican candidates Jim Lilly and Chris Fields have signs on at least four vacant lots.  This wouldn't usually be a problem except that in all four cases photographed above, the lots belong to either the City of Minneapolis or Hennepin County.  I find it rather ironic that the party that claims to promote self-reliance and eschews government dependence has two of its candidates using government land to promote themselves.

I can't tell if they're clueless  or if this is somehow an abstract, meta-political statement that's just going over my head.  Normally, I remove signs like this myself.  In this case however, I decided to make four separate 311 reports.  I'd like to think that these guys think the Democrats would want it this way.

Lilly, by the way, has a sparse 1-page campaign website where he asks, "What is the solution to today's problems?" and then responds to himself with "The only good social relationship for society involves a life-long commitment between a man and woman."  Over fifteen years ago, he sued the City of Minneapolis and won, thus preventing any municipality in Minnesota from offering domestic partner benefits.  As far as I can tell, this law has yet to be overturned.  So yeah, don't vote for this guy.

On Fields' campaign website, he talks about his humble beginnings, growing up knowing "'the stinging shame' of using well-meaning but poorly designed government programs like food stamps and welfare."  Apparently his campaign feels no such shame in using the government to promote his run against Keith Ellison.