I started with a nice column by Melissa Clouthier, "
Sarah Palin Strikes Back" - a worthwhile read.
I then chanced upon
this article by Dan Riehl. (via the miracle of Google Reader - this
link is the feed I call my Daily Briefing.
I have a number of problems with Dan's article, but I lack the knowledge of how things are done in New York; I will reference my own experiences in NW Louisiana as I respond to Dan.
Please read Dan's article, "
Scozzafava Candidacy: Not the Fault of DC GOP" first.
My summary. DC is not to blame for the Scozzafava candidacy because the DC GOP doesn't or shouldn't pick candidates for them. According to Dan,
"It is not the D.C. GOP’s job to stab a state or local organization in the back, no matter what you may think."
Additionally, he posits a couple of very good questions.
"Why is the state GOP chairman, at least potentially, an old Nader guy at heart? Why did the local county chairmen think that Scozzafava would be a better candidate than Doug Hoffman might be? "
He then summarizes what he believes to be the core issue,
"Obviously, New York conservatives simply didn’t show up when it mattered most, and over a long period of time at that. If they had, the state chairman would be a rock-solid conservative. The same is true for the county chairmen."
He ends with the injunction
"Show up and do the work if you really want to make a difference. Otherwise, you might just as well shut up for all the good effect you’ll have influencing the political future of this great land."
Stew's View - from my own experiences in NW Louisiana:I have no idea how my local Republican Party operates. I am registered as a Republican, but the local party makes no effort to contact me, either to solicit my help as a volunteer or to request financial support. Nor am I invited when they hold a forum or debate. Furthermore, they seem to engage in almost no activity whatsoever to recruit or promote the party's ideals.
I am most familiar with the group "
Republican Women of Bossier" who do make an effort to promote the party, but the elected officials - not so much. I also have no clue how the state GOP officials are elected and it seems that the National GOP would love to keep it that way.
In the years that I have been a "member" of the Republican party, there has been no attempt to educate me on how I can help make the GOP better - just monthly solicitations and presenting me with plastic "platnium" cards as a way to help me ease my angst over the monthly request for donations. In short the GOP makes no effort to communicate the "value" of my membership, neither the value to them nor the value I derive. I am treated, by the Republican Party at the national level, as nothing more than a debit card. So, while I have sent money to the GOP in the past, I will no longer do so.
Now, Dan tells me that the money I sent to GOP has no strings attached when it is used on behalf of a person who was chosen to represent the GOP in the NY-23 race. In business, each franchisee derives value from the organization as a whole and the entirety suffers when a single franchisee doesn't conform to the values of the whole. Obviously, the GOP isn't a franchise - but doesn't it need to act like one?
Dan doesn't tell me how Scozzafava was chosen (was it a primary election or a choice by committee?) Nor does he tell me the process by which a local GOP organization gets ratified by the National GOP establishment (is it first come, first served or is there some vetting process that actually occurs?) How does the GOP know who represents them at the local level? In short, Dan exhorts us to "show up" but he gives no insight where / when this should occur.
Contrast this with my local Tea Party.
http://www.redriverteaparty.com/They hold a membership meeting every other Tuesday. Board meetings are twice monthly. They hold rallys, picnics, and sign-waving protests. They publish a weekly newsletter, maintain a twitter feed, and are active on Facebook. They endorse no candidate, just ideas and most importantly, they are accessible - something the GOP needs to fix if they want conservatives to, "Show up and do the work if you really want to make a difference." Something tells me, however, that the GOP wants no part of that.
Disclosure: I vote Republican, and I provide strategy and technical support to the Red River Tea Party.
