When Ronald Reagan left office January 1989, he left a message for his successor, George HW Bush, his comrade in arms for the previous 8 years. That message, right now, brings some comfort:
Don't Let the Turkeys Get You Down.
So, let's look back at the primary. My colleague and Friend Matt reflected on what he learned through the prism of the Pierce campaign. Let me take the time to do the same:
1. You need a campaign manager who is present, who is not in Washington.
2. You hve to be willing to lie to people right to their face about your credentials.
3. Until County Central Committees Take a Stand, and we have every county go through an endorsement process where the incumbents and challengers are scrutinized and held accountable, endorsements don't mean s***.
4. Until the Press actually treats challengers fairly, on the GOP side, incumbents who are inept, lazy, and megalomaniacal will always win (see Mike DeWine).
5. Internet and avant garde campaign tactics must never be done alone.
6. If you are going to take on a two term incumbent, star earlier.
7. The Ohio GOP is one of the most hierarchical, ideologically bankrupt party organs in the country.
8. Liars will win, so will people who do things illegally, who campaign shop, who pander to values they don't even believe in.
9. Ohio voters are so browbeaten to it all, they flow like sheep to the Same Old Situation.
10. If the Republicans have a future in Ohio, the party must be reformed, the crap culled away. In other words, I hate to be the one to tell Mikey and even Ken, but they are riding on a man's coattails who hasn't run in over 20 years, and who died just a couple of years ago. The remnants of his greatness are all that keeps Republicans where they are. However, people in this great state, more and more, are realizing that the Bennetts and Dewines are destroying the party, and I hope and pray Blackwell purges their ilk. However, Ken is, after being a man of integrity, a poliician, and he knows that sometimes you have to lie down with dogs.
For me, this is a new beginning. The Republicans in Scott Township elected me after I had been appointed to fill out a term, and I thank them for that. For them, I will continue to be that still small voice in the wilderness of the GOP, arguing for values the Republicans like to talk about, but not do much about, anymore. For me, I am going to work with the younger Republicans out there, the Matt Naugles, the Right on the Rights, in my county and in my region, and I am going to work to try to create a grassroots movement to change this party from the ground up. Principles should matter! And someday, somewhere, we will be held accountable if they don't.
Of course, folks like Matt Dole (who I truly do find at times to be entertaining and also biting in his critiques of things, and would love to have lunch with sometime)at Lincoln Logs will ask me: so, now are you going to jump on the DeWine bandwagon and support him come November? Well, let's see. Hmmm....That is a tough one. Let me get the ol' Magic 8 ball out..............it says, ask again later. Right now, I am just too angered at the bigotry of low expectations by my fellow Ohioan Republicans, and their lack of outrage at the betrayals of Mr. DeWine. I am too angered by a party that sought to shut a good man out from Day 1 of his candidacy, while welcoming a friggin circus sideshow in Mr. Charisma. And the sad part is, the folks who were brave enough to vote against the establishment, they took the sizzle over the steak, and we all lost. All of us. No, I don't just mean the campaigns, I mean the entire state. So, MD, will I jump on the bandwagon. Only time will tell. Enjoy your victory, you were right, I can't say otherwise. The people of this state fell in lock step behind the same old crap. What that says about us as a whole, I reall don't want to talk about.
However, change begins in November, when Ken Blackwell heads up this party at the state level. I hope he does some housecleaning. I will be behind Ken, Sandra, Greg, all the state level candidates. I will be behind Col Bubp, even though I voted for Paul Hall. I will be behind Jean Schmidt. As for Mike, we will see. We will just have to see.
Thanks one and all to all the visitors here and to the SOB Alliance page. Thanks to all those who worked for the Pierce campaign, people like Sandy Liming and her husband Bob. Sandy is battling cancer and still got out and campaigned all over the state. To Tom Blumer, the Bizzyblog, wow. You showed what a MASSIVE amount of hardwork can do. You got the idiots at the media and some in the campaigns to listen, and you helped get the right person elected. I look forward to our continued working together in the Alliance. To Nixguy, DarthDilbert, Viking, Porkopolis, Chucko, and the rest of the Blogs for Pierce(see the sidebar)--God bless you all, you did the job the media should have. If only we had THEIR bandwidth. To Pugergee and Tweet and ladyTweet and Atreides and the rest of em over at ColumbusTownHall, I sense great things ahead for us, if we stay together. We may have lost this round, but there is a fresh opportunity in a couple of years. To all of you who complemented my ramblings so greatly, thank you one and all, I just wish they could have done more.
The great thing, aside from a Blackwell victory, to come out of this, is the rise of the SOB Alliance. Last night we had over 2000 hits by the time I turned in, on the Alliance Homepage! We really were listened to, even if it was too late to change anything. Thanks to all who linked to us and all who read us. The greatest thing about this alliance, is all the cool people, great people, I have been honored to meet and establish relationships with: DarthDilbert, NixguyDave, Tom Blumer, Mario of Porkopolis, all in person; and over the internet Mr. Kelso, Chucko, and all the others. Maybe this can be the start of our internet revolution, of our bringing sanity to this giant buckeye elephant gone wild. Time can only tell....
Conservatism will win out, as it always ends up doing. It may take a few times, a few losses, but overall, it wins out. Government by, of and for the people always shines through eventually. God bless you all, and God bless America. Thanks for reading....
