After a hotly contested primary in which I worked for a candidate who lost, the Ohio Republican Party was screaming for "UNITY". I thought, "Sure. Why not give it a try... Unity isn't a bad thing. We all need to stick together in order to advance conservativism. Sure!" There was even a whole event to promote unity...and I went. I think that the timing of this event was misplaced. If ever there was a time for unity, its now. We need to pull ourselves together. Actually, in taking a look at some things, I realize that I may have actually been a bit hard on my friends at the Ohio Republican Party as of late. Let me explain...
Some people at Free Republic have apparently been bad-mouthing Ohio. I haven't read it and I'm not going to... We all worked our collective tails off to stave off a humiliating defeat here in the Buckeye State, and I have to tell you, I think we actually achieved it. I better explain...
The Ohio congressional delegation lost only one seat in the US House of Representatives. Losing the Senate seat was also a serious downer, but look at what happened in the House...if people want to criticize anybody, look next door to Indiana!
Furthermore, the Ohio Republicans managed to maintain the majority in both chambers of our state legislature. With the political climate as toxic as it was here in Ohio, if the Ohio Republican Party perfomed as badly as some are saying, it would have been a total clean sweep for the Democrats. Instead, they now have to deal with a Republican legislature that isn't going to be much in the mood to play...
Don't get me wrong, losing the governors mansion and most of the high profile statewide races was a crushing blow, but look at what we still have! We still have a foundation from which to build a conservative Republican structure.
Yes, I still hold deep animosity towards Bob Taft, Bob Ney, and Bob Bennett...these guys didn't help our cause much. But that doesn't mean that the entire Ohio Rpeublican Party team failed us. I have worked with some terrific people in this election. People that I am proud to know and hope to call friends.
Now it is my turn to call for unity...and I do so, right now. We have work to do. We can choose to do it or continue sucking our thumbs like we've been doing all week long. I choose to get on with it...and I hope you do too!
