Two days ago, I had the opportunity to meet a really great group of people: the Central Committee of the Butler County Republican Party. This is a group of people that are very passionate about their communites and I am proud to say that I now stand among their ranks, but there were some interesting moments.In the last year or so, I have started to write more about local events and people on this blog. Some of these people have actually read what I have had to say and some of those people (and their friends) haven't exactly appreciated my point of view. All of which is perfectly fine...when one goes to the trouble of putting their thoughts and views out there in the public, one should expect to run in to a few people who have a different opinion.
One gentleman, who shall remain nameless, actually asked if I would be writing anyhing "bad" about myself now that I was a member of the Central Committee. So, here goes... There are a few items in the Butler County GOP label that I wrote about that I jumped in to without having all the facts. I admit that right up front. An example of that is the Rawnica Dillingham vs. Commissioner Furmon race. I think it is fair to say that the Commissioner is potentially vulnerable and I have a tendency to want to support change; but as I have learned more about Ms. Dillingham, I have become less convinced that she is the right candidate for the job. If you follow my coverage, you will find that after my initial enthusiam for Dillingham, I cooled to the idea a bit. It got to the point where I started doing additional research on her and the race that I realized that there were some rather serious questions that needed to be answered. I consulted with two other bloggers (one local and one not-so-local) on what they knew or could find out about the race -- one of which attempted twice to get these questions answered directly to no avail.
So...what am I saying here that is so "bad"? I'm saying that I jumped in to a situation with broader implications than I initially thought and didn't have near enough information to make the conclusion that I drew. Having now had the opportunity to shake hands and meet with both of these candidates and chat a little bit, I can honestly say I'm right back where I was at the begininng of this whole mess: the Democrats are getting smart about targetting Republicans EVERYWHERE and this is a race that may cause us some serious heartburn.
As a blogger, I straddle two worlds. As a news junkie, I know more than the average voter; but I am not a political insider, so it is impossible for me to know everything there is to know. So I cultivate contacts with as many political insiders as I can so that I can get the best picture of a situation that I can. I tried a few times to email the powers that be at the Butler County Republican Party and never heard a response. My very few dealings with the Party as Joe Voter have been less than productive, and I'm not going to go into that publically...but I do have serious questions about a few things. Unfortunately, I assumed that my dealings with the Party in general would be a trend rather than an exception so I didn't even try to contact individuals. That was a mistake...
Now, having said all of that, I will not be silenced or intimidated. Unlike the Democrats, the Republican Party welcomes a real debate of ideas and our diversity of opinion is one of our Party's greatest strengths. If I say something that rankles your nerves, feel free to write in the comments section or send me an email or even better, start a blog of your own. I'm a conservative who believes in small government, responsible government, lower taxes, strong national security, and supportive of law and order. I am more than willing to give whatever publicity I can to candidates, office holders, and party officials -- so feel free to start sending me email at wmdtvmatt - at - yahoo - dot - com -- and I'll be more than happy to do just that...but I caution people not to get all ticked off at me because somebody didn't give me the full story. (I think we can all agree that the media in this town sucks.) The blogging community -- the bloggers and the readers -- work best when they work together. I look forward to getting to know the people behind the politics.
