Well, first of all, Matt Hurley has been a member of Central Committee for 3 years. During that time, he called for (on this blog) the ouster and comment by the GOP regarding the Kay Rogers criminal acts. I guess a loyal Republican would have just kept their mouth shut, right Ronda? Also, Matt has championed less government spending and has been willing, indeed, to call out members of his own party. I guess a loyal Republican would have kept quiet and not been upset that the Butler County GOP spent itself practically to bankruptcy on the Todd Mahal headquarters, an HQ that they had to sell less than 5 years after completion. I guess a loyal Republican would not be upset that their sheriff has his own air force and still wants more money....Funny, I thought Republicans believed in fiscal conservatism.
Ms. Williams has a statement on her mailing with the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop that says: We cannot all be Lincolns, but we can all be Republicans. Um, Lincoln was not a rubber stamp for his party's leadership, ma'am. He took controversial stands in order to do not what was best for his party, but what was best for his nation and for the cause of liberty. Lincoln would not have castigated someone for speaking out about corruption within his own house. Lincoln was apt to quote the Bible in speeches, Ms. WIlliams. There is a verse that says something to the effect of worrying about the plank in your own eye before you criticize someone for the mote in theirs. Matt Hurley has tried to hold the party accountable to the principles of Reagan and Lincoln, and if Sheriff Jones and the good ol' boys don't like that, then too damn bad! And, Ms. Williams, I don't know how you feel about Mike Huckabee, maybe he isn't a "loyal Republican and proud of it", as you assert, for he said this, and I know Matt feels this way:
I would rather lose an election than to lose the principles that got me into politics in the first place.
And, Ms. Williams, you cite Lincoln. "Loyal" Republicans threw him under the bus in 1864, having their own convention because they thought Lincoln was going to be "too soft" on the South. Lincoln stood on the principle that reconciliation would be needed. Note, he STOOD ON PRINCIPLE.
I think, Ms. Williams, you don't understand Abe Lincoln. He was loyal to principle, and my friend Matt Hurley has been as well. He didn't have mayors endorse him simply because they were his friend, as you have. He didn't spend a ton of money on slick mailers smearing his opponents' names and views. He simply sent out a handmade mailer with his positions and his endorsements. Meanwhile, you roll out a campaign based on glitz and money and who you know.
I write this because my friend Matt Hurley won't. I write it because I think he has done a damn fine job. He has held his party to account based on the principles they have articulated, and encourages them to follow them. I think that is what the people want, not someone who will merely go along to get along. We need more independent thinkers at all levels of this party, if we are going to go forward, thinkers who hold fast to principle over party labels, and liberty and justice over libel and "just us."
Where were you three years ago, Ms. Williams? Where was all your activism? Matt Hurley and I have had an amazing journey. We have been praised, cursed, loved, and hated. But, we stood on principle and stayed loyal to the things we hold dear: God, Liberty, Family, Country, and Honor. We have sought to make the Republican party the party of the shining city on the hill, and if that means we are disloyal to a label, fine, but we have never been disloyal to the principles.
I am speaking for my friend Matt because he won't. I feel as he does: I would rather lose an election and be labelled a disloyal Republican than win and sell my soul for a seat.
Discussion ended.
UPDATE
I was just reminded of some other things. My friend Matt Hurley, who is supposedly a disloyal Republican, has basically volunteered many hours putting together, revising, and updating with new technology the Brown County GOP website. But wait, we in Brown County didn't "go along to get along" and rubber stamp Mike DeWine and Dave Yost. I guess we are not "loyal Republicans." Oh yeah, and my friend Matt Hurley stood up for Chuck Furmon, Butler County Commissioner, when the kids were raving about someone else, who, like you, claimed to be the "real Republican" in the race, Rawnica Dillingham Ruscigno Dillingham Your Name here Rusigno Dillingham. Yep, the same Rawnica who owned and operated a bar that was cited for lewd behavior and excessive nudity, among many other things. If that is a real Republican and a loyal one, then I am glad Matt is not one. Matt could have asked Chuck for a letter of support, but Matt believes in standing on your own merits. You believe in getting your mayor friends to endorse you because you are friends. My friend Matt Hurley gave in and carried water for Mike DeWine's failed senate campaign, as did I, even though we both knew he was horrible. Yep, that is a sure sign of disloyalty.
Folks, do you want someone who uses the Republican imagery or someone who stands for the Republican Ideals and holds himself and those he associates with accountable to those principles?
As for me, give me a disloyal Republican who is loyal to Conservative values every time, day or night.
