Blog: Wanted: Good Republicans. Must Be Registered to Vote, Brain not Necessary (the Party Will tell You How to Vote)
Statement
A supporter recently sent me the attached letter from the Capital City Republican Club (yes, there are Republicans voting for me), written by Greg Marr. I can't cite a better example of why I left the Republican Party. Consider the following:
"If you are a conservative, you should run for office as a Republican, or for heaven's sake, don't run at all."
" we should discourage splintering, and not throw away our vote and risk losing elections for the sake of feel-good idealism. Politics is pragmatic. It's warfare."
"It might feel good to vote for one of the others, and you might have to hold your nose when you vote for the Republican, but it's not about feeling good; it's about winning elections."
I noted there is a group on Facebook with that phrase in their name, so it must be a common occurrence for the Republicans.
I also found a great blog posting on the subject from 2006:
Bush and the Republican Congress have been spending like drunken sailors. The clincher is the immigration issue. After September 11, 2001, the virtual absence of any serious defense of the borders leaves many conservatives simply bewildered. Why won't Bush and Congress defend the borders? Are they nuts?
So, according to the Republicans, it is better to "win" with a mediocre candidate than to vote for the best person for the job. Let's look at some of these "wins" in the past:
· John McCain (NO relation, President, 2008, won primary, lost general election)
· Bob Dole (President, 1996, won primary, lost general election)
· Scott Brown (MA Senator 2010, won primary and general elections; Brown opposes tax cuts for small business and supported the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform, which requires all residents to have health insurance, yet opposed the similar federal bill not on Constitutional grounds but on fiscal ones)
· James "Bill" Grant (Right here in District 2, elected as a Democrat, he changed parties during the "Reagan Revolution" to run as a Republican and was swiftly defeated the following election)
It's interesting that in the presidential races Mr. Marr mentions in his letter, each time a more conservative candidate ran from outside the Republican Party, it was due to the Republicans running (and ultimately losing) due to a moderate candidate, first Bush Sr. in 1992 (he had gone away from Ronald Reagan's policies) and then Dole in 1996. Had they run a candidate with their constitutional values of old, there would have been no need for a third party candidate. I submit we are faced with the same situation here in District 2 in 2010. You can vote for a moderate candidate that calls himself a conservative, a liberal candidate that calls himself a moderate, or a Constitutional conservative independent that has none of the party baggage and who will represent the people for two terms.
Our nation is upside down. We're upside down on debt, personal responsibility, and the character of those we put into office. I've listed the differences between myself and the other candidates in the race. It's NOT about winning to me; it's about restoring our country to the basic Constitutional principles that have worked when they are followed.
Will you blindly follow a political party and vote for a candidate simply because of the letter after their name, or will you stand on principle, use your intelligence, and do your part in uprighting our nation?
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