And The GOP Presidential Nominee Is....

I don't know about you, but I received about 6-9 phone calls a day from the GOP Presidential candidates before the Ohio Primary on March 6th. At first it was entertaining and somewhat educational... later it just became down right annoying. Much like the current tug-of-war between the GOP Presidential candidates.

I've been watching the talking heads on FoxNews and CNN, and I've read the articles in the papers about the political strategy involved in the fight for the nomination. I've heard that Newt should step down so Santorum can sweep Romney. I've heard Santorum should step down so Newt could do the same. I've heard Romney should step down and let Newt and Santorum duke it out. Yada yada yada.

What I'm most concerned about is whether this extended battle for the nomination is hurting the eventual winner's chances against Obama in November. The longer this nomination process goes on (the last state Presidential primary is in June), the less time the winning candidate has to raise funds for the more important race in November, not to mention all the money they'll be spending just to win the nomination.

I'm also worried that by the time the GOP nominates a contender for the White House, the contender and his staff will be so exhausted from the extended fight for the nomination that they'll make a poor showing against the charismatic Obama in debates, speeches and news conferences. Hard Dems and GOPers will vote along party lines for President - it's the unaffiliated and soft party members the candidates have to target to win the White House. An exhausted or worn out candidate going against a charming, well spoken Obama faces a huge challenge.

I hope the voters in states who have yet to vote for a GOP candidate for President think of two things when they enter the polls: 1) which GOP candidate has the best chance of reaching out to the soft party members and unaffiliated voters; and 2) which GOP candidate has the best shot at beating Obama.

I suggest you turn the ringer down on your phone too... it looks like we'll all be getting a lot of phone calls until November.

(Picture of Mitt Romney from www.americaneedsmitt.com; Picture of Rick Santorum from www.inquisitr.com; Picture of Newt Gingrich from www.inquisitr.com; Picture of President Barack Obama from www.whitehouse.gov)

The Illusive Big Tent

I’ve been wondering lately if there’s a right and wrong way to be a Republican. If there’s a secret check list of items I have to mark as completed before I can call myself a Republican. If I have to do certain things before I can enter Reagan’s Big Tent. Because for the last several years I’ve been told that I’m not a real Republican. That I’m an “establishment” Republican, that I’m too scared to stand up for my principles or speak my mind on issues. And I'm not the only one. So I wonder.

I wonder who in the heck has the audacity to think they can tell me or anyone else what to believe. I wonder who in their right mind believes they can tell me what issues I can and cannot support in order to call myself a Republican. I wonder why people who barely know anything but my name think they can impugn my honor, integrity or dedication to the GOP. I wonder.

Then I know. There’s no secret check list. There’s no invisible quest. No one can tell me what to believe. No one can tell me what issues to support.

I am a Republican because I believe in the core values of the GOP, and I believe these values are the best foundation to build our country’s legacy for future generations. I’m a Republican because I know I’m a Republican, because I choose to be, NOT because someone told me I was.

I’m sick and tired of Republicans telling each other what to think, what to support, who to believe in. Our Party believes in Individual Responsibility – this includes people making up their own mind on the issues based on their principles and life experience. We are not a Party that believes in force feeding and leading the public to one goal.

I am a Republican. Anyone who tells me I’m not because I don’t believe 100% the same way they believe, because I support the opposite side of an issue than they do, is out of touch and has unrealistic views of what it means to be a Republican.

Reagan famously said “[m]y 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy.” Reagan’s Big Tent allowed for Republicans of all beliefs and values to gather and lead this country into a new era. The very nature of the metaphor, “Big Tent,” meant not every Republican believed or supported any issue uniformly. It allowed for Republicans who believed in the core values of the party to band together, while at the same allowing them to disagree about certain issues. Reagan did not force any Republican to prescribe 100% to his beliefs because he understood doing so would alienate a large number of Republicans. He didn’t do this out of a desperate need for popularity, but because he understood human nature.

For example, if you polled a group of local Republicans on whether they supported Issue 2 (a.k.a. SB5), some would say “yes,” while others would say “no,” and yet others “maybe.” Just because some Republicans didn’t support Issue 2 does not mean they are no longer Republicans. It just means they didn’t support Issue 2.

Republicans who push for conformity with an unrealistic goal will only achieve one thing in 2012 – failure. We must embrace our differences and celebrate our commonalities.

But if you find that checklist, let me know... I'd be interested in burning it.

Finally, to anyone else who wants to call Young Republicans cowards, weak, useless or couch potatoes, know that the ECYR will eagerly disabuse you of these notions. We may be young, we may be untried, but we are Republicans who want nothing more than to support our Party and see our candidates succeed so we can build a better future for our country. Doubt what you will, but do not doubt our conviction.

March 6th Primary Election

Below is a list of all candidates who appear on the March 6, 2012, Official Republican Party Ballot, as issued by the Erie County Board of Elections.
Candidates running in a contested race are indicated with an astrix (*).

You can vote an Absentee Ballot at the Erie County Board of Elections from February 1, 2012 - March 2, 2012. The Erie County Board of Elections is located at 2900 Columbus Avenue, Sandusky, Ohio 44870 and is open from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday. For more information check out the Erie County BOE website here, or call the BOE at 419.627.7601.

Erie County Candidates
Judge Robert C. DeLamatre
Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division

Jude T. Hammond
County Commissioner

John T. Lendrum
County Commissioner

Jeff Krabill
County Treasurer

Brian Baxter
County Coroner


State of Ohio
Donald J. Janik
State Representative, 89th District

Michelle McCauley*
State Senator

Randy Gardner*
State Senator

Terrence O'Donnell
Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Robert R. Cupp
Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Sharon L. Kennedy
Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio

Dee Talmage*
GOP State Central Committee, Woman, 2nd District

Gina-Marie Kaczala*
GOP State Central Committee, Woman, 2nd District

Mark D. Wagoner*
GOP State Central Committee, Man, 2nd District

Tom Morgan*
GOP State Central Committee, Man, 2nd District


United States of America
Mitt Romney*
President

Rick Perry*
President

Rick Santorum*
President

Newt Gingrich*
President

Jon Huntsman*
President

Ron Paul*
President

Eric LaMont Gregory*
U.S. Senator

Josh Mandel*
U.S. Senator

Michael L. Pryce*
U.S. Senator

David W. Dodt*
U.S. Senator

Donna K. Glisman*
U.S. Senator

Jim Jordan
U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio 4th District

Steve Kraus*
U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio 9th District

Samuel Wurzelbacher*
U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio 9th District

Wild Pack of Hyenas

For the last four years, all I've heard is how important 2012 is for Republicans. All I've heard is how we have to band together, link arms, show up at the polls and defeat Obama and his cohorts. That was one of the reasons the officers of the ECYR decided to create the Erie County Young Republican organization. We wanted to help our Party succeed in 2012.

However, over the past several years petty squabbles and political disagreements caused ECGOP members to in-fight like a pack of wild hyenas. During this time I held onto to hope that when 2012 dawned we as a county party would put our issues aside in order to make that long ago created goal a reality. Because, hey, what's more important in 2012 - defeating the Democrats or defeating members of our own Party?

Well, as the editorial section of the Sandusky Register will demonstrate, we as a Party are choosing to defeat ourselves. By attacking one another in the paper, online and at the local coffee shop, all we're doing is expending our energy in the wrong direction - at ourselves. Rather, we should gather all that vitriol and lob it at our opponents.

Now, I'm not suggesting individual Republicans refrain from speaking their mind. I do suggest individual Republicans reflect on the consequences letters to the editor that disparage and blacken the ECGOP and it's members may have at the polls in November. The ECGOP's goal is to get Republicans elected, yet certain members of our Party are spending more time and effort on bringing down other members of our Party simply because they disagree with or just plain don't like them. Is this really the best expenditure of our time and effort as a Party?

To further my point and in response to several readers comments, the ECYR's last blog was not a camouflaged defense of Alex Jones, Chairman-Elect of the Erie County Republican Party. It was a blatant defense of Young Republicans and their value to the GOP. Assumptions that individuals of one and twenty cannot professionally represent and lead our Party are wrong. Young Republicans are leading county parties and other GOP organizations all across America. The blog was intended to demonstrate the value of Young Republicans to the GOP. It was also intended as a cautionary warning to more experienced Republicans not to dismiss the value and dedication of Young Republicans to the Party.

We as a party need to gather all of our members and band together for November 2012. We need to set aside our in-fighting and work towards the common goal: defeating Obama and other Democrats running for office. Together we can be great - separated we will fail.

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

Recently local Young Republicans were under attack for being unprofessional and “living at home with mom and dad.” Not only are such baseless assumptions incorrect, they damage the future of our local Republican Party.

Many outstanding Ohio Republicans started out as just young people with a desire to support and expand the Republican Party and elect Republican candidates. In fact, for over 75 years the Ohio Young Republican organization was led by individuals such as Congressman Oliver P. Bolton, Congressman John C. Ashbrook, and the Honorable Paul C. Matia. Other notable former Young Republicans include Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell, and Senator George V. Voinovich.

Contrary to some beliefs, Young Republicans do not sit at home eating potato chips and playing the latest X-Box game in their parents’ basement. They run voting drives, serve as poll workers, act as campaign managers, walk door-to-door for candidates and work at phone banks. In fact, in 2004 the Ohio Young Republicans won the prestigious President’s Circle Award for an incredibly successful voter drive.

Young Republicans are not just 20- or 30-somethings either, they include college students, teenagers and youths who are committed to the success of the GOP. The National Teen Age Republican organization lists its members in the tens of thousands! College Republican organizations are at almost every public and private college in the state.

Yet some “established” local Republicans devalue young leadership in the county party; by doing so, we endanger the very future of our party. When “established” Republicans diminish and demean the work ethic and dedication of young Republicans, they tell young GOP voters they are not needed nor welcomed into Reagan’s Big Tent GOP. This cold-shoulder attitude may very well undermine the future of the Republican Party in one to two generations when previously dismissed young voters become established enough to “properly” support the party and choose not to.

Think about this: Obama was elected into office with the support of an unprecedented number of young voters, many of which had never formerly declared themselves as an R or D. They voted for him because they felt Obama and the Democrat Party welcomed their support and saw them as valuable players in America’s future. Local Republicans of any generation do great disservice to the future of our local party if we ignore this fact.

The Erie County GOP is strong and vibrant, but the young people in our county need to be encouraged and welcomed into the Big Tent. The Erie County Young Republicans welcome all Republicans to our Happy Hours and Social Events in the hopes that we, as a community of Republicans, can build our party into a force to be reckoned with at the polls.

For more information on the Erie County Young Republicans, visit our website at www.eriecountyyoungrepublicans.com.