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.