This morning my friend Karl sent me this link to an article at The Patriot Room about the primary in Illinois' 8th district. The winner of the primary, Joe Walsh (pictured here with his cute family), ran more as a Tea Party candidate and handily beat a field full of Rs. But the RNC will not support him in his race against three-term incumbent Melissa Bean, saying that they are focused on races where they have the clearest paths to victory.
Ok, perhaps Walsh doesn't even have a shot. The 8th *historically has tended towards blue when it comes to electing representatives. But it doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility for a conservative to win here, especially with all the tumult that the current administration is causing.
So what's the RNC's deal? This is a good example of why the further up you go in the party, the less I like what I see. Don't misunderstanding my title; this isn't dissuading me from becoming a Republican in the near future. I'm a realist; no party will ever be perfect. But to someone who fully admits to being courted by the GOP, the politicking has become bigger than the issues. And that is very unappealing.
*I cross-referenced Wikipedia (which I abhor) with the Congressional Biographical Directory search results for Illinois US representatives.
4 comments:
Just my humble opinion, but...
Do not believe in the GOP.
If you think the GOP will serve you, you're the fool they want you to be.
They may appear to be in decent shape at the ground level (as you alluded to in your previous post) but overall they are the same snakes as the DNC, with a different letter after their name.
Learn to seek out and believe in individuals who you believe have integrity and support them.
The party protects the interests of the party, and in the big scheme is beholden to big money interests and does not care as much about the individual voter as you've been led to believe.
This is why the GOP is supporting Charlie Crist in Florida over Marco Rubio, John McCain in Arizona over J. D. Hayworth, and many others like the example you point out. These individuals are tied to big money interests of some sort or hold power over people in some way.
You will find the more desirable candidates typically align with the GOP, because the GOP advocates principles that trend more Conservative and more in line with The Constitution, but unfortunately many lose their soul once they become part of the machine.
The only reason to be registered as a Republican is if the candidate you support chooses to run as such and you live where there is a closed primary.
Otherwise register as an independent so you get nobody's junk mail asking for donations, and support the best candidate individually, regardless of party affiliation.
This herein lies our current problem. The GOP is not listening to the people nor the dems. Both parties are too entrenched in the "system". Just another reason why RNC hasn't received a dime from me since they backed McCain. Utterly frustrating...
I donated to the GOP pretty regularly until 2004 when I read how much money was being used for the GOP convention and hospitality.
I figured my meager donation would probably cover some bottle of booze shared between a RINO and a K Street Lobbyist cutting a deal.
I used the money instead to pay off my Lifetime Membership in the NRA...which I figured would be more in line with my beliefs.
Karl
I haven't donated to the RNC since Michael Steele started his shrill, self-serving rants. Plus, there was that whole thing about Mr. Steele's RNC soliciting donations by stamping "PAST DUE" in red on the solicitation envelope. What mook approves that kind of fundraising from a conservative base???
I have been a registered Republican since I was eligible to vote. I align myself with them because despite the fact that lately they have pulled away from conservative values, they are still the closest VIABLE party match. Affiliating myself with the GOP does not mean that I will vote for a Republican if there is another person in the race who more closely fits my ideology.
I expect that the two-party system will undergo a pretty significant realignment in the next few years. I hope that the GOP moves closer to the core principles that lead to a successful society. If not, they will fade into obscurity, to be replaced by another right of center, more conservative party.
It isn't the name of the party that matters to me, it's whether or not the core values of that party more closely match my core values. All of politics is a trade off--I know I won't have a perfect candidate, but I want one who stands close to where I stand on my gating issues.
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