It isn't JUST about the money... - Granite Grok

It isn’t JUST about the money…

From this  Conservative’s view, this seems to fit well; from Kevin Landrigan’s column of last Sunday, this caught my eye:

Binnie is socially moderate on abortion rights and related issues and if those dominate, he could get turned a shooting star that burns out fast, Scala continued.

"In some ways, Binnie is a throwback to the country club Republicans who ran New Hampshire for generations, very wealthy Northeasterners who worried about the bottom line but didn’t care much about social issues," Scala continued.

"Ayotte could win this race if she turns Binnie into a country club Republican and she convinces voters that she’s a Sam’s Club Republican because that’s where the mainstream of the party is."

On one level of reality, Binnie can’t shake the country club tag.

He owns one.

Like I said, I’ve been out on biz travel, so I’m still paying catch up here and will be most of the week (there are a NUMBER of things I want to post up on but have not had the chance to do so – yet).  This was one – part of the separation between the candidates.

If there is a bigger split within the Republican Party right now, it is the faction with the money (aka "The Country Clubbers") and those more concerned with First Principles (the Conservatives).  I have no problem with Binnie and his money – we ALL should be so skilled to have earned what he has (and while luck can play a role, Luck helps those that are prepared for its visit).  Given his biz success, he (and Jim Bender) have the absolute right to tout their accomplishments.

But if you listen to the majority of the …


…"Air War Ads" that Binne has been running (for he has had the wherewhithal to light up WMUR’s profit line and the gumption to do so), there is a paucity of principles – at least to me. No doubt, ALL of the Republican Senatorials are claiming the Conservative mantle and are talking the right words.   Yet, some of the words that have been spoken are more equal than others.

For THIS prospective voter, no matter WHICH race I view – it is not just about Jobs (which is Binnie’s number one, two, and three level word(s)).   Sure, knowing what it takes to create one is important and knowing what the political atmosphere must be in order to provide or create the right employment environment is necessary.  It is one thing to be able to have the ideas to take advantage of the environment.

What I haven’t heard much from Binnie is the philosophical bedrock that most Conservatives are begging to hear about – what will hold them to principles when everyone comes to them with their hands out looking for other peoples’ money or "favors" from Govt in general.

In another race, Frank Emiro (running for Guv) is seemingly to be all about the deal ("let’s get it done"); what is scarying most Conservatives is that what "has been getting done" has not been done on First Principles.

Biz success does not automatically mean political success.  Sure, his money has effectively bought name recognition.  Being a hard nosed CEO, he knows marketing and running a campaign, to some degree, has gone mass market – spend it to get the eyeballs and ears that will hopefully get the "hey, I remember him, I guess I can vote for him" crowd.

The question remains – in THIS environment, at THIS time, can this strategy work?  Will NH now be seeing the last vestige of its famed retail politics and what used to be a huge reliance on grass roots efforts?

Or is just another one of those quirks of THIS environment and THIS time of having TWO biz success stories that can plow the money into the race, and those of us that value the retail should just be unsettled rather than concerned?

This certainly had me both unsettled and concerned…getting principles wrong was not good news

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