I received an email yesterday from the Republican Party of New Hampshire. I am registered Republican, and have subscribed to the NH GOP’s mailing list.
The opening paragraph goes like this:
"Our Republican leadership team did a great job in setting the table for the November Elections. We recruited more candidates for state office than the opposition party for the first time in 4 years, and our candidates are really good candidates!"
While it is true that more Republican candidates filed than Democrats (and that we have "really good" candidates), I feel a little unsettled by the notion that the GOP seems to be taking much of the "recruiting" credit.
From my vantage point, it looks like the majority of candidates filed on their own accord, not because of any GOP recruiting. In fact, I would say that a large number of the "first time" candidates are part of, or are very sympathetic with the 912, Tea Party, Libertarian, or Free State mindsets. They have simply had enough, deciding on their own, or at the request of friends, to be part of the correction.
I think it would benefit the established GOP to show a bit more humility towards this phenomenon, else feel a potential backlash of a significant part of their “membership”.
I would have started off the email with…
…this paragraph…
"The Republican leadership team is simultaneously humbled and excited that, for the first time in more than 4 years, more Republican candidates have filed than Democrat candidates. We are grateful that so many patriotic citizens have stepped up, during a mid-term election, no less, to help put New Hampshire and our nation back on track with the core Republican principles of Constitutional adherence, limited government, reduced spending, and increased individual liberties."
The NH GOP must actively begin to acknowledge that a passionate, grassroots Conservative movement, with high expectations, is afoot and coiling in their backyard. They must also understand that this movement has a very bad taste in their mouth over the actions (and inactions) of many Republicans over the past 10-12 years, who abandoned those core Conservative principles I mentioned.
They can choose to embrace this movement, adapting themselves to incorporate the powerful right-shifting spectrum of Conservative beliefs, or they can keep their distance and press on confidently with obedient “yes sir!” candidates, or self-described moderate Republicans that they can easily control.
The future of the GOP depends on this adaptation.
The outcome of the November elections, and subsequent actions of the Republican victors, will dictate whether pockets of Republicans remain as healthy, nurtured cooperative factions (“sum of the parts”), or the bad taste becomes a full-blown rejection, facilitating a diffident, yet willing third-party movement.