I thought that this was a rather amazing statement to make (From DiStaso), Juliana Bergeron concerning her ability to manage the grassroots:
"I believe that I am the best person to manage the party and expand the strong grassroots organization that we have built over the past two years."
Really?
Doesn’t that presupposes that those in the grassroots decide to stay in the grassroots?
The wind this year that drove many Republicans across the finish line was not that of the Party apparatus, truth be told, especially at the grassroots level. For that, one has to go outside of the official Party environs and is easily seen (just look at the makeup of the Republican freshman in the NH House). I’m no long time Republican activist, nor am I downplaying the role of the Party, but I certainly went "who?" when her name first came up. Let’s face it, Ms. Bergeron IS the Establishment candidate in the NH GOP Chair race.
If either of the candidates is to be considered to be the "Grassroot Guy", that mantle would fall upon Jack Kimball, the only other announced candidate in the race (and whose grassroots bona fides scarce need be burnished by me). In fact, one only has to review who has come out for her:
Supporting her are state Reps. Beverly Rodeschin, Edwin "Smokey" Smith, Jane Johnson, John Byrnes, Susan Emerson, and Mary Griffin, Hillsborough County Register of Deeds Pam Coughlin, Cheshire County Attorney and former Attorney General Peter Heed, former Nashua GOP chair and John Stephen for Governor Campaign Manager Liz Christoffersen and committee members Mike Eaton, Richard Dwinell and Dawn Lincoln.
Hmm, I hardly see ANY of the TEA Party affiliated folks there, do you? I smell not a whiff of the 9/12 Project folks there, do you? And of the 1,600+ strong NHRVC folks? Nary a name, eh? Grassroots?
We ARE seeing a turnover (take over) of the GOP by TEA Party / 9-12er type activists – they see the GOP overall as being a moribund organization that lost its way and ignored its own platform. Feeling very sure of ITS roots, this two year old grassroots movement decided that since the GOP refused to live up to and act according to its own ideals, that at least those ideals were closest to those of the grassroots, it was time to remake the Party in to their own image. Critics harp on the races that were lost – my counter is look at all the races they won AND for the nascent enthusiasm injected into the races this past cycle.
Certainly, the NH GOP did turn out a lot of folks and did a lot of work – that is not the dispute in Ms. Bergeron’s statement. The HUGE question to be answered is not CAN Ms. Bergeron lead the grassroots (from an administrative capability) but rather, would the grassroots be bothered to follow her from an philosophical background? The emphasis of the TEA Party has been that, even more than the Democrats, the Establishment Republicans have to be held to account. Her claim seems to stem from data not in evidence. Anyone can say they can be a leader; to be a leader, one has to be able to turn around and see the crowd behind them. I have seen, on multiple occasions, one behind Jack – like this one:
And yes, that was Jack with the bullhorn at the head of that rather long column that pretty much put a heaping helping of shock and awe on the union / Obama supporters – Jack didn’t just bring the fight, he LEAD the fight! Can Ms. Bergeron give similar evidence under similar conditions? Is there evidence to support her claim that she can lead the grassroots with whom she has had little known (at least to my knowledge) contact?
Given that, would the election of Ms. Bergeron cause that wind to really wind up behind a third party instead of the Republican one? Sure, I’ve heard the whispers that if Jack were to win, the "old money" would stay in the bank (heck, you can thank those RINOs for John Stephen’s loss by voting for Lynch, so I’m not so far off the mark on this).
But ask yourself this – if all of the "boots on the ground" disappear (and they may well do so a la 2006 & 2008), what kind of joyous dance will Ray Buckley sashay through in 2012?
(Note to Harrell – don’t even think about it! 8^) )
