by Rebecca Bailey
It’s no wonder that almost 6,175 people voted in Hanover and 2,590 in Plymouth a vast majority being democrats leading to losses for County seats and executive council. (see quote below and view the link provided)
Meanwhile, we the Grafton County and State Republicans, have in-fighting over ridiculous issues. We hang onto traditions that need to be relegated to the annals of history. And are so disorganized that bringing in new members (if we were even trying) would be an embarrassment!
Take the time to look at the Facebook account of the Grafton County Democrats tell me they aren’t utilizing this tool well. The Democrats have a website that includes information on all their candidates.
The Republicans in Grafton county do not have a website and we don’t utilize social media at all, a grave mistake. And we may be the Grand OLD Party but that doesn’t mean we have to stay with the OLD ways of doing things, we must move forward to be successful.
- What are we doing to educate the public?
- What are we doing to get organized? What are we doing to get Republicans elected?
- What are we doing to grow membership?
- What are we doing to raise real money?
- WHAT TO HELL ARE WE DOING?
Simply put, NOTHING.
But someone was doing something.
“…NextGen America, a progressive organization poured $33 million into mobilizing young voters in 11 key states. Dartmouth is one of 18 campuses in New Hampshire where that organization established a presence in the months leading up to the election, using data analysis and youth-targeted strategies such as text reminders and Twitter campaigns to get students excited about voting.
“It’s also about building community,” said Emma Bliska, a NextGen staff member and Dartmouth organizer.
A Lyme resident and recent graduate of Middlebury College, Bliska has been holding voter pledge drives, recruiting volunteers, knocking on doors and organizing campus events aimed at educating and energizing students. On Tuesday, working alongside volunteers from Planned Parenthood, she was on overdrive: directing volunteers to different locales around campus, checking in with the town clerk at the Hanover polls, sending data to NextGen headquarters, re-routing lost pizza delivery drivers, posting updates to Twitter using the hashtag #youthvote and overseeing the general flow of shuttles taking students to and from the polls.”
-Valley News
“Leading the pack of Dartmouth character assassins who mobilized to combat my presence was Professor Annelise Oreleck, an out-of-control Gender Studies professor who tweeted: “Long-time hater, Islamophobe and anti-intellectual David Horowitz is speaking today in Rocky 3 at 6pm. He is a hater of the first order. If you’re so inclined, support students who are organizing a protest – Bring signs. Turn your back. Stage a walkout.” What justification can there be to have such an angry, close-minded individual teaching Dartmouth students?”
The former Speaker of the U.S. House, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (D) used to say that “All politics is local.” In his time as the speaker (1977-1987), this may have been true.
It is not true anymore and especially in New Hampshire. As evidenced by yesterday’s election, a very large majority of New Hampshire voters today are clearly not paying attention to local issues. This majority is fixated on the Presidency of Donald J. Trump.
The founders of our republic limited the powers of the federal government. The executive branch, the presidency, is one branch of our government.
“The doctrine of enumerated powers—the main restraint on the new government—was most famously stated by James Madison (No. 45):
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. … The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State.”
The founders of our nation, never intended for the federal government or any branch of this government to be the center of power or focus in our daily lives.
The New Hampshire voters (Democrats, some independents, and even some Republicans) have an overwhelming and insane fixation on President Donald J. Trump that comes at the expense of ignoring the major problems facing this state. Being angry at Trump and voting Democrat to express your anger does nothing to ensure the affordability of this state for all in New Hampshire. Every one of the New Hampshire Republican candidates that ran for office this term had laser sharp focus on addressing these issues and bringing this message to the voters. They were mostly ignored by the media and thus the voters.
Day in and day out for the last two years media outlets in New Hampshire, have made Trump a target that must be destroyed at any price. They have expanded this targeting to anyone that is a Republican. This scorched earth campaign by the media is to the great detriment of attending to the needs of the people of this state. Without a balanced government, without checks and balances and a diversity of ideas, we will find ourselves headed toward a state of financial and spiritual ruin.
But we can’t just blame Trump and the news media. We lost because they outworked us.
- They identified vulnerable seats in Republican-controlled districts (which appears to have been almost every seat).
- They knocked on doors face to face, one on one, they relentlessly registered voters (this was key), they controlled the message.
- They bussed voters in.
This has been coming for a long time. Over the decades, they have taken control of the media, entertainment, network tv, education across the board, social media, big business and important elements of our government…. clearly outworking us. They exploited every tactic available to them and created others as well. Their plan is working, they proved that they could convince Republicans to turn on their own candidates and elect a Democrat and that they can get Democrats elected that didn’t even bother campaigning. They pulled democrats out of the woodwork.
We literally beat ourselves.
WE GOT LAZY! We foolishly believed that Donald Trump could do all the heavy lifting for us, without us having to do anything ourselves… 41% of people around the country said at the poles they were casting their vote to impeach Trump.
The State GOP convinced themselves and many of us that if they work to get the governor elected that the down ballot votes would follow. This is backward thinking and must be reversed.
We have gotten lazy, thinking that whining on social media or to each other about everything the Democrats do is all it takes to make a difference. After the Democrats lost the Presidency they learned quickly from their mistakes. They made fast and effective corrections. They organized, they developed a better plan and they acted more motivated to accomplish it.
While we were waving flags, they rolled up their sleeves and WENT TO WORK. Their going to work isn’t going to change, they are not going to sit back and self-reflect on this election they are going to double down.
Some lay this issue at the feet of money. “They have the funds to spend on whatever they need!” But hard work is FREE! I know, I know, “Republicans work we don’t have free time to work on campaigns” so how important are your values to you if this is going to be your excuse? Yeah, we can do a lot with money, we can pay people to knock the doors, do sign waves and register people to vote but that wouldn’t be the CONSERVATIVE WAY! Yes, we need money for certain things signs, mailers etc. however money never beat hard work!
Results counter excuses. WE EARNED THIS LOSS!
Republicans are great at holding meetings and nothing gets done! We waste so much time. Some would say that the pendulum will swing back, and there is some historic truth to this statement(*). How much damage will be done while we wait for that swing?
I am not implying that we can affect when the swing will occur, I am however saying that our work must go on. Indeed we must work hard and that work must become strategic and intentional. We must stop being reactive and be proactive! No more “the primary is two months away, what are we going to do” this does NOT work!
I take Responsibility. I’m pointing the finger at myself. We all have to take a look at ourselves and ask the question did I do what needed to be done? It is time for us at the county and state levels to get organized, grow our numbers, have a long-term plan and CHANGE the state red in 2020. This must start now! One year from now is too late and 18 months from now ensures more of what we received yesterday!
(*) Predictable, rhythmic attractions are what move our society. Rhythm is intrinsic to the human experience. Feet patter, heats beat, lung breathe, planets circle, and seasons cycle to a rhythm. Music, poetry, and dance are all built upon it. The earnings of the heart are cyclical as well. We are rhythmically pulled toward one hunger and away from another. Back and forth we travel, forever dissatisfied, because the hardest choices in life are those that are between two good things. But we don’t move between these pole as individuals; we move collectively, as a society. Solomon observes these endless cycles three thousand years ago and wrote, What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, ‘look! This is something new’? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (From the book Pendulum by Roy H. Williams & Michael R. Drew)
FACTS are our nails and our words can be the hammer that pounds them in.
