Rebuilding the GOP

Steve has it right:

…Together they are building a wall whose mortar is mixed with excuses and platitudes about why someone like Jack Kimball should not be seriously considered for the post of party Chairman.

Even as such, his post only touched upon the tip of the iceberg – and there is, indeed, danger under the waterline.  One of the "outcroppings" falls along one of these:

• "So-and-so hasn’t been around long enough to run for that"
• "What’s s/he done lately for the Party?"

Both show the symptoms of a most peculiar disease and malfunctioning intellect which Steve correctly identified as "Party over Principle".  In short, it is not what you think and articulate but how

• well you may have gravitated to power centers
• how long have you spent "in grade". 

This is not a function of clear thinking based upon principle but solely a function of how long you have toiled (and kissed butt); think of it as the Republican version of governmental civil service.  This was best exemplified by the phrase "It’s Dole’s turn to run" when considering a Republican nominee for a higher office.  In summary, it is nothing more than a mentality that says:

"We say it’s not your turn"

Rubbish!  This is an entitlement proposition – the WE are entitled to say that YOU are not to have that office. My question asks "who made THEM the King Clowns?"  It is one thing to say – that person is insufficient for the job (like putting someone convicted of embezzlement (several times) in charge of the check book, or a RINO in charge of the Party…oh wait, we did that already in the middle of this decade!).

It is also the reason why the TEA Party movement has come so far in such a quick amount of time – it stood solely on principle.  Laughed at in the beginning, dismissed as that political train started to roll out of the station, and then "They" started throwing timbers onto the tracks as they saw it gain more and more speed and as other newly awakened Americans realized how far we had strayed (actually, been led by our "Elites") from our firm foundations based on Constitutional beginnings and principles.  Principles matter – and not the one of "Party over principle".

Let me give you a quintessential example: Neil Young (P 12) right here in central NH. The thrust of his message is doubled up:

• he hasn’t served his time in the Party 
• How dare he run without first coming to me for my blessing?

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On NOV. 2, voters across New Hampshire turned the Granite State into an island of red in a sea of New England Democratic blue. At every level of government, Republicans earned huge wins, including a veto-proof majority in Concord and every available federal seat.

There were a lot of changes that contributed to those wins, both here at home and across the country: an electorate that was generally disappointed in “hope and change,” a stronger, more organized Republican effort, and most of all, a dramatic increase in citizen participation in the democratic process.

Make no mistake, it was “we the people” that was the deciding factor in these elections. It was the combination of efforts of longtime GOP activists, new Republicans and liberty Republicans, and it would be arrogant and selfdestructive for the winning politicians and the leadership of the party to believe otherwise.

As the Republican Party prepares to select a new leader, it is important to remember that “the party” is not an inanimate object, a prize on the shelf waiting to be passed down. The party is a living, breathing, everchanging organization of real people who have dedicated enormous sums of personal time, energy and hard-earned dollars to further a cause they believe to be for the greater good.

The idea that we have to protect against allowing the activists to take over the party is ridiculous. The activists — the people — are the party. We must elect a chairman who…

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The ‘Grok has certainly been following the pathway of Gov. Sununu’s retirement from holding the NH GOP Chair.  In fact, here, I noted that the horse race has started, with four gates already slated for the major names thus far being led to the stalls.  However, in concentrating on the news (and other things call "life" that get in the way of blogging), I put aside the letter that he penned in finally clearing the track.  Hmmm, is that Horse Gate being moved before the horses are positioned (emphasis mine, full letter after the jump)?

CONCORD –  Former New Hampshire Governor and Republican State Committee Chairman John H. Sununu sent the following letter the NHGOP’s Executive Committee this afternoon discussing his decision to retire and the qualifications that the next chairman should have:

…It is important that we elect a new chairman who will be able to maintain and expand our reinvigorated NHGOP grassroots effort for 2012. We worked too hard rebuilding our Party structure to let it revert back to a neglected, ineffective condition.  We are fully aware of how difficult it is for Republican candidates and elected officials to succeed when the State Committee is weak or mismanaged.

"Reinvigorated NH GOP grassroots" – I hate to be a thorn in the side, or point out the obvious, but while the GOP and the NH GOP Chair certainly had their role, I would hardly agree…

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It came upon the NH political scene with the power of a tornado this year, sweeping RINOs and Democrats before it with mighty wind.  The Republican Liberty Caucus of NH ("RLCNH"), derided by some as part of the vast right wing conspiracy (welcome, boys and gals!), certainly made their mark. Building on the anger of the electorate towards free spending and non-Constitutional abiding politicians of both parties, this group aided a new set of new Republicans to gain their seats in the NH House of Representative with research, ideas, strategies, money, and technical assistance; talk about a motivated grassroots movement!

They will be making a difference during the next two years here in NH – all for the benefits of NH Citizens in helping to actually move towards the ideal that they all voted for in overwhelming numbers; this is what the RLCNH had to say:

REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS CELEBRATES RE-BIRTH OF COMMON SENSE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

State chapter welcomes 107 endorsed candidates into state government, urges principled governing

CONCORD, N.H.?The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire is excited and hopeful for the state’s future after last week’s general election swept 80 percent of its endorsed post-primary candidates into the State House, where they will advance common-sense principles in the “Live Free or Die” state.

“The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire was happy to help its endorsed candidates win their elections through multifaceted campaign support, media coverage, targeted mailings and election-day volunteerism in both their primary and general elections,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Thanks to this unprecedented effort by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and other conservative and libertarian groups throughout the state, New Hampshire now has an extraordinary number of elected Republicans committed to the principles that made our state and country great.”

Before the primary, the Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed 153 candidates, including one executive councilor candidate, 10 state senator candidates and 142 state representative candidates. Of the 153 candidates, 134 of them or 88 percent, made it past the primary. With 107 endorsed candidates winning their elections on Nov. 2, that means 70 percent of the candidates the Republican Liberty Caucus originally endorsed made it into office. Of those candidates, one will be an executive councilor, seven will be state senators and 99 will be state representatives.

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