We have seven days until the 2008 Republican State Convention will come to order. The Convention is our biennial opportunity to come together and discuss the state of the Republican Party in Iowa.
Anyone who thinks our position is strong is simply delusional. The idea that our position is anything better than perilous is unsupportable by any objective fact. For the past six years, as I served on the State Central Committee I, and many others, observed a disturbing linear correlation between Republican failure and the trivialization of the Committee. The more closed and oligarchic the larger Party became the more we lost.
When Committee members raised issues we were disregarded or isolated. Instead of treating our many recommendations for change, some of which I can assure the public would have delayed or reversed this decline, as evidence of disconnection between the governed and the governors, it was treated as rebellion-a radical challenge to the existing authority.
The Committee was routinely kept in the dark or blatantly disregarded with respect to most major decisions. Budget discussions typically lasted only a few minutes. This pattern has increased with each Administration and the Committee has became largely a supernumerary. During this same time, while the Committee was being ignored or disregarded Republican success became increasingly fleeting.
Many in our Party have turned the Nelsonian eye to this correlation. Look no further than all of the people who post on TRS or elsewhere that either directly state or imply that the Committee members, who don’t make our livings in politics, shut up, raise money and leave everything to the professionals.
Well, we Republicans have left everything to the professionals for a long time and what do we have to show for it? The Democrats have entrenched in Iowa. They are years ahead of us in organization and tactics and they advocate an ideology based on guilt, envy and fear. As is being noted on Fox and CNN, we’re not even in Sen. McCain’s first “swing state” ad buy. What does that tell you?
The situation isn’t hopeless but we aren’t going to conquer the future by clinging to nothing but the past. As Peggy Noonan observed, this is not 1980 and the Country is not implicitly with us. While our principles never change the historical environment in which our long struggle with the Democrats does. Application of those principles in a new 21st Century battlefield is the only way the principles will survive, particularly in an era where our educational, academic and media institutions have become so radicalized in the need to destroy traditional America, replacing it with nothing more than the sad and small world of Old Europe.
Newt Gingrich, America’s most brilliant public servant says that it is not real change unless it is real change. Here in Iowa we Republicans need real change.
Change in our message and our manner of delivering it in light of the new mediums and rhetoric of the 21st Century. Let us persuade the voters that our conservative solutions and values are right and not merely assume agreement.
Change our organization and fill it with a sense of purpose and people dedicated to that purpose. We have had access to so many outstanding young people through the years at RPI and only Caleb has stuck with us. We can't waist this young talent or we will lose them forever.
Change our relationship to the voter so as to become more informative and hospitable. We need to recruit more Republicans, not just rely on our existing base voter-they are now too few in number-a reality that returns us to the need to persuade the voter to agree with us and not just fear the faceless liberal. Most voters don't remember the disaster of Jimmy Carter.
Nothing in the agenda of change requires civil war, staff massacres or the creation of poisonous relationships. But the agenda of change requires recognition of the current desperate landscape and substantially greater inclusion in party management and operation, on both a vertical and a horizontal level, of the many voices who reflect the masses of our electorate.
There are so many great things that can be done if only we have the will to do them. Change is never easy but the longer it is delayed the harder it will be to accomplish. Once we start the journey down that less travelled road to success things may get darker before they get better but they will get better. Or, as another great American philosopher, Willie Nelson, says “There is no easy way, but there is a way”.
Anyone who thinks our position is strong is simply delusional. The idea that our position is anything better than perilous is unsupportable by any objective fact. For the past six years, as I served on the State Central Committee I, and many others, observed a disturbing linear correlation between Republican failure and the trivialization of the Committee. The more closed and oligarchic the larger Party became the more we lost.
When Committee members raised issues we were disregarded or isolated. Instead of treating our many recommendations for change, some of which I can assure the public would have delayed or reversed this decline, as evidence of disconnection between the governed and the governors, it was treated as rebellion-a radical challenge to the existing authority.
The Committee was routinely kept in the dark or blatantly disregarded with respect to most major decisions. Budget discussions typically lasted only a few minutes. This pattern has increased with each Administration and the Committee has became largely a supernumerary. During this same time, while the Committee was being ignored or disregarded Republican success became increasingly fleeting.
Many in our Party have turned the Nelsonian eye to this correlation. Look no further than all of the people who post on TRS or elsewhere that either directly state or imply that the Committee members, who don’t make our livings in politics, shut up, raise money and leave everything to the professionals.
Well, we Republicans have left everything to the professionals for a long time and what do we have to show for it? The Democrats have entrenched in Iowa. They are years ahead of us in organization and tactics and they advocate an ideology based on guilt, envy and fear. As is being noted on Fox and CNN, we’re not even in Sen. McCain’s first “swing state” ad buy. What does that tell you?
The situation isn’t hopeless but we aren’t going to conquer the future by clinging to nothing but the past. As Peggy Noonan observed, this is not 1980 and the Country is not implicitly with us. While our principles never change the historical environment in which our long struggle with the Democrats does. Application of those principles in a new 21st Century battlefield is the only way the principles will survive, particularly in an era where our educational, academic and media institutions have become so radicalized in the need to destroy traditional America, replacing it with nothing more than the sad and small world of Old Europe.
Newt Gingrich, America’s most brilliant public servant says that it is not real change unless it is real change. Here in Iowa we Republicans need real change.
Change in our message and our manner of delivering it in light of the new mediums and rhetoric of the 21st Century. Let us persuade the voters that our conservative solutions and values are right and not merely assume agreement.
Change our organization and fill it with a sense of purpose and people dedicated to that purpose. We have had access to so many outstanding young people through the years at RPI and only Caleb has stuck with us. We can't waist this young talent or we will lose them forever.
Change our relationship to the voter so as to become more informative and hospitable. We need to recruit more Republicans, not just rely on our existing base voter-they are now too few in number-a reality that returns us to the need to persuade the voter to agree with us and not just fear the faceless liberal. Most voters don't remember the disaster of Jimmy Carter.
Nothing in the agenda of change requires civil war, staff massacres or the creation of poisonous relationships. But the agenda of change requires recognition of the current desperate landscape and substantially greater inclusion in party management and operation, on both a vertical and a horizontal level, of the many voices who reflect the masses of our electorate.
There are so many great things that can be done if only we have the will to do them. Change is never easy but the longer it is delayed the harder it will be to accomplish. Once we start the journey down that less travelled road to success things may get darker before they get better but they will get better. Or, as another great American philosopher, Willie Nelson, says “There is no easy way, but there is a way”.
29 comments:
Once the Jesus freaks take over the party it's only a brief matter of time before this party joins the ranks of the Bull Moose in the history books. Leadership is more interested in what goes on in people's bedrooms instead of who is digging into their wallet. The party of Reagan has become the party of Falwell.
As a D observer, I have to agree with Anon 12:48. When you add the blind partisan defense of the indefensible presidency, it must be pretty darn hard to gather support for the party.
Best of luck to your party, though. We need two strong parties for our great system to remain vital.
sporie:
Informative and hospitable are not adjectives that come to my mind when reading your posts.
Newt and Willie in the same post? Now that's creative. Informative? Less so.
BTW, saw the video, you're not aging well.
Have a great day!
Sporer projects his party's problem onto the Democrats: " they advocate an ideology based on guilt, envy and fear."
Come again? It's not Democrats who hint that the local water supply may be poisoned if the borders aren't tight enough. It's not Democrats who boosted the so-called "threat level" for their political convenience, who told voters to stock up on duct tape and plastic to cover the windows.
Sporer also dumps on Jimmy Carter. Remember this: Carter put solar collectors on the WH roof. Reagan took them down and opposed all forms of alternative energy. Reagan was the disaster!
Tinker with your party structure all you want. It won't help.--Spotlight
what part of the Republican agenda intrudes into the bedroom?
I must agree.
I was in Iraq the last presidential elections and didnt vote, but it seems like the Democrats want to take away your rights and tax you to hell, where as the republicans want to place there morals on you and ruin the economy.
I would vote for Bob Barr, if it made any difference, but I dont thin it will
What rights are the Democrats taking away? Your right to privacy? Your right to habeus corpus? Your right to humane treatment?
Someone is a little mixed up here. It's Bush, McCain and their Republicans that have already taken those rights away.
This goes much deeper than Sporer's problem with his state central committee. ---Spotlight
How about freedom of religion -- you know the part where government will make no law against any religion?
Or how about this quote:
"I would rather have a clean government than one where quote First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I'd rather have the clean government."
[John McCain on "The Don Imus Show]
Ted isn't a Jesus freak as those at ICA know. He's a conservative. So, what do those that want to diminish those that vote as simply Jesus freaks (at their peril, by the way) believe in? What is the agenda to which the jesus freaks should follow? Do you have one? What does that platform look like and what are the rallying points?
Is it simply - we aren't jesus freaks, vote for us!
Wow Jimmah Cartah put solar panels on the white house.
How did i miss that great accomplishment of his?
I figured there had to be at least ONE thing he did. I guess that one is it.
Thanks for sharing that profile in courage with us.
Republicans understand there what is real fear and what isn't. We have to fear the terrorists and kill everyone single one of them. That is a real threat. A very real threat that Obama thinks is not a threat and nothing to fear.
Democrats fear success and freedom. They fear America and Americans instead. They use hysterical language to convince us of all kinds of sky is falling threats that are not scientifically backed up. They fear not being in control of their own lives and seek the safety of the mamma state to make every decision for them.
Republicans find it fascinating what d's fear and that they ignore or are unaware of real danger.
Children are kind of like that. Innocent and niave children are kind of like that.
The lib up there thinks reagan, who dismantled the soviet union, a real threat and a real danger, was a disaster, yet Carter who gave us modern Iran and a whole host of other dangerous problems with his disastrous foreign policy was great, because he put solar panels on the white house.
D's fear electricity and R's fear totalitarian fascism and communism.
Nice contrast.
Well, at least one liberal came up with some degree of specificity.
right to privacy. how? are you referring to telephone intercepts? unless you are talking to a terror suspect you're pretty safe. Or would you rather not intercept those calls and allow the terrorists to enjoy the rights of privacy that are extended to american cititzens.
habeus corpus. so, you think your right to habeus corpus is impaired because unlawful combatants picked up beyond american borders are held indefinitely?
right to humane treatment? so which american law makes water boarding illegal-or at least back when we were doing it?
religious freedom? how is your freedom to worship or not been impaired by the GOP?
But hey, thanks for playing at one level up from grade school superficiality.
spotlight,
you do realize that there is/are a global terror network that really does want to attack the United States, do you not?
I still question the need for anonymous comments on TRS. If you aren't person enough to list your comments as coming from even an Internet pseudonym is there a point to reading the drivel itself. It is hardly better than a random drive by shooting with no one taking credit. At least, LA gangs take credits for their actions which is more than some R's and D's do on this blog.
Sometimes the truth hurts and is best spoken anonymously. Some of these posters could be members of the legislature for all we know.
We did drive by shootings with our names. It nearly destroyed the party . It is better for us to anonymously attack each others ideas than the individual. If we go back to attacking the individual we will be screwed. It is far better to work out an Idea here and see if it works than to release it and get killed.
sporie:
right to privacy. how? are you referring to telephone intercepts? unless you are talking to a terror suspect you're pretty safe. Or would you rather not intercept those calls and allow the terrorists to enjoy the rights of privacy that are extended to american cititzens.
Now how exactly do they know if I'm talking to a suspected terrorist unless they listen into my conversation? Privacy rights were established based on the premise that the government had no right to know. Once they listen and hear even some seemingly innocuous information "pretty safe" seems far less than what I started with.
We had laws that facilitated the process. Though cumbersome at times it could be argued that maintaining freedom should require hard work.
habeus corpus. so, you think your right to habeus corpus is impaired because unlawful combatants picked up beyond american borders are held indefinitely?
Is it not the case that we had a couple of arrests of US citizens on US lands who were denied habeus corpus?
What about the Candian citizen, awaiting a connecting flight back to Canada, arrested in New York and then sent to Syria?
right to humane treatment? so which american law makes water boarding illegal-or at least back when we were doing it?
International law, much of which we helped write made it illegal. There was US law that broadly made it illegal. It was the unscrupulous administration attorneys who conjured up fallacious interpretations.
religious freedom? how is your freedom to worship or not been impaired by the GOP?
If it is my religious belief that each person has the right to decisions regarding their own body and that their decision is between them and their God, for the GOP to attempt to suppress that belief can be construed as infringing my religious beliefs.
At our founding the definition of freedom was fairly broad. Little by little the vise is closing.
Once a crack appears in the foundation, eventual collapse is just a matter of time.
How about fearing businessmen, Oil men, anyone named bush, men in general. And democrats don't promote fear. HA HA HA HA
"Democrats fear success and freedom."
Bullshit. This kind of statement is why Ds and Rs are unable to work together to fix even the most non-partisan of problems. The best part of McCain's (mostly awful) speech last week was when he reminded us about his willingness and ability to work with Ds when principles aligned, even when partisanship did not. There are some Rs who want to castrate him for that quality (they did their best in 2000) but that's the only thing left to bring the disenchanted independents and moderate Rs back to the table this fall.
I have been a passive member of the Republican party in Iowa for 10 years. This year I made a committment to get involved to help change things in Iowa, from the ground up. My logic was that if regular people like me don't get involved and fight for what is right at the county level we will never right the ship.
FRESH OFF THE PRESSES:
Steve Scheffler has decided to change the name of the Republican Party Of Iowa. The New Name of the Iowa Republican party is The Iowa Christian extremist Party. The party will no longer accept Catholics, Lutherans or Jews. They are not christian in Sheffler's eyes and are far to liberal for his party. In addition they have limited membership to only Baptist, Assemblies of God and the Reformed Church of America. Sheffler highly recommends that you join one of those churches and make it right with god if you want participate in the upcoing State convention. Welcome to God's Only Party!
Where oh where did the moderates go? Where oh where may they be? Where oh where are my former republicans? Why - they've run off to play golf, of course.
The mods who complain with the ridiculous rant just above don't understand how milk toast they are. They are uninspiring, unmotivated except to play golf, they are without message, without mission or purpose.
Now, just why should we let you keeep the party? You've had it since 1978. We've been missing any leadership at all since 1994 - when NEWT was responsible for the Iowa majority which was wasted by rants and iverson.
I think it's time for Change and I'm willing to let the SoCo's have it. They are the only ones who win.
So, go awawy 12:33 - your efforts have not been noticed. The evidence is in your lack of results.
At your peril, you think it's only the "jesus freaks" who are fed up with the Yepsen Pubs.
Hahahahahaha.....at your peril.
If you bastards had not hung Mark Klein, M.D. out to dry the way you did, by God then we'd have a candidate that truly understood the forgotten Middle Class. We had our new prophet in the palm of our hands and we swished him away like a cow's tail does to the flies around it's bung hole. What a shame.
Do worry 12:25 we know about your meetings and you are much smaller than you think. The Scheffler Crowd has been in charge of this party since 1988. Every candidate that has run for any office since then has had to bow before the great scheffler. All the while scheffler stabs even the social conservatives in the back.
For instance: secretly helping Mitt Romney with ICA resources.
when scheffler and co are finally completely in control, they will learn of their short sightedness. They take over by force instead of building alliances, consensus and friendships; they want the power without the responsibility. In the end, they will have to work extremely hard to bring back the other 2/3rds of the party that don't agree with them on everything, and we will be set years behind. All parts of this party need each other, not one is more important than the other, but all equal. Only when we work together for lasting change, will it be lasting; but this group is going to have to learn the hard way when it all blows up in all of our faces and they turn off the rest of the party with their back room political tactics. I guess we will all see what their surprises are on Saturday!
Ironically most of the party believes that we need to end abortion and stopp gay marriage. we just strongly disagree in the tactics and actions of people like Scheffler and Lehman. They have eaten their own and done more damage than good to their causes.
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