Listen up GOP, it is time for a “come to Jesus” moment.
On Tuesday, we got whooped for the third straight election. From the race for the Presidency of the United States down to campaigns for state representative, we were out-manned, out-organized, and out-hustled.
Nationally, Barack Obama won a sweeping electoral mandate as he garnered 362 EC votes, the largest taking by a presidential candidate since 1996, House dems padded their majority by 20 seats, and Senate dems came close to a fillibuster proof majority with a pickup of 6 seats for a total of 57
Locally, we failed to unseat the frompy state rep of the 125th, Tim Seip, and could not muster for than 25% of the vote against US Rep. Tim Holden (D-17). Even the beloved mayor of Hazelton was unsuccessful in his bid against US Rep. Paul Kanjorski.
Since 2006, the GOP has lost control of the Presidency, both chambers of Congress, the PA House, and the Schuylkill County courthouse. Now, with this special election, we have one last opportunity to draw a line in the sand against this democratic incursion.
Soon, party leaders from Schuylkill and the bordering counties will deciding on the process by which to select delegates to the “Conference of Counties”. This conference will nominate a candidate to run for the 29th district Senate seat vacated by the death of State Sen. Jim Rhoades. Right now, it looks as though the various county chairmen have carte blanche to select anyone they wish to serve as delegates to this conference, setting up a potential disaster for the party if they choose to stack the deck for one particular candidate over another.
I have another idea. Why don’t we make this process as open and fair, dare I say as democratic, as possible.
This election is a very important one. The person who succeeds Jim Rhoades will most likely be in office for the next two decades. We can ill afford as a party to play inside politics in selecting our nominee and cast aside the wishes of the people at large.
If we learned anything from this election, it is that voters are hungry for change. Let us heed their call and change the backroom deal-making mentality that has led us down this road of defeat. Let us open this race up to everyone and anyone who believes that they can be a viable candidate for the GOP and a viable vessel of change to the electorate. We have the unique opportunity to cast aside the politics of the past and usher in a new era of free and democratic participation both at the ballot box and within the Republican Party.
Can someone, ANYONE within the local GOP establishment please step up and call for an open and fair process to select our candidate going forward? Does anyone actually have the guts?
