A Message to Dave Argall

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As we make final arrangements to celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year, now is the perfect time to decompress from the past few months’ electoral upheaval and reflect on lessons learned, before gearing up once again on January 5th for another few rounds of political prize fighting.

For you, 2008 was a good one. You stared down a weighty primary challenge from a respected community leader bankrolled by a pack of local reformers, like me, looking to make you the first trophy on their mantle. You parlayed that momentum into your greatest electoral victory, one that finally buried not only a stubborn rival, but also the thorn in your side that was the memory of the infamous midnight pay raise. And after tragedy struck our county and our party, you successfully out-maneuvered both the remnants of the old guard  and the rising power of the new guard on your way to the top of the ticket in local politics as our nominee for state senate.

Dave Argall, you took on all comers and knocked them out every time. Congrats.

But, what will you do with what you have been given? Will you look to settle old scores by freezing out those who have forsaken you? Will you seek  to consolidate your resources and power to entrench yourself and your friends as the permanent political force in this county for the next few decades?

Both of those options are completely understandable. For years, you have had to play second banana to Jim Rhoades and his north of the mountain army, making you unable to fully push forth your own county-wide agenda. As his successor, you can take this opportunity to brush aside the likes of Champ Holman, Ron Rader, Mary Beth Dougherty, and the remainders of the old War Board clan in favor of your own cast of personal friends and political allies. Moreover, you can become even more of a hero to the rest of the politically established class by crushing the reform movement that both challenged your ascendancy and has been a pain the petard to the collective rulers of the county committee.

If I may, I have another suggestion: Unite us.

Unite us by recognizing that there were manifest reasons why we were torn apart in the first place. Understand that bully politics, nepotism, and straying from core conservative principles to maintain power, was what caused the fissure to begin with. Embrace those failings and take active steps to finally heal the ugly wounds of the past few years, so that we can all move forward together as ONE PARTY. Recognize that there is an all too real reason why you had two serious challenges, one that came within 3 votes of beating you, for the senate seat that in any other place in any other time would have been yours from the beginning.

You can do this in one simple step: Pull out a chair or two at your own table and invite people like me to sit down.

I, and my reform brethren, are not evil. We do not hate you personally. We are not out to destroy the Republican Party. We are just a group of politically active individuals, who are aggravated with the current state of affairs, and speak out for a large group of voters who aren’t as politically active. We are your conservative conscience. Just like that little voice in the back of your head that tells you stealing a candy bar from Brok Sel is bad or driving drunk is dangerous, we are the little voice in your political brain that tells you that tax increases hurt middle-class citizens and over-zealous government spending kills local economies. As annoying as we may be, we provide an important voice that should at least be heard. Just as people who ignore their own Jiminey Cricket make poor life decisions, politicians who ignore their political conscience make poor policy.

Maybe if I or someone like me had your ear back in 2005, we could have waved a big red flag in your face and advised you to not support the pay raise because it was both bad politics and poor leadership. We might have been able to show you how that one vote would start a political avalanche to the current toxic atmosphere  that the GOp enjoys today. You might have listened, you might not have, but at least we would have been in the room vehemently arguing our case.

In the same vein, don’t banish Rhoades’ staff and supporters to the nether-region of county politics. You may not always have agreed with their decisions or their tactics, but they can be a valuable asset to you as senator and to the party as a whole. It may be tempting to leave their names off the guest list, but doing so will only cause more dissension in the GOP ranks. I am not suggesting that you make Champ your chief of staff or Ron Rader your main strategist. What I am saying is that like that former high school football star, who humbly returns home after blowing out his knee in spring practice at Penn State, needs to find a new place in his community that doesn’t involve the bright lights on Friday night, the Rhoades people need to find a new place in this party.

Today, you have that opportunity. You have the chance to let Jiminey Cricket out of his cage and place him back on your shoulder. Let us in Dave. I promise, we won’t bite. We may even help make you the leader we never expected you to be, but have been praying for for a long time.

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