So Much for the Power Steering
Posted by Andy on May 11th, 2007
Ron Carey has dropped the ‘Steering Committee’ from his MNGOP Chairman campaign literature.
Hmmmmmmmm
I wonder if some people asked to have their names removed from that list, and Carey was afraid someone would notice, so he dropped the ‘Steering Committee’ list all together.
Anyways, it is a pretty entertaining letter, and if I didn’t want to have a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend, I’d thouroughly fisk this spin laden piece, but I do. So I won’t poke the bear just yet.
Have a nice weekend, and I certainly hope everyone on the State Central asks themselves if that letter matches the reality from the 2006 election cycle. I heard from one of the Deputy Chair candidates last night, and they are hearing from a lot of Delegates that a whole ton of stuff went wrong last time, and that serious changes have to be made if 2008 is going to be any different.
(A dedicated reader of Residual Forces was kind enough to forward me a copy of the email Carey has sent out. Mr. Carey has seen to it that I don’t receive any of his lit pieces or emails. I think I know why, but I have to say I think it is a telling sign of something…… )
Sphere: Related Content
May 11th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Ah, yes, a whole bunch of things did “go wrong” last election cycle. Unfortunately, Ron Carey was responsible for none of those things. Just as sadly, those who were “responsible” for the lackluster performance last cycle are just as unlikely to make a change next cycle regardless of who the State Chair may be.
Considering that, I make my choice.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Just my 2 cents worth. One of the reasons that Carey’s predecessor was voted out, was because of the loses during his time of service. Why shouldn’t Mr Carey be held to the same standard?
May 11th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Brent:
OK, so who is “responsible”?
Who are you blaming?
May 11th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hey, Andy: Didn’t “GOP Joe” promise that he’d reveal how many state central delegates are supporting him after the 8 cd conventions? LOL. I’m waiting…
May 11th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
heh?
May 11th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
One of the reasons that Carey’s predecessor was voted out, was because of the loses during his time of service. Why shouldn’t Mr Carey be held to the same standard?
It was a lousy reason to vote someone out. Lousy in 2005 and lousy in 2007. Repeating a bad choice over and over does not make it a good one.
OK, so who is “responsible”?
Those who are responsible are conservatives who don’t participate in the political process. I hear a lot of conservatives whining about “RINO’s”, but do I ever see any of them actually making a difference in their BPOU? Not a whole lot. Of course, it is easier just to blame someone else for the problems you see rather then do something yourself to make a difference.
May 12th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Just one interesting point. I heard yesterday that there are four MN House Republicans on record as SUPPORTING an override of Gov. Pawlenty’s expected veto of the gas tax. Who is responsible for these RINOs being in office? Because I don’t think it’s Ron Carey. Our biggest problem, IMHO, is that we cannot seem to elect enough Republicans willing to act like Republicans, thereby tainting the “brand name” and making it more difficult for the rest. It’s the “4P rule”– People Prefer Principled Politicians.
May 12th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Sounds an awful lot like Carey’s Blame the Delegates for endorsing line.
Wait for it….
http://www.residualforces.com/2007/03/16/carey-blames-delegates/
Yep. i thought that angle rang a bell.
So exactly what is Carey going to be offering us this time?
Because last time he offered a heck of a lot. Hey, don’t take my word for it, take Ron Carey’s from 2005.
http://www.residualforces.com/2005/06/12/state-central-convention-chair-speeches/
May 12th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
J. Ewing:
Didn’t you read the post above your’s? The conservatives are the ones at fault. As you know Ron Carey isn’t accountable for the candidates, or the RINO’s serving.
May 13th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Sorry about that. I was just so stupefied by Andy’s logic I failed to read carefully. I’m still struggling, you know, with the notion that Ron Carey is so ineffective that he “cost us” all these legislative seats, yet single-handedly managed to elect all these RINOs! I suppose it could be done, if he would spend more State Party resources on electing conservative Republican legislators, while dictating to local BPOUs that they must endorse only RINOS…. No, that doesn’t make sense either. See my problem?
May 31st, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I received this interesting letter in my email today. Looks like someone sniffed out Joe “Reagan’s 11th Commandment” Repya for who he really is:
May 31, 2007
Dear Fellow Republican,
As the race for state party chairman begins to heat up, I feel compelled to urge a note of caution to the campaign of Joe Repya. Perhaps he and members of his campaign should remember our party’s history.
The year was 1966, and then candidate Ronald Reagan in a heated campaign for governor of California was coming under fire from his liberal Republican opponent. The California Republican Chairman Gaylord Parkinson realized it was crucial to prevent a repeat of the liberal Republican attacks on conservative Barry Goldwater. A mere two years before liberal Rockefeller Republicans branded the conservative Goldwater as an “extremist” who was unfit to hold office, harsh attacks that laid the foundation for Goldwater’s eventual defeat in the 1964 presidential election.
Chairman Parkinson therefore coined the term that is now known as Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.” Advice as pertinent in 2007 as it was 41 years ago.
I was reminded of this recently when I read a comment by Mr. Repya where he made the following statement:
“I turned down the offer because of the despicable condition the Minnesota Party is in following a greatly mismanaged and poorly executed election in 2006.” (emphasis mine) - Joe Repya, May 23, 2007
Whipping out my handy dictionary/thesaurus I looked up the word “despicable” and found the definition of the word:
“despicable [dispikəbl] adjective contemptible, worthless and deserving to be despised”
Worthless, despised, contemptible? This is not the language ANY Republican should be using to describe a fellow Republican, and most certainly not the type of thing you would say about the entire Party.
Friends, you and I are the Republican Party, and our Party is not in a “despicable condition.”
The leaders of the Republican Party are not “despicable” The activists of the Republican Party are not “despicable”. And frankly I don’t believe anyone who wants to lead the Republican Party should call our party “despicable.”
Negativity, pessimism and these blatant violations of Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment do not represent the kind of vision and leadership our party needs. In fact, when Joe Repya announced his campaign for party chairman on April 11th I was pleased when he promised to abide by Reagan’s 11th Commandment:
“…you know my style, I don’t come out complaining about people. I believe strongly in Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment ‘Thou shall not speak evil of a fellow Republican’”.
Sadly it seems Mr. Repya has chosen to break his promise to by abide by Reagan’s 11th Commandment when he called the Republican Party of Minnesota “despicable”.
We had a tough year in 2006, but our party, you and me, are in good shape and are ready to take on the challenges of getting our majority back. We are optimistic, we are engaged and enthusiastic, and we are ready to fight together in 2008 and beyond.
I am afraid we can expect more negativity, pessimism and mud from the Repya campaign. Mr. Repya’s most recent letter to delegates talked a lot about morals and ethics and I’m afraid he is foreshadowing his next attack on our party. I hope I am wrong, and that in the final few week of this campaign we can stay out of the mud.
I’d ask that you keep in mind what has already come out from this campaign, and please take with a grain of salt and a skeptical eye whatever is sent out or worse yet, whatever half-truths or falsehoods are pushed to our “friends” in the media. This would be an 11th hour desperate attempt to change the direction of the chairman’s race in the last week leading up to State Central.
Those who know me well know I’m an optimist and so I will try to remain confident Mr. Repya will do the right thing and retract these attacks on the party that we hold dear. President Ronald Reagan and Chairman Gaylord Parkinson would be proud.
I look forward to moving forward together with hope and optimism towards more great victories in the upcoming elections.
Your Republican friend,
Rory Koch
4th District Republican Chairman