JOIN THE CLUB???

July 22, 2008 by 14 Comments

The Republican State Convention certainly was an eye opener.

Before the convention was called to order, I had an instructive exchange with a lady who was registering delegates from my county. I’d heard that due to the convention’s rescheduling, many delegates had not shown up and that people who came as guests had the opportunity to become last minute delegates. I thought this might be a possibility for me, so a friend ( a delegate from another county) and I decided there would be no harm in politely inquiring.

It is unfortunate to have to report that the lady from my county was singularly unhelpful if not downright rude. She would barely look at us, answered our questions with a yes or no (mostly a no,) and would not give out any practical information. It was now past the hour and minute to which other would-be delegates had been told by their counties they must wait (in order to make certain the elected delegates were not showing up,) and yet this lady professed to know nothing about the odds of my becoming a delegate. Her manner and behavior were totally uncalled for. The last time I checked, I do not have two heads, and even if I do there was absolutely no excuse for her rudeness.

Feeling slapped in the face, I found myself a seat in the guest area, took a few minutes to recover, and then returned to the registration desk. This time our friend was checking in a delegate and was slightly more forthcoming to the extent she informed me only the County Chair could allow me to become a delegate (time was running out why hadn’t she told me this in the first place?) I went off to find him (I was unsuccessful) but not before I had been told, “I don’t even know your name” (I didn’t know hers: her name tag wasn’t visible to me.) And not before she whispered (something about my wanting to become a delegate) to the real delegate in front of her.

So what is going on? Does The Republican Party need more people to participate or not? If so, then this kind of behavior is scarcely the way to attract them.

The feeling I got from this experience at the convention is that, at least in my county, Republicans are a club and that you are either in or you are out. Moreover, that decision is not based on reasonable criteria but on the whim of a person (or people) intoxicated with some kind of weird power. Besides which, there are no reasonable criteria to shut anybody out of the election process or the delegate process. On the contrary, the rules that exist are set up to provide a pathway, and my county surrogate chose not to make that pathway available to me. I am a U.S. citizen and a registered Republican in my county: I can’t by rights be shut out, but in effect I was.

So who is the big loser here?

Well, of course I lost because I wasn’t able to be a delegate and so was unable to vote for a couple of candidates and more than a dozen platform amendments. And I was unable to learn the ropes of being a delegate which might stand me in good stead in the future.

But ultimately Lee County Republicans could turn out to be losers, too… Judging by the fliers they’ve sent, they would appreciate donations from me. However, for now I plan to donate money directly to the candidates of my choice so that “The Club” won’t be able to grab a handful on the way by.

I understand that politics is not for the faint of heart. But I also understand that civility and adhering to the rules count for a whole lot. I’m hoping what I experienced was simply an isolated incident caused by the proverbial bad apple. Time will tell….but in any event, I had hoped Republicans would have higher standards of behavior than some of what I observed at the state convention.

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Thinking For A Change

July 22, 2008 by 3 Comments

One of my favorite books, “Thinking For A Change”, by John C. Maxwell, has this short but powerful paragraph:

“Mark Twain said, “We should be careful to get out of an experience all the wisdom that is in it- not like the cat that sits down on a hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again- and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.” An experience becomes valuable when it informs or equips us to meet new experiences. Reflecting thinking helps to do that.”

“Thinking For A Change” is a great book about the importance of reflective thinking, which I am about to do here. I share my ‘wisdom’ from the caucus to present day.

When I attended the Iowa Republican Caucus on that cold January night, shoved into a crowded room, I thought I had scoped out 9 Huckabee supporters- when the votes were counted there were 49. After the heart and soul I had given to supporting and promoting Huckabee, I was so excited! And naive. Not only did the following states not see the wisdom in giving victory to Mike Huckabee, but the news media continued their steady drum beat of negative Huckabee news and Christian leaders shunned him for candidates with far less character and moral values. On a sad, sad day for me and surely for others, Mike Huckabee dropped out of the campaign for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

So, not wanting to be the “cat” that Mark Twain describes, I have done a lot of reflective thinking- and along with that, some focused thinking as well.

It is my choice to search out other grass roots type people (this term never meant anything to me pre-Huckabee), to be informed on a variety of candidates, both local and state-wide, care about the issues that are important to me, pay less attention to the national media, and to the polls. And now, after my first Iowa Republican Convention experience, be even more comitted than ever to let the fighting, name calling, so called ‘leaders’ of my party go about their merry way with more bashing, fighting, and being off track.

I am only one average person. I have bills to pay (but thankfully I can and will work), a family to love and one that loves me, AND now I am nurturing a new interest in politics. I am learning from the experiences I have had, delighting in the networking that is so valuable, and becoming an informed American voter.

To anyone who happens upon the words from my heart that are shared here: step up, be informed, join us in the Iowa Brigade. One by one we are making a difference. While I can’t do much of anything about bias in the media, leaders who let their own agendas dictate who they support, and all the Iowans who “blog” and make mean-spirited comments everywhere they can, WE can shed a bright light on great candidates and quietly but diligently work for the good of Iowans and for America.

More from Mr. Maxwell: “Reflective thinking is like the crock-pot of the mind. It encourages your thoughts to simmer until they’re done.”

Reflect.. think…simmer… and when you are ready, join with us for some ACTION!

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Check these candidates out!

July 22, 2008 by 7 Comments

This post is going to piggyback off commoniowan’s post below. Instead of talking about what needs to change in the GOP, we need to start DOING! We need to start identifying candidates that reflect our values, that will be solid leaders, and then we need to work to ensure that these candidates are elected to office.

In recent weeks, I have been fortunate enough to meet two great candidates who understand the issues facing Iowans and who understand that social conservatism and economic conservatism really go hand-in-hand. Both are young, have great ideas, and are working tirelessly to get elected. These candidates are Jarret Heil (Senate District 22) and Ryan Rhodes (House District 45).

Jarret has impressed me with his passion and committment to the people of Iowa and a good understanding of the underlying issues that shape public policy. We had a good conversation about  how big government fails low-income families and that the issues low-income families face are best solved locally, through economic development and really just “loving your neighbor as yourself.” As a person interested in the issues that low-income families face, I can honestly say that Jarret “gets it”. It was very refreshing to talk to a politician about these issues in an open and frank manner. Jarret will also be strong supporter of the rights of the unborn and traditional marriage and understands these issues are the crux of the moral dilemma facing our nation . Additionally, he has used networking sites such as Facebook to his advantage by using these sites to recruit volunteers and supporters and then communicate with them about campaign events etc. It is absolutely fabulous to see his network of young volunteers/supporters.

Ryan has impressed me with his passion and enthusiasm. If you live in his district, chances are you’ll get an in-person visit from him or one of his volunteers. He really cares about the issues that affect Iowans and has a vision for bringing change to Iowa politics. As with Jarret, Ryan understands that social and economic issues are intertwined and has good understanding of the issues that underlay public policy. He understands a wide-array of policy issues, but most importantly Ryan will stand up for the rights of the unborn and traditional marriage. It is refreshing to see his strong stance on these issues especially in a culture that is increasingly hostile to his viewpoint. Ryan is also mobilizing the youth vote by focusing on college students and finding new ways of networking with voters from from a variety of backgrounds.

You can visit their sites below:

http://rhodes2change.iowafcr.org/

http://www.heilforsenate.com

As the election nears, I will continue to blog about these candidates as well as post opposition research about their challenger (trust me it will be good). In the meantime, please look at their websites, sign-up to volunteer, tell your friends about them, and/or send some $$$$$$$$$$$$.

This is off-track, but as I write this I’m watching TV (it’s called multi-tasking). I must say that the number and content of reality TV is, as my friend Tami would say, OOC (out-of-control). And we wonder why the children in our society have issues.

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The Republican Challenge

July 22, 2008 by 7 Comments

I have been hearing conservative voices far and wide saying that Republicans of all breeds should put their division aside and get behind the chosen candidates. You know what I wholeheartedly agree. The problem is that it seems that these voices seem to be all talk. They do not seem to be willing to back this up with action. Instead these voices seem to be intent on covering the recent power change in the Republican Party of Iowa and the soap opera going on behind the scenes. This just gives the Democrats ammunition to use against us in the run up to the general election. I will be the first to say that we have been no better; however there is one clear difference. We have begun promoting our candidates and showing why our guys and gals are better than the Demomcrats. This is not to say that we have been the only ones to do so, but if you were to look around they are few and far between.

The party needs to come to the realization that the donations quite possibly will not be there this year. We don’t have a rockstar of a presidential candidate. Because of this conservatives across the spectrum need to devise strategies that will help us win in November that does not rely on massive amounts of campaign contributions. This will not be easy, but then again there is the old saying that nothing worth having comes easy. The Democrats will raise more money than us this year. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can change our strategy to reflect this truth. Our party needs to run a grassroots campaign that exploits the fact that the Democrats have more money.

I know that a lot of people don’t like Mike Huckabee, however we can take lessons from his campaign. He ran his Iowa campaign on a shoestring budget, he was outspent by a large margin, and yet he was able to win the Iowa caucus handily. Surely we can use his campaign as a guide in how to campaign with little funds.

We have to stop this incessant and childish finger pointing, it serves no useful purpose. It only serves to give the Democrats an edge. They will say that if we can’t get along with each other just how do we plan to run the government. And you know what, they would be right. If we can’t get along with each other we don’t deserve to win.

And so I put this challenge forth to all Republicans. I challenge you to put aside your petty differences so that we can find a way to take back our government. I know I for one plan on doing everything that I can to elect Republicans in November.

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