Posted by
travis christensen on Wednesday, January 07, 2009 8:32:40 PM
I finally watched the RNC candidate debate at:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/watch.aspx?MediaId=HP-A-13924
Based on the debate alone, I think that Ken Blackwell might be the best pick.
The reason I say this is because Blackwell stands out. Each of those six candidates are qualified and at some point each of them said something I heartily agreed with. The problem is that 5 of them sounded like politicians that in many ways were just carbon copies of each other. In terms of presenting a leadership face to Republicans and all other Americans I think people will listen to Blackwell rather than writing him off as just another suit. Watch the debate, you’ll see what I mean.
Blackwell said a couple of things I think make him really stand out from his competition. I quoting from memory, so I might be a little off.
"I think that Bush spending opened the door to Obama’s big government."
I could not agree more, and I think Republicans are going to have to divorce themselves from Bush fiscal practices, not just to remain true to their principles, but also to clearly differentiate themselves from the democratic party.
"There is not one vote in one precinct that we shouldn’t be going after. Reagan was fond of saying that "status quo" is Latin for "the big mess we are in," and we are in a big mess."
I like Republicans who admit that we are completely messed up. There’s been too much sugar-coating
"The RNC can’t be a social club, it needs to be the premier Republican organization in America."
"We have got to stop saying one thing and then doing something else. Authenticity."
I’m a big fan of authenticity.
I’m going to have to take a good look at Blackwell.
The question is "what does it matter what I think, what does it matter what anyone thinks outside of the voting members of the RNC?"
That’s a hard question to answer. This is like many issues in life where you have no direct power but you can at least offer your opinion. The only thing that grassroots Republicans can do to have their voice heard is to phone, write, or e-mail RNC members and voice their opinion. There are three RNC members in each state, these being the state GOP Chairman and the RNC Committeeman and Committeewoman. They are most easily contacted through the website of the state GOP headquarters.
To the credit of all the RNC candidates, they seem in agreement that the party has a responsibility to oppose Republican candidates and legislation that go against Republican principles. That’s a new one to me, I’ll have to wait and see before I believe that.