Departing Advice
As I sit here amid boxes and on a very short deadline, I thought I would sit down and give a few parting words of advice to the MNGOP Party leadership. This not only includes the Chairman and the Executive Committee, but also the State Central Committee.
Remember who your base is! You have a grass roots base that would love to work for you, if you would quit shutting us out in favor of your friends in DC. Listen to us. We know what our friends and neighbors WHO VOTE are thinking. We know what issues are plaguing them the most.....and it ain't gay marriage, Iraq or abortion! To borrow from former President Clinton....IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID! Listen to your base, your grass roots and show that you appreciate the knowledge and hard work that we bring to the table. We are not the enemy....you can not do it all. At some point, you must take the advise of those of us in the trenches. Don't shut the grass roots out for too long - or they may never come back!
The fact of the matter is your friends in DC has no clue what is on the minds of the average voter in Minnesota. They don't know what issues are most important to the voters....you remember them don't you? They are the folks that you (and your candidates) are supposed to be courting in order WIN ELECTIONS. I use the term "courting" deliberately. You are supposed to be winning these people over - not scaring them into voting for you. We all know that Al Franken is a cad with a hair trigger temper. This is not news......tell us why we should vote for your guys (and gals) what makes them deserving of my precious vote. Your DC friends can't vote for you...Minnesota residents can. However we need to know why you deserve to be sent to DC - not why the other guy is a royal schmuck!
Listen to the voters. As I said, kitchen table conversation today does not revolve around gay marriage, abortion and Iraq. Today's kitchen table conversations are about why the idiots in DC don't allow us to drill for domestic oil when the price of gas is so high, the high cost of feeding the family and the fear of losing their homes because they can't afford to keep up with payments because of the high price of food and fuel! Throw away your silly surveys that ask if people are pro-life or pro-choice. IT IS NOT IMPORTANT TO VOTERS AT THIS TIME! Get out off the 1990's and into today! Take two seconds to ask the voters "what is important to you and what would be your ideal fix?" Our principles resonate with voters if you give it a chance. GIVE IT A CHANCE!
The Republican Party is not the about of "God, guns and gays". We are about solutions. Solutions that provide the most freedoms to the most people. Freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail! When you put it to the voters in that way - you will find out that you have more supporters in this purple blue state than you thought. It resonated in 2000 and 2004 - it will resonate again as long as you remember one simple lesson. Listen to the grass roots. They are your most valuable asset and right now they want nothing to do with you because you have nothing to do with them.
Remember who your base is! You have a grass roots base that would love to work for you, if you would quit shutting us out in favor of your friends in DC. Listen to us. We know what our friends and neighbors WHO VOTE are thinking. We know what issues are plaguing them the most.....and it ain't gay marriage, Iraq or abortion! To borrow from former President Clinton....IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID! Listen to your base, your grass roots and show that you appreciate the knowledge and hard work that we bring to the table. We are not the enemy....you can not do it all. At some point, you must take the advise of those of us in the trenches. Don't shut the grass roots out for too long - or they may never come back!
The fact of the matter is your friends in DC has no clue what is on the minds of the average voter in Minnesota. They don't know what issues are most important to the voters....you remember them don't you? They are the folks that you (and your candidates) are supposed to be courting in order WIN ELECTIONS. I use the term "courting" deliberately. You are supposed to be winning these people over - not scaring them into voting for you. We all know that Al Franken is a cad with a hair trigger temper. This is not news......tell us why we should vote for your guys (and gals) what makes them deserving of my precious vote. Your DC friends can't vote for you...Minnesota residents can. However we need to know why you deserve to be sent to DC - not why the other guy is a royal schmuck!
Listen to the voters. As I said, kitchen table conversation today does not revolve around gay marriage, abortion and Iraq. Today's kitchen table conversations are about why the idiots in DC don't allow us to drill for domestic oil when the price of gas is so high, the high cost of feeding the family and the fear of losing their homes because they can't afford to keep up with payments because of the high price of food and fuel! Throw away your silly surveys that ask if people are pro-life or pro-choice. IT IS NOT IMPORTANT TO VOTERS AT THIS TIME! Get out off the 1990's and into today! Take two seconds to ask the voters "what is important to you and what would be your ideal fix?" Our principles resonate with voters if you give it a chance. GIVE IT A CHANCE!
The Republican Party is not the about of "God, guns and gays". We are about solutions. Solutions that provide the most freedoms to the most people. Freedom to succeed and the freedom to fail! When you put it to the voters in that way - you will find out that you have more supporters in this purple blue state than you thought. It resonated in 2000 and 2004 - it will resonate again as long as you remember one simple lesson. Listen to the grass roots. They are your most valuable asset and right now they want nothing to do with you because you have nothing to do with them.
Labels: MNGOP
posted by The Lady Logician at
7:35 AM
10 Comments:
I don't really get your post. The MNGOP hasn't "forgotten" who their base is. They haven't shut anyone out of the grassroots.
No one has been turned away from volunteering as far as I know. No one was turned away from being able to caucus because they did not have the correct ideological views, much as some people thought they should be turned away. No one had their delegate status revoked. No one was prevented from being seated as a delegate because of their views.
The truth is that the Republican party is about "God, guns and gays" because those who believe "God, guns and gays" are important issues are the ones involved. No one is stopping people who believe other issues are important from being involved or volunteering. But, unless they do, their issues will probably never the important.
The idea that I can walk up to some who has chosen to give up their personal time to make a difference politically and tell them, "I'm not going to volunteer or get involved, but you'd better do what I want" is more then outrageous.
You want to give your principles a chance? Go right ahead, but you (whoever those principles are important to) have to pull the weight to make that chance happen. Go to caucuses, become delegates, vote for leaders who support your principles. Otherwise, don't whine when people who get involved have different principles then you think are important.
OTOH, if you think that the most important thing for your principles is having the state nominating committee accept anyone to be on the ballot for national delegate, well, you have little chance of making a difference for your principles in the GOP party.
But, as far as I've been involved, I've never seen the grassroots shut out from actually getting involved where it makes a difference for their principles.
By
Unknown, at 8:30 AM
You have lots of friends in Minnesota who will miss you Cindy. We have the net to stay in touch but know our thoughts and prayers are with your family always!
Sue
By
Anonymous, at 9:07 AM
I agree with Sue. I will miss you Cindy and you and your family will be in my prayers.
Love,
andrea
By
Anonymous, at 1:54 PM
Brent - I don't know if you are being willfully obtuse or if you skipped the convention. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you skipped the convention. To recap - the MNGOP leadership essentially told all those who disagreed with them to sit down, shut up and send your checks in...all is fine. Well guess what guy - all is not fine. The MNGOP leadership wouldn't know a message if it bit them in the face. The voters are sick to death of being scared into voting against someone...they want to vote for someone - and if you don't get it then YOU are part of the problem as well.
Oh and the party doesn't need to turn volunteers away - IT IS CHASING THEM AWAY WITH THEIR ACTIONS. If you think THAT is ok then again I say YOU are part of the problem.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 10:52 PM
The MNGOP leadership wouldn't know a message if it bit them in the face. The voters are sick to death of being scared into voting against someone...they want to vote for someone - and if you don't get it then YOU are part of the problem as well.
Ok, vote for new leadership then. The base elected the leadership and most likely want what they have. Otherwise they wouldn't have voted for the leadership. Is there a "different" base now? Fine, you'll get your chance next year to vote for your leadership.
Don't come around to me and tell me what I need to do to for you, or anyone else needs to do. Everyone gave up their time to get involved and no one has the right to be demanding.
Oh and the party doesn't need to turn volunteers away - IT IS CHASING THEM AWAY WITH THEIR ACTIONS. If you think THAT is ok then again I say YOU are part of the problem.
If you think that electing conservatives is just sending in a check to the MNGOP, you are wrong. There are hundreds of local campaigns this year that need your involvement and I don't think "many" of them are chasing people away.
The bottom line is the only person that can keep you from getting involved in making a difference is you.
ANd what a bunch of weak-spined, cowardly wimps conservatives must be if they can be chased away because the delegates in 2005 elected MNGOP leadership they didn't approve of.
By
Unknown, at 8:18 AM
I was at the convention - as I recall you said you were not.
I recall votes being taken.
And votes being largely one sided, a majority of people agreeing.
We even spent ten minutes on one rule to change a vote for 60% to 50% or some other minutia element. Plenty of time was given for people to add their voice.
I recall contrary voices being allowed to go on and on and on, repeating the same argument - well past the point of tolerance of the delegates but the chair politely let them speak.
So if you mean the leadership took a vote and did what the majority of the people ask them to do.
As Brent pointed out, a large majority of the delegates spoke, you may not like what they said but that does not make them wrong, it just means you have a minority opinion.
By
Anonymous, at 12:11 PM
I quoted what the SIGN SAID Tom and speaking of incorrect letters to the Pacer what was it you charged Rep. Buesgens of two years ago that was proven to be false???????
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 10:08 PM
See this is your problem Tom...you put words into other peoples mouths. What I said in the letter was I saw a CAMPAIGN SIGN THAT SAID Vote Yes on Nov 6 and you turned around to accuse me of saying something I didn't. That is one of many reasons why you don't have the support of your BPOU anymore.
So very sad....
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 10:39 PM
"I quoted what the SIGN SAID Tom ..."
Did we miss a post somewhere on this comment - Who is Tom and what is this about?
By
Anonymous, at 8:33 AM
"Tom" is the anonymous commenter that posted a comment about my so-called "false comments" in a letter to the editor in the Savage Pacer. The comment was approved, but apparently the author deleted the comment.
Tom is someone who loves to take peoples words out of context and then when he gets called on it, he runs.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 11:07 PM
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