Posted on 07/08/2009 6:55:10 AM PDT by flattorney
As a military officer for 30 years, I came to recognize the necessity of good leadership. When I retired from the military in 1998, I became active politically in the Republican Party. Since that time, I've been elected to two National Republican Conventions, acted as a military spokesperson for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004, and served as national veterans coordinator for Fred Thompson's presidential run. In 2007, I ran for Minnesota GOP party chair as a reform candidate, and lost. Over the years I have raised tens of thousands of dollars for GOP coffers, donated many thousands of dollars to local and national GOP candidates, worked many hours at the grass-roots level and been asked repeatedly to run for state or federal office by Minnesota GOP officeholders.
So why on Earth have I decided to leave the Minnesota GOP?
Simple: When a political party becomes so dysfunctional that it no longer can operate without tyrannical domination over the grass-roots, it is time to stop enabling bad behavior from that party. I have come to the conclusion that a majority of Minnesotans and many Republicans no longer trust the message of the Minnesota GOP. After years of ineffective party leadership resulting in a record number of defeats, lack of transparency in party dealings, alleged financial impropriety by former party employees, and numerous Federal Election Commission problems, can you really blame the electorate for abandoning the Minnesota GOP?
On June 13, the party continued its death spiral by electing the same failed leadership that has lost the last two elections. The "old guard" network of the GOP State Central Delegates continued to imitate lemmings gleefully following each other over the cliff to the political abyss below. Possibly the last chance to reform and re-energize the Minnesota GOP before the 2010 governor's race has been lost. For me, it was the last straw. I refuse to enable poor performance any longer. In my opinion, the new party leaders are rabid, power-hungry ideologues and the former attack dogs of the previous party chairman. They will not provide a message of inclusiveness or willingness to discuss contrary opinions. Honest, open and transparent party operations will not exist. The party is increasingly controlled by a small group of major financial donors and lobbyists who demand that their hand-picked people maintain the leadership positions. Most elected GOP politicians don't dare support reform out of fear of retribution. When lobbyist and corporate money has this type of stranglehold on a political party, fresh ideas and quality leadership fail to rise to the top.
The Minnesota GOP is no longer capable of competing. If you need further evidence, you only need to look at these two examples: the decision of Gov. Tim Pawlenty not to seek a third term and the decision of businessman Brian Sullivan, long thought to be the party's hand-picked successor to Pawlenty, of declining to run. I'm convinced both men, after watching the abandonment of Sen. Norm Coleman by principled conservatives and the debacle at last year's state GOP convention, where Ron Paul supporters were attacked and shouted down, have read the party tea leaves and decided the Minnesota GOP is so divided it is in no condition to contend in 2010.
After June 13, I came to the conclusion that the Minnesota GOP is no longer capable of being saved. My detractors will attack me, anonymously, or claim that I have hard feelings or that I'm just taking my ball and going home. Wrong — I'm only doing what thousands of Minnesota Republican voters have done over the last two elections; it just took me longer to pull the plug. Somewhere is a political party that is inclusive and wanting of seasoned political grass-roots talent. Somewhere there is a political party that will stand on principle, not radical partisanship. Somewhere there is a political party that isn't bought and paid for by large financial donors or special interests. There must be a party in need of fiscally conservative, principled individuals who will work for the people of Minnesota and not for the blind political ambition of a few. I encourage like-minded Republican voters to join me. I'm sure we'll find that new home.
Lt. Col. Joe Repya, of Eagan, is retired from the U.S. Army after 30 years of service that included Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A RINO is one who will simply vote for liberal stupidity, examples are Specter and the 2 senator hags from Maine!
Th RINO’s should simply join the Democrats and not play games that split conservatives from their party. So what is the conservatives don’t win any thing for a while...the natural destrctuin that is occuring under the system right now will make every day folks consider the conservative message. None of this morally liberal fiscally conservative crap either...if you are not morally conservative you can’t really be fiscally conservative!
Interesting.
I didn’t realize Minnesota even HAD a Republican Party!
(and I live here...)
1. Ditch the loser, boutique, vanity, designer, can’t draw more than 1% of the electorate candidates.
2. Control the purse, control the party.
3. 3 issues and 3 issues only.
I Palin builds it, I will come.
If Palin builds it, I will come.
But would Joe agree with you? Much of what he spoke about was being more inclusive.
If anyone initiates some kind of third party, or third party candidacy along the lines of Ross Perot or Ron Paul, you can say hello to Bambi and his crowd forever. Get that kind of thinking out of your collective heads.
I would feel better about a GOP party that would remove it’s head from it’s @ss and start concerning itself with winning elections rather than planning the next coffee klatch.
I’ve long thought that Kline, and not Pawlenty, was the real model Republican from Minnesota.
Who says he served exactly as a LT COL for 30 years...he probably worked himself thru the ranks and was a a LT COl. when he retired.
Could have been a voluntary return to AD. Not out of the question. Especially if he was a medical officer or in some other small density combat service support branch. It may also just be worded poorly. He may have served as a contractor or in civil service during OIF.
can not cleanse a corrupted vessel, it must be replaced.
new wineskins?
“The real problem is that RINOs have a deathgrip on control and money in the GOP.”
And if we start a Conservative Party, the Rinos will STILL have a deathgrip on control and money. You know what the difference is cripplecreek? The Rinos are SPINELESS COWARDS
and we are FIGHTERS. Reagan figured this out, and would not negotiate with the Bob Doles, and he won. We must kick Rino a$$!! If we do, they will cave.
“Somewhere there is a political party that isn’t bought and paid for by large financial donors or special interests.”
Sadly, no.
There must be a party in need of fiscally conservative, principled individuals who will work for the people of Minnesota and not for the blind political ambition of a few. I encourage like-minded Republican voters to join me.
The unfortunate result of this opus, will be continued losses.All other party choices have the same problems on a lesser scale, and will get you two percent of the vote if you are lucky. If you can’t change the Republican party, you have very few alternatives,
Switching to something else will not be a positive move, unless crowing about your small percentage gains in votes, and successes in getting candidates past the paperwork and signature nightmare just to get on the ballot, for third party turns your crank.
An example might be the principles of the Constitution Party, that got thoroughly mixed up when they decided GWB was a problem not a President, the gulf war wasn’t worth the fight, and the rabid side of pro-life took over the party. That proved to me all I wanted to know about third parties.
The Minnesota GOP sounds like the Pa. GOP.
Oh yeah! Start a new party, what will we call it? The Cut and Run party? If you don’t like what is going on in the GOP get together and fix it. If you run away like little girls you haven’t got a prayer of winning with a bunch of quitters.
“What you don’t seem to realize is that the scum have always run the GOP. It was only during the Reagan/Gingrich interlude that conservatives got energized and had some influence (not enough imo) in the party.”
Yeah, but the Rinos were always more prevalent on the east coast.
Reagan rose to power when we elected a left wing defeatist
who didn’t believe in American free enterprise. Ring a bell today?? The time is ripe for a positive candidate to defeat Obama’s Marxist defeatism.
I agree. I personally think Pawlenty’s decision not to run for a third term has national implications rather than any perceived shortcoming on the part of the Minnesota GOP.
I can’t speak to the Ron Paul issue other than to say I didn’t support him.
Minnesota voters are famous for their independence (unfortunately). You could say that the GOP is ineffective, but you could also say the DFL is impotent too since we haven’t had a Democrat governor in this state for over 25 years.
There’s no doubt that Dean Barkley’s candidacy hurt Coleman. The nuts and flakes voted for the Senator-Select and Barkley siphoned support off Coleman. That’s where the state GOP could have helped, but despite it all they couldn’t overcome those infamous ‘found votes’ Democrats are so good at conjuring up when they want to cheat their way to election.
But to the main point: I don’t see an impotent GOP in this state. I see a party that suffered, like many state parties did, in the 2008 electoral climate but which still elected a governor that singlehandedly stopped Democrat excesses in the Legislature this term.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.