Matt Lewis has a great article on the importance of candidates telling their stories. It’s so true. Candidate’s who won’t tell their story are less likely to win. People want to vote for someone that is most like them - a real person. I highly recommend reading Matt’s article.
Mark one up to the press - they did a great job of reminding people of failure. They stayed on message, which is important to do in any campaign. The result - D’s win control of government. Anyone doubt where the press stands? Just look at the evening news - rarely a story about something good happening in Iraq - or something bad about our enemies. Only stories about soldiers dying and errors by the US. Do people really think that we screw up that much without one positive thing happening every once in a great while?
This also speaks volumns to the fact that the Administration has done a poor job in one particular area - winning the message war. They allowed the enemy to control the message - the media loves talking about war, death, destruction, and other negative things. I really wish the Administration would take messaging seriously and start working on it full time. It’s a full time job to make sure that you win the hearts and minds of the people. They haven’t even been doing it part-time.
Rick, Thanks for the comment on my last posting. You wanted to know what my thoughts were on the Dem’s race for county commissioner and for the Carlisle Borough Council race.
Here goes - First you have to assume that Barclay and Eichelberger will win. I see no reason to think they wouldn’t. They have done a pretty good job as Commissioners - they made necessary changes in departments and have a much better relationship with Rovegno than the previous commissioners.
I’ve heard two conflicting stories about Rovegno - one saying that he wasn’t running again and one that he was, so I don’t know if he is running or not.
It is my understanding that there are two other D candidates interested in running though - one is Carlisle Borough Councilwoman Linda Cecconello and I don’t know who the other candidate is. That makes commenting on this race difficult.
As for Council. I know this year’s race will be interesting. There will be changes at the Borough. There are four seats up this year. The R’s will most likely have a primary I suspect and the D’s will probably run a full slate of candidates. I also suspect there will be some other candidates involved in the mix this year as well. Let’s just say I see the Council race as a free for all. It’s my understanding that two of the council members, with the possibility of a third will not be running for re-election. That puts all candidates on an equal footing the winners will be the ones who work their butts off. Carlisle is an interesting place - it’s changing. It is competitive - there are no guarentees as far as I can see. I think people in Carlisle want people with ideas, not just a last name that people recognize. The days of the old-boys network are about to end from what I can tell. Just take a look at the last few elections in the Borough. The results in the Borough differ from surrounding municipalities.
The simple analysis - change is a’coming - hold on to your seats after the New Year when rumors really start to fly about whose running for what.
I’ve been away from blogging since Monday. I just really didn’t feel inspired to write anything the last few days.
I think in these times of a lack of inspiration, I’ll start writing about public policy. I’ve have a million opinions on varying topics, I could very easily share what I think could be done with some challenge that exists in PA today.
So stay tuned as I address some of the important issues of the day. Of course, if I feel inspired to comment on the news of the day, you can always expect that. Have a great weekend.
Back on November 14th, I posed a question. “The question now becomes what do registered Republicans do?” was the question I asked. I gave four possible answers. Well, I’ve made my decision after much thought and consideration.
For a first step, I’ve decided to re-register as an Independent. I am doing this for a number of reasons. Am I cutting an running from my party? Some may say so. Just realize, when I first registered to vote when I turned 18, I didn’t register as a Republican back then. Back then, when I lived in NY, I registered in the Conservative Party. It’s actually a legitimate party in NY with a pretty big following and has an impact on Republican politics pretty frequently, mostly because NY allows candidates to cross register with multiple parties, unlike here in PA.
I like to think of it as my party has cut and run from me. The Republican party does not represent me anymore. The leadership of the party has pulled the party away from its principles to a party that cares more about influence and protection of the establishment than it does care about working to reduce the size of government, cutting taxes, and making important changes to public policy.
This is not meant to be a criticism of voters who are registered Republican - this is only meant as a criticism of the Party’s leadership, or lack thereof.
So why not register as a Democrat? Well, I don’t like what I see within the current state of the Democrat Party either. Besides a disagreement about most public policy issues that would probably be too numerous to name here, I find that the Democrat Party leadership to similar to the Republican Party leadership - arrogant.
Again, I’m not criticizing voters who are registered Democrat - it’s the leadership.
So why Independent? For one, I don’t like to be told what to do. This related specifically to primaries. The Parties discourage primaries, preferring to annoint candidates. Plus, if you go against the annointed candidates, many times the establishment and the die-hards do not look kindly upon you, to put it lightly. Second, until the Republican Party leadership and elected officials start acting like Republicans, I will find it difficult to support many Republicans. Third, I’ve come to learn that there are good people in the Republican, Democrat, and the other parties that exist in PA.
Do this mean I’ll never be a Republican again? No, not at all. I’ll re-register as a Republican when the Party gets their act together, when there is a primary that matters, or when it makes the most sense. Overall, I just really don’t feel tied to the Party.
Let me close by saying that I don’t make this decision lightly. Mind you, I’ve worked my ass building the Republican Party since college. I was a Republican Committeeman for a few years. I worked in the Young Republicans for many years, even serving as the Chairman of Cumberland County YRs and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania YRs. I’ve worked with Republicans candidates to get them elected, and even worked for a Republican Congressman in DC.
By making this move, I have much to lose, but also much to gain - mostly I can be honest with myself and sleep well at night knowing that I living out my true beliefs.