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Benjamin Hodge
KS Representative, 2006-'08
JCCC Trustee, 2005-'09
Phone: 913-944-3068
Email: contact@benjaminhodge.com
Web site: BenjaminHodge.com

Friday, October 16, 2009

The Republican Party is Broken.

"Republicans are winning right now just because they are not Democrats. That won't help us though, long term. At some point we are going to have to have ideas."
~ Erick Erickson

"The GOP establishment complicates the Republican and conservative comeback strategy."
~ William Kristol

Whether locally or nationally, the Republican party will be unsuccessful, when party leaders tolerate and/or promote:

• Out of control government spending.
• Rising taxes.
• Flat-out corruption.
• The rule of law being unevenly, inconsistently enforced.
• The Constitution being ignored, and along with it property rights, states' rights, the right of self-defense, and the freedom to speak and assemble.
• Education policies that deny parents and students the freedom to choose educational services.

By ignoring basic good-government principles, we see the consequences at all levels -- both through governmental incompetence and through electoral defeats.

Today's intra-party debates have very little to do with "social issues," as they are commonly defined (abortion, gay marriage, etc.). The debates have everything to do with the proper role and size of government.

Around the country, there are a few races that are considered to be "a fight over the future of the Republican party." One of them is the Florida US Senate primary, between conservative Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio (right) and Governor "Good Time" Charlie Crist. Another important election is two weeks from now in New York.

Former New York 23rd District Republican Congressman John McHugh was appointed by Obama to be Secretary of the Army. On November 3, a special election will determine his replacement.

For the Republican nomination/replacement, New York evidently uses a "small-r republican" process, and local Republican leaders chose a state assemblywoman who is a through-and-through liberal who even supports "card check," a union-pushed piece of legislation that will take away a workers' right to a secret ballot in union elections, thereby allowing union leaders to intimidate workers who don't vote with the union.

The Republican nominee's list of current and/or past supporters include ACORN, the AFL-CIO, the SIEU, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL. As a result of this, many conservatives are rallying around another nominee, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Endorsements for Hoffman include:

• Club for Growth
• Erick Erickson of RedState.com
• Fred Thompson
• Concerned Women of America
• Gary Bauer
• The American Conservative Union

Intentionally staying out of the race, to their credit:

• US Congressman Mike Pence
• Michael Steele and the RNC

The Weekly Standard's William Kristol writes:

"Hoffman has the momentum and a chance to win, while [Republican] Scozzafava is fading. It's probably too late for the national and state Republicans to reverse their foolish initial blessing of Scozzafava-but surely they could at least stop attacking Hoffman, spend what money they're going to spend attacking Owens, give up on pressuring high profile Republicans not to go in to help Hoffman, and therefore give Hoffman a decent chance to win."

Kristol adds, "Today, the Wall Street Journal has a story on the race with the headline 'Tea-Party Activists Complicate Republican Comeback Strategy.' The truth is the opposite: The GOP establishment complicates the Republican and conservative comeback strategy."

If you would like to read more about this Nov. 3 New York special election, I invite you to read my article on the topic at www.Race42012.com (soon to be RightoSphere.com).

Also, I would like to share with you, "TEN FOR '10: WINNING WASHINGTON BY EMPOWERING AMERICANS."

To be clear, I'm not endorsing this proposal, but two people whom I respect are promoting the "Ten for '10" ideas: radio host Laura Ingraham and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson.

The ideas are:

• A taxpayer bill of rights
• End taxpayer funded abortions
• Secure and defend the border
• Support a strong dollar
• Empower American businesses
• Defend America
• End Statism
• End generational theft
• Restore justice
• Make America energy independent

Lastly: Within the next month, I will be meeting with Johnson County Republican Party Chairman Ronnie Metsker to discuss some of my locally-based concerns. If you have questions that you would like me to ask him, Email me at contact@benjaminhodge.com.

Thank you for your time,

Benjamin Hodge

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Benjamin Hodge publishes the Web site KansasProgress.com, based in Johnson County, KS, in the Greater Kansas City area.  Hodge is a delegate to the Kansas GOP and a former state representative. You can join Hodge’s efforts on Facebook, through his personal Web site, on Twitter, and through his PAC.