What happened to www.brevardgop.org?
It still exists and is more popular then ever. The name was changed to
the Brevard Republican but the address remains the same.
www.brevardgop.org is still the most
up to date website dedicated to Brevard Republican News.
Bill McCollum Visited Cocoa's McCollum HQ's on
8-15-2010
Photos of the event can be found
HERE
Rants and Ramblings
TEA PARTIES VS. OLD GUARD
8-25-2010
Let's recap the Primaries:
Winners - Incumbents
Losers - Tea Party Backed
Candidates
If anyone has heard me speak
at various venues and on the radio you have no doubt as to how I felt about the
so called "Tea Parties" being foisted on you by Matt Nye and others. In
case you haven't or just tuned out here's what I said and what my predictions
were:
-
There were no Tea
Parties in Brevard County using the definition of Tea Parties in other areas of the country.
They started out in Brevard at about 2,000 and dwindled to about 600 including various
candidates who bought tables to distribute their own materials. And who was
invited to that first Tea Party - the same politicians they were ranting
against. Where are those incumbents now? Either re-elected
without opposition or elected after facing weak opposition. So much
for the Tea Parties.
-
How many emails did you
get from candidates? I got so many I deleted them without reading
them. Matt, are you afraid to get on the phone and call to speak to
the constituents personally, and that goes for the others on the ultra right
also.
-
"Tell you what - let's
talk." That's your mantra. Ruthie and I spent the entire day
waving signs at two different polls. At one polling place with two
precincts it was only us. No other candidates, no volunteers, but we
did have a good conversation with someone who was holding a sign for a
candidate he didn't even know. He got the job through Craig's List.
-
I kept hearing that
there were "Grass Roots Training" being held by people who knew nothing
about grass roots training yet holding grass roots training. That
worked out real well didn't it? Hint - part of grass roots training is
to make sure YOU GET OUT THE VOTE! For those, as Rush says, from Rio Linda
that's what GOTV means.
As usual, the Executive
Committee as it has become over the past couple of years, has deteriorated to
the point where they have become inconsequential. The Old Guard manned
head quarters EVERY DAY IN ORDER TO MANAGE THE PHONE BANKS. That's right
PHONE BANKS. If you don't know what those are email me and as Rush would
say, I'll give the Rio Linda definition because apparently there are a lot Rio
Linda members on this committee.
The way to win is not to
rally at the stadium, it's real training by people who have "been there done
that" and have a proven track record. The way win is through hard work,
not hard words. The way to win is with a good background, a solid
character, a plan that could work, and a good comfortable pair of sneakers.
RINO (Republican in Name
Only) and the 2010 Primaries
8-2010
I know what the usual
definition is – anyone with left leaning beliefs that call themselves
Republican.
My definition is slightly
different because I believe that anyone that leans too far to either right or
left is a RINO.
There are more RINO’s in
the primaries than I’ve ever seen before. There are incumbent RINO’s, there are
new comer RINO’s and there are those that couldn’t win under any other party
name but Republican, so why not? Just change your registration, come out of the
brushes and call yourself a Republican, who would know?
We are eating our young,
taking giant steps backwards and thinking we’re doing great. If doing great
means that a candidate can wake up at 6:00, shower at 7:00 have breakfast at
8:00 and run for office at 9:00, then we are doing great.
If we fall into the trap
of “throw the bums out” then put people in office who can’t find the rest rooms
then we’re doing great.
If you want to put real
Republicans in office DO YOUR HOMEWORK. I can’t believe that some that I have
spoken to tell me all about how friendly the candidate is but know nothing about
their stand on the issues. “They knocked on my door and seemed so polite” –
there’s a good reason for voting for them. I listened to some debates and heard
candidates tell us that they are going to make a change in Tallahassee – that
worked really well in Washington! What was most alarming was listening to what
they were saying knowing that they seem to be running for the wrong office
because what they say they are going to do THEY CAN’T. Not to say the changes
aren’t needed but a basic understanding of the office you’re running for would
be nice.
The Gubernatorial
candidates are going to lower property taxes. When did the State of Florida
start collecting property taxes? Don’t you think that someone running for that
office would know that?
I heard one candidate
talk about the County Budget and how he understood it should be formulated. If
he was correct, and he’s not, the County Commissioners would be spending every
moment of every day doing nothing but talking to staffers and holding workshops.
Some one needs to explain the Sunshine Law to him since Commissioners and their
chief of staffs can’t talk to each other about items coming before the
Commission so that leaves only workshops where votes aren’t taken.
We’ve held Tea Parties,
we’ve held forums and what seem to be lacking is qualified, credible
candidates. Many REAL Republicans have deserted the party. Many possible
future republicans are running terrified at what they are seeing for the future
of the Party and the Country.
Just my opinion
Truth and Education
7-2010
Too many people are enamored with some
candidates. Too many people do not do their homework. Too many
people don't even bother to check a candidates qualifications and background.
Accusations are made and the truth in the accusations are never checked.
That is not to say that all accusations are true, but it does mean that some may
not be true and accurate. Simple simple answers are given to complex issues
and NO ONE CHECKS the veracity of the statements made.
Just my opinion
Clubs vs. Committees
It has been over a month since Ruthie and I
left the Executive Committee. In those 15 years in politics and with the
Executive Committee we have seen many changes, some good and, unfortunately
mostly bad times.
I remember one of my first meetings when the
Democrats had us on the ropes and we were the minority party in the County.
I asked why we don't use the same tactics they did and was told "we don't want
to lower ourselves to their level". Sorry to say, this current Committee
has match the tactics of the Democrats of the '90's and have far surpassed them.
This Committee should be about finding common
ground with all the clubs and factions within the Republican family and melding
them together into one cohesive organization. Instead, certain people and
some clubs have decided that they KNOW what's best for the Republican Party.
They have decided that those that don't march in lockstep with their philosophy
have no place in the Committee or the Party.
The odd thing is is that much of their
rhetoric does not parallel the philosophy of the Republican Party and those we
were supposed to stand for. We once talked about "the big tent" and how
all conservatives, regardless of how far right or middle they are, belong in our
Party and are welcome to have a seat at our table.
RINO
6-2010
The label came about because of a politician's
political actions, policies, positions on certain issues or voting records are
considered to be at variance with some part of the Republican party platform.
The key words here are "considered to be at
variance"... This Committee has turned the phrase into one that means "at
variance with what we think the Republican party platform should be."
Far RIGHT is as much of a rino as the far left
or those too close to the middle. Compromise is a "4 letter" word to them.
As a Committee they have devolved into a "your either with us or against us"
group. Rules mean nothing. Orders are given regardless of their
legitimacy. Words and phrases are manipulated and changed to "trap" and
misconstrue what is actually said. Statements like "it was a unanimous
vote" are thrown out like they were facts when actual meetings and votes were
never held.
Where do we go from here? I wish I were
smart enough to be able to come up with an answer for that question. I
wish I were younger to be around long enough to help bring that change about
but, happy birthday to me, I'll be 62 on July 19th. It took 15 years to
destroy this Committee, it may take even longer to fix it if it can fixed at
all. Possibly the only recourse is to begin again.
The Opinions Found On This Page
Are Mine.
They belong to me and I don't care whether you
agree or not.
More of my rants will be made in the future.
Hopefully some, the few who read this, will take it to heart and start to make
the changes needed and do it soon.
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