Posted on 03/15/2009 5:31:59 PM PDT by Maelstorm
MARINE ENLISTED MEN once asked each other--maybe they still do--"What's the difference between the Marine Corps and the Boy Scouts?" The liturgical answer: "The Boy Scouts have adult leadership." Substitute "Republican Party of Virginia" for "Marine Corps," and the question is no longer a joke. And many state Republicans aren't laughing.
State GOP Chairman Del. Jeff Frederick, whose most conspicuous character trait is the yipping pugnacity of the ill-bred--he counts the darkly monolithic "media" among the party's archenemies--is on notice that the state central committee will vote on ousting him April 4. Master Frederick has vowed not to go quietly.
The Virginia GOP needs gravitas and base-broadening to regain the executive mansion this year and to keep its last bastion of power, the House of Delegates. The kiddish Frederick, who once compared Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden after hearing Rush Limbaugh (see second editorial) do it, symbolizes the opposite qualities. Yet he has done some good. He has brought piety to secular state Democrats, now on their knees with their arms raised skyward, praying, "O God, please let him stay!"
The Almighty isn't tipping His hand. At present, 58 of the 77 GOP central committee members support Master Frederick's ouster (ditto the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus, including Richard Stuart and Ryan McDougle). That is precisely the 75 percent required to remove him. This borderline count means that the party could be in for a big fracas when the committee convenes. Let's hope the dump truck picks up some riders.
Certainly, Master Frederick isn't solely to blame for his party's recent travails, but his nine months at the helm have run the ship farther onto the shoals. Since the P.W. delegate--why do the kookiest right-wing pols in the state come from concrete deserts such as Prince William and Loudoun counties?--narrowly wrested the chairmanship from John Hager, Democrats have completed their takeover of Virginia's U.S. Senate delegation, flipped the GOP majority in the House of Representatives, and delivered Virginia to the Democratic candidate for president for the first time since 1964.
Atop these debacles, Master Frederick just last month embarrassed himself with an online posting that foiled state Senate Republicans' plans to woo Democratic solon Ralph Northam to their caucus and undo the Democrats' single-seat Upper House majority.
If in their politicians voters craved chastity, the state GOP would not make its public face Hugh Hefner. In these grim times, voters seek leaders who are seasoned and thoughtful. Yet the GOP displays--Jeff Frederick? Even the Boy Scouts would know better.
Sounds like Jeff knows who the real enemy is.
Whether or not it is this gentleman I don't have any idea, but in a state which should be overwhelmingly conservative in a totally logical, honest, convincing, and courteous way, the Repub organization comes through as abrupt, condescending, and immature.
To a large degree this is true nationally. For instance Oregon (outside Portland) should also vote conservative. But it does not.
Virginia contains a lot of sophisticated, intelligent citizenry. To me the conservative argument of individual citizen responsibility, hence human dignity and freedom, versus the abyss of government control and juvenile dependence, is quite obvious. But certainly needs to be communicated to the voter in an articulate mature way. In fact properly raised college students would, and do, accept this readily if logically presented - I teach them, and see it.
But where, oh where, are the proper carriers of this message?
Certainly some on the national scene, filtered of course by the conspiring media, but Virginia need to shape up its message. In the proper format it cannot be repressed.
For instance, the argument of the government hypocrisy of voting and conscripting at eighteen, but denial of drinking a beer, IS obvious. Eighteen, nineteen, or twenty one, but the same level responsibility is absolutely obvious!
I do believe there is a sinister leftist global conspiracy, it was once called Communism, and was exactly that, which knows more than ever how to execute reactionary psychology to achieve its agenda. Hollywood manipulates mass emotion on millions EVERY day.
To combat that takes total philosophical, historical, and psychological articulation far beyond juvenile partyism.
The sad irony is that Virginia was once the leader in such commitment,
What happened?
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