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So let me tell my story of the Delaware GOP and some recent interactions I had with….NOT the Delaware GOP. My story is anecdotal, but true, and, if you would indulge me, quite indicative of where I think the pubs need to go with this. Please disagree with me if you need, but it happened and I still choke back a sob at how simple it all seems.

It began at, of all places, a recent book club meeting of mine. It moved on to a meeting at my bank and to a local resident of my community. My book club is people mostly by members of my church, a local Catholic thing in Lewes Delaware. Now Lewes Delaware is, ahem….and I know there’s a citizen of Lewes Delaware reading this thread….heh, but it’s a quaint little town, an outoftheway kind of place from the big busy Delaware ocean resorts. A lady in my church formed the book club and then invited, mostly from the church, more recruits.

The people of Lewes Delaware are, I say gently, a bit on the liberal side. Husband says, to further define, “Ah what they call Lewes isn’t really Lewes….it’s just the other side of Route 1”.

So okay, smile here. But Lewes will soon rise like a Pheonix as it has been given a new county representative and two local somethings because of the recent census. It’s a powerful force here and there I sat in a room full of mostly Lewes Delaware residents, nice church-going people, mostly Conservative I suspect, but every damn one of them save one, an “Independent”.

I was just off of my Republican thing and full of passion. We try to avoid politics at this book club because, well hey, it’s a book club, I get that. However, add one impassioned and invigorated Pat Fish fresh off a nomination for the local EDC (by an odd quirk in the newly written GOP laws, I happen to represent Lewes Delaware though I technically live in Georgetown, DE,,,,note to person on this thread that The Wise I is now your representative to the Sussex County GOP).

Somehow the topic got to politics but go with me here, these are nice people who obey the laws and carry this country on their back. Most of them are practicing Catholics so they are Conservative I’d suggest.

I went nuts. I launched into a rant about how this country cannot handle another four years of Obamer, that we might make it through this first term but we’ll be limping. I’d already resigned from my church’s Finance Council with the reason that I was joining the local GOP and needed the time. So these folks already knew this.

These are smart people, guys…..they read books for one damn thing. They listened to me intently, sometimes reaching out to touch my arm to calm but hey, they listened. They began to contribute. There was one local registered Repub who said he didn’t even know the Sussex GOP had these monthly meetings. He launched into an invective about Independents and how they make the political parties the extremes of an idealology. He told me he wants to be notified of the next meeting.

On and on it went but most of them expressed great displeasure at Obamer, this after the President of this country did the political and announced that he may not be able to send out SS and military checks next month. An action that will hurt that jerk more than help as people don’t want to hear that, especially after news that the WH workers got a 60% increase in pay.

They continued on about the dangers of third parties, my GOP friend ranted about Christine O’Donnell and what an awful choice she was, which caused me to enlighten on that issue.

For an hour, we talked and talked and hey, you’ll never believe this, but I was right in there talking myself.

One guy, a very articulate guy, stood up and said, as I paraphrase…”You know Pat, I admire you. I can see your passion and it’s to your credit that you’re doing something about it.”

By this time I started to feel a bit dumb as I tend to get passionate about these things but truth, guys, truth, they all thanked me, told me how much they enjoyed my commentary…..

My eyes teared up, as we begin to end this. “You should have seen them,” I said about the GOP meeting that past Monday (this book club was Tuesday night). “They were all ordinary citizens. NINE new EDC’s were nominated, of which I was only one. I was so proud because before it was as if we didn’t matter. They re-wrote the rules and burned many midnight candles. This past Sunday night I also attended a meeting of the local EDC’s and like me, citizens want to take back this country.”

The meeting ended amiably. Several said they are going to re-register from Independent to Republican. ALL of them, quietly in some cases, but all expressed a concern of this President and what he’s doing.

I felt kind of bad all week, feeling like I made a fool of myself. I sent them all a link to my review of the book we’d discussed that night and apologized for any discomfort I may have caused.

Yesterday, in church, there’s one lady in the book club. I nodded hello as I took my pew. This lady is the most liberal of those there that night. I really worried about offending her and she was that night’s host.

After mass, as I was walking out, I walked past her. She pulled me to her, hugged me sincerely, and kissed my cheek.

I been so touched by it all ever since.

More on the bank lady and the neighbor and a conclusion I dare to proffer.

So my community is trying to get the state of Delaware to take over our local roads. This state is bizarre how it handles this kind of thing but bottom line is that every resident of my community needs to sign and notorize a form to essentially “give” our roads to Delaware.

Anyway, we have a resident coordinating this, God Bless. Husband and I intend to go get the papers notorize but I phone her on the # she included in her letter just to see how it’s going For EVERY resident must sign this thing and I figger, why bother if no one else is doing it?

We talk and somehow the topic gets to politics. I tell her I am now an EDC for the Sussex GOP, that I would be glad to help her gather these signatures.

She tells me she too is a Republican, she did not know about these monthly meetings, she’d sure like to get involved.

She also expressed concern about this President.

On to our bank, husband and I go to get this thing notorized. the bank lady didn’t know you could get Delaware to do this, said her community had just paid $30,000 to get two roads paved.

I tell her about how it works (somehow I managed to get a HUGE pothole in front of my house fixed, I think they did it because....well somebody did it for me after I complained, maybe fear of my vocal pen?) So I do know this is how it worked from my own pothole incident.

Soon we talk. Well she too is a Republican but not involved in politics. She did express a concern about this President and I had to comment that I thought four more years of this guy would ruin the country.

She said she’d sure like to get involved with the Sussex GOP and we ended with my promise to get back.

What’s my point fine yon ladies and gems reading this across the fruited plains?

You got just one person out there reaching out and they’re reaching back.

I can sense there’s a real, but quiet and polite as is our wont, displeasure with this Obamer character.

Understand that Sussex county is a conservative sort of place but I mentioned earlier about the cool liberals in Lewes who are starting to panic for concern of their beach front homes and this president guy who wants to take their children’s inheritance and redistribute it to HIS voters.

Point being, Independents and quasi-liberals will turn in a sec when it threatens them and theirs.

Earlier I said the GOP needs to get its message out.

Fire Karl Rove for starters. Next, Newt....not that anybody listens to him any more.

Get going on the message because they’re out there folks, and they’re worried, and they’ll come over to our side with just a push.

Risk the head hairs...hey, my hair’s always a mess.

Insert smile here.

Thank bank, btw, Wilmington Trust, was owned by the widow of the lady who ran against Urquhart for that House seat given up by Castle. This bank now sold to M&T but I’d suggest that this is a bit of a liberal-oriented bastion as well.