Say “NO!” to State Committee Endorsements

Free Republic Has it First! | 01/24/2010 | William T Russell

[Bill Russell]

Say “NO!” to State Committee Endorsements

The easiest way for the State Republican leadership to guarantee the re-election of Senator Bob Casey is to endorse one of the candidates in the Senate race before the Primary. There is a too-long standing tradition on the part of the Republican Committee of Pennsylvania to pick a favorite, channel the resources of the party behind that candidate and shut out the other challengers, all in the name of selecting the “best candidate with the highest probability of victory.”

The arguments for endorsement generally focus on the need to unite the party behind a candidate early on in order to save his campaign funds and focus on wining the general election. The effects of those good intentions (if they are good intentions), are generally the exact opposite.

State Committee endorsements do not unite the party. They serve to divide the party along the lines of “establishment” verses “grass roots.” Every endorsed candidate is viewed by the rank and file Republicans as “owned” by the establishment, and immediately loses a certain element of the grass roots support. It undercuts the vetting of the candidate in the free-for-all tournament of the primary – essentially giving the endorsed candidate a “bye” in that tournament and sending him straight to the championship without really proving he is the best the team has to offer. Just like any other sport, everyone will always wonder why the coach’s son was picked to start over the other players.

But unlike high school sports, the coaches who are pushing to select various candidates behind the scenes have vested interests in the outcomes, and those interests are not always same as the mainstream Republican voters who simply want their country back. All too often, the rank and file Republicans find themselves questioning whether the endorsees were selected because they were the best candidates, or because their success, or failure, would further the personal political or financial interests of the coaches.

Of course, the argument that endorsements save precious campaign resources (money) for use in the general election is also greatly flawed and ignores all the marketing principles of creating “market buzz.” While paid advertizing does help, it is nothing compared to the amount of coverage, free press, and name recognition that comes from a good primary fight. The free competition of a primary produces candidates who have honed their messages and demonstrated they can attract voters… it allows the voters to choose between the Microsoft or Linux candidates. The endorsement process will give us Solyndra candidates - ones who have all the right insider contacts to get the party’s money, but don’t produce anything the voters want to buy or work for.

There are few things worse than State Committee endorsements to ruin an election. They taint the selected candidates, undercut wide ranging support from the Republican base, and rob those candidates of the trust and enthusiasm of the average voter while depriving them of the press coverage and name recognition that comes from a hotly contested primary. The end result is a large portion of the base is distrustful of the candidate and feels shut out of the process, and they are just not as enthusiastic about showing up on election-day and getting their friends to come along too.

William T Russell is a former Republican Congressional Candidate in the 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. He is an internationally published columnist and has been a featured guest on a number of national television and radio news shows. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the US Army and has served in Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and the Balkans. He and his wife, Kasia, were both in the Pentagon on 9/11. Email him at Bill_Russell@hotmail.com.

[Think free or die]

Totally agree. We’ve had quite a lot of discord here in Montco over just that issue.

[dcwusmc]

Very good. Your message is both needed and sure to be ignored by the party establishment. I am convinced that it will take a whole heap of hemp neckties on a whole heap of party “leaders” before anything changes... Glad I’m an independent!!!