How do we make Virginia great? We’re a blue state. Conservatives are hopelessly divided. Those running for office rarely represent the majority of active Republicans. Local units are pressed for cash. Democrats are increasingly organized. Yet, we cannot simply throw our hands in the air and accept defeat.
The first thing we need to do is go after Millennial voters. We do this by pursuing aggressive education and student loan reform, ending the drug war in Virginia and legalizing marijuana, and by focusing on business-justice for Virginia companies. We’ve got social justice, and climate justice, and all kinds of ridiculous justices – why not business-justice? Why not pursue the most aggressive job-promoting, high-tech acquiring, and entrepreneur-supporting agenda in America’s history?
The second thing we need to do is to support our elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels. We need to recognize that Trump’s ascendancy has galvanized a new generation of socialist activist within the Democrat Party. These are the people demanding universal healthcare and liberal patronage within the State. We need to stop demanding perfection and start demanding, from ourselves, an aggressive plan to protect our elected Republicans from a growing Democrat onslaught.
The third thing we need to do is to support candidates who run on positive ideas. We need to reject candidates that look to smear the Commonwealth, the State, the Party, and “us” – the Republican voters. We need to get rid of attacks on “Establishment ED”. We need to get rid of attack lines like “Crazy Corey”. We need to focus on ideas and agendas and success.
The fourth thing we need to do is to embrace our elected representatives as “normal people” and develop relationships with them. We need to approach them without demands for ideological purity and instead pursue them with the goal of seeking their support of our ideals; and we need to stop looking at the Republican Party of Virginia as an obstacle, but rather as an instrument and ally.
Finally, we need to protect ourselves. There are four real threats, at least on the Republican side of the aisle, to making Virginia Great Again. The first threat is regulated monopolies. We need to deprive them and their political action committees from giving money to our elected officials; lest the Old Dominion become the Commonwealth of Dominion Power, or Aqua Water, or any other powerful stakeholder. The second thing we need to do is to demonstrate our capacity to organize better than the Democrats. If they bring 100 people to an event, then we need to bring 200. If they are beating up one of our politicians online, then we need to get “our troll on” and lambaste them with online onslaughts the likes of which they’ve never seen before. The third thing we need to do is to demand better leadership from our statewide elected officials. If we’ve finally gotten to a place of honesty in Virginia, then let’s be honest. RPV has zero power in the General Assembly. Our Republican Leadership controls the whole show. We need to bring positive, proactive, thoughtful pressure on our local statewide leadership. We’ve got two state Senators running for LG and wouldn’t it be nice to know why they think our conservative agenda has failed so spectacularly? It isn’t all McAuliffe. The fourth thing we need to do is to make the Republican Party in Virginia, essentially, a charity organization. We need to demonstrate that we can care for the poor better than the government can.
Every Republican Unit in Virginia needs to be involved with local charities; they need to be running local charities. Every Republican Unit needs to be the most activist voice in their county for community-based solutions and back that up with money and volunteers.
We need to be the change we’re looking for; and if we’re not, then we’re going to get the Democrats we deserve.
64 comments
Interesting, but most likely true commentary,
http://finance.yahoo.com/video/dobbs-speaker-ryan-defying-trump-004715394.html
Virginia is great and always has been.
Some are more concerned with being Republican than Virginian.
I do not suffer from an identity crisis, the RPV does.
I was branded by a Republican;
OTR
( other than republican ) due to the outcome of the Campbell County Mass Meeting.
You took you ball and went home
(sore looser) .
Do something that will draw support for you rather than just say we are not liberal.
Obama is gone,
McAuliffe soon to be.
What do you Republicans have for leadership?
I could start employing illegal immigrants and exploit foreigners who are not , stand only against abortion and gay marriage tomorrow and you know what party I would be affiliated with , VA. Republican.
And my Republican Delegate NEVER returned my calls.
In the words of my President; “you can tell them they can go $u$$ themselves”, sorry I don’t have time to expense for a useless, selfserving political organization.
Mr. Tucker — Do you even realize what you’re asking by suggesting that
Virginia’s GOP attract millennials by ending the war on drugs? Obviously
not, and even if you suggest legalizing something as ‘harmless’ as
marijuana, you’d be angering loads of true conservatives who know the same as these 150 medical experts: http://www.independentsentinel.com/150-scientific-studies-showing-the-dangers-of-marijuana/
That’s one of the reasons this Independent isn’t a Republican, because of the Republicans insistence on controlling people’s personal lives. It is also, btw, the reason this Independent isn’t a Democrat.
It’s hard to be independent, isn’t it? One party comes out with a Soda Tax Act. The other party then spies on you and calls it Patriotic.
What was that Obama did in his last 12 days with the NSA?
It’s easy to be independent if you want somebody else calling the shots.
Do what you want in your personal life, self-medicate using whatever stimulants that float your boat, but don’t expect the rest of society to gleefully pay the price for your folly.
Being an independent will only result in having others shape the political landscape.
If you truly believe that pot is a harmless drug that has only positive results and legalizing and promotion thereof will result in jobs, peace, and freedom — get inside the GOP, state your case, debate and persuade us that your way is a net gain for the populace.
The pros could very well exceed the cons and your reasoned argument just might very well make this a plank in the party platform…
Or the GOP might convince you that pot in society might instead just make more people fat, stupid, and crazy.
Or just maintain your independence and let us kooky Republicans and insane democrats present you with the options that only WE desire you to have.
This is what you get with a flappy, loose, big tent party — libertarians and the like crawl out of the cracks.
Millennial potheads aren’t a desirable demographic for the GOP.
I agree with many of Mr. Tucker’s points, but legalizing marijuana for recreational use is not one of them. It plays right into the Democrats’ Brave New World strategy of pacifying the people through instant gratification via recreational drugs or casual sex so that they’re not engaged in civil matters.
The writer is onto a few things here. (FYI – for disclosure reasons – I’m a regional field director for the Gillespie campaign). Corey Stewart is not Crazy – he is a perfectly qualified individual to run for Governor of our Commonwealth. Ed is not a RINO nor is he Mr. Establishment (sorry Wave).
And yes every County Committee Chair needs to be involved in their community outside of the political realm. We are at our best when we show why the Free Market system is the most efficient way to raise a poor person out of poverty. And when we show that individual compassion from a church or a group like the Kiwanis Club is the best means to feed the poor, not from a bloated bureaucracy.
Some Chairman are preferred to remain in the bunker dispatching goons and thugs to do their bidding while they can keep their image clean enough to get the coveted unit of the year award.
It is not necessary nor sincere to publically demonstrate a bleeding heart in order to Make Republicans Electable Again.
The units need to take care of their counties by best demonstrating representing Republican values and qualities constantly and consistently.
I think VA could gain a huge first-mover advantage by being the first mid-Atlantic state to legalize recreational marijuana (DC’s joke of a law doesn’t count).
And we could use the extra tax revenue to fix that “crumbling infrastructure” I keep hearing so much about.
But unfortunately I don’t see that happening. I think VA will probably be one of the LAST states to legalize marijuana.
The drug that makes you stupid, fat, and bipolar over time should not be embraced by the GOP. (We have enough other venues to promote these results such as fast food, TV, and BD)
I think people should be allowed to make their own choices, for better and worse.
Perhaps, but I’ve seen what the ‘harmless’ drug does to people in short term and long term.
Take a look around at the people around you, see anything consistent with the ‘marijuana-enthused?’
Talk to some older people who had ‘too much fun’ in the 80’s.
Do we really think that the general public needs another sanctioned way to block out life, the real world and consequences of their actions?
Now, if it were only themselves, and they had no potential impact on me, I would just shake my head ruefully, but they work, drive, share my risk pools, and will one day be responsible for society and civilization.
We’ve experienced what ‘Choom gangs’ do in public service, did you want more?
Good. Maybe that will give us time to learn how marvelous the other states will be doing with their newfound freedom and revenue.
This idea that Virginia is a blue state is as off base as the idea that Republicans would never win another national election. That’s what they said after Obama won, and especially after his second win, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Virginia isn’t a blue state. Period. Republicans and conservatives have simply screwed everything up for the past 10 years. And I mean screwed everything up.
Let’s take a look at recent history.
Republicans rode into power on TEA Party sentiment, and proceeded to … yes, increase taxes. Because that’s exactly what you do when there’s a populist movement named “Taxed Enough Already”. You pass the biggest tax increase in the Commonwealth’s history. Toss in some palace intrigue and the whole media circus that goes along with that and then …
… then you wonder why conservatives primary your establishment candidates and civil war breaks out in conservative ranks. Of course that screwed everyone. First you get the establishment candidate that the conservatives refuse to support, then in the next governor election cycle you get a conservative that the establishment refuses to support.
We heard the whole “Virginia is blue” during the last governor’s election, and election that was winnable if everyone had come together.
Virginia is blue. Yeah, that’s why conservatives have such a majority in the legislature, because Virginia is blue. That’s why Democrats have basically abandoned red districts across the state to try to rally in urban areas, because Virginia is blue. That’s why you’ve got Democrats wandering aimlessly in the wilderness wondering aloud WTF they’re going to do next, because Virginia is blue.
You watch and see what they say if conservatives win the next election and control the legislature, etc. It’ll be the same surprise that the media had when Trump won and the media suddenly realized, wow, Democrats have lost a 1000 seats across America, the Presidency, Congress, and .. everything. Me, I won’t be the least bit surprised. Well, I take that back, I’ll be surprised Republicans and conservatives managed to get their @#$% together long enough to win an election, but I won’t be surprised because I thought “Virginia is blue” and they somehow defied the odds.
You must realize that in a statewide race, it’s only the voting population that matters right? Virginia is vote, but massive numbers of liberals are confined to only a few locations: Roanoke, Virginia Beach, Richmond, and NOVA. ROVA is solidly red, but poorly populated.
Yes a Republican won the White House, but we lost in Virginia. Is it possible for a Republican to win in a statewide election? Sure, if they win a large majority of Independents and Conservatives – but that isn’t easy.
So let me ask a question back to you, do you honestly believe that the Virginia that elected a Republicans governor in the past decade has changed demographically so much that Republicans can no longer win in Virginia ?
Me, I say hell no. It’s the same Virginia. I look at the last governor’s race and think, wow, a candidate that the Republican and Democrat establishments both swore would lose in a humiliating defeat came close enough to scare all involved. I think if the establishment had supported our candidate he might have won.
Yes, I think we can win if, and only if, we get a majority of Independents. Like 70%. Liberals are moving to NOVA in droves and the military is no longer super conservative. Lots of military folks voting Democrat these days and that hurts the Republican Party in the Commonwealth.
Sure, there are piles of Independents. I’m one of them. I’m an Independent because the Republican party stopped being conservative.
Independent doesn’t mean Democrat-lite, it means BOTH PARTIES SUCK.
You say Liberals are moving into NOVA and that’s the common refrain, it’s similar to “Republicans can’t win because Hispanics”.
But conservatives do win elections. The TEA Party has been trying to convince Virginia’s Republican establishment for a decade that the political climate has changed and that Republicans can win with conservative principles.
The problem with the establishment is the same as it was, they were around in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, and they “know” the only way to win as a Republican is to be apologetic, pander, and ease the message out there in a non-confrontational way. But that’s the whole problem, those people keep doing that when the game has changed, we are in the midst of a conservative populist wave, and it could be the same in Virginia.
You think the numbers driving conservative wins across this country somehow don’t apply to Virginia ? Because NOVA ? NOVA has always been there.
? Who do you think is buying the horse farms and sheep ranches out in ROVA? Most of those aren’t Republicans. Fact is NOVA has been moving to the country for quite some time now. You can see it in the election maps. First it was the cities turning blue. Followed up by county precincts. Next thing you know, the whole district goes Dem. It’s easier though when you have crap publicity soiling the ground from stupid campaigns like the Lt.gov race.
Bingo, the truth is expressed. While I believe this trend is still mainly confined to the rural counties close to or directly abutting the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in other words directly westward from the NOVA capital ring (thank you Greenway!) it has happened with some serious rapidity the past decade.
As you travel further down the valley you see something more along the lines of blue pockets, spawned around Charlottesville for example, then the intermingling underway closer in to NOVA. The old demographics are breaking down more quickly then the gerrymandering can manipulate them.
Any real state Republican party resurgence will need to reflect on this if not rethink campaign demographics altogether. First and foremost rural Virginia is a questionable electable platform anymore and dismissing the NOVA megaplex is statewide candidate suicide.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Really ? Where are the numbers to support that. I agree that urban areas have become increasingly Democratic, but the trend is exactly the opposite in rural areas. West Virginia used to vote Democrat, and so did rural Virginia, go look at an election map for FDR’s rise to power a century ago. That’s all changed now. As the Democratic party has become more aligned with urban people, rural people have signed on with the Republican party. It wasn’t that long ago that people in rural areas would have been very reluctant to admit they were voting Republican, pre-1980’s Reagan, because they saw the Republican party as the party of rich city people. Democrats have basically abandoned their efforts at winning in most rural Virginia counties, they consider it a waste of money.
Does buying up a horse farm give you more votes ? Not hardly.
That depends on how many horse farms are bought, and where the former owners of that land ended up. Dems like horses. Republicans like developing houses, then they take their profits and buy a big retirement condo down in Lower Alabama.
“That depends on how many horse farms are bought ..”
No, it doesn’t.
If you live in Fairfax and are Democrat you get a vote.
If you go out and buy 1000 horse farms, you still get the same one vote.
It doesn’t matter that NOVA Democrats buy horse farms all over Virginia, that doesn’t change anything in terms of voting, except if they choose to change their residency to the horse farm and move their vote from Fairfax to whatever county their farm is in.
In the United States you don’t get one vote per horse farm.
Ok, let’s not put the horse farm in front of the horse cart. I’m lost in this exchange, could we start again without horses?
Arlington and Fairfax used to be the bedroom community for the DC workforce. But the federal leviathan has expanded deeper into the suburbs. So Federal workers commute from even further away, for an hour or more just to work in a huge federal buildings in Prince William county or Loudoun county for example. What used to be a horse farm in Fauquier is now a suburb, and suburbs move even further West, and so on. Virginia will get ever bluer as long as the federal govt continues to devour more suburbs and horse farms.
And from first hand experience, a horse farm is much more desirable than where I’m going.
Absolutely correct. Even the NOVA surrounding counties that we still call red, used to be deep red, but are now getting pinkish. You can see it as far West and South as Fauquier and Culpeper.
And we know what needs to be done with pinkos…
RPV is a JOKE! I contacted my district leader here in Shenandoah County as well as the County leader it is going on three days and neither one of them has called me back yet. I also called the RPV of Virginia and was told their mission is just getting Republicans elected. I pressed him on the issue stating that how can you expect to get anybody elected if you’re not growing the party.
The RPV has always returned my calls and e-mails within 24 hours.
It is the Loudoun County Republican party that seems to have a communication problem. Complacency , not at work!
E-mail John Whitbeck with your questions he always replies even though you may not like his answer sometimes. He is on facebook and the RPV website.
Yes, getting Republicans elected is the job of RPV … and ours too. That is why we have local units. Most of the administrative machinations that each unit must endure may be necessary, but they consume valuable time and energy. We need to refocus on our real mission … electing Republicans. Growing membership and involvement is a vital part of that.
And it just makes common sense that unless you’re growing the party you’re never going to get Republicans elected point in fact Governor McAwful. And if your local party officials are not even responding to its own members and again here I am going on day for you have a major major major problem
Yes, I too have [in the past] found some RPV officials inaccessible and unresponsive. Maddening and disappointing, but hasn’t kept our unit from forging ahead.
I’ve found John Whitbeck and John Findley to be nothing if not accessible. I’m curious what kind of issue you wanted addressed.
Will elaborate next time we are together.
Accessible, yes, but always consider the cost.
Why are the Republicans not going after Clinton like Trump said he would? This would force the press to split its time between 2 investigations.
It the press wants a special prosecutor, give them 2.
The Republicans control the House, Senate, and WH. However, the Democrats control the press. Who will win.
RPV should be able to expeditiously get you in touch with your local unit, but the local parties have been atrophying for some time now.
Prester John and the RPV should get the boot heel off of the necks of the local party organizations.
They don’t pull this with Loudoun Chair Estrada, else he’d cut them a new smile, ear to ear.
Can’t relate to what you are saying. I am in the local unit and we are active and growing. RPV is not hurting us in any way. They are essentially a non entity to us.
The local units are sources of bodies and donations to feed the databeast that is then used by state / national orgs and candidate machines to bypass the unit committees.
The local unit influence is systemically watered down at the district and state representative bodies as well as the district and state conventions.
Successful units are only influential in local elections if that, as delegates, senators, and congressfolk create their own machines to bypass the grassroots, party, and will of the electorate.
“The local units are sources of bodies and donations to feed the databeast that is then used by state / national orgs and candidate machines to bypass the unit committees.” And THIS is why local units should own their unit level databeast. The power is in the data. Own it, use it, continually refine it, and never give it away to higher levels. Then you will find cooperation is suddenly paramount at all levels.
Yep, it’s going to take the reinvention and reinvigoration of the local units to save the VA GOP.
Or we can continue to die the slow institutional death as we campaign for ‘likes’ instead of votes.
RPV’s problem is that it is used as a tool by candidates to squeeze out support from localities, instead of being a tool used by localities to squeeze out results from candidates.
Just another facet in the incumbent protection scheme in Virginia.
I blame the education system, and our culture. I’ve seen the World War 2 generation run local gardening, antique car, and golfing clubs with better results than RPV, because they know what it means to participate in society. Hell, not joking, I’ve seen simple clubs like that who knew Roberts Rules of Order better than people in RPV.
There’s a difference of intent. Roberts Rules of Order aren’t usually invoked to alienate garden club members.
Happens in all organizations, RRoR is a tool that can be abused or can facilitate a meeting.
Ok, cheapshotting the RPV is just too much fun. Go watch an SCC meeting and see the collective wisdom of the RPV ruling elite — your head will pop clean off!
Comment of the year!
In January Loudoun Democrats went from 100 members to 300 members. They are very energized against Trump. We have to fight fire with fire and do the same thing.
That’ll be difficult. The Republican Primary left deep scars. On one side are Trump supporters who are still carrying the standard from 2016 and NeverTrump members who are equally eager for another round.
One side needs to learn how win with a degree of grace, and that Trump will, inevitably as all elected officials do, fall short in some way and that pointing out if he does so isn’t unjustified. The other needs to gracefully accept defeat and remember to give Trump time to enact his solutions and the same courtesy that we give to all of our other Republican candidates.
Amen brother.
It’s rough now for the GOP when you have 1 part of the party (the Establishment John McCain wing) who sees us the Tea party as more the enemy than they do the Democrats. Until we fix that problem………
The ‘Tea Party’ is the enemy within.
Pick a side, wear that uniform.
The only reason for a Tea Party external to the GOP is personal and professional aggrandizement.
If the Republicans are not silently helping the Democrats dethrone the Trump administration, then why are the Republicans not pursuing the Clinton email and Benghazi prosecutions right now?
The Wall St./establishment, AND their lifetime Republican puppet politicians in Washington would like nothing better than to put VP Pence in the Oval Office.
Yes, but by legalizing marijuana? There are other ways.
Pandering to folks who want stupid things makes you stupider than they.
300 for Loudoun? And that’s good enough? Heck, Loudoun GOP was energized against Trump and can barely scratch 150.
How about we do much, much better than the same thing?
How about we support the President and build a party worthy of opposing democrat party people?
There’s a reason Chairman ‘Iron Fist’ Estrada is cleaning house… don’t get in his way!
I have enjoyed your latest posts.
I would agree with the tone and substance
Of your last few posts, I see the short tail
Difficult for Virginia republicans , despite
Current majorities in Richmond.
The header photo in a recent BD piece about
The general assembly was worth 1000 words
Not all good .
I would agree with Randy Barnett of Georgetown.
That libertarians alone can’t move things, they need
To move to the Republican side in elections , and
Move the party to include their ideas always.
My experience in Albemarle county to do this
Did not go well.
It is a difficult and thorny issue.
I am hopeful the future of the Republican Party at all levels of
Government, will be found in the freedoms
That each of us seek and thrive in , and the challenge
Of unwinding and untangling the regulatory state , that
Threatens every aspect of the American dream.
Thanks again for the recent posts
Or maybe we could convert people ? 🙂
It has always amazed me that every person doesn’t hold the belief that we were all born free and that we can do whatever we want, and that we can choose to help one another, or not, as we see fit.
Wild animals don’t have that much trouble understanding the concept. Pass a law that says a wild animal has to give away its food to help the other animals, then reach out to take its food and see how far that law gets you. Recommend having bandages at the ready.