Social Media is bubbling over with ignorant activists who believe that that a handful of party leaders at RPV are capable of setting a statewide agenda for our Republican Candidates. Eric Cantor, Corey Stewart, E.W. Jackson, and Congressman Goodlatte have been blamed on RPV. What do these four men have in common? Nothing. What do they have to do with RPV? Nothing.
However, Chairman John Whitbeck exists because he’s a thoughtful conservative, with a convention-lean, who knows how to compromise with moderates with a primary obsession. Moderates know they could do a lot worse. Conservatives with any brains between their two ears know they could do a lot worse. We have got to stop blaming Chairman Whitbeck and RPV for all of our own stupid decisions; and we’ve made a lot of them.
That said, we need some intellectual guidance and leadership from Mr. Whitbeck. It’s not enough to just let the party do what the party does and try to mop up the blood and spittle left behind.
He is our party’s leader. We need leadership. That means we need him to rally us together.
I’m sure John Whitbeck sits at home and wonders how in the hell do you get this “big tent to work together?”
Whatever he does is wrong. No matter what happens, he gets the blame – even though he doesn’t choose who runs and who doesn’t. What is a Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia supposed to do? 1. Raise money. 2. Raise Awareness. 3. Raise the standards. Whitbeck has to support Trump, and Brat, and Wittman, and Garrett, and Goodlatte, and Comstock.
We have a Republican Creed in this Commonwealth. RPV needs to support it. They don’t need to pick sides or call out our legislators. They just need to lead when, say, legislation is before the House of Delegates that contradicts the Republican Creed. John Whitbeck should be the Lord Defender of the Republican Creed. That isn’t too much to ask, only… none of us have actually asked him. We all say we believe in the creed, we just leave out that fact that we all have parts we could take or leave.
I’d like to know why Delegate Glenn Davis backed a conservative approach to Medicaid Expansion when he knows damn well that there isn’t such a thing as a conservative approach to debt, deficits, and operational expediency.
I shouldn’t ask that though. Chairman Whitbeck should.
I support Glenn Davis and Chairman Whitbeck, but we’ve just created some problems for our party. No? Are we for Medicaid expansion? No.
We’ve had delegates and state senators running on the promise that they’d never let that happen. But when it rears it’s ugly head, everyone is kind of silent.
Look, if Corey Stewart is the only one defending conservative positions, conservatives should either fall on their swords or issue a series of public apologies.
RPV needs to defend the Republican Creed. Raise Money. Support candidates.
Even when I, for liberty, support an RPV that gives us a loud voice, there should be some backup.
RPV needs to grant us intellectual leadership. They need to be the principled ones. They need to advertise our positions before votes are taken. They need to lobby our elected on the basis of what we agree to believe.
When we look to RPV. We should be asking, what do we stand for?
Mr. Whitbeck should have an answer and he should back that answer up.
