Party Lines

FaI have never really discussed or opened up about my so called from grace with the party, so I figure what the hell I am not obligated to them anymore, my debt has been paid so to speak so it’s time for me to return the favor. Besides why should I feel obligated to keep their secrets in the closet when they exploited mine? Basically, my background is that I was once one of the republican parties rising stars, I was young, connected, and willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. Our county parties new chairman brought me in even more, put me on the central committee as a club president, handed me an open ended order to rebuild the local Young Republicans, he promised me money, support, anything I wanted to or needed would be taken care of. Well in our last election for governor, he had me work for a campaign during the primary (as a side note, this was the primary to the general election that changed my life) that was none too popular, in part to funnel information, and in part to make some money for myself, as I was a paid consultant. Well in doing that most everyone else labeled me a traitor to the party, in my mind though I was just following the orders of my chairman, and in my naive mind I believed that in the end my loyalty would be rewarded. Unfortunately, I was left out on a limb and help never came, the support I was promised never came. Nevertheless, I took it all and kept giving more and more of myself into the campaigns, I have always wanted to be involved in politics and I thought I was getting there. Flash forward from the Primaries, during the general election I worked for three of the state wide campaigns Governor, SOS, and Treasurer, the amount of time was overwhelming and the mental, physical, and emotional toll it took on me was overwhelming. I came out in early November of 2006, I told the county chairman because I felt he deserved to hear it from me, why I thought I owed him that courtesy I don’t know. In December he decided to remove me as the head of the young Republicans, because I hadn’t achieved what he wanted us too, despite never being given a goal or told what he expected, we got chastised every time we raised a penny because that was money that should of went to the central committee, the chairman didn’t want a group of Young Republicans, he wanted his own private group of little bitches that would jump when he said jump and be little lackeys to the county party. At the time, I let it go, and moved on, I was told by a lot of people, that his decision had more to do with my personal life than anything else, and I still ignored it. Well during our local municipal elections, during the “primary” I went up against the county party, and told them in December how one of their candidates for alderman was going to lose, right down to the percentage point he was going to lose by in a three way race, my recommendation was to back a fourth candidate who would win the emerging younger republican voters in the ward. I was told I was wrong, had my job threatened if I dint drop the subject and get behind the parties endorsed candidate. As it turned out, when the election night total where in, my prediction came true, I was only off by 1 percentage point, the parties guy (also the incumbent) got 21% (I said he would get 20%) Democrat A got 39% and Democrat B got 40%. In addition to the race for alderman I also got sideways with the party for other reasons, a friend of mine, a democrat, was running for the Springfield School Board. Once the party found out about my friendship, we made an agreement, I wouldn’t help my friend, but I wouldn’t help them either. Well when the republican realized he was losing he wanted me to provide information that could be used against my friend, I said no. After election night, I got called into the chairman’s office and asked how I liked my job in his office (I worked for the county, in the chairman’s elected office). Then he accused me of working with the enemy, and that I should evaluate whom my friends were and were my loyalties were. So I’m done with it, I will never work for the local party again. I should say that there are certain people, certain candidates, I would gladly work for again, but the chairman isn’t one of them. For everything he thinks he gave me, it cost me so much of myself that I can honestly say now it wasn’t worth it. No one gets to tell me who my friends will be; no one gets to expect me to betray one for someone else’s gain (especially someone I can’t stand). I should make it clear, I believe, and know several good people still in the Republican Party; the problem is that the Republican Party isn’t the Republican Party anymore. We used to the radical idealists, now the religious nutcases have taken over and are pushing everyone who isn’t a bible thumping, praise Jesus, religious fanatic, thanks much to the failed Bush/Cheney/Rove regime. A friend and I always made joking comments about starting a third party in the vein the Teddy Roosevelt’s Progressives, I’m starting to think that time is coming, the extreme wings of each party are growing more and more, and there are a lot of people left out in the cold, in the middle. The time is coming for fight or flight, the time for the people in the middle to stand up and claim their voice is coming, the question is will we let that moment pass us by.