Pelura: Mooney's my guy
Unlike his immediate successor, Audrey Scott, former GOP Chair Jim Pelura weighed in on the race to former supporters. While it may be the kiss of death to some, Pelura has remained engaged with the party he once headed but has gone against conventional wisdom on at least one occasion as an early backer of insurgent gubernatorial candidate Brian Murphy.
Part of what Pelura sent out follows:
When I decided to run in 2006 for Chairman, I did so because I saw a void in our Republican Party that had been unfilled for some time. I believed that Conservative Republican values could win in Maryland if only we had the opportunity to govern by those values. I believed that those who thought Republicans could not win in Maryland were wrong, and that we only needed to convince Marylanders that Republicans would govern according to the traditional Republican ideals of smaller government, low taxes, faith in the private sector and faith in the individual.
My plan as Chairman was simple…….promote traditional Republican ideals and convince our fellow Marylanders that elected Republicans would govern likewise.
America just witnessed an amazing resurgence of conservatism and a rejection of liberalism. Why did this tsunami miss Maryland ? I am convinced we lost because we still have not convinced enough of our fellow citizens that Republicans in Maryland can govern and more importantly, will govern according to the conservative ideals that we profess.
We cannot continue to rely on Democrat failures to send voters to our Party. We must offer real solutions to Maryland ’s problems and not wait for voters to vote for Republican candidates simply because they are not Democrats.
There are numerous questions that those who desire leadership positions in the Maryland Republican Party must ask themselves:
§ Being out of power in a one-party state, what reasons can the Party offer to disaffected Republicans, Independents and conservative Democrats to register Republican?
§ Being out of power and in such a minority, what reasons can the Party offer to attract the financial support of large donors? I believe we must stand up for our principles.
§ Serious consideration must be given to expenses. Can we stay at the current location or should we move?
§ What will the Party’s relationship be with the RNC? Can we expect as much support as the outgoing Chairman received in the form of personnel, field offices, etc.? Our newly elected Chairman will also vote for the new RNC Chair in January. What direction will the outcome of that vote take for our Party nationally?
§ How will you handle the hypocrisy of verbally promoting the core Republican values while supporting those elected Republicans that do not? How will you convince the voters that we Republicans “say what we mean and mean what we say”?
§ Why would voters believe in our Party when the MDGOP interferes in the Primary process under the guise of RNC Rule 11 and not give Republican voters the opportunity to choose their nominee?
The Maryland Republican Party is the leadership center for all Maryland Republicans. It is, and must be, a very partisan political office.
I think that a slate of officers that represent former elected officials, former Party members, activists and those associated with the Tea Party would best serve our Party.
With that in mind, I would like to see the following slate of candidates run as a united team:
Alex Mooney - Chairman
Sam Hale - 1st Vice Chair
Larry Helminiak - 2nd Vice Chair
Collins Bailey - 3rd Vice Chair
Nora Keenan - Secretary
William Campbell - Treasurer
I wish all the candidates the best and applaud their desire and willingness to step up and sacrifice their time and talents for a worthy cause, the Republican Party of Maryland.
While I saw no need for Jim to justify his intentions for his late term of office, the slate he presents also would require a few breaks to occur. First, we have no idea if Campbell or Hale would be willing to take their demotions - on the other hand, Mooney originally expressed a willingness to be 1st Vice-Chair. Obviously the floor would have to be opened up for nominations as well unless a last-minute nomination is made through normal channels (would-be nominees have until close of business Friday to secure a spot on the ballot.)
Yet if you ignore the slate and look at the criteria he used it makes a lot of sense. (Maybe that's why I turned out to be one of his most diehard supporters since he walked this walk as best he could.) Sometimes a 'party uber alles" attitude can get us in trouble when the rank-and-file don't buy what we're trying to sell.
Ronald Reagan is the perfect example - in 1984 he proved he could govern as a conservative and Maryland voted for him over Democrat Walter Mondale. Four years later, the promise of continued governance in the Reagan tradition carried George H.W. Bush to victory.
Obviously some will let me know that this happened over 20 years ago in a different era and different demographic. But when has a good, conservative alternative been presented to Maryland voters? Ellen Sauerbrey? (We saw what gymnastics the Democrats had to undergo to win that 1994 race.)
My contention is that, had the national GOP placed its time and resources behind a candidate like Brian Murphy as it had Bob Ehrlich, we would have done no worse and perhaps even better. Martin O'Malley didn't exactly run as a full-flegded liberal except when he palled around with Barack Obama - and even then they had to carefully select a location (Prince George's County) where he was simply making sure his base turned out.
You moderates have tried it your way for most of the last decade and we can see the stunning successes you've had. Our victories on a local level came from tried-and-true conservatives, and even the Democrats who won had to play our game.
It's time to try conservatism on a state level and quit being the nice guys.