Wanted: new leadership
In less than a month the transition between terms will be complete and presumably the Maryland Republican Party will have a new Chair – unless Audrey Scott decides to run again and wins. Since I don’t think that’s in her plans, it’s going to be my assumption for this argument that we will get new leadership.
Here are some of the facts on the ground awaiting whoever takes charge of the party:
- The Maryland Republican Party had few victories to celebrate after this year’s election, with the only gains being one Congressional seat (Andy Harris) and a half-dozen seats in the House of Delegates. Yet Bob Ehrlich was blown out by 13 points and we lost 2 of our scant 14 seats in the Maryland Senate.
- While the party is apparently not completely destitute, they lag far behind the Maryland Democratic Party in both fundraising and cash on hand.
- Between 2006 and 2010 Republicans fell further behind in voter registration against the Democrats.
Some may believe that the problem lay with the previous Chair, Dr. Jim Pelura. But his lone problem seemed to be the fact that big donors decided to snap their wallets shut when he wouldn’t play ball with them, although there were some who took him to task about how he interacted with Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly. Personally, I thought he did the best job he could with what he had to work with. Once big donors decided they wanted a change, the more pliable Audrey Scott was installed as party chair.
While the donors and insiders may still be there, a number of changes have occurred in the makeup of the various Central Committees which elect the Chair, and it’s quite possible they would like to see a new face at the top – not the same old party insider. If I had a wish list, this is what I’d want in a Chair:
- Someone who is acceptable to the TEA Party, which means that people too closely tied to Bob Ehrlich may not be a good fit for the party.
- A good fundraiser, but one who can inspire a new set of donors to step up and replace the same contributors who seem to think their contribution gives them the right to dictate party affairs. We see how well that has worked.
- Someone who respects all areas of the state, including the support for regional chairs to ensure more voices are at the leadership table. (This was Jim Pelura’s main asset, even though he was based in Anne Arundel County.)
- A leader who is willing to not just call out Democrats, but members of the Republican Party who stray from the party’s principles. I don’t believe that “party is everything” when it comes to members ignoring conservative principles.
- Finally, a leader who doesn’t think he or she is smarter than the voters and isn’t beholden to one personality to “save” the Maryland GOP.
Many of these same ideas guided my decision on who to pick as our local Wicomico County party leadership and I think we selected a very good team. Certainly a few egos may have been bruised, but overall we did reasonably well. I didn’t vote for all who won, but I can work with those who did and I think the other eight of us can too. There’s room for input from everyone.
There’s around four or five names already being bandied about for state party Chair, with only Maryland YR leader Mike Esteve being “officially” in as far as I know. It’s far too soon for me to make a good, informed decision about who should lead us but perhaps those who are considering it may make it official and let the party leaders throughout the state begin to decide.
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8 Responses to “Wanted: new leadership”
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I agree with your requisites for Party Chair however I would add that the new Chair…
1) works with those outside the GOP such as the many Conservative Independents scattered throughout Baltimore City, PG and Montgomery County especially as some of us seem to work harder then some Republicans in ensuring a new brand of GOP leadership here in the State of Maryland.
2)Does NOT overlook pockets of PG and Baltimore City as purely Democrat without even trying to organize there. The General Elections showed me that they basically conceded Baltimore with in most cases not so much as a sign for Republican support; let alone a poll worker, t-shirt or literature/ballot!
3) They obtain someone who is a campaign expert, or is at least willing to hire an Exec. Director that is, who will look at the Md. map and begin NOW breaking down, precinct by precinct, district by district, the way to beat Democrats statewide and in certain obtainable Districts in order to increase membership in the House and Senate!
4) Do a better job at outreach Communications! There needs to be a tv/radio program(s) promoting these efforts on inexpensive stations that propagate the conservative message to a broad audience. Also reaching out to journalists such as myself, this site and others who reach the masses through blogs, social media sites and others in order to effect a REAL movement. My TV/Radio shows have been consistent in Baltimore/Washington area for over a year, along with Examiner coverage for over 2 years, with not a lot of money being shelled out for it! It can be financially manageable and go a long way in promoting the Party!
Absolutely! and reposting!
[...] to get new leadership—hurrah! Michael Swartz writing at Monoblogue and reposted at Red Maryland has an excellent piece on what the MDGOP needs in the way of [...]
[...] http://monoblogue.us/2010/11/14/wanted-new-leadership/ [...]
It is time for a complete break from Ehrlich World. These guys spent $100,000 with a Democrat consultant who then fired off the “relax” robocall.
Does any really believe that the Ehrlich campaign did not know completely what was going on? Does anyone believe that they would have spent that much money without Ehrlich himself knowing that Julius Hanson was being paid for something likely to be illegal? Please.
Ehrlich World is composed of a bunch of third rate hacks. Who else would but the Ehrlich World would have been so stupid as to leave such an obvious paper trail. (Or have Kendall “greet” their homeless dirty tricks squad as they arrived from Philadelphia in 2006.)
[...] campaigning don’t exist and don’t impact elections. But it’s exactly what far too many people seem to [...]
[...] wave that swept through so much of the country. For example, here’s Mike Swartz, writer of Monoblogue: The Maryland Republican Party had few victories to celebrate after this year’s election, with [...]
[...] it’s not just me asking (although I may be the only one who gets a vote.) You know my wish list but Richard Faulknor at Blue Ridge Forum has his own thoughts, as does Ann Corcoran at Potomac TEA [...]