An Open Letter to the GOP from SC PolitiChick Shannon Grady

Dear GOP,

I have admired you, have supported you, and have advocated for your candidates but you have become something I no longer support. In my frustration, I have thrown my hands in the air and announced myself as an independent. Though I am conservative on many issues I have also found agreement with much of the libertarian platform. However, there are certain personal beliefs which dissuade me from jumping head first into the Libertarian party fray.

I long for a party who listens to the people they claim to represent. The GOP used to be that party and then they grew too big for their own pants. Now, there is nearly as much greed, guilt, and corruption in the Republican Party as found in the Democratic Party. Still, I believe there is an agenda within the Democratic Party that makes the goal of defeating their candidates the most important issue at hand.

Recently, my uncle emailed me about a Senate race taking place in North Carolina. He noted that one of the GOP candidates, Mr. Thom Tillis, was taking heavy criticism from Tea Party supporters and other conservative groups because he had failed to appear in many of their town hall meetings. These meetings are important and can give candidates the extra support they need to win elections. However, more often than not these free for all events are likely to end potential political careers rather than make them.

Here is the response I gave to my uncle in reference to this candidate’s campaign approach:

“I would say he is doing something similar to what I am suggesting. Until the GOP candidates are all on the senate ballot there is no point in attending forums with a group of 7 or 8 who have not even committed yet to running. All it does is set him up to be attacked or recorded slipping up on film, as noted. 

Avoiding these landmine meetings is a smart move and as long as he is not out right criticizing the Tea Party then there is little negative they can say about him. His website seems to invoke a great deal of Tea Party-isk positions without being uber-conservative as you and I discussed. He will likely be the GOP primary winner. His real test will be handling the Democratic party attempts to make him sexist and out of touch with women in general. Something that will play well to Kay Hagan’s strengthens. What he must concentrate on doing is deflecting back to the job rate and the economy.”

The GOP has famously struck out with attracting the female vote. The party’s feeble attempts at changing that history has been little league at best and T-ball at worst. Recently, they formed a panel to discuss possible solutions to the “female deficiency” in the party. Ironically, these brilliant Republican politicians could not see the hypocrisy in not having one woman on the panel.

Then there are the various examples of what I call diarrhea of the mouth, which has afflicted more than one GOP candidate. These running verbal blunders have included such comments as those of Republican Representative Henry Aldridge who said women do not get pregnant when raped because, “The juices don’t flow, and the body functions don’t work”. Or Rick Santorum who said, “Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.” These are just two examples of diarrhea of the mouth.

I may have opinions that will offend a majority of Americans and were I running for office, I might be asked what my opinions were on various topics. It is certain that abortion, gay rights, and immigration are going to be hot topics. However, I hope the GOP will take heed to what I suggest their answers be in the following paragraphs.

If I were Tillis, or any GOP candidate running, when met with the question of abortion, I would say something like this, “Excuse me for a moment but could someone tell me if this is 2014 or 1973? I am fairly certain it is 2014 and that Roe v Wade was settled by the Supreme Court in 1973. So, until such time as a new case on the issue of abortion is placed before the Supreme Court I will move on to the more pressing issues of our economy, unemployment, and national security issues. My colleague is free to spend hours, days, weeks, or millions battling an issue that has been settled for the past 41 years. All while she ignores the anemic growth of our nations GDP, the nearly 32% increase in spending for welfare, the nearly 100 million Americans who are either unemployed or underemployed….etc., etc.”

If he is then pressed to give his opinion on abortion and prolife etc. he can say, “I do have a personal opinion but I’m not being elected to represent myself or my opinions, I’m being elected to represent the views of my constitutes and right now they tell me that what’s important to them is putting food on the table, finding and being able to afford insurance, finding a full time job that pays enough to cover the bills, all things my opponent has ignored for 5 years by talking about settled law when it was a convenient means to dodge responsibility or present a viable answer to our economic problems.”

There are literally a hundred different ways to attack this woman and other Democrats…Obamacare, NSA, IRS, the failed foreign diplomacy with Iran, Israel, Syria, Libya, Egypt, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Have your own set of quotes from “the people” such as “Mary writes me and reports she has lost her doctor of 20 plus years and her premiums have jumped 200% since Obamacare was forced upon her. Before, she had insurance she could afford and a doctor she trusted.” Put a face and a name to the problems created by the Kay Hagan’s of the Democratic Party…that is exactly what Democrats have done with Sandra Fluke and the fictional “Julia”.

Again, I wish the GOP candidates would listen to folks like me…but I’m just some lowly blogger…what do I know?