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Author Topic: Why Won't Tom Ridge and Other Republicans Run for Office?  (Read 2024 times)
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oldiebutgoodie
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« on: May 07, 2009, 10:14:59 PM »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/0yHW-RhMTEc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6&amp;border=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/0yHW-RhMTEc&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x2b405b&amp;color2=0x6b8ab6&amp;border=1</a>

Today, former Gov. Tom Ridge (R-PA) announced that he will not run for the Senate next year. The decision dramatically increases the chances that Democrats will hold that newly-acquired seat since no other potential GOP candidate was anywhere close to Ridge's stature.

Said Ridge:

"I am enormously grateful for the confidence my party expressed in me, the encouragement and kindness of my fellow citizens in Pennsylvania and the valuable counsel I received from so many of my party colleagues. The 2010 race has significant implications for my party, and that required thoughtful reflection. All of the above made my decision a difficult and deeply personal conclusion to reach. However, this process also impressed upon me how fortunate I am to have so many friends who volunteered to support my journey if I chose to take it and continue to offer their support after I conveyed to them this morning how I believe I can best serve my commonwealth, my party and my country."

But Ridge was just the latest in a string of prominent Republican recruits to decline runs for the Senate and House next year.

Yesterday, it was reported that Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has declined a bid for President Obama's old Senate seat (currently held by Sen. Roland Burris). Like Ridge, Kirk was clearly the GOP's best candidate in the state. Now, it seems highly unlikely that the GOP will wrest control of the seat away from the Democratic nominee (which is unlikely to be Burris).

Earlier this week, two other top Republicans opted against House bids against vulnerable freshmen Democrats.

First, Florida GOP chair Jim Greer (R) declined to take on freshman Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) in Florida's 24th Congressional District. Then, former Rep. Thelma Drake (R-VA) declined a rematch against freshman Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA). Both were huge losses for the NRCC which hoped to narrow the Democrats 79-seat majority.

Be further mindful that top GOP recruits to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) have already declined to run, as did former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) for the open Republican-held Senate seat in Florida (though some GOPers are hopeful that Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will run for the seat, but that is far from certain.).

What's noteworthy about these decisions is that each of these candidates could have won their respect races. But what is clearly outweighing the prospects of simply winning is that of having to serve in an ever-shrinking minority party with little power.

As candidly acknowledged by potential House candidate Bill Konopnicki (R-AZ):

Konopnicki said he isn't interested in serving in Congress unless Republicans take back the majority in the 2010 elections - something that will be difficult to predict in time to mount a serious campaign.

"I'm not interested, quite honestly, in going and being the minority party," he said.


This is a real problem for Republicans and likely to further diminish their numbers in the Senate and House even more as a result of poor recruiting, creating quite the Catch-22 for the GOP in 2012 and beyond.

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WhiskeyGirl
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« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2009, 11:54:30 PM »

I can only hope a large group of good people will for a third independent party.  The "American Constitution Party" - people who want to see the U.S. continue on to prosperity for the next two hundred years.

We can't pass this debt onto our children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren.  It is stifling.

jmho
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« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2009, 01:59:22 PM »

In the case of Gov. Tom Ridge, I wonder if he will run for the other Senate seat--currently held by Bob Casey.

There is serious movement to Squash Specter.  Ridge may feel that Pat Toomey can beat Arlen Spector in 2010; therefore, he may prefer to wait.
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SteveDinMD
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« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2009, 11:24:09 AM »

The way I see it, this is very good news for Republicans.  Tom Ridge offers the party nothing except a liberal echo to Arlen Specter, which is worthless.  Ridge (and formerly Specter) are also symptomatic of the party's fundamental problem that's been festering for years -- liberal drift.  The Republicans have increasingly strayed from their foundation conservative principles to echo the liberalism offered by Democrats.  This is a marketing disaster because in so doing the Republicans, essentially, dilute their "brand," thus giving the voters no positive reason to support them.  Those who favor liberal policies will opt to vote for real liberals and vote Democrat anyway.  With many Republicans espousing liberal to liberal-lite policy alternatives, those favoring conservative policies have nowhere to go, and undecided voters are denied access to a well articulated, competing ideology.  The voters need a choice, not an echo. 

The Democrats faced a similar crisis in 2003.  If you recall, they had just come off an electoral disaster in the 2002 mid-term Congressional elections.  What was the party's response?  Contrary to the conventional wisdom, they doubled down on liberalism, naming Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid House and Senate Minority Leaders, respectively, and began to purge the party of those members who didn't conform to Leftist orthodoxy.  At the time, political analysts considered this to be pure folly and opined that the Democrats' only prospects for future electoral success would be in emulating Republicans and adopting a more conservative platform.  Well, the analysts were wrong then and I have to believe they're wrong now.  Beginning in 2003, the Democrats began in earnest to pound home their hard Left message of defeatism, class warfare, and social disorder.  It resonated strongly with a segment of the population and laid the foundation for the Democrats' later success as the Republicans' lost their political focus and allowed their coalition to fray.  For their part, the Republicans can re-create the Democrats' success by doubling down on conservatism and honing their message anchored on individual liberty, personal accountability, and national security.  That these values also characterize the proper and correct policy course can't hurt, either. 
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oldiebutgoodie
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« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2009, 01:51:08 AM »

I can only hope a large group of good people will for a third independent party.  The "American Constitution Party" - people who want to see the U.S. continue on to prosperity for the next two hundred years.

We can't pass this debt onto our children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren.  It is stifling.

jmho

I like this idea in general principle but unfortunately, some smaller group within the group would probably seek to dominate with their narrow vision or extremist agenda. I suppose that's one reason why I'm not comfortable being a member of any political party (with the exception of registering as a Democrat for the 1984 California Primary just so I could vote against Jesse Jackson... Hymie this, you freakin' anti-semite. Heh.).

This actually is the Republican Party's problem at the moment. The right-wing extremists want to keep control of the party out of the hands of plain meat-and-potato conservatives. Anybody here old enough to remember the phrase, "Reagan Democrats?" What do you all suppose that signified? Do you think there's any such thing nowadays as a groundswell of support for Republican candidates or agendas from Democrats? How does anyone imagine that the Republican Party will ever again be the party of majority power if they do not emulate that whole "big tent" idea? Does the Republican Party understand it is on the verge of extinction (and that's not joking around, either)? Survery after survey of young voters find that most of them feel completely alienated from the Republican Party and that's without necessaily advocating any support for any Democratic candidate or platform. Young people simply do not identify with the Republican Party (something Meghan McCain is working to change).

The Republican Party need not be some ancient doddering dinosaur waiting to topple and shatter into a kajillion fragmented pieces. But, that's precisely where the extremists are intent on driving it. They wouldn't have it any other way. The extremists would rather pull the whole house of cards down.

Good grief, this is the Republican Party! It used to be a major force in this country. 1950's America was all about Republican family values. That was your plain meat-and-potatoes Republicans. What happened? Where did they go?
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SteveDinMD
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« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2009, 11:48:05 AM »

What most people do not yet realize is that the Democrat Party has been hijacked by the George Soros/MoveOn.org crowd and has become the de facto Communist Party of the United States.  This, however, will become increasingly clear as Barack Obama and his henchmen work to unravel the U.S. Constitution and destroy the economy.  What the U.S. currently lacks is a clearly articulated, conservative alternative to the creeping statist tyranny that threatens to enslave us all.  When that conservative choice was offered, first by Ronald Reagan and then by Newt Ginrich and Congressional Republicans in their Contract with America, the voters responded with an overwhelming "YES!"  As it was then, so will it be once more, but only if the Republicans return to their conservative principles, which reflected the political values of the Founders and strongly resonate through American society to this day.  The Leftists understand and fear this, which is why they tireless work to induce a permanent, leftward tilt in the Republican Party -- to deny the public a real choice and thereby solidify their own political ascendency. 
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