After the fireworks of the 2010 elections I immediately got to thinking of ways for Republicans to recapture the US Senate. Beyond that I also hoped it was possible to try for a veto proof majority. At the time people didn’t pay much attention or scoffed, but I was used to it. By the middle of 2009 for example, I had a Boehner for speaker bumper sticker on my truck and talking about winning the Mi State House back.
It was last December that I started to think of a slogan to unseat Michigan’s incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow. “Dump Debbie” was my pick. It is pretty simple and some may think crude; but as a private citizen I can get away with it; besides in the trenches cute doesn’t work. It does catch people’s eye and if they are not into politics they would ask me who was Debbie? thus starting the conversation.
I then had some buttons made up at a local business. So far I’ve had over 100 made and given out. They cost me $1.50 @, I do ask sometimes for donations. I have given some to members of 4 local Tea Parties and to members of 3 different County Republican Parties. Such luminaries as Pete Hoekstra, and Congressman Bill Huizenga have been seen in public wearing them. I also have given them to two of the current primary candidates seeking to replace Debbie.
Therefore it was heartening to see the linked article below from Newsmax about Larry Sabato a political scientist from W. Virginia stating the GOP could win the Senate and he even admitted the possibility of a veto proof majority. Michigan played in his figures for that.
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http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Senate-2012Elections-LarrySabato/2011/06/24/id/401317?s=al&promo_code=C81B-1
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However, just as Republicans are finding out in the Presidential Primary race, the key ingredient for victory is to have a candidate that can put out a message that will resonate with the voters. To achieve that and what most candidates lack is a sense of believable enthusiasm and sincerity along with an unswerving set of core beliefs.
Getting back to picking a candidate to “Dump Debbie” I have seen and talked with three so far and I am not impressed enough to commit to any yet. Don’t get me wrong, they all had part of the equation but as of yet they all lacked the ability to stir the masses, i.e. they lacked that necessary enthusiasm. Of those three Peter Konetchy came the closest and may yet evolve into what I’m looking for.
Getting back to the Presidential Primary analogy, as Ann Coulter recently commented; she would vote for any of the Republicans over Obama. So too would I vote for anybody over Ms Stabenow. But in both what we need to win is a candidate that people WANT to vote and work and donate too. That is the difference between victory and defeat.
Here is a WSJ blog in Capitol Confidential by Peter Brown that buoyed my hopes shortly after I had the “Dump Debbie” buttons made.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/capitaljournal/2011/02/23/odds-improve-for-gop-takeover-of-congress-in-2012/
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This article gives better specifics on why the odds are so against the Democrats. As Mr. Brown points out, the Dems have twice as many seats up for grabs as do the Republicans and most of them are in the South or otherwise Republican leaning areas.
The key to the races in general is in my opinion, whether the voters that were responsible for the Conservative Wave of 2010 believe that the people they elected are doing what they put them into office to do. If they do they will be willing to put more of the same stripe into power, if not they won’t. Who are those people?
For all the talk and news of the Tea Party and constitutional fundamentalists, I think the majority of those independents simply saw a system that was falling apart from sheer “bigness” and wanted it fixed. Whether the actions of this current House do anything towards buttressing that thought will be the key.
This debt ceiling is one of the key votes coming up, because the average voter not only wants someone who will stick to his guns, but do it in a convincing manner and actually present something positive and creative. President Reagan did just that with a smile and people believed him – in record numbers.
As with all things, this is speculation and while it might look good on paper what it will take is a lot of hard work by a lot of people in the trenches and a lot of money. It is rumored that Debbie has 4-5 million in the bank. If a candidate can fire up the masses that can be overcome. Think about it, what is the money for? To buy votes in effect with state wide adds on TV and Radio. There are plenty of examples of grass roots activity short circuiting the “big Money” process.
It goes back to the same old two questions. “What am I willing to do today?” and “Why”. If all the people of “We the People” can answer those questions, then we will have the tools necessary to bring America back to the Land of Opportunity and the Shining City on a Hill, President Reagan talked about.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be a Conservative
