Feedback: Mostly good, some just nasty

Since we passed our resolution calling on various named (Shawn Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, and Laura Ingraham) and unnamed radio talk show hosts (we would have probably added Glenn Beck and Hugh Hewitt if we'd thought about) to tone down their rhetoric, stick to comparing records, and let the best candidate win, we've recieved a good deal of feedback from Young Republicans, elected officials, and party leaders. While most of them have been very positive, there have been a few that haven't. The sad thing about the negative comments, most of them seem to be from the suppoerts of one candidate, Mitt Romney. Most of them felt like it was aimed at their candidate, ignoring the fact that not every talk radio host was a Romney supporter and the resolution called for YRs to rally around our nominee, regardless of who he is.

Furthermore, their comments continued to express some of the same language as many of the talk radio hosts we were calling on to tone down their rhetoric, a continuous attack against our own.

We passed this resolution because our concern was that the attacks were becoming less and less about experience and records of accomplishment (or lack there of), and more and more personal issues and falsifying records, deliberately misrepresenting facts and hysterically attacking those, who for whatever reason, have chosen to support one candidate over another.

Not all radio talk show hosts felt they had to eat their own to make the point for their candidate, and we praised those who did keep the debate passionate, but civil. Neal Boortz, who describes himself as a, "grumpy old fart" was one of the most civil to the other candidates in the race, pointing out flaws in the record and what they said rather than shouting about hysterical conspiracy theories (like Hannity was on Feb. 5).

Bill Bennett, author of the "Death of Outrage" is another one who understands that the ability to build party unity is essentual to beat back Hillary and/or Obama in November, and that a flawed McCain is safer for America than a perfect Hillary (really, do we need another Clinton too pre-occupied to be concerned about another Bin Laden?).

I personally am not crazy about John McCain. As a staunch conservative, there are things he's done as Senator that more than erks me. Add to that the fact that an unpleasant run-in I had with him 10 years ago gives me a personal grudge against the man, but, absent some act of God, he is my Party's nominee and I will put that aside because I know this nation cannot afford even two years of Hillary/Obama/Pelosi/Reid.

Our resolution was controversal from the beginning. It got only two decenting votes, but no time for discussion since the goal was to approve before the polls closed. There were two decenting votes. There may have been 2 more if there had been more time, but a Constitutional majority had been reached by the time voting was closed off. Either way, the resolution was going to pass. The two "nay" votes were AYR President and GYRC Co-Chairman Cameron Fash and Forsyth County YR Chairman Ethan Underwood.

At 6:01PM on Super Tuesday, the Resolution was posted on http://www.peachpundit.com/. By 6:30PM, there were almost 50 comments. On Wednesday, February 6, it was in the AJC.com Political Insider Blog and by Thursday, in a front page article in the AJC.

We also sent it out to our e-newsletter list. Out of nearly 400 subscribers, we had 3 unsubscribes and 2 new subscribers for a net loss of 1.

When I went to the AYR, BYR party to watch the returns come in, a few people commented negatively, but more had positive things to say about our decision. Many YRs, who had sent more years working for Republicans in Georgia than most of the others and remember days when we could not stop our in-fighting long enough to win anything in Georgia, heaped praise on what the YRs had done.

I also received an email from a Romney supporter, send before the polls closed, who lives in Southeast Georgia and has been active in the party for many years. She had no kind words for McCain in her email, but said, "Still the sentiment of your resolution is appreciated."

What we had done had spread to the State Capital by the next morning and I was greated with warm welcomes from our legislators and some of our senior party leadership who were at the Gold Dome for a Coverdell Leadership Institute event.

On the way to my office, I received a call from Chris Carr, Senator Johnny Isakson's Deputy Chief of Staff, who once more thanked the YRs for what we had done.

However, a few negative emails started coming in.

"The Republican establishment and the YR’s have done nothing but confirm the stereotype that liberals try to paint ALL Republicans with, that of being closed minded, backward, hicks who routinely try to stifle free-speech. Southern Republicans have proven to the entire world that they’ll vote for exactly who their Baptist Preacher tells them to vote for. There are some free-thinking Southern Republicans (friends of mine), but it seems as though the masses have been led into the sea by the Pied Piper, Mike Huckabee. Is Huckabee working for Billary? " wrote Stephen B. Lambeth, a Savannah YR who emailed me and several others. He continued, "In the end, I believe that Romney’s Mormon faith killed his candidacy among the Bigots… um I mean Baptists in the South."

A former SAYR who is now in Washington, D.C., Regina Kill wrote, "Young Republicans need to remember that if they truly want a good conservative elected, they can stop whining and passing resolutions and make the 30 phone calls/door stops they could have made while drafting, bitching about and 'resolving' this non-issue. This is embarassing."

Jason Kercheval, a member of the Atlanta YR Club wrote, "As a member of AYR, I am appalled at your ignorance of the 1st Amendment. Your politics smack of the very tactics liberals have become so good at. No bashing has occurred, only an attempt to get ALL of the facts out, not just the ones that make Senator McCain look good. This resolution does just as much, if not more, to spread disunion in the Republican Party as the people you choose to condemn."

However, most Republicans understand that disunity is not about what happens in the White House, but something that can hurt Republican candidates running at the local level, even ones who no good Republican could find any fault in.

A campaign manager for a candidate in one of those uphill battles against a Democrat incumbant wrote after hearing Cameron and I debate the Resolution with host Joel Aaron on WGKA radio, "Kudos for a superb job this morning. You and your visionariers deserve congratulations and support for your resolution that was offered. The points are well taken and brought forth at a critically important time for the party of Lincoln. The country is depending upon our success in November. Too often I find that we are a petty party, majoring in the minor. Simply put, you guys represent tomorrow and too many of us 'old dogs' are still stuck on yesterday. I say right on and thank you for your leadership. Right will win out in November."

Ruben Maestre, a Marine Cpl whose platoon the BYRs adopted when they were stationed in Camp Falujah, Iraq, stated after seeing the resolution, "I'm sticking with you. You are right. You can put my name on it."

One of my fellow Coverdell Leadership graduates in Middle Georgia said, "In the coming years, this resolution will mean a heck of a lot more than it does today. Don't back off."

Still, I was forwarded an email from a joint member of the AYRs and BYRs asking for a refund of her dues.

Young Republicans are supposed to be a training ground that prepares individuals for their future roles as the leaders of the Republican Party. As someone who served as a Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia long before even joining a YR club, I have seen things from a slightly different perspective. As a YR, it's sometimes hard to shrug off some of the more outrageous comments, like the ones posted here, but you can almost forgive them when you remember the passion of youth.

When they are as old as Shawn Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter, it's no longer cute.