Yesterday's news that Linda Daves will not run for reelection as chair of the NCGOP was good news for her party. Daves' goal as chair seemed to be to make the party's message as divisive, extreme, and shrill as possible. You'd think things couldn't go anywhere but up.
I'm not sure with some of the candidates on the table though. Under the Dome reports today that former state Senator Woody White might run. The main thing I remember about White is that he got unendorsed by the Wilmington Star-News in 2004 after his campaign took a turn toward gutter tactics. The Saltsman/White team as national and state GOP chairs would make it pretty clear Republicans want to continue the course of division that's cost them power across the board in the last few years.
Fred Smith, also frequently mentioned, is by most accounts I think a pretty decent guy. He also ran a courthouse campaign for Governor, which might have been nice 100 years ago but isn't going to cut it in 21st century North Carolina.
As a Democrat I'd love for any of these folks being discussed to get elected as chair, but you have to wonder for the GOP's sake if there's anyone out there who would lead the party in a forward looking, centrist, modernist fashion that might actually allow them to get their act together.
As I wrote last week, North Carolina Republicans might be their own worst enemies.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI have a question for you. What happened in 2008 presidential election? McCain was supposed to win the Suburban votes and win the presidency? Did it happen? Being a moderate republican did not work for him.When a Republican candidate is not so different from a democrat candidate in core principles, Republicans will loose.
When conservative principles are articulated in a simple English, Conservatives will win every time. A messenger like Bobby Jindal can do heavy damage to the democrats.