Monday, December 15, 2008

There is more to leading the Party than being well versed in BlogSpot, Twitter, and YouTube.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Republican Party in Iowa needs to do a better job in communicating its message to voters, and communicating with its county organizations and activists. Last week it seemed to me that many of my collogues in the Iowa Blogosphere went a little overboard on the importance of New Media. Yes it’s free and we should be using it, but it’s really a small piece of the puzzle.

Last week technology buzz was largely created by Matt Strawn’s chairman announcement which was made done on YouTube which was followed up with a blog and email communication. Krusty Kudos to Strawn for doing using these mediums, I think it was a very wise move on his part.

As for the technology debate, I think these conversations are more pertinent in the discussion of what type of person the party should hire to be its communications director. Should we hire someone who can write a press release for the 2 or 3 times a year where that is needed, or should we instead look for a person who can use social networking tools to communicate for the Party? I’d rather have the later. The RPI communications director should be more of a reporter, than a sit behind the desk staffer.

As for the chair election, I remain unkommitted. I want to see big ideas; I want to see someone discuss the mechanics of voter turnout. Unfortunately, nobody has released those types of plans yet, but it’s still early and I don’t have a vote in this matter so I might not be privy to such information.

My friend over at Fly Over Country nailed it today. This is a must read.

Newsflash: It’s Cold Out

-2 yikes, I’m glad the heat is working at the Krusty Konservative Corporate Offices.

Props to President Bush


For showing some athletic ability when an Iraqi journalist stood up and threw his shoes at the President. Bush took it in stride, but maybe someone might want to tell this dude what would have happened if he had done that to Saddam Hussein…



I can’t wait till Bush is gone…

I had thought that Bush could do no more damage for the Republican Party after Obama won the election. Man I was I wrong. Bush is set to give the auto industry (UAW) another $40 billion dollars. This is insane; the UAW President was out there bashing Republicans and the “Far Right” on Friday. So what does Bush do, he goes out and gives them more than Congress was going to give them. Sure the UAW will thank Bush, but continue to be the Democrat grassroots operation. Sickening.

70 comments:

  1. That Iraqi reporter will get a lucrative job offer from MSNBC by the end of the week...

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  2. Yoda is right. MSNBC would love to hire this guy ... Until he throws his shoes at Obama. Then, of course, he will be executed for treason... All hail Dear Leader Barack!

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  3. I agree with you Krusty on the comments for State Chair. I was impressed with Strawn's video as well as the Blog and Pizza and Politics tour. These efforts should be well noticed and Matt should be given props for them.
    I am confident that he has the people around him that are well acquainted with technology and the party needs these things. I just think that the overall type of candidate we need focuses more on the internal rather than the external. The comments that I am hearing are a Matt's use of technology is a good start, but people are starving for substance. In my opinion, Danny Carroll has a grand slam plan for rebuilding the party which includes the use of new technology such as what Matt Strawn is using, but it has much more to it. Danny Carroll has been being groomed for a position like this for over twenty years through his dedicated service to public service and leadership while others may not have the experience desired to fill the office.

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  4. I went to Strawn's "blog" but there is no comment feature. What gives?

    A blog with no comments is not a blog but rather a website. And a donut with no holes is a danish.

    I think he may not be suited for communications director either Krusty.

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  5. Groomed? Is that what you call losing elections?

    Wait, lets take a survey and find out.

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  6. I am so feed up with people pointing to Danny Carroll losing an election!! For God sakes how many election has other great leaders lost. What about how he helped get Kent Sorenson elected!! What about the six he won before that. He has so much to bring to the table, but people that are ignorant say he lost an election so there for he is disqualified to lead the party!! How about Matt Strawn being being a big part of John McCain's campaign imploding in Iowa, What about Matt Strawn hooking up with the guy that got last in Iowa!! Wow that is in touch with Iowa voters!!! Why must we continue to demean people to build someone else up? You do not see Danny people doing this!! That is because he is the type of person we need to be a party unifier!!

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  7. anon 10:58. You sir (Mark), are a hypocrite.

    "Why must we continue to demean people to build someone else up"

    What did you just do to make your point?

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  8. Wasnt Matt Strawn fired by John McCain in the summer of 2007? That is something no one wants to talk about. But I think it may be important to discuss.

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  9. He imploded the campaign and caused a big disruption to the campaign and took people with him!! Not to mention teaming up with the guy Iowa choose last. Wow that is in touch and know what this party needs.

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  10. Sounds like a team builder to me

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  11. I am impressed with Matt's ability to go digital but question his leadership ability. What has he lead? It is one thing to be able to work on a campaign but to actually lead a party. I believe he has a future but it should not start here. But I think the high road should be taken.

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  12. I see, we have now resorted to lying.

    I like how these anons talk about party building and then tear down those who are trying to do just that.

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  13. Did he not come out in support of the guy that got last in Iowa? Did he not take people with him when he left the McCain camp? Did he not run the day to day operations when it imploded?

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  14. Explain how they are lying 11:14. You cant just say, "you're lying" and not set the record straight.

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  15. Technology is good, but we already tech guru on the SCC named David Chung.

    I want substance, I want a proven winner at all levels of elective office in Iowa. I want someone with an in depth understanding of Iowa election laws and a plan on how to stop the bleeding via warped county auditor interpretations of said laws.

    I want someone who doesnt need the job, but rather will lead us because they want to help turn around the state GOP. The candidate list is full of people who want to use this post as a springboard for elective office and they are mistaken to think that it works.

    I want someone who has been a county chairman. I want someone who has raised money at the local, legislative and statewide levels SUCCESSFULLY. I want someone who has been regonized by their peers to lead them (Pate being elected President of the Iowa League of Cities for instance). I want someone who has been to Jewel (thats for G$). I want someone who is good on camera and can speak for us on Iowa Press. I want someone who can remeber Eastern Iowa. I want someone who has won in Eastern Iowa multiple times. I want someone who has won statewide office. I want someone who understands what its like to run for city office and have no infrastructural help from the party and still win... Then take that knowledge and make sure local candidates get partisan support in the future so that we have a bench of candidates like the dems do. I want a candidate who can rebuild the shattered base between the conservatives and the moderates and doesnt want to kick either out of the party. I want a candidate that knows Dave Chung can secretly speak French. I want a candidate that personally worked at the grassroots of our party for decades. I want the most well rounded and experienced candidate we can find.

    And we have found him in Paul Pate.

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  16. 11:16 is right all that is on the web if you dig. It is time to start making rational decisions rather then just going with the best show in town that is what has gotten our party in this condition.

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  17. Aha! This is why Strawn is running for chair. He's out of a job too.

    CHICAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The Arena Football League has canceled its 2009 season, but will resume play the following year, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and The New York Times reported on Monday.

    League officials could not be reached to comment, but have previously denied the indoor football league would cancel the 2009 season. The AFL, founded in 1987, has 16 teams after New Orleans folded in October.

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  18. Jeff Lamberti, Becky Beach, Grant Young, Matt Strawn.

    Have I missed any former folks who are affected by this? I guess they could all work for RPI for a while for paychecks and then, when the season starts up again in 2010, they can go back to being barnstormers.

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  19. 11:26,

    You anons are starting to piss me off. Support your candidate and tell us who/what you are for and not who/what you are against.

    That crap about the AFL is ABOUT THE AFL and NOT the AFL2. Get some testosterone and learn a thing or two about sports.

    Matt is a good guy and nobody deserves to be trashed on a blog (I feel his pain).

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  20. Yoda

    I agree with, but I am the one that posted

    "Did he not come out in support of the guy that got last in Iowa? Did he not take people with him when he left the McCain camp? Did he not run the day to day operations when it imploded?"

    I am not questioning if Matt is a nice guy. Only if he is the one to lead our party. I have no horse in the race I have not landed yet. I am leaning towards either Danny Carroll or Paul Pate.

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  21. Live stream the January SCC meeting allowing each candidate to present their vision for the state during the morning session.

    Break for lunch.

    Allow the folks that truly "suffer for the RPI cause" here in Iowa the chance to Email their SCC member with input.

    Reconvene after lunch and vote, allow this process to occur on camera as well. Full accountability.

    Ultimately, we already "cast our votes" when we elected our SCC members so if the pay to play fix is already in, then so be it and let the chips fall as they may.

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  22. Proven ability to win sounds like a positive. Proven ability to lose, do the same thing, and lose again - does not.

    WAR Winners!

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  23. I am torn between Danny Carroll and Pate and I am hearing alot about Carroll loosing an election and Pate not, but did Pate ever run in years like the last two cycles? I have to agree with others that Danny should not be disqualified for this, but Pate has not won an election in over 10 years has he? I am just trying make up my own mind.

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  24. Hey friends!

    Far from the truth 11:26. af2 will be playing this year, and years to come. Here's a good read that should clear it up: http://theiowabarnstormers.com/news.cfm?article=99

    But you all probably knew that.

    Thanks for all of your concern! If you have any other questions or if you haven't secured your season tickets (still some good seats available), give me a call or shoot me an email.

    Go Barnstomers!
    G.

    515-402-6715 cell
    grantyoung72@hotmail.com

    WAR Goggle Hats (the hottest stocking stuffer of the year) WAR Coach Gregory and the team he's putting together this season! ArenaCup here we come!

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  25. I haven't been around politics too long but I thought everyone knew what happened to the McCain campaign. They ran out of money and let go of more than half of their staff nationwide. Including most top consultants and the national campaign manager. McCain was one of the candidates I was thinking about supporting at the time and remember the implosion quite well. Nearly pulled all staff out of Iowa, and McCain was carrying his own bags on commercial planes. I don't know Matt Strawn but do remember the “McCain meltdown.”

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  26. Dear anon 11:55

    I think we all supported the one who came last in Iowa ...Or did you support the Messiah?

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  27. 12:09,

    Pate challenged a liberal republican Mayor of Cedar Rapids that endorsed Al Gore in 2000. Mayor Lee Clancey also kicked the veterans off the metro veterans council and even added a pro-gay rights provision into the city's civil rights charter. Pate beat her in 2001 and served till 2005 when the form of governemnt changed from a full time mayor to a council-manager form. The unions changed the form of government because they couldnt beat him. Clancey has since changed her registration to Democrat.

    So yes, 2001-2005 he served as a conservative Mayor in a democrat heavy city. The 2nd largest city in the state. In addition, he did such a good job that the Iowa League of Cities which represents over 950 municipalites across the state elected him their President in 2004.

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  28. I remember the melt down as well and also remember how Matt took others with him that did need to go. Also remember that McCain got last place in Iowa and in fact never caught on in Iowa. I am not here to trash Matt Strawn, but this needs to be addressed our party is at stake as well as our future election in 2010. We need someone that can bring us together and I just feel he has proven that is not him.

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  29. Yoda thank you for clearing that up. Now 12:19 when I stated that he supported the one that cam in last in Iowa I am talking about the primary obviously we all did not support him or he would of not cam in last.

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  30. Yoda I would brag about Iowa League of Cities they are very left leaning

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  31. I believe McCain came in the middle of the pack (3/4)and then won the national primary....

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  32. Came in last?

    Are talking about John Cox, Duncan Hunter or Mark Klein?

    I'm so confused.

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  33. Who did Pate support in the Prez primary?

    Who did Danny support?

    Who cares...

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  34. So Matt Strawn was with only 13% of Republicans in Iowa that does not sound like someone I want as chair.

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  35. 12:36 I want someone that knows what Iowa Republicans are and not Wisconsin or DC that is why I want either Pate or Carroll

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  36. But was with almost 50% of the country, Or 65% of the total US Republican primary vote.

    Lets Keep throwing numbers.

    I bet you can't support someone who can win the nomination Huh

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  37. 12:23, your response doesn't make sense. Weak argument, not impressed or convinced.

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  38. Yeah, so braging about how you beat John Cox, Mark Kline and Duncan Hunter is like braging about how you beat up a guy in a wheelchair.

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  39. 12:41 Good point and I like the analogy.

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  40. 12:40 we are not taking about the rest of the country we are talking about the Iowa Chair if you want to put Matt Strawn up for the National Chair that would be a great point.

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  41. The two people ahead of McCain in Iowa couldn't win the nomination, they either could not raise money or did not have the trust of the base.

    McCain won because his campaign learned from it's failings and adapted. We as a party need to do the same learn from our faults and mistakes and adapt and change.

    This party is to willing to eat it own, instead of cooperating and developing a plan to move forward. That includes Teck know how but also grassroots involvement and throwing out some of the worthless county chairs who either think they should be paid to serve their country and party or to those that are the chair of last resort!

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  42. Didn't BVP get last...twice, Pate got last, Didn't Danny lose...twice, McCain got last...except then Guiliani got worst than last, Lamberti lost... Chris Reed lost, Gopal got thrown out. This argument just about takes care of all contenders.

    But this is the best criteria we, cough, you can come up with... PATHETIC!

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  43. Just wanted to pass along a related news story:

    http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/12/gop.technology/index.html

    Technology may only be a "piece" of the puzzle, but it's an extremely important one for the future of the party. We cannot afford to elect a Chairman that doesn't get it.

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  44. Gopal should be chair! The first letters of his name is GOP!

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  45. Fred Thompson finished ahead of McCain as well. That is how McCain go t4th.

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  46. No, McCain won because the guy who came in 3rd took just enough out of the guy who came in first to pull off an upset in South Carolina. That gave him the momentum, Huckabee fell apart and Romney didn’t have the trust of the base to capitalize. McCain's primary victory was a fluke.

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  47. I have now seen the plans/visions of four of the candidates for the state party chairmanship.

    All of them have strengths and weaknesses, but of the four I have seen Ted Sporer's is the most detailed and the best at specifying exactly how to do what nearly all of you believe needs to be done.

    That's not an endorsement, it's just an observation. I don't know enough about the inner workings of your party and the personalities involved to adequately know whether or not Ted could actually lead it.

    But based on the plans I've seen, if he's not the chair selection, whoever it turns out to be would be wise to take a good look at Ted's plan. It's thorough, specific, and it's not an owner's manual like some of the others.

    It's a how to manual.

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  48. Thank you Steve for your advice on who to follow with regards to rebuilding our fractured party.

    I'll now go back to reading the book by O.J. Simpson titled, "How to rebuild the friendship between the Goldmans and the Simpsons".

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  49. Sporer?

    People haven't heard hide nor hair of the guy since November.

    Deace, you speak of this "plan"..yet I'll guarantee that NO ONE knows what this plan is..

    Sporer wasn't even at the last SCC meeting..nearly all the other chair candidates were.

    Maybe we could convince Gene Chizek to run for chair...

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  50. Steve, the problem with Sporer is that he is all talk and no action. Hell he had one of the biggest turnouts in the caucus and he would not get all these new people involved.
    Sporer is more of the same and that spells failure.

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  51. Krusty will you please place a block on all posts from Steve Deace?

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  52. If democrats like Deace say we should go for Sporer then we need to do the opposite

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  53. Our friend Yoda refers to the 1994 statewide election of his favored candidate for state chair, Paul Pate, as Secretary of State, and his 2001 election as Mayor of Cedar Rapids. But there’s a bit of selective memory going on here in all this talking about winning: the 1998 Iowa Republican Primary for Governor.
    Jim Ross Lightfoot, 112,294, 69.9%; David A. Oman, 35,088, 21.9%; Paul Pate, 13,195 8.2%
    I’m not making any judgments or tearing anybody down. I’m just providing an additional bit of information to assist Anon 12:09 p.m. with his or her thought process.

    Eric Woolson

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  54. Deace is a real Democrat huh? He had Kent Sorenson on his show and help him get elected, He had Chris Hagenow on his show and helped him get elected. He tore apart a lady democrat that was running for office, but because he did not want to vote for McCain he is a democrat. People are so shallow it is unbelievable tell me how many people on here are critical thinkers? And how go in there and cast a ballot like zombies? This amazes me.

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  55. The guy voted for Obama...enough said!

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  56. You might be the Zombie 3:00, he voted for Obama and essentially supported Culver. More babies will die because these two are in power.

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  57. And Fat Deace helped elect a majority on the Des Moines School Board.

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  58. Obama is the most pro-abortion politician in this country! He takes the pro-abortion stance to a new level.

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  59. Culver might be the most pro-abortion governor in this country. He is certainly the most pro-abortion governor in Iowa histoy.

    Sickening!

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  60. I thought I would do a google search of the candidates and came across this blog post. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

    http://www.iowaprogress.com/index.php?s=disbarred

    "Danny Carroll Scammed Old Lady Out of $50,000"

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  61. Please go to Iowa Progress to get all your news on republicans what an idiot!!

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  62. Thank you Eric. Pate lost to a VERY popular Jim Lightfoot in a gov primary just two years removed from JRL's narrow defeat to Tom Harkin. Iowa conservatives gave JRL a second chance and Pate came in 2nd amongst the conservative candidates. Oman as you recall yet selected not to mention it was endorsed by Joy Corning who dropped out and solidififed the moderates.

    AGAIN, Pate has never lost to a democrat and especially not to the same democrat twice for his own house seat. Not that I'm directly referring to anyone you are supporting. :)


    WAR Eric Woolson

    By the way, what the hell ever happened to Lightfoot anyway? I never saw him after his loss to Harkin till he flew back to Iowa to announce he was running for Governor, then took off again after he lost to Vilsack. I geuss we learned our lessen that Pate would have been the better choice then.

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  63. I want Yoda fighting the IDP for us in some capacity. I don't always agree with him, but he makes strong arguments for what he does. Lets turn him loose on the bad guys and not just on bloggers.

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  64. And yet long enough to beat Pate.

    Oman beat Pate and the excuss is he is liberal?

    Using your "Pate is better than Carroll because Danny has lost a couple times" reasoning doesn't seem to hold water anymore.

    Danny Carrol has never lost in a primary.

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  65. Has Carroll ever run against a Congressman in a primary?

    NEXT

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  66. NEXT NEXT NEXT I love every time someone can't come up withe good argument they just dismiss you and we wonder why our party is in dismay

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  67. The reason Pate came in a very distant third in a three way primary for Governor is because he has a problem with being truthful. Check out these allegations, for just a few problems he has had over the years:

    Pate Embellished His Educational Background in the Iowa Official Register. Pate claimed that he gradated from the Wharton School of Business when, in fact, he only attended a two-week program.

    Pate Attempted to Copyright State Slogans Before Leaving Office (Secretary of State). The Attorney General's office issued a ruling stating the state of Iowa, not Pate personally, had the legal rights to marketing slogans.

    Pate Said He Would Abolish the Secretary of State’s Office. Pate made a campaign promise to abolish the Secretary of State’s office or make major revisions to the position. He did neither one.

    There is more but lets start with that for an appetizer.

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  68. Does anyone find it odd that Yoda is the only one on here singing the praises of Pate? If he is such a wonder why hasn't any of his former constituents spoken up.

    Why isn't Pate on here talking for himself?

    E

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  69. Here we go again.... i check out the comments section and what I find is Deace Bashing.... some of you are so immature. perhaps this is what is wrong with the republican party- people who have so much time to throw stones instead of working to make things better.

    As to the topic of the "more than leading the party..."- I agree that it will take more than modern tech to impress me that someone is ready for party leadership.

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