A tip of the Crown to Matt at NaugBlog for this info --The dissent over Ohio GOP Deputy Chairman, and potential Chairman, Kevin DeRINO, turning the Ohio GOP into a bunch of kool-aid drinking, tofu eating conservatives is continuing to grow.
Billy Valentine, President of the Jefferson County Young Republicans, has released the following...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
November 18, 2007
Contact: Billy Valentine
703-298-1524, billyvalentine@gmail.com
Incoming Ohio GOP Chairman DeWine Part of Problem, Not Solution
Republican Party Leaders in Jefferson County Speak Out Against DeWine’s Comments
STEUBENVILLE, OH — Comments made by incoming Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine have outraged Republican Party leaders in Jefferson County, Ohio. At a press conference, DeWine claimed the Republican Party has lost its way because of issues like abortion and marriage and wants to abandon any focus on the issues.“What DeWine doesn’t understand is many GOP activists and voters across the state, especially here in Jefferson County, are Republicans because they are pro-life, not the other way around,” said Mary Novick, president of the Franciscan University of Steubenville College Republicans. “If the Ohio Republican Party abandons us and refuses to voice our values, we will abandon the party.”During the 2008 election cycle, Franciscan University College Republicans made over 42,000 voter contacts. Because of their efforts, John McCain came just shy of winning heavily Democratic Jefferson County by just 50 votes. In 2006, Franciscan University deployed the third-most students for GOTV efforts in the entire nation, and hosted a values voters forum featuring Ken Blackwell and Sen. Mike DeWine. In 2004, Franciscan students staged the biggest protest of John Kerry’s entire campaign, sparking national news coverage.“We don’t make tens of thousands of phone calls and knock on thousands of doors cycle after cycle for the Ohio Republican Party because of issues like taxes,” said Novick. “Sure we agree with the party on the issue, but its not what motivates us to work so hard.”Billy Valentine, president of the Jefferson County Young Republicans, said that DeWine is part of the problem, not the solution. Valentine is the former chairman of the Franciscan University College Republicans for the 2006 election cycle.“Voters have abandoned the Republican Party not because of its message, but because of its corrupt messengers, said Valentine. “DeWine himself is part of the problem, as he voted for former Gov. Taft’s massive tax increase which is a big part of the reason why the Ohio Republican brand is in shambles in the first place. Our party needs new messengers, not a new message. DeWine is part of the problem, not the solution. It is especially obvious because since coming under fire for his comments, DeWine has not tried to make amends, and instead has defiantly denied any wrongdoing, a typical characteristic of failed leadership. He only apologizes for the backlash that has resulted from his comments, not the comments themselves.”The Franciscan University College Republicans and the Jefferson County Young Republicans are calling on DeWine to retract his comments and to pledge to make sure that social issues remain an integral part of the Ohio Republican Party message.“DeWine needs to stop defying those who he is supposed to lead, needs to make amends, and needs to reunite the party in a time we so desperately need it. If he is incapable of doing this he shouldn’t be anointed as the party’s leader,” said Valentine.The Franciscan University College Republicans are affiliated with the Ohio College Republican Federation. The Jefferson County Young Republicans are not affiliated with the statewide party or any other group.
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I came to know Billy through blogging and the State of Ohio Bloggers Alliance. Billy Valentine will be a future leader in our party. His leadership qualities and his strong belief in our conservative cause is the type of leadership we need to grow in our party.
DeRINO, thats pretty good King.
ReplyDeleteHow are the invisible Cuyohoga Young RINOcans doing?
Let's hope the other YR groups stand together with the Jefferson YR's.
With all due respect, how do you plan to grow the party when you call everyone who disagrees with you a RINO?
ReplyDeletesounds to me like King just calls 'em like he sees 'em.
ReplyDeleteIf the party leaders abandon our values - are we to sit by quietly?
Do we want to grow a party consisting of people that do not share our same values?
We can only hope more people begin voicing opinions it is long over due.
Mr. Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your interest in the Cuyahoga County Young Republicans' activities. We just finished up an exhausting and tough campaign year, where a number of us, including myself worked a lot of hours for McCain, Trakas, Sutherland, the state candidates and local candidates. We dropped lit, made phone calls, called in to radio programs, wrote letters and held a number of social events to get people involved. We even raffled off a Nintendo Wii to one of our members (each member that donated an hour received a chance to win). I am sorry if our work appeared invisible to you, but there are only so many of us to go around. I invite you or anyone you know between the ages of 18 and 40 to join us and work with us. For the last months of the campaign I sent numerous e-mails and posted volunteer opportunities on www.clevelandyoungrepublicans.com (Thanks for promoting us on your site King!).
I don't unilaterally come out and make statements on behalf of the YRs. If you would be interested in proposing a measure in regards to Mr. DeWine, I am all ears gcyrs@yahoo.com. I will gladly allow you time to present your case before our membership. Please expect to present a logical and convincing argument as our membership is very bright and will expect any position we take to be well reasoned and impactful. Be advised that I would also extend this invitation to those is support of Mr. DeWine and to Mr. DeWine himself to discuss his recent comments and present his side.
Best, Joe
My apologies to Mr. Anonymous if in fact you are a Ms. Anonymous. I should have said Mr., Ms. or Mrs. Anonymous, to be politically correct, ;)
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteAnon #1 –
Thanks. Every now and then I say something witty.
I see Joe A from the GCYR introduced himself. The button in the right side bar will bring you to GCYR site. I would have to agree that this year, surprisingly, the YR’s were more of a presence during this past election than in previous years. Huh, look at that - I guess besides it being over - we stumbled upon something else that was somewhat of a positive fact about the election.
JOE! JOE! JOE! Politically correct on here? How dare you! While I have to compliment the work the YR’s did this year – being politically correct is the easiest way to get made fun of on KRS.
Furthermore, if you REALLY wanted to be politically korrect, so as not to piss off the korrectnik’s of the world your disclaimer would have to contain … are a Mr., Mrs., MS. and a MR/MS for the he-she's.
Anon #2 --
Thanks for commenting. I agree, there has been quite a bit of RINO bashing lately. And yes, for Anon #3 – I do call things like I see them. But I do not feel that everybody is a RINO. I also understand, unlike some, that people are individuals and will look at things from different perspectives based on upbringing, life experiences, social status, etc….
The one thing I feel very strong about is standing for what you believe - regardless if we agree. I also believe people should be true to their beliefs. SO – if we have people and/or leaders constantly working against the core beliefs of what the Republican Party & a set of conservative values stand for – would that not make them a Republican In Name Only?
If not a RINO – then what? What do you call someone that smiles and asks RPCC members to volunteer and support our candidates, then turns around and donates to democrats working against our volunteers tireless efforts?
Deputy Chairman DeRINO statements indicate that he wants to do just that. So would this not make him a RINO? Many officers and members of the RPCC donate to democrats and endorse democrats over Republicans – what does that make them?
If a person says they’re a Republican and gets involved in party politics – but then turns around and does things that undermines the cause or the success of our candidates – that would make the person a RINO. If a person wants to play both sides – that’s fine – just don’t play in party politics.
The only way to grow and rebuild the broken tusks of the elephant clan is to grow on our beliefs – they are what made us strong to begin with and will make us strong again. Our future leaders cannot be expected to advance our party and our values – if they themselves do not believe them in their heart. If a leader or a potential leader will, or can, abandon our core beliefs and values so easily – they too can easily abandon us.
Believe it or not, I also believe a leader should be able to compromise. To be effective – this is needed. You just need to know that there are certain things that cannot be compromised. The trust of the membership and volunteers being the first and most important.