Darkness cannot Drive out Darkness
Unethical behavior cannot drive out unethical behavior.
WE ARE THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
IF YOU ARE NOT ACTIVELY PROMOTING THE OHIO PROMISE KEEPERS PLEDGE OR ANOTHER PLEDGE TO REFORM THE PARTY - YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
Over the last few days, I must say that I have been shaken to my core. I am in shock at my fellow Conservative Republicans and their eagerness to replace one set of tyrants calling themselves Republicans with another set of tyrants calling themselves Conservatives.
IT IS TIME FOR A NEW DAY - IT IS TIME TO STOP APPROVING BAD BEHAVIOR. EVEN IF IT COMES FROM WITHIN.
“We need to act now and worry about just exactly what our people will do when elected to office later - we just need to get good conservatives in power” is the line that SOME CLAIMING TO BE CONSERVATIVES are selling.
Not only should this be a resounding “no” but it should be a “HELL NO!” from every Ohio Republican. These are people that have not remembered their history and they are intent on repeating it.
In 2010, Tea Party Patriots showed up in Washington DC by the million in the largest displays of dissatisfaction with our government ever recorded. We were able to elect a historic number of Republicans to Congress that year in hopes we would get a more conservative government. We all know what happened….we sent conservatives to the capitol building and they did not do what we wanted them to do. They did not implement a conservative agenda. While we had a few bright spots, a majority of supposed conservatives that we sunk our hopes and trust into showed their true colors. While they may have agreed with us on some conservative policies - they were not conservatives. These candidates and their supporters thought they were conservative - they knew their Constitution - they said all the right things - they even believed in what they were saying. When they got to Washington DC …. they started rationalizing that what was good for the goose was good for the gander. They rationalized that they would use the tactics of the opposition against the opposition - and in doing so they became the opposition - and nothing changed.
Unethical behavior, even when utilized by conservatives is cheating and manipulating the masses with a hidden agenda. This is not “STRATEGY” this is unethical and clandestine cheating. It is subterfuge of the highest order. The Promise Keepers are not in this to put “another set of tyrants in power.” We are in this to fix the system!
Tea Party Conservatives that want to gain power so that they can endorse their candidates for State Central Committee in the primary - are part of the problem.
They are not true conservatives and they do not want to fix the system and have an honest fight - they want to game the system exactly like their enemies and put their thumb on the scales - only for their people. As conservatives, need to all agree to change the game rather than playing the game the way it was laid out for us - or things will never change.
WHY A PLEDGE?
If you are a Republican and you remember your history of the 1990s you are certain to remember a few significant political events.
“READ MY LIPS - NO NEW TAXES” ~George H.W. Bush (one term Republican President.) The Vice-President of one of the most popular presidents in modern history (Ronald Reagan) pledged that he would not raise taxes…..until he did. He lost the trust and respect of the American people when he broke his promise. Now, many people say it was Ross Perot that caused him to lose the election - yet if President Bush would have kept his promise and not have been an America Last globalist - Ross Perot would have never jumped into the race.
The lesson here is that pledges have consequences - when you don’t do what you say you will do - you don’t get re-elected. This is the reason why so many campaign consultants do not want their candidates to make campaign promises and to be as vague and opaque as possible as to the specifics of what they will do when elected. Republican candidates being advised by new-age political consultants will always say:
I believe in Constitutional Carry and the right to defend ones self.
I believe in America, and Freedom, and an honest Justice system
I believe in lower taxes and less regulations
I believe in the Right to Life
and I believe that our schools should not be liberal centers of indoctrination etc..etc…etc...
These candidates will tell you what they believe without ever putting in writing down what specifically they intend to accomplish. WE NEED TO STOP FALLING FOR THE B.S. AND WE NEED TO EDUCATE OUR FELLOW CITIZENS WHY WE NEED A WRITTEN CONTRACT WITH OUR CANDIDATES. It is not enough for them to just know the Constitution and say they are a Conservative - they need to tell us what specifically they are going to do and put it in writing.
During the 1990s Republicans took back the House of Representatives with the “Contract with America” as laid out by then Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. This was a pledge of many reforms including a reduction of spending and keeping government as small as possible and not giving in to President Clinton liberal spending wants and desires. As a result of the “Contract with America” the government had balanced the budget - even a surplus for a short time - that President Clinton and Hilary took credit for. Newt and the other officeholders that took the pledge knew if they did not do what they said they were going to do - that they would not get re-elected. It was a risk but they saw the rewards of what happened with Reagan.
In fact, every-time that a Republican candidate takes a pledge and diligently tries to implement what they say - they become wildly popular.
In January 1981, the Heritage Foundation (then a fledgling D.C. think tank) published the Mandate for Leadership (A pledge that they challenged legislators and candidate Reagan to sign), a comprehensive pledge aimed at reducing the size of the federal government, providing public policy guidance to the incoming Reagan administration, and to Congress, including more than 2,000 specific suggestions to move the federal government in a conservative direction. The report was well received by the White House, and several of its authors went on to take positions in the Reagan administration. Reagan liked the ideas so much that he gave a copy to each member of his cabinet to review. Approximately 60% of the 2,000 proposals were implemented or initiated by the end of Reagan's first year in office. Ronald Reagan later said that the Heritage Foundation was a "vital force" in the successes during his presidency.
George H.W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney steadfastly refused to make any campaign promises… not surprisingly, they were not very popular with Republicans. Donald Trump had the “Promise to America” that was part of his America First Platform. This was a pledge of specific things that he would do if elected. If cheating had not occurred in 6 states President Trump - despite his propensity to tick off the left - Trump would have been re-elected with his Promises Made, Promises Kept and the unfinished business he had to complete.
Today, president Trump is still wildly popular with Republicans while president George H.W. Bush never garnered that same type of popularity after his one term in office.
Pledges are important in getting things accomplished when a party or candidate refuses to make promises. The Party makes promises by adopting a platform. This gives focus to legislators so that we have our Republicans working together on common goals and with specificity - instead of pursuing their own pet projects.
There was no conservative group or organization coming forward with a “Promise to Ohio” or contract with “Ohioans” - this is the reason that “Ohio Promise Keepers” was formed and the reason why a pledge is so important. The Ohio Republican Party has no goals and objectives beyond its own self interests. Not adopting a platform allows the rinovestites to flourish. We can reform the Republican Party and move the party forward only if we demand promises in writing.
When we walk in the light, we cannot walk in darkness.
Many of our conservative leaders cannot see the forest through the trees to see the solution that will fix our problems. If we look at Ohio as being a poor running car - we have two sets of mechanics - each one wants to replace parts on the engine of their car from their favorite car parts manufacturers (Republican Inc or Conservative Republican Inc are the choices). Neither part from either manufacturer will fix the car if it is not running on the proper fuel and that is what many so-called Christian Conservatives do not realize when they want to get in to power and do the same thing the establishment was doing.
We don’t need tweaks to the car engine to get us running right - we need new fuel. New people with new perspectives…..with a new commitment to honesty and integrity.
It is not enough just to elect someone that opposes DeWine and the establishment. That is not a very high-bar to meet for the reformation of the party and it most likely will never substantively reform the party. If you say you are a conservative - then put it down in writing what you want to specifically see in reforms to the party.
Ohio has conservative and tea party leaders that will not take the Ohio Promise Keepers pledge because they have said privately that they want the ability to be a tyrant (not in those words of course). If in power - they want to use party resources to endorse conservatives running for State Central Committee before the primary and do to Bob Paduchik and company what they have been doing to the Conservative movement. Two wrongs do not make a right and if we take over the party we cannot accept this type of unethical thinking. We cannot use the excuse to walk in the darkness that we must do what we must do to maintain power - we must change the game instead of playing the game. Conservatives members have said to me on why they won’t take the pledge - “If we don’t have the ability to endorse in the primary for State Central Committee members - even if we win power, it will be short-lived - because special interests will just buy the subsequent incoming members.” This is why we need to change the game and limit the ability for Special Interests to gain control of the party - hence the reason for the State Convention.
YOU CANNOT BUILD PASSION FOR A PARTY BUILT UPON UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR.
THE EXCUSES
The talk is that we have many so-called “Conservatives” that refuse to take the “Ohio Promise Keepers Pledge” but, yet they still say we must all support each other to unite and win.
It is true - we must unite to win - because when we work as a team - we all achieve more, but we must unite around a common goal. Disparate goals water down the effort and fail to gain the cohesion necessary to win.
The Ohio Promise Keepers will not unite with other groups that steadfastly refuse to make their true agenda known with a pledge for the candidates they support.
Without securing promises - they/we have no way to hold their candidates accountable. There is no focus and no urgency for their candidates to accomplish anything if promises are not secured.
Candidates for the Republican State Central Committee that do not want to take the pledge - normally say that they agree with everything in the Promise-to-Ohio Pledge but will not take the pledge because they do not want to be told what to do. This means that they want to keep their options open to walk in the darkness and cut deals with the devil or they are worried about the perception of taking a pledge to do the right thing. Why are they worried about currying favor with the establishment? Why do they care if the establishment has a poor opinion of them? Is it that they want to be liked?
We need more leaders not fence sitters. Ones with the courage to take risks.
The only person that has demonized the Ohio Promise Keepers and the Committee for a Better Ohio is RINOVESTITE Bob Paduchik.
“I am not taking the pledge because I want to preserve my independence and want to allay the appearance that I am controlled by the Ohio Promise Keepers”
This excuse for not signing is just disingenuous. This means that if ever someone else had a good idea that they could never support it because it would mean that they fear the perception that working with others and uniting around a just cause would mean that their integrity was somehow compromised.
Lastly, the reasoning is that they are unwilling to take the pledge because they do not understand some of the caveats of the pledge. This is the most disingenuous of all the reasons to not sign. Ohio Promise Keepers has went to painstakingly long lengths to help educate candidates to take the pledge by offering zoom calls and study materials.
The Ohio Promise Keepers pledge is a pledge just like the very popular Term Limits Pledge - it is just longer and has greater detail. Many of these candidates that have signed on to that pledge do not worry about being told what to do or the association with that organization. If you are worried about the perception of what the establishment thinks about you - then you most likely are not a reformer that has any worth.
UNITING TOGETHER
The excuses of not working together and not taking the pledge are just B.S. in my opinion. There is nothing controversial in the pledge and it is largely the way that the Ohio Republican Party was run prior to 1980 when we had Republican State Conventions and the special interests were kept in check.
With that being said the Ohio Promise Keepers is challenging these other supposedly conservative candidates to create their own pledge - if it does not conflict with the Ohio Promise Keepers pledge, we will advertise their pledge and those candidates that have taken their pledge. If their pledge does not conflict with our pledge we will even encourage our Promise Keepers to review their pledge and ask them to consider it for possible signing.
It is awful hard to work together when there are others working against you in the conservative movement and telling potential candidate to not sign the pledge or even asking candidates to remove their names from the pledge. There are many misguided conservatives that do not see the value in working together. The phrase “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” is lost on their sensibilities.
It is time to put egos aside and do what is right for our state. If you won’t take the Ohio Promise Keeper Pledge -which is a damn good pledge to reform the Ohio Republican Party - then submit your own pledge and let’s work together to change Ohio! Please call your State Central Committee and pressure them to take the pledge. If they are not going to take the pledge - ask them why? See if they can give you a good reason to not sign the pledge. For a very few - there is a legitimate reason to not sign the pledge - but the majority should sign our pledge or at the very least create their own pledge!