Kudos to Jefferson County Republican Chairman Mark Wynn for the following Letter to the Editor in today's Indianapolis Star:
Duped for Mourdock? Not so, Sen. Lugar
The days of Indiana county political party chairs wielding power in smoke-filled rooms are long past. The ability to influence county jobs and collect revenue from license branches is no longer part of the Indiana political scene, and for good reason. The job now largely consists of recruiting candidates and making sure they have the financial means and grassroots support they need to win.
That's why I am more than a little surprised at the attention we have been getting recently in the Indiana Republican U.S. Senate primary. It was reported recently that Sen. Richard Lugar is reaching out by telephone to county chairs. This follows an email sent by a Lugar staffer claiming that those county chairs supporting Richard Mourdock in his primary bid have been "duped."
Well, consider me duped. My decision to support Mourdock is not based on tea party politics or strict adherence to conservative dogma. My decision is based foremost on my definition of representation. I believe that our elected officials should be available, responsive and responsible to the citizens they represent.
The number of times Lugar has been to Jefferson County in the past decade can be counted on one hand with fingers to spare. This isn't about contact with party officials. I don't need a phone call or to be courted, I simply need to know that you know our county exists and that you hear the concerns of our residents.
I need to know that you have talked to our farmers, our factory workers, our small businesspeople. I need to know that you have some sense of the struggles and the challenges they face. They need to know that you are responsive; they need to know that they can expect more than a form letter to their questions and a fundraising letter every six years.
Mourdock has been to Jefferson County multiple times in the past 12 months. I've talked with several of my fellow GOP chairs (not exactly at the heart of the tea party) who express the same frustration with Lugar and the same appreciation of Mourdock.
I question the ability of an elected official to represent the people of his state when he keeps them at arm's length. The arrogance of the "duped" email is indicative of the sense of entitlement that the senator and his campaign appear to be suffering from. The Indiana Senate seat is no more Richard Lugar's seat than the Massachusetts Senate seat was Ted Kennedy's seat.
Where so called "establishment" Republicans have been defeated, the media are quick to give credit to "extreme" wings of the GOP, or the tea party. I think it is much more likely that voters in those states suffered from the same feelings of disconnect that so many in Indiana are expressing.
Mark Wynn
Well done, Mark, albeit The War Eagle is very OK with "tea party politics" and "strict adherence to conservative dogma" as it's been a very long time since either have really been tried!
The only ones being duped here are Hoosiers that love liberty.Lugar has been duping us and all the American People with his support of the progressive agenda during his time in the Senate. It must cease!
ReplyDeleteYou have reason to be concerned. Thank God for leaders like you Mark. Jamey Noel, the GOP chair, in Clark County, attended the announcement event in Jeffersonville for Richard Mourdock. I hope he read your article Mark, and comes out with the fervor you have, in support of Richard Mourdock. Everything I see about Lugar disgusts me. His co-authored Start Up Visa Act 2011 (with John Kerry)does nothing to promote American ingenuity and help us create jobs. His efforts only promote immigrants, their ideas, talent and jobs not ours. His DREAM act was a blow to all the Hoosier children that dream of going to college themselves.
I feel less secure against attack from rogue nations, thanks to his NEW START efforts. Will the citizens finally do the right thing and vote him home. We must work together.