By Matthew Hayward
In the complex arena of political strategy, even those who occupy the highest echelons of power can falter, demonstrating a profound disconnect between their strategic intentions and operational execution. The recent failure to secure the endorsement for their preferred candidate, Dave Reichert, is not merely a setback; it is a revealing exposé of the grave strategic missteps at the heart of the Republican party's establishment in Washington State.
These seasoned campaigners, these stewards of conservative strategy, have evidently underestimated the critical importance of grassroots engagement. While I acknowledge the logic behind promoting an established politician strategically positioned geographically and perceived as moderate in our swing state—a strategy driven by considerations of electability, which admittedly has its merits—the incessant focus on this argument and complete lack of any meaningful engagement and education has alienated the grassroots yet again. This alienation underscores a larger issue: the establishment's strategic insight, while sound in theory, has failed dramatically in practice.
They have not just overlooked but perhaps arrogantly dismissed the necessity of vigorous grassroots mobilization. Instead of working to motivate the base, to educate their supporters, or to turn out the more 'strategic' voters to secure Reichert's endorsement, they tried a powerplay and lost. They seem to think all that is needed is money, experience, and knowledge. But these political geniuses, these titans of strategic brilliance, were nowhere to be seen when the grassroots State Convention began with precinct caucuses.
Over 8,000 precincts from across the state elected delegates to represent them at all 39 county conventions. From there, nearly 2,000 delegates were elected to represent them at the Statewide Convention. This is more than the voice of merely 2,000 people. It was the accumulative representation of every active Republican donor and volunteer from over 8,000 precincts that led to the endorsement of Semi Bird; where were all Reichert's supporters?
The truth laid bare by the majority of active Republicans is stark and unambiguous. They have soundly rejected the establishment's choice, signaling not just a preference for another candidate but a broader disdain for the top-down approach that has long characterized our elite's tactics. This is not just about rejecting a candidate but about challenging the approach of our supposed leaders—relying on historical leverage and financial influence without grounding their strategies in active, robust party engagement.
This debacle should serve as a wake-up call, a moment for profound introspection within our ranks. It calls for a recalibration of how we align strategic objectives with grassroots realities. If the trust and enthusiasm of the Republican party's core supporters are to ever work for the strategic generals and monied interests, strategies must not only conceptually sound good but also need to be executed with a fervor that resonates with and mobilizes the base. Let this be the moment we begin to bridge the gap between strategic rationale and actionable engagement, ensuring that those who lead are as adept in rallying our base as they are in devising electoral strategies.
There is no hope of getting the grassroots energy and passion behind the poor sportsman establishment candidate who is now running without the support or endorsement of his party. Still, maybe going forward, those who write the checks will try and apply some additional brain cells and work to have a 'viable' candidate that the grassroots can get behind.
Great article, mainstream Republicans have voted for candidates that don't fix anything, they compromising our freedoms away, they smell liberal. The grassroots moving ahead for Simi Bird are sick and tired of this cycle. It's time to get up and do something about it.
ReplyDeleteYour piece captured it exactly. I feel as a Republican on the ground that we are not being heard by the leadership of our party, Excluding Jim Walsh, who has been terrific! I love his Friday talks he keeps us informed. The Convention chose who we wanted for our candidate for the governor of the state of Washington and DR refused to sign the pledge. For me, that was distasteful. If you are a Republican and you want to put a candidate forward and the vast majority choose one candidate that other candidates should fall in line and support the other candidate as much as possible so that we can win back the governor position. DR chose to be deaf again to the grassroots. What do we have to do to get him to listen to what we are saying? We are tired of the same old message they are putting out. So now he will be running in the primary against the candidate that 72% of us said we wanted to lead us. He appears to just not get it. I don’t understand why he doesn’t listen to the message. We are sending. I watched him recently at a Republican women’s luncheon in Silverdale Seabeck on YouTube and he did not listen to them, either. He told them that even if Washington Republicans chose Semi Bird, he would not endorse him. He further double downed and said that he would not vote for President Trump for President. So does that mean he thinks Biden is a good choice and he would vote for Biden? Is he paying attention at all? We need all hands on deck, and we all need to be swimming in the same direction and he is not.
DeleteBird was voted in Spokane by how many delegates and how many left in disgust before the vote even happened. What is going unsaid is that the delegates don't represent the voters or even close. Might as well say that Bird was endorsed by the activists.
ReplyDeleteWe have a political process and the future belongs to those who show up. The delegates represented all of the voters in WA State that consider themselves Republicans and decided to show up to vote at their prescient caucus.
DeleteIf people choose not to show up and vote, that is a clear sign of the lack of enthusiasm and involvement in the political process. People just want to sit and wait for their mail in ballot. To bad, if you want to have a voice, you have to show up and vote. Why should anyone care or respect the opinions of those who do not participate in the election process?
And what kind of a serious candidate fails to participate in the political process of his own party in order to secure the endorsement?
None of the delegates left before the vote to endorse a governor candidate. The total count was 1800, and delegates refused to take Reichert off the ballot because we wanted the vote to be fair and true.
Delete"...These seasoned campaigners, these stewards of conservative strategy..." Describing the rather libertine and socialist WA-GOP establishment as 'conservative' is a strange but all too common misuse of the term.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to 'educate', or as I would say 're-educate', voters to ignore all the direct betrayals by Reichert that were far worse than being 'moderate'. As with Kim Wyman and Reagan Dunn, Reichert made brazen hard-left choices without apology, while mocking Republicans for anger at him.
ReplyDelete