Gop

Sometimes, the reaction to an election is more interesting than the election itself. And that's what is happening right now, because never in the history of Earth has an entire race of people gone from outcasts to celebrities with such alacrity. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were trying with all our heart and soul to keep the children of Latinos out of college? And yet today, the people being championed as Republican (Republican!) presidential nominees in 2016 have names like Cruz and Rubio.

Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus has won the election to be chairman of the Republican National Committee. He surpassed the 85 necessary votes in the seventh round of balloting on Friday. Former Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis and GOP operative Maria Cino came in second and third. Ann Wagner and current RNC Chairman Michael Steele dropped out in earlier rounds. Priebus will serve for the next two years.

Jane Tabb, a former Jefferson County Commissioner, held off political novice Reese Claybaugh in Tuesday's Republican primary with a comfortable margin of 1,401 votes over the 1,027 that Clabaugh got in his bid to win the nomination, according to unofficial returns. Tabb, who served on the commission from 2001-06, heads into a Nov. 6 rematch with incumbent Democratic Commissioner Frances Morgan. Morgan had no Democratic primary opponent. Morgan won her six-year term in 2006 by beating Tabb.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- After years honoring Abraham Lincoln at an annual dinner, Washington County Republicans have attached the name of a second GOP president to their event - Ronald Reagan. Fittingly, two men who worked together under Reagan spoke at Monday's dinner at Fountain Head Country Club near Hagerstown, one introducing the other. James H. Warner of Rohrersville, a prisoner of war in Vietnam for 5 1/2 years, was a domestic policy adviser to Reagan from 1985 until 1989.

While the majority of Americans look forward to and celebrate a change from what history someday may deem the worst U.S. presidential administration of all times, Republican Party leaders and political strategists head back to the drawing board in search of answers to and resolutions for yet another poor showing in the most recent election cycle. With Democrats in control of both congressional houses and the presidency, Republicans must consider a shift away from polarizing political commentary and find new and innovative ways to stimulate excitement and invite more Generation "X" Republicans to additional leading roles in the party.

The Washington County Republican Central Committee is warning people of a possible scam. Committee chairwoman Mildred "Mickey" Myers said people who aren't connected with the party are calling voters and asking for credit card information. She said several people have called the party's headquarters to report the problem. Myers said party officials never ask for that kind of personal information. Most donations are received in the form of check or cash. Most of the party's political solicitations are done by mail, she said.

Under the guidance of the relevant decider, President George W. Bush, the GOP is making a major strategic error in the veto of the S-CHIP bill. You never want to give the voters an issue that is easy to understand. How come we can spend $190 billion more on Iraq, but somehow we can't insure these children? The Republicans have spoken about the fact that the S-CHIP bill fails to focus the funds tightly on the poor and on children. Both of these criticisms are true. The bill would allow families above the poverty level to benefit from it, including, in some cases, adults.

Before Maryland Republicans can break the Democrats' 20-year stranglehold on statewide offices they must first strengthen the party, the state GOP chief said Monday. Since assuming the party chairmanship nine months ago, Richard D. Bennett has moved to improve the party's visibility and finances. Bennett, in Hagerstown Monday to drum up interest in a national GOP conference that the state is hosting this week, said the party would like to be able to offer financial support to its candidates for state senator and delegate.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- The Franklin County (Pa.) Young Republicans, Franklin County Republican Women and the Franklin County Republican Committee will hold a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) event Saturday starting at 10 a.m. in front of the Franklin County Courthouse. This event will be used to voice dissatisfaction with government, and everyone is encouraged to bring posters and signs. There will be contest to win $100 for the best sign, according to a news release. Call Steve Brenize, event coordinator, for additional information at 717-360-0565.

The Maryland Republican Party will hold its annual spring meeting in Hagerstown May 1 and 2 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center. "We expect 250 to 300 people to attend," said events coordinator April Rose. "Local elected officials will be attending. All of the elected party leadership from throughout the state of Maryland, including many business and community leaders will also be there. Congressman Bartlett will be attending and will be addressing the group at lunch. " The group meets twice a year for a spring convention and a fall convention.

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., delivered the Republican weekly address Saturday. Shuster represents the Ninth Congressional District, which includes Franklin and Fulton counties. “This week, many Americans had their flights delayed or canceled because of the way in which the Obama administration chose to implement the president's automatic sequestration cuts,” Shuster said, according to a transcript of the remarks. Shuster is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

West Virginia Republican Party state Chairman Conrad Lucas said Tuesday he is “completely confident” the GOP will hold Shelley Moore Capito's seat in Congress when she runs for the U.S. Senate in 2014. Since Capito announced her campaign to replace Jay Rockefeller, only former state Del. Larry V. Faircloth, R-Berkeley, has publicly announced a campaign to run for the 2nd District House seat. But Lucas said Tuesday that he expects more candidates to enter the race after the regular session of the state Legislature ends in April.

National Rifle Association President David Keene is slated to speak about gun rights during a Franklin County (Pa.) Republican Committee dinner scheduled for April 3. Committee Chairman Dwight Weidman on Wednesday announced Keene will be the keynote speaker during the organization's annual Lincoln Day Dinner. Held at Green Grove Gardens, the event also will feature candidates for local, county and state offices. “It's basically to get our base out and get them psyched up,” Weidman said of the event's purpose.

As bad as November was for Republicans nationally, for the Maryland GOP it was much worse. This isn't really news in a state that's liberal enough to be known as “the California of the East.” But even so, Maryland voters staked out new ground on the left, leaving little doubt that espousing extreme, conservative principles here is a wind-spitting proposition at best. Like it or not, and it surely does not, the state GOP needs to acknowledge that the people of Maryland don't mind immigrants all that much, are sympathetic to gay rights and really don't care if liberals redraw congressional districts to favor their own. Moving forward, the GOP can't pretend that the majority of Marylanders want to preserve Second Amendment rights in crystalline form, cling to the death penalty or abandon the difficult task of restoring historic fisheries to the Chesapeake Bay. The problem isn't - as is so often stated - that people simply don't understand the conservative message.

Change is coming to the Republican Party in Maryland. Alex X. Mooney, Maryland Republican Party chairman, announced that he will be resigning his position beginning March 1 to write a book about door-to-door campaigning and to spend more time with his family. And at the Maryland General Assembly, Del. LeRoy E. Myers, R-Allegany/Washington, said Wednesday that he had been approached by some Republican legislators to run for the position of minority leader representing the House of Delegates.

A couple of weeks ago, a visiting priest, the Rev. Daniel Webster, canon in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, gave an interesting sermon on “splintering.” One of his singular statements, concerning the universal Christian Church was: “Since the time of Christ, we have been very good at splintering - you know, dividing up into separate groups.” A short lesson in Christian theology: Jesus taught and Saint Paul reiterated the basic Christian principle...

In his acceptance speech for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination, Walter Mondale made a bold promise: He would raise Americans' taxes and cut the federal deficit. His justification: “These deficits hike interest rates, clobber exports, stunt investment, kill jobs, undermine growth, cheat our kids and shrink our future.” That year, the deficit was $185.4 billion  and the national debt was $1.57 trillion - quaint numbers compared to today's $1.1 trillion  and $16.2 trillion.

Sometimes, the reaction to an election is more interesting than the election itself. And that's what is happening right now, because never in the history of Earth has an entire race of people gone from outcasts to celebrities with such alacrity. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were trying with all our heart and soul to keep the children of Latinos out of college? And yet today, the people being championed as Republican (Republican!) presidential nominees in 2016 have names like Cruz and Rubio.

The Franklin County (Pa.) Republican Committee has canceled its scheduled Eisenhower Day dinner Monday night in Greencastle, officials said. The featured speaker was to have been former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. Others expected to speak at the event included U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., and Pennsylvania Attorney General candidate David Freed.

In every election cycle, there's the potential for a Scott Brown to carry the day, and Dan Bongino wants that role on Nov. 6 Brown, the Republican senator from Massachusetts, was the surprise winner of a special election in January 2010 to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Bongino, the GOP nominee for a U.S. Senate seat from Maryland, is hoping for the same outcome in his race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin. A former Secret Service agent, the 37-year-old Anne Arundel County resident won a 10-way race in the April primary with 34 percent of the vote.