Vancouver resident Julia Dawn Seaver offers advice to Republicans regarding the Washington governor’s race
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com.
Republicans have picked a lousy time to implode. With Democrat policies pushing the family budget to the breaking point, crime running rampant, and the border in chaos setting up conditions ripe for a Republican takeover, Republicans are having an identity crisis, running purity tests, and refusing to let all but true believers sit at their lunch table.
Nearly all Republicans revere Ronald Reagan whose common-sense policies of small government, tax cuts, deregulation, and a strong defense, breathed life into American households, the economy, our standing in the world, and pride in the country.
But a small far-right contingent is wreaking havoc in the party with ideas that bear little resemblance to Reagan’s. They’ve adopted an “any means necessary” mindset and talk of using the government to go after businesses, “oligarchs,” and the rich. Anyone who doesn’t walk in lockstep with them is censored, banned, and labeled “RINO,” “establishment,” or part of the “uniparty.” They violate Reagan’s 11th commandment of “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican,” on the daily.
This split is most evident in the governor’s race between Dave Reichert and Semi Bird. It’s only intensified since the party’s April convention where delegates decided to ignore Reichert’s overwhelming lead in the polls and fundraising, and suspended the rules in order to endorse Bird, whom the vetting committee had deemed ineligible due to a failed background check.
The thinking was to unite around one Republican to avoid splitting the vote. The thinking didn’t account for the fact Republicans, by and large, don’t like to have their thinking done for them.
Reichert is clearly poised to win the primary, but some Bird supporters insist they won’t vote for him in November. Here are some hard truths:
- Washington is neither purple nor a swing state. It is deep blue and Republican voters are outnumbered. Badly. It will take moderate and Independent votes to get a Republican elected. It’s been 40 years since we had a Republican governor–the longest streak for any state.
- A far-right candidate is unelectable in a statewide race. This was demonstrated in the last election with a candidate that at least had money and much less baggage.
- The state endorsement is meaningless. The notion that 1,300 activist delegates can force millions of Republicans to give up reasoning is ludicrous.
- Claiming there is no difference between Reichert, who as a congressman voted in line with Trump 92.5% of the time, and Democrat Bob Ferguson, who wants to criminalize conservative speech, is unserious and demonstrably false.
It’s hard to believe this needs to be detailed in a party that used to favor logic, facts, and reason, but here we are. Bird supporters: If you want to vote for Bird in the primary, go ahead. Just recognize that Reichert would be far superior to Ferguson and vote for him in November. In the meantime, cool it on the trash talking. In the words of Speaker Johnson while trying to tamp down Republican fighting in Congress, “Knock it off.”
Julia Dawn Seaver
Vancouver
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This seems like a 180 from a letter you posted here just 2 years ago – https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-republicans-are-having-an-identity-crisis/
Nope. They’re still here pushing their big government solutions as stated.
In case Ms. Seaver missed it, the three CCRP endorsed Battle Ground City Council members united to kill the “Pride” proclamation at tonight’s council meeting.
That’s not imploding, it is winning.
#CCRPunited
#winning
I did not miss it. And it doesn’t negate what I wrote.
Apples to Oranges.
That three republican Council Members agree on a policy decision and vote according at a City Council meeting has nothing to do with intraparty disputes on Party operations and/or conduct of non-elected Party members.
Well stated. Thank you.
Your talking points are very deceiving, for example, you know that many of those polls were done from Liberal polls or polls paid to show what the payer wanted. Really, Julia, the real polls, the straw polls, showed overwhelming support for Semi Bird. You want to sully his name here with a failed background check, according to who. It was 31 years ago and it was a misdemeanor and frankly lady, people are not going to care about something that petty. This is part and parcel of the dribble that comes from the Reichert campaign, whose supporters have been playing dirty pool politics, which you are fully aware, yet publicly come out and wail away as to those “extremist” causing all of the problems. I beg your pardon. These Republicans are actually following the Platform which IS America First, which, in fact, is not at all extreme. Our platform defines us as to who we are as Republicans. We have as a whole, been consistently sabotaged by your moderate friends who put out their candidates to vie against good Republican candidates, screwing them of winning consistently. The major organization of the Moderates are the Mainstreamers who actually attach Republican to their name despite having little to nothing to do with them. In fact, what this race has shown is that they are desperate to keep in power as elitist prigs. Well, I have news, Dawn. We’ve had enough of the arrogance and elitism. We have had enough of the Mainstream con: it’s a big umbrella. No, it isn’t. And, clearly it is time for a divorce and frankly, a restraining order so that the Republican Party can succeed.
It’s what rinos do.
I’d be interested in hearing your plans for reaching the needed moderate voters.
Moderate Voters are just another name for RINOS as well…
If anybody bothers to read the Bible, they will find that The God of The Bible has some really unpleasant things to say about moderates. Moderates need to coagulate their fecal matter and do an agonizing reappraisal of their positions and make a decision to stop being mugwumps.
Elisabeth Brockman and the “we’ll destroy you RINOS” mob illustrates why this next election will likely lose Republicans the few seats that will put them in a super minority. If these uber activists knew what that meant, they would understand why Ms. Seaver is heralding her warning.
In this article Seaver represents a ‘Small Far-right Contingent’.
Well that would be about 80% of the precinct committee officers in Clark County that have become involved in the Republican party to help turn the party into something useful, instead as a vehicle for establishment purposes.
That would be about 100 people who regularly come to the meetings.
Well said, Dawn – I totally agree, as I have made clear. We should not be turning our backs on a large segment of the Republican Party who prefer a Dave Reichert candidacy to a Semi Bird candidacy. it is nothing short of totalitarian to denigrate those who happen to prefer a different candidate. I applaud Chair Jim Walsh for attending and speaking to last weekend’s Main Stream Republicans conference. It is by gathering up those votes (50,000? 100,000?) that we give ourselves the best chance of winning and holding a seat. At last weekend’s PCO meeting, I heard boo’s from some when John Jay for County Council was mentioned, as if founding and building a Young Republicans club were something heinous! Political success does not lie in applying a purity standard established by a small group of Republicans (small in comparison to Rs in the state), but in casting a wide net that will add up to a 50 percent plus 1, thus defeating the Democrats.
The ONLY part of this “letter” that makes sense was this talking point:
The reality is this: there are not quite eight (8) million legal residents in Washington State, and of that not quite eight (8) million, just over four and a quarter (4.25) million of those legal residents live in the Seattle Metro Area. Throw in the deep blue outpost of Spokane, and YES, republicans ARE quite outnumbered in Washington State. However, if “swing voters”, “moderate voters”, and, “independent voters” are blind to the handwriting on the wall, the ruin will be on them, and NOT republican voters. Trying to explain this simple concept to locals is much like talking to a wall or getting the deer-in-the-headlights look.
The situation in Washington State is similar, but not quite as bad as in Oregon: if all of the Oregon Counties that voted to join Greater Idaho actually did, Oregon would lose approximately 65% of it’s land area, BUT, Oregon would only LOSE 6% of it’s population. Those of us that aren’t going to “go with the flow” into Stalinism are up against numbers and demographics.
Of course, the other problem republicans have in Washington State, and particularly in Clark County is a collection of well-funded sandbaggers that deliberately set out to draw votes from a republican candidate that has the potential to win by appealing to voters such as Ms. Seaver so that the carpetbagger from Portland gets the win. Apparently the concept of WIN/WINNING does not register with Ms. Seaver and her ilk. Having a dodgy vote counter doesn’t help either
You say that a loss to Ferguson ought to be blamed on the independents and the moderates and the swing voters; not the republicans. I believe that positions fails to fully realize the mission of the GOP. The Party has a set of values enumerated, but not exhaustively so, in the party platform, which they seek to have represented in the political arena through the election of candidates who hold and support those same values. If the majority of the voters favor those same republican values then it would be expected that republican candidates who are perfectly aligned with those values should win handily every time, provided of course, that they are otherwise qualified for the office they seek.
But that is not the case at this time in this state. The reality, as you have noted, is quite the opposite of that. Therefore, if the GOP continues to allow only people into the party who perfectly align with the GOP set of values; and continues to block anybody who is not perfectly aligned with the GOP set of values, then the result is easily predictable. Republicans lose. Again and again. And–NONE–of the values the republicans wish to be represented in government will be realized.
This is where the moderate republicans become of value. Among the independent voters there is a block of swing-voters who do not perfectly align with either party but might lean toward the republican candidates who are not so stridently “republican” and who do not turn their noses up at anyone who is not so stridently republican (conservative if you prefer). Some parts of the state hold large pools of such swing voters and it is among them that the moderate republicans find their niche in the system. By the Party accepting them and helping them to get elected the Party will come nearer to fulfilling its mission and get some, if not most, of the Party values represent in government.
Some of the pie is better than none of the pie.
Hi Steve,
Actually, the situation is far more complicated that what you have outlined. But, the basic reality is that many, many people in the State are totally unclear on the concept of the word WIN. They have no idea of how the House of Representatives operates, nor, for that matter do they have any idea what-so-ever how the democrats operate to maintain a solid block that thinks, and acts (much as the Borg) in accordance with the democrat platform and policy.
You stated above about republicans “blocking” those that aren’t “perfectly aligned with the GOP set of values”. Well, here’s a reality check for you on the democrats: NOBODY gets to be the democrat candidate unless they are FULLY in on the democrat program (look what happened to Bernie when he didn’t follow “policy”), AND the democrats have “something” on them so the candidate will be fully controlled by the DNC. That’s reality, and THAT’s how the democrats operate, and have done so since Boss Tweed set the “standards” in NYC.
By following what you outlined, the “republicans” end up with a bunch of squabbling crybabies resulting in spineless jellyfish such as Kevin McCarthy and Mike Johnson selling out, oh, sorry, “reaching across the aisle” to the democrats. The exact same thing is happening here, now, in Clark County. Prior to the CCRP palace coup a year or so back, the CCRP was run by a collection of rinos that might as well have been democrat operatives/infiltrators considering just how disorganized and ineffective they were. They did manage to do the one thing democrats wished for: make the CCRP totally useless and ineffective against democrats (see the last election and how that turned out for “republicans”). After the palace coup, these rinos were tossed into the deserved trash can and people that understand the concept of WIN have taken over. Unfortunately, a number of the “moderates” are having hissy-fits and temper tantrums because they aren’t getting THEIR way and are doing the job of the democrats by deliberately “splitting the vote” and undermining the CCRP (see the Camas “candidate”). It appears that these “moderates” are better suited to the democrat party and should probably just be honest and join the democrat party.
Well, it seems that I wrote about 300 words to reach my conclusion that in politics having a piece of the pie is better than having none of the pie. Now you have used about the same volume of words to reach the conclusion that in politics if you cannot have the whole pie you would rather have none at all.
Fair enough. I’ll call that a draw.
Hi Steve,
It all depends on WHAT the “pie” is made of…… ;-))))))))
You’re right about that, Nike. Little Jack Horner was pretty proud of his plum but not so sure the king liked the four and twenty blackbirds. We do need to know what we’re getting.
Have a good weekend.
Recent actions by the Washington State Attorney General (Democrat), who is also running for the office of Governor this year.
State AG ends campaign against pro-life centers after being told it was illegal”
Officials with ADF explain that AG Bob Ferguson had been demanding privileged records and international documents from Obria Group and Obria Medical Clinics.
He had singled them out for targeting because he disagreed with their “life-affirming views,” the organization explained.
Great reminder of what Ferguson on his governor’s throne would impose on those who don’t align with his values. Great insight into what Constitutional changes he would demand from his super majority legislature.
Meanwhile, the Clark Republican power class efforts are spent strategizing on how to hunt and censure a handful of those dangerous independent thinking officers in the party.
It’s refreshing to have a Chair with his priorities straight finally at the helm of the mighty warship, CCRPunity.
As a lifelong left wing liberal member of the Democratic Party, I must say I thoroughly enjoy reading this sort of inter-republican party cannibalism. Keep it up guys—you’re doing great.
It would be nice IF Ms. Seaver and the Camas sandbagger would read this and understand what you are saying. Thanks. 😉
Yes, but that GOP infighting has hurt the Democrats in unexpected ways as well. For instance, it has kept them so busy they never got around to impeaching Biden so now the Democrats are stuck with him at the top of their presidential ticket and don’t know what to do about it.
Passed my coffee through my nose reading that one…..