I attended part of the Mainstream Republican's Cascade Conference today and will have a couple posts on specific issues forthcoming. But first, some general observations:
1) As usual, the crowd has too many old people...or better put, not enough young people. It is however improving in my observation given that there seems to be a steady increase in middle-aged attendees rather than just domination by the gray/blue hairs.
2) The general tone is improved from past gatherings in one aspect. In years past there were occasions where talk from some of the attendees seemed more centered on opposing conservatives rather than defeating liberals. In the aggregate, the moderates seem more moderated now. And in fairness, the fights with conservatives always seem to be instigated more by some of the older Mainstreamers who by all appearances may not have gotten over past quarrels with conservatives. The steady rise of a new generation of Mainstreamers is thus even more of a good thing.
3) There is a genuine passion for getting supported candidates elected. Given the macro political mood of this year, it is a good thing for Republican candidates like Dave Reichert, Dino Rossi, and Steve Litzow to have energy and resources put into such efforts. For all the criticisms that the Mainstreamers have received in some circles, they're probably one Republican-affiliated entity in this state with substantial hope of making a difference in close races, outside of party GOTV efforts.
Posted by Eric Earling at May 17, 2008 06:27 PM | Email ThisSorry, maybe I just missed something but I'm confused
Posted by: Andrew Brown on May 17, 2008 06:34 PMOh, and if the GOP really wanted young people, it wouldn't have given the Ron Paul supporters such a cold-shoulder.
And when you say "conservatives" you should really make the distinction between social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. There is also the foreign policy dimension to consider as well. I suspect there are a lot of people within the GOP who are mostly just fiscal conservatives, and don't care too much about opposing abortion and gay marriage or who are disenchanted with the Iraq war. Dino Rossi has been more popular than most Republicans in this state because he has stuck to the fiscal issues that tend to unite a larger segment of the poplulation.
Posted by: Bruce Guthrie on May 18, 2008 02:06 AMThat is because so called "Mainstream republicans" are nothing more than republicans trying to act like Democrats. Real republicans throw out "main stream" republicans. Why elect a Democrat that calls himself a Republican when you can elect an expert tax and spender like a Democrat?
It is the current gang of "mainstreamers" that are driving the party into the ground.
Posted by: pbj on May 18, 2008 09:58 AMNote also the similarities of Reichert vs. Burner and McCain vs. Obama. That is why I think McCain probably will win.
Posted by: russell garrard on May 18, 2008 11:08 AMpbj: Currently, the only state-wide Republican office holders are Mainstreamers; Sam Reed, Rob McKenna, Doug Sutherland. I don't see how that qualifies as "driving the party into the ground". Furthermore, the goal of Mainstream is to elect Republicans. You should probably go to the Mainstream website too and look at its principles. WSRP Chairman Luke Esser and he predecessor, Chris Vance, made it quite clear that Mainstream is part of the party's "big tent" concept and it is a successful contributor to the party's overall effort in the state. If we can get Allan Martin and Dino Rossi elected this fall, 5 of the 9 state executive offices will be filled by Mainstreamers. Now, wouldn't that be cool.
Posted by: km on May 24, 2008 11:34 AM