Sacramento County Republican Party... and Me

Okay, a little horn blowing here.
I WON! I WON! I WON!
Won what? you ask? I came in second place out of eight candidates for Sacramento County Republican Central Committee, District 1.
Next Question: WHAT is a Central Committee? I know, I know. Most people do not know that their political party has the right to have a central committee in each county. A committee of individuals who are chosen to represent the members of the party to the party central and, therefore to the state party as a whole. I live in California, and while other states may be, and usually are, different, in California, on the Republican side, the system is quite simple. Each county is broken into Supervisorial districts... i.e. I live in Supervisorial District 1, so I ran for the Republican Party as a member of that district.
Republicans in the primary voted for representatives to the party based on their Supervisorial district.
NOTE: Democrats do it slightly different.., I believe it is done by Assembly District.
Here are the results of the election for my race...Sacramento County Republican Central Committee Dist 1
Vote For  4
(WITH 232 OF 232 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
DIANA PETERS BRACE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     2,099   15.90
MATSON J. BREAKEY.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     2,032   15.40
ERIK R. HARTSTROM.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,966   14.90
JANET GARDNER .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,953   14.80
TERRY MAST .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,763   13.36
RICHARD M. LA FONTAINE .  .  .  .  .  .     1,720   13.03
CRAIG DELUZ.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     1,640   12.43
WRITE-IN.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .        25     .19
Not a bad showing! Of course, two of my friends, Terry Mast and Craig DeLuz did not make it, which is generally a matter of position on the ballot or designation.Now, admittedly, this was a VERY low turnout race, and, had it been higher, the results may have definitely been different. When I won the first time in 1996 (I also won in 1998) I had over 10,000 votes.Part of the purpose of running for this
 position, was to help get the Republican Party back on track. See SupportThePlatform.com. The local party has become a tool for doing nothing more than registering voters and helping with GOTV (getting out the vote) come election time. Which is fine, if you are a currently elected official who does not want to be challenged. But, I believe, the Party is more than that. In California we Republicans are losing to Democrats. Why? Is it because their message is better? Is it because people want a socialistic big government solution in their lives? NO & NO.Why is it?I point to one strategic decision made by the Democratic Party in California in the early 90's.... The decision to make their state party chairmanship a 4 year, paid position, rather than a 2 year voluntary position.That simple act created a stronger, longer visioned party operation that could spend its time promoting party values (or propaganda) and promote candidates that could not only win,
but would continue carrying the torch of the party.The Republicans, on the other hand, have stayed with the 2 year, volunteer chairmanship, leaving the
 party without long term vision, and a sense that every two years, the incoming chairman will change something just to make his mark.The result? A Party that continues to lose its way in our great state.As a member of the Central Committee, my position is only as strong as those who are like-minded. We will have monthly meetings, of which I will post my thoughts here, and we will struggle with the vision many of us share of a party that is once again the party of Lincoln and Reagan, and not the party where a John McCain gets nominated for President.Okay... I've said it. Here is the RANT... we, as Republicans, have had our greatest success when we show our pride in our conservative (social and fiscal) values. Reagan, the Revolution of 2004... these were truly genuine Conservative movements.How can we possibly be proud of a man who does not seem to even like the Republican party? While McCain is a true war hero, he is no conservative. He is a member of
Congress and a Senator who survives in an environment where even your greatest enemy is your closest friend. Where you always smile and always make deals and where principals are left at the door.
And Republicans want this man as President? Why?!?!?
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Matson "Matsonian" Breakey
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