Tuesday, Jul. 20, 2010
The true conservative?
John Beaudoin, Journal Staff
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This is always one of my favorite catchphrases during an election season.
No matter what the current election climate feels like, there is, invariably, a local or national primary race that pits two or three Republicans against one another.
And in that race, he/she/they get to tell us how they are the true conservative. The true Republican. Family values? We’ve got ’em!
I guess compassionate conservatism just doesn’t have the same ring as it used to.
So, during these elections, we get candidates clamoring to convince us that, indeed, they are the most Republican of the Republicans.
Their red, they say, is the truest red of them all.
I love election season.
The best part about these primaries is when the Republicans actually have a Democratic candidate in the general election. Then, after one of them shows us who really is the mostest Republicanist, they can back off a little, move back to center for a few months and then defeat their real enemy, the liberal tree-hugger who has been sitting back and chuckling at all this right-wing in-fighting going on.
OK, really, I say some of this in jest.
But, in all honesty, some of this is very, very real.
Parties brutalize from within to get their candidate on general election ballots. Then, once that primary is over, we are supposed to come together, hold hands, sing “We Are the World” and forget about what has just happened. It goes on with both parties.
And now in the local 8th District Senate race, we have three guys, again, trying to convince us that they are really the most conservative, most Republican candidate out there.
I suppose it’s a game that Will Kraus, Bryan Pratt and Gary Dusenberg feel like they have to play.
Like the Democrats, the Republican Party is all over the board these days. You have the near-defectors talking Tea Party rants and you have the moderate conservatives who, brace yourself, may not want to hear months and months of banter about how gosh darn conservative you are.
What other words would you use to describe yourself, Will, Gary and Bryan?
We know you are conservative. We know you’re Republican.
And whoever wins will have Matt Bartle’s old seat because there is no Democrat waiting on the ballot in November.
But just because one of you has it locked up doesn’t mean the voters don’t need a little more substance.
There’s no need to continue battling over who wears the reddest hat. Tell us something new about you.
Voters, if you still need help deciding who to vote for in this race, don’t forget our 8th District Senate Forum has been rescheduled for Monday, July 26. Join the Blue Springs Chamber of the Commerce and the Journal at 6 p.m. at Delta Woods Middle School for this important political discussion.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@bluespringsjournal.com.
