Today marks the first time that the Boss has let me write the Daily Commentary, and it’s a privilege that I do not take lightly. Thanks, Boss!
What Jon has done with the Flash Report in the short amount of time that it has been “live” embodies the pioneer spirit that drew me from my native Illinois to the Golden State. It is that same pioneer spirit-that celebration of individual freedom and liberty-that drew me away from my parents’ Democratic Party to join the Republican Party on my 18th birthday. My, how quickly 10 (or so) years go by… (:
As this article goes up on the Flash Report today, I’ll be driving up to Sacramento in my 9 year old, beat up minivan to attend an open meeting regarding the CRP platform that will soon be revisited. Based on the phone calls and emails I’ve received lately, there is no shortage of diversity of opinions on possible revisions to the platform, and I think that is a great thing! While there are some who drop the “RINO bomb” on anyone who doesn’t plug into their uni-mind, I think the majority of delegates and platform committee members will remain open-minded as we respectfully consider the thoughts of our Party-mates. I expect to witness the “pioneer spirit”, as Republicans from every part of the Party spectrum celebrate the individual passion and beliefs of their colleagues. Inasmuch as our Founding Fathers fought like cats and dogs to reach consensus on the Constitution, I predict some heated debates. But those debates will lead the CRP to a more well-rounded, representative platform than we could achieve otherwise. Disagreements and disputes are not something to avoid via backroom deals; instead, they are to be heralded as a healthy exercise in freedom of thought and expression. It’s my hope that the CRP will conduct itself in such a way that if a high school civics class were watching us behind a two way mirror, they would witness a living laboratory of respect for freedom of speech and the defenders of democracy in action.
I’m a member of the CRP executive, initiatives, platform and drafting committees. But I’m also a band mom, gymnastics mom, and a hockey mom, and since I ran for state assembly last year, I get a lot of unsolicited “feedback” from other parents, i.e. voters, concerning the Main St. perspective on the CRP and our GOP legislators. What I typically hear boils down to one concept: people want visionary, not vindictive, leaders. They are less concerned about how Republicans differentiate themselves from Democrats on social issues they don’t care about, and more concerned about what Republicans are going to do to make the future better than today. They don’t care how many pot shots we can take at Democrats, how many ways we outmaneuver liberals on the floor of the Assembly, or how well we play “gotcha” politics. Most of them were never College Republicans, so they take no joy in an endless stream of Hillary bashing and jokes about John Edwards’ hairdo.
People want pioneers. 
People want leaders with an eye on the next frontier who can paint a picture of the future that is inspiring regardless of what political party to which they belong. People want a Party that rises above the pettiness of politics, and engages in solutions that will promulgate democracy and the American way of life in a 21st century world. People are starved for visionaries who will focus primarily on those things “we hold to be self-evident”, and respectfully work together on those issues on which we differ.
It is my hope that the upcoming CRP convention will be a showcase of Reagan-esque class, dignity, and service to the greatest State in the greatest Country in history. Let’s work together as though the Gipper himself were constantly in our midst, and do our best to honor his example in everything we say and do.
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