a:1:{s:15:"field_news_body";a:1:{i:0;a:2:{s:5:"value";s:8591:"<span style="font-size: x-large;">As we prepare to go to the State Convention this weekend to select people who will run to represent the republican party on the ticket for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, the Supreme Court, the State Board of Education, and various university boards we need to think about where we are going as a party.<br />
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I have been a conservative republican all of my adult life, believing in the party platform that they profess to stand for. I wasn&rsquo;t allowed to be politically active for most of my working career, because I worked for a non-partisan legislative agency and that wasn't allowed.&nbsp; <br />
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After leaving state service I remained inactive politically until after the election of 2008 when the township I live in went from a 4-3 republican majority to a 7-0 democrat majority because of President Obama&rsquo;s&nbsp; routing of John McCain.<br />
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I didn</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t get involved for political gain, to run for office, or with a personal agenda. I became involved because the country and state I love were being destroyed by progressives of both political parties. I decided to get involved because I wanted future generations to have the opportunities I had growing up in America.<br />
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The Clinton County Republican Party was in the process of implementing a website and I was asked if I would be interested in helping out, which I agreed to do. This gave me an opportunity to keep people informed about what was happening locally, in the state, and in Washington D.C.<br />
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My understanding of what the county party</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s basic responsibility and function was not what I assumed it was. I thought they would be focused on conservative issues that are important to all of us -- like protecting the constitution, being fiscally responsible, protecting the life of the unborn, defending traditional values, the rule of law, and many others. <br />
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However what I learned was that the county party is expected to be the rubber stamp of its candidates and the state party. My problem was that I didn</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t see it that way. Consequently, over the last four years the mindset of the people that have become politically active in the county party believe issues matter and that elected officials should be accountable. As a result the county party</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s executive committee became informed on the issues and what was going on in Clinton County, Lansing, and Washington D.C. A by-product of that philosophy was that we began to take an active role in making our voices heard by our elected officials.<br />
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On several occasions I was contacted by various people, with vested interests, to back off on taking a position that might go against the Governor or other elected officials. It was made clear to me that I shouldn&rsquo;t question our own people because it might hurt them politically in the future. My response was that it</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s not the person it</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s the issue.<br />
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The personal attacks didn</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t bother me because I knew my intentions were sincere and based on the issues. My stands were aligned with the stated republican party</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s platform and what they profess to believe.<br />
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I was accused of wanting our candidates to pass a </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>purity test</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>, whatever that is. My expectation is that if you are running with a </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>R</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> after your name you should believe what the party platform says they believe in. If you don&rsquo;t then maybe you are in the wrong party. When I vote for someone I want an individual who will honor their oath of office to defend our constitution and defend our core beliefs!<br />
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It seems that the </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>Liberty minded</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> and </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>Christian Right</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> elements of the Republican Party are always made out to be the </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>malcontents</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> because they don</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t vote for the Moderates that always become the candidates. I think it&rsquo;s time that the powers that be reevaluate why they insist we have to go to the MIDDLE to get the candidate that will win.<br />
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Well, that hasn</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>t worked out so well in the past. The Republican Party wants these </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>WACKOS</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> to vote for their candidates but not have a place at the table in the party, as evidenced by what has happened regarding this upcoming state convention.<br />
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All I know is that in 2012, 734,000 evangelical Christians stayed away from the polls because they felt that </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>the lesser of two evils</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> was still evil!<br />
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Thanks for reading what I have to say and please read my blog and the Detroit News article about the upcoming convention if you have the time at the following web link.<br />
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<a href="http://clinton-countygop.org/content/stacking-deck-1">http://clinton-countygop.org/content/stacking-deck-1</a><br />
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See you in Novi on Saturday.<br />
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Steve Willis, Chairman<br />
Clinton County Republican Party<br />
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