How the GOP can blow this election.

So, at the national level, we see the presidential candidates beating the hell out of each other.  That troubles some, but is this where I point out that at this time in '08, the dems are pretty much doing the same?

At the state level, the dems pinned their hopes to a relative moron, Jay Inslee, who has never been considered the brightest bulb on the tree, while the GOP anointed their establishment candidate who has been your basic, typical KingCo RINO, our state attorney general, Rob McKenna.

For the senate, no credible candidate has announced, and, of course, anyone with an "R" after their names starts off 140,000 behind because of the kool aid drinkers in king County.

Locally, Ridgefield Barbie has drawn some democrat opposition; unfortunately, no one from the right side of the spectrum has deigned to take on this waste of skin.

In Legislative races, the dems, apparently, will have 19 open seats to defend while the GOP has 2.  Also, democrat mishandling of our budget in the face of years-long GOP warnings will cause them some amount of difficulty.

In the county commissioner races, non-Republican Marc Boldt will be crippled due to his utter failure to adhere to GOP principles for several years that has resulted in local agencies treating us like chattel instead of their bosses.  His lies about "service" are ringing hollow.  Mielke should have no trouble with re-election.

On the surface, given rampant democrat incompetence, it looks like the table is set for a massacre of democrats this November.

Don't count on it.

The GOP has a history of incompetence in campaign matters at all levels.  And I see little to reassure me that the issues have been favorably addressed.

For example, here locally, we have a web site that looks like it was slammed together by an 8th grader.  We lack even a rudimentary newsletter, and if more then 6 people show up at party headquarters, parking is a nightmare.

These things go to the basic issues of competence.  They have been this way for years; it doesn't seem to matter who is running the show, they appear to have achieved a comfort level of mediocrity that advantages us nothing and we sit while the democrats use every conceivable method to advance their cause, organize, finance and implement their ground game, and win elections that they, well, shouldn't win.

I make my living off of politics.  I'm also a PCO.  I observe it at all levels, but with a local focus.

As I was discussing the issues yesterday, I mentioned that we have no plan.  We have no vision.  We have no clue.

The brilliance that was 1994 was based in large part on the Contract With America.  Everyone voting GOP signed it.  Everyone knew, or could have known, what they were getting with a GOP vote.

So, when people ask me now, why specifically, they should vote GOP, what do I tell them?

Beats me.  If there's a plan, a vision, a strategy.... *I* haven't seen it.

As a party, we let events dictate instead of dictating events.  We react.  We rarely ACT.

If we do well, it's rarely because WE did well, it's almost always because things were so bad that there wasn't any choice.

The terrain favors us.  But a commander with EVERY advantage can still lose a battle... lose a war.

And I'm not particularly convinced that we will run the table this time, either.