Get used to it.
The Republican Party in Seattle is, well, small. Many of the region's political moderates and conservatives long ago fled for the relative safety of the Eastside suburbs, leaving in Seattle a concentrated elixir of far-left liberal lunacy. The Republican name has sufficiently poor brand equity in the city that the local party generally doesn't endorse candiates for local office, on the fear, I gather, that its endorsement would do more harm than good. Fortunately, I have seen signs of a revival of moderate Republicanism.
One sign of hope is a fine gentleman named Andy MacDonald, whose blog I discovered recently and whom I had the pleasure to meet over drinks the other day. Like myself, Andy is what Andrew Sullivan calls an "Eagle" -- laissez faire on economic and social issues, and in favor of a robust foreign policy to defend our liberties. We both made the journey from supporting Democrats to supporting Libertarians before concluding, post-9/11, that the Republican Party was the best vehicle for moving the country in the right direction.
On a local level, we agree that Republican solutions involving private initiative, competition, individual choice and market forces have a better chance of improving the local economic and educational climate than do the failed (but still wildly popular in Seattle) policies of high taxes, central planning and inept bureacracies.
But how to increase Republican involvement and influence in a city that has very little? Obviously, it's a years-long project. But you have to start somewhere. The first step: volunteer in the community, which we both were already planning to do, and also encourage other Republicans to volunteer, as per the President's call in his 2002 State of the Union:
My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years -- 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime -- to the service of your neighbors and your nation.That's two hours a week between now and my 81st birthday. So I'd better get started. My passion is education, so I'm looking into programs where I can serve as an after-school tutor for disadvantaged kids. Andy is interested in helping a food bank in his neighborhood.
The Seattle Republicans: We're here, we volunteer, get used to it.
Also, Dec. 18 is National Republican Meet-up day. I'll be going to the Seattle Republican Meet-up. Go here to sign up for the Republican Meet-up in your area.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 28, 2003 11:13 AMGood luck!
Political diversity is much needed in places like Seattle (or SF).
And little old Republican me volunters at a group home for severely abused children where I have found occasion to explain capitalism to a child, explain why cheating at games is wrong, and explain why comparisions to Adolf Hitler should not be made lightly (a la Seinfeld). I am truly a lone voice crying in the wilderness as the staff is generally either average Seattle lefties (who, in spite of that, get points for devoting their lives to these poor kids) or university students who probably never hear opposing points of view.
I have heard staff tell kids that corporations make plants (I think it was watermelons at the time) whose seeds won't actually grow more plants to preserve the corporations' monopolies. And I have heard staff lament not living in England or Canada or France when they found their medical insurance plan was being cut back due to costs.
If I complained about staff indoctrinating the kids, no one would have any idea why I was complaining. But I am sure that if someone had heard me tell THE Christmas story to a kid who asked me to tell him A Christmas story, there would have been hell to pay.
Posted by: Carol on November 30, 2003 01:51 PM