Last week my wife received a three-page letter from Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, which not only appealed for her support, it asked her to fill out a very important survey.
Mr. Steele gushingly told my better half in his missive that he valued her input "Because of your high level of political involvement and steadfast commitment to the Republican Party." She took his letter and the four-page 2010 Congressional District "Census Form" which arrived with it as both flattering AND a sign that the GOP is truly attempting to broaden its base, since she hasn't voted for a Republican in quite some time. But like any decent human being who's just been paid a compliment, she felt obligated to fill out and return the enclosed form, which the chairman's letter explained was "...central to the GOP's ability to devise a winning Republican strategy in our area, especially as we take on the Democrats in the fight for the future of our nation." And since my spouse is fair-minded person who didn't wish to skew the poll's results with any unintended bias she designated the lone registered Independent in our home (me) to provide answers to the survey.
The "Census Form" that came with Mr. Steele's letter looked suspiciously like a "push poll," a campaigning technique that involves attempting to alter or influence the views of potential voters by using innuendo or other unsubstantiated "facts" under the guise of conducting a survey. (Today's fun fact: push polling is illegal in New Hampshire!) But if anyone at the RNC really does take the time to tabulate the results of the 2010 Congressional District Census he or she is going to be heartened by the responses I gave on page one of their survey. I truthfully indicated that I traditionally vote in all elections, plan to vote in 2010, and am currently uncommitted to voting for either major political party. They may be a little put off by a couple of my responses on page 2, though. One question asks "Do you think things in this country are generally going in the wrong direction, or do you feel that things are starting to improve?" I checked the "starting to improve" box. It seemed more appropriate the other two options, which were "Wrong Direction" and "Unsure", plus there wasn't a fourth choice that said "Greatly improved after eight years of arrogant incompetence from 2001-2009." I also filled in the "Approve" box when asked to rate the Obama administration when it comes to dealing with America's major problems, although I did check "Disapprove" as my rating of the Democrat-controlled Congress. (Full disclosure: I disapproved of Congress when it was Republican-controlled too.)
Other inquiries included "Do you worry that the Obama administration is committed to greatly expanding the government's role in your life?", "Would you like Congress to pass tax cuts to further stimulate our nation's economy?", "Do you believe the Obama Adminstration is right in dramatically scaling back our nation's military?", and "Do you think the record trillion dollar federal deficit the Democrats are creating with their out-of-control spending is going to have disastrous consequences for our nation?" My responses were to those queries were, in order, "No", "No", "Are they?", and "Exactly what was the Democrat-created deficit when President Bush took office in 2001?"
Further down the survey I was asked whether I supported, opposed, or had no opinion on school prayer (opposed), a ban on flag-burning (no opinion...who SUPPORTS burning the flag?), banning all abortions (opposed), and prohibiting same-sex marriage (opposed). In the comment section I helpfully added "If you're truly against government interference, why is your party trying to interfere with the individual rights of others?"
The survey ended with a section asking for contributions of $500, $250, $100, $50, or $25 to the Republican National Committee, but after a brief period of consideration I opted not to fill out that portion. I was disappointed that there wasn't a "Recommend a Friend" component though, because I know quite a few other people who'd love to be asked for advice by the RNC.
In today's increasingly polarized political atmosphere it's nice to see a national political party reach across the widening divide and attempt to broaden its appeal. The media's left wing bias, which the tireless journalists at Fox News have been have been pointing out to us in their uniquely fair and balanced way for over a generation, has never been more pervasive. The latest evidence of how unfairly the national Republican Party has been flagrantly, maliciously, and continuously mischaracterized as a partisan, small-minded, intolerant, obstructionist organization was the warm, inclusive letter that Michael Steele sent to my wife, a registered Democrat.
Andy YoungReturn to main page
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