STATE PARTY CHAIRMAN ASKS LOCAL REPUBLICANS TO UNITE AROUND IDEAS

Ron Nehring, the California Republican Party Chairman, addressed local Republicans at the SVgop monthly meeting on "The Power of Republican Ideas". He asked attendees to stay active and help get people registered to vote.

Nehring outlined his vision for the Party:  "The foundation of the Republican Party is our core ideas of limited government, lower taxes, promoting personal responsibility, having a strong national defense, securing our frontiers. Our mission is to build a Campaign Organization as powerful as those principles through registration and support of like-minded candidates."

As part of his strategic plan for 2007, Nehirng says that we should unite behind the things we need to be successful. "We need to: register more Republican voters, recognize that the world is run by those who show up, endorse and support local Republican candidates for every office from President of the United States down to the (local) water board, and most important, recruit the volunteers and donors in order to make those things happen."

Nehring also thrilled the audience with stories from his recent visit to Baghdad where he was asked to conduct Campaign Schools by the International Republican Institute. The goal is to help Iraq's fledgling democracy by teaching local politicians how to conduct credible campaigns. He also spoke passionately about the need for victory in Iraq, saying that in a recent meeting with President Bush, he noticed how energized the President is, contrary to the media's portrayal of a besieged White House. "There's one way out of Baghdad and one way out of Iraq, and that's victory for our team and defeat for the bad guys." 

Turning to the job at hand - building the local Republican County Party organizations as the key building blocks for overall State Party success - Nehring noted: "Being right or philosophically correct, is not enough to win. The winners of any political contest over time is determined by the number of political activists on each side. CRP is here to work with your local chairman, Keen Butcher and his team, to make sure you have the support you need to recruit activists and elect local Republicans. 

"Our success as a political party depends on our ability to organize and communicate." Nehring pointed out two local examples for the Santa Clara Republican Party - Pete Constant's victory last June and Hon Lien's run for San Jose City Council.  "Hon is a great example of the work you are doing here. By working hard on her primary election with volunteers for precinct walks and phone banks, you helped a great candidate make it into the run-off. That puts us one step closer to having another Republican join Pete Constant on an important City Council."

In closing, Nehring added that  "Time is not on our side - the next general election is just 19 months away. We need to start now to build a Campaign Organization that is as powerful as our ideas. If you believe in that then we'll defeat Hillary Clinton and put Nancy Pelosi back in the minority. That, would be a great record of accomplishment.."

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