OPINION:
While President Obama does not actually do his job as president, at least he, along with the Clintons, Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others, does diligently raise campaign funds for Democratic candidates. For Mr. Obama to cash a paycheck is tantamount to stealing, yet Democratic leaders focus strongly on retaining control of the nation.
Leading Republicans, however, neglect their candidates and leave them underfunded. For Democrats campaigns are serious. For Republicans election campaigns are just an amateur hobby. For most rank-and-file GOP members, it’s just about the picnic and ice cream social.
I personally handed Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee a detailed, written request from the Kevin Wade campaign to help the Delaware Republican Party after a rally in Washington Oct. 5. Mr. Huckabee is thinking of running for president again. A presidential candidate needs to build up relationships and line up local supporters. So campaigning for other Republicans is essential.
On Oct. 10, Mr. Huckabee traveled to Delaware to deliver the keynote address at Delmarva Christian High School’s annual student scholarship banquet in Georgetown, Del. Any experienced campaigner knows that you can easily add on a lunch or an afternoon meet-and-greet. Once you have already gone to the trouble to journey to Delaware, to not help the state GOP and its candidates is a wasted opportunity.
I was personally informed by a Republican State Party chairman that the state parties of North Carolina, Oklahoma and Delaware could not get any notable Republican — even with the help of the Republican National Committee — to headline a party-building event over the summer. The GOP is struggling to win a North Carolina Senate seat that should have been won by a landslide.
Too many Republican candidates lose because of a self-fulfilling prophesy. They are not provided support and funds — and that guarantees they will lose.
JON MOSELEY
Lake Placid, Fla.
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