Archive for the 'News' category

The Greatest Speech I Have Ever Heard

Sean Piotrowski| November 8, 2008 7:31 pm

Remarks from Senator John McCain

November 4, 2008 – Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth. Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer in my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day, though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

My friends, we have — we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

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Fred Barnes: He gets it right

Sean Piotrowski| 2:33 pm

Fred Barnes, in his latest piece, highlights five things the Republican Party needs to do.  Here is number five:

Republican Weakness. Where is it? In the Northeast, across the upper Midwest, and in cities and upscale suburbs. To gain a majority in Congress, Republicans will have to win House and Senate seats in those places. To win the presidency, they’ll have to appeal to voters in those locations.

Republicans in Washington must keep these voters–they’re more moderate than conservative–in mind and avoid alienating them. Republicans don’t need to jettison conservative principles. Ryan, the party’s most innovative thinker, says Republicans need only apply these principles to the new political era, and moderates will be comfortable with the result.

One more thing is essential, according to Ryan. “We’ve got to be happy warriors,” he says. “We’ve got to stop being the angry white guy party.” Otherwise, Republicans will play right into Obama’s hands.

More than anything, we need to stick our principles.  But we cannot be overbearing social and neo conservatives.  We are going to do well in the South.  But what are we doing to win votes in the Northeast and the Northern Plains?  Why haven’t we been competitive in the Pacific Northwest?

These are all valid questions and we, as Republicans, need to start digging deep to find the answers.

The Aftermath

Sean Piotrowski| November 6, 2008 11:00 am

Well ladies and gentleman, we lost.  And we lost overwhelmingly.  But it wasn’t a surprise.  What hurts the most to me are the losses we suffered at the county and municipal level in New Jersey.  We lost Congressional District Three, in my honest opinion, because of interparty fighting, not because of “Obamamania.”  George Gilmore and Ocean County couldn’t get over the fact their candidate lost in the primary to Medford Mayor Chris Myers (a Burlington County man).

The 12% margin of victory for Myers in Ocean County is a joke.

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How do we lose two freeholder seats and the county clerk’s office in Burlington County?

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How do we get swept out in Cumberland County?

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We have a lot of questions.  We need to do some soul searching in the next few weeks.  But know this: our path to victory in 2009 and beyond begins today.  We cannot be looking over our shoulders wondering what we could have done different.  It is time to be proactive.  It is time to bring forth a new generation of young Republican leaders.  We need to rally around Congressman Cantor from Virgina and Congressman Ryan from Wisoconsin.  We need to rally around Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and other young Republican leaders like him nationwide.  And we need to dump Tom Wilson, our illustrious State GOP Chairman.  Our party is in shambles here in New Jersey.  Just look at the selection process for our U.S. Senate candidate to understand my point.

My friends, join me: stand with me as I fight to bring about Republican ideas and values.  Stand with me as I work to rebuild our party from the ground up, so we can retake Trenton and Washington.  It is time for a taxpayer revolution my friends, and it begins today!

Rider News’ Coverage of the Country First Rally

Sean Piotrowski| October 31, 2008 2:16 pm

 

Josh Hursa addresses the crowd at the Country First Rally.

Josh Hursa addresses the crowd at the Country First Rally.



To read the Rider News’ coverage of our rally click here.

Country First Rally Coverage

Sean Piotrowski| October 30, 2008 1:46 pm

NJ.com’s Coverage of the Rider University College Republican’s Country First Rally: Click