Blue Collar Republican: the Wilson/McWaters race
By Brian Kirwin | Friday, December 4th, 2009 | PoliticsI’ve been spending a lot of time in my hometown of Philadelphia this year. The city has long since been lost to Democrats, and most of the elected Republicans there have been in office so long, it’s name and not philosophy that keep them there.
But it reminded me a lot about my life and about my feelings about the race between Jeff McWaters and Rosemary Wilson, and the scurrilous and vicious attacks made to me and about me for exercising my first amendment rights of speech and expression.
I grew up when Pennsylvania was Republican, New Jersey was Republican. I was a kid when a Democratic mayor of Philadelphia campaigned for Nixon for President.
It was and still is a blue collar town. If you worked hard, looked out for your neighbors, figured out a way to make ends meet, you were doing ok.
I grew up around politics, though not from my parents. Grandparents were political activists to a tee. As a kid, my job was usually to give campaign workers soft pretzels.
I never handed a pretzel to a rich Republican campaign worker.
In 1992, Pat Buchanan made a lot of waves attacking his own party, and he eventually left it. He was wrong on a lot of levels, but one message he carried rang true to me. The Republican Party was losing the blue-collar Reagan block of voters and becoming the party of the wealthy. It’s an attack that has persisted throughout my life.
I have nothing against Jeff McWaters, whom I’ve never so much as seen at a Republican event until this year (I don’t go to high-dollar shindigs, so I don’t know if he was at those). I’ve seen Rosemary at hundreds.
I’ve gotten mailpieces of endorsements of McWaters that read like someone Xeroxed the list of donations he and his firm have made over the years. Word is he’s spending over the million dollar mark to win a canvas that a few thousand people will vote in.
Some Republicans worked their butts off this year trying to raise $500 to pay for some signs and something to hand out at the polls on Election Day.
I have no problem with successful people. I think we tax entrepreneurs too much, and I think our tax code and regulations discourage more people from trying. But, in my blue collar heart, I wonder if that isn’t the point of such taxes and regulations.
Whoever wins this Senate seat will likely have it as long as they want it. Sen. Ken Stolle won it in 1991, and never had so much as another name on the ballot with him until he left it.
It’s Mitt Romney versus Sarah Palin in some respects. Maybe there is something in my Philly roots that makes me a little more Palin and a little less Romney. Ronald Reagan went to Eureka College, where he played football and pledged a frat. He went on to be, I believe, the greatest President we’ve ever known.
So, given the choice of a candidate who touts his huge checkbook that has helped Republicans win (And thank you Jeff, more than you know I appreciate that) and a real estate agent who ran for the routinely thankless job of School Board because she cared, then to City Council, and now maybe to the State Senate, perhaps it’s that part of my upbringing, and that part of looking out for the not-so-wealthy conservatives who rarely have a voice in the endorsement-laden campaigns and high-dollar fundraising galas, that part of me that says if we ignore the Sarah Palins in our Party, there won’t be enough voters for the Mitt Romneys to win, that makes me lean a little toward Rosemary Wilson in this race.
This message ain’t been paid for by nobody.
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The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
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9 Responses to "Blue Collar Republican: the Wilson/McWaters race"
Good post Brian.
Great post – every once in a while it is good to be reminded that most of the greatest conservatives have come from humble beginnings.
Amen
Good job, Brian! The Romney/Palin analogy was well thought out as well. It takes all kinds to keep a political party viable in this day and age. I am also very thankful for Jeff’s contributions to our GOP Candidates. He is a very successful businessman and has contributed to our local community; however, I choose Rosemary for the same reason that you have. As a local School Board Member here in Portsmouth I know how thankless our work can be. The irony is that there is nothing great in this life than to help our children. Rosemary has been there. She has seen how important it is to work hard for the children. She then moved to City Council where she continues that mentality to this day except it is nor for all citizens of Virginia Beach. She has been and is still in the trenches fighting for the hard working men and women of that city. She carries her GOP principles with her wherever she goes…less taxes, more business opportunities for people who still want the American Dream and less government. As our State Senator she will take that experience with her and continue the fight. Not that Jeff would not do a good job too…I think he would. Rosemary has been there and knows how to fight for what is right. I encourage everyone to go out on Saturday and vote for Rosemary…and if you see Jeff out there…thank him for running a good race and for supporting our candidates.
Good job, Brian! The Romney/Palin analogy was well thought out as well. It takes all kinds to keep a political party viable in this day and age. I am also very thankful for Jeff’s contributions to our GOP Candidates. He is a very successful businessman and has contributed to our local community; however, I choose Rosemary for the same reason that you have. As a local School Board Member here in Portsmouth I know how thankless our work can be. The irony is that there is nothing greater in this life than to help our children. Rosemary has been there. She has seen how important it is to work hard for the children. She then moved to City Council where she continues that mentality to this day except it is for all the citizens of Virginia Beach. She has been and is still in the trenches fighting for the hard working men and women of that city. She carries her GOP principles with her wherever she goes…less taxes, more business opportunities for people who still want the American Dream and less government. As our State Senator she will take that experience with her and continue the fight. Not that Jeff would not do a good job too…I think he would. Rosemary has been there and knows how to fight for what is right. I encourage everyone to go out on Saturday and vote for Rosemary…and if you see Jeff out there…thank him for running a good race and for supporting our candidates.
This is good stuff – go Rosemary!
“Scurrilous and vicious attacks made to me”? Is “to” a typo? Didn’t you mean “by”? If that is what you received, I did not see it here. What I saw were what I and others felt were unwarranted attacks on McWaters by you and several regular commenters. Fortunately, those attacks did not help Wilson win, so moving on now to the rest of your post,… you are probably not aware that McWaters came from humble beginnings, that community college was the most his family could initially afford. (I realize some families cannot even afford that.) Nevertheless, someone who comes from middle-class roots and manages to accomplish what he did is someone from whom we can learn and someone who clearly has leadership abilities. Additionally, someone who is opposed to taxes, which I did not see demonstrated in Wilson’s voting record, is someone I believe will be good for us in Richmond.
Hey Conservativeattackmom, are you suggesting that we at Bearing Drift print the emails sent to us by paid McWaters staffers?
That is the fitting blog for anybody who desires to search out out about this topic. You notice so much its almost arduous to argue with you (not that I truly would want…HaHa). You positively put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Nice stuff, simply great!
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