The Lonoke County Republican Committee has announced both GOP candidates for Arkansas' 1st Congressional District will speak at the committee's regular monthly meeting on Monday. Rick Crawford and Princella Smith will address the committee and take questions.
Though the Tea Party of Lonoke County is non-partisan, the course charted by the Democrats who now run our country makes this election cycle unique. The first vote new members make will be to elect the Speaker of the House. In 2010, sending any Democrat to Washington to represent the 1st District will be equivalent to voting for Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for Speaker.
We simply cannot afford another two years suffering under this left-wing zealot who has been a rubber stamp for every part of President Obama's Socialist agenda.
For that reason, the 2010 Republican primary is crucial. Conservatives in Arkansas MUST participate in the May elections to decide the GOP nominee so we send the very best candidate to the general election in November. We need a GOP candidate who represents Arkansas' conservative values and understands the concerns of Arkansas' conservative majority.
We need as many as possible to attend these events to get to know the candidates. For years, we have allowed state GOP party loyalists and even the national infrastructure of the Republican party to choose the nominee who would oppose the Democrats who have failed to represent us in DC. In 2004, only 8484 of the 54000 who participated in the GOP Senate primary were 1st District voters.
We MUST motivate more 1st District voters to participate in the Republican primary this year if we hope to deliver a conservative candidate who will be palatable to a majority of those who vote in November. One way to do that is by getting to know these candidates. Meet them, speak with them, listen to them, and then choose who you think will best represent us in Washington. Then tell your friends. Spread the word. Let people know you're excited about this candidate, or that one and tell them why!
If we can accomplish that mission, we can choose a conservative candidate who can win in November. It will be an historic accomplishment because the last time the 1st District was represented by a Republican was in 1875.
But we need an historic election to undo the historic damage to our country inflicted by the Obama administration.
Crawford entered the race and has been campaigning since last April, long before anyone suspected Marion Berry would choose not to run. In fact, many believe Crawford's long-running campaign may have dealt the death blow to Berry's chances to win re-election. The veteran from Jonesboro embraced the Tea Party early in his campaign and promises to support its platform of 1) Limited Government, 2) Fiscal Responsibility, and 3) Accountable Elected Officials. Before Smith announced she would challenge him in the GOP primary, Crawford committed to make himself available to Lonoke County voters at the upcoming Meet & Greet in Cabot later this week.
A Google search for any relationship between Princella Smith and the Tea Party movement turns up empty. In fact, it's difficult to even find an article that mentions both her and the protest movement that swept the nation last year and turned the 2010 election cycle into a boiling cauldron for many Democrats across the country.
Smith touts her knowledge of "how things work" on Capitol Hill as one of her qualifications to represent Arkansas' 1st District, but that may not play well with Tea Party activists who are generally disenchanted with Republicans and Democrats in Washington. On the issues, she and Crawford apparently agree with and support the planks in the national GOP platform.
Her youth may become an issue as well. Most of the four years since she graduated college have been spent in DC working with establishment Republicans like former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and most recently with Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA) who was the only GOP House member to vote for Obama's government takeover of health care.
So both candidates espouse conservative ideals. But the most important thing in this election cycle will be to nominate candidates who can capitalize on the energy of the Tea Party movement, a person who will be a friend to the movement even after he or she has an office in DC.
Here's the opportunity to meet your next Congressman Lonoke County!
One of these two will replace Marion Berry next year, if we get involved and work to choose the best one in May.
