The first in a six-part series by Jeremy Beecher of WJET-TV regarding the 3rd Congerssional Candidates including commentary from "yours truly". This segment part aired on Erie WJET TV 24 on Monday, May 10th.Segment One focuses on candidate Clayton Grabb of Butler County.
The interview includes commentary from Roberta Biros, editor of Mercer Conservatives. The statements and summaries were taken from 40 minute interview that was filmed at the station on Monday, May 3rd.
Enjoy.
We will post the other segments as they are made available by WJET.
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Posts
Roberta:
ReplyDeleteI wanted to offer a few thoughts on these interviews so far. First, I think that Mr. Grabb and Mr. Fisher both came off very well, and that both seem like they are running because they believe they can change things. (Your own analysis was a fitting addition to these pieces.)
Here's what I want to ask you, from an analytic standpoint: will Mr. Grabb's campaign become a referendum on the tea party movement in this area? He told the Erie station that he will "wear the badge" of the tea party movement.
If Mr. Grabb represents the tea party, and he gets badly beaten in the primary by the more centrist Mr. Kelly or Mr. Huber, doesn't that tell people that the tea party is incapable of winning an election in this district?
Moreover, Mr. Grabb has made overtures that if he loses the primary, that he will not run a write-in campaign in November. Isn't this basically admitting that the tea party movement doesn't have the votes (not to mention the money) to elect their purest idealogical candidate?
I would appreciate your thoughts, and I look forward to the other candidate interviews.
Thanks for your comments, Jason.
ReplyDeleteFrom an analytical prospective, Mr. Grabb's campaign is becoming much less about the Tea Party than Mr. Grabb had once hoped. You'll notice in the two interviews so far, Mr. Grabb is described as the "self-proclaimed Tea Party candidate". By stating that he will "wear the badge", Mr. Grabb is making it clear that he does not understand what the Tea Party is about.
When I was asked the questions a few weeks ago "are you the Tea Party candidate", I was quick to explain that the Tea Party has no candidate! The Tea Party is about ideals, and it does not promote, sponsor, or support any individual candidate. Anyone foolish enough to say that THEY are that candidate clearly misunderstands the Tea Party.
Second, Mr. Grabb alienated Tea Partiers just last week when he attempted to throw the Butler Tea Party organizers under the bus. His attempts to draw people away from a Tea Party event in an attempt to promote himself (and other candidates) was a clear smack in the face of die-hard Tea Partiers.
Lastly, because Tea Partiers consist of R's, D's, and I's, it is possible that we will not see their full influence until the General Election in November.
So, Mr. Grabb's showing in the Primary is not an indicator of anything but Mr. Grabb's popularity as a candidate. It indicates nothing else.
Just my thoughts.