All Fluff Endorsements

Like Flatulence, Will Fade

There are jokes about committees and meetings as being the best way to obstruct doing anything meaningful. I wish the Republican Party, or at least their committees, would get out of endorsing candidates or require certain objective thresholds to be met when making such endorsements. Also, the party chair should immediately post online the “why” of the endorsement. Many endorsements lack any meaning and have the same worth as a flat tire on the interstate.

The Nebraska Congressional delegation has serious stars such as Congressmen Adrian Smith and Mike Flood. US Senator Pete Ricketts is right on policy, despite having a hatchet approach to internal party workings. US Deb Fischer has also been good. Yet the Republican State Central Committee refused to endorse them and endorsed their opponents (https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/24/douglas-county-gop-central-committee-flips-endorsements-to-dan-frei-and-john-glen-weaver/). I still do not understand why.

This seems to be a conflict of personalities instead of politics or policies.  Endorsements have never meant anything to me yet do reveal who is in cahoots with whom. Party endorsements often reflect the patronage the candidate has given to the political party instead of policy which is why such endorsements often do not carry much weight and can be counter-productive.

Now, the Douglas County Republican Party has done nearly the same thing but has flipped previous endorsements (https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/01/27/nebraska-gop-fight-with-delegation-spills-over-into-its-endorsements/). Is this rancor worth anything? What is up with trashing Ricketts and endorsing the unknown John Glen Weaver?

Yes, I have serious disdain for Bacon’s lack of focus and his unworkable bipartisanship. Bacon would be in better standing if he had been more accommodating of less senior Republican representatives, instead of the Kevin McCarthy lobbyist club. Dan Frei is a vast improvement and is well-known to the community. Merely rescinding the endorsement of Bacon would have accomplished enough.

Yet, these Central Committees need to focus on policy instead of personalities. Resolutions over endorsements. Censure over abandonment. The problem is now abundantly clear about committee endorsements. Don Bacon and Dan Frei can now both tell the public: “I have been endorsed by the Douglas County Central Committee” which is one hell of an awesome joke about committee endorsements. Sorry, the campaign materials are already in the mail and early voting has already begun.