I have many different ‘kinds’ of friends in politics. I spend time with a nice spread of Republicans, conservatives who won’t classify as Republicans, liberty-conservatives, libertarians, anarchists, and maybe 1 or 2 (gasp!) liberals.
Post-convention, though, it seems that not only am I coming down from a political overload, I’m also recovering from the pressures of a social quandary. Everyone has an opinion on who you should talk to, who you should ignore, who you have to introduce yourself to and who you can’t be seen with. This tends to come from their own personal interactions with the people they’re ‘warning’ you about. I’m guilty of it, too. We all create our own ‘haters’ by working in the party. I even have ‘friends’ that I coddle just because I’m a tad bit intimidated by the idea of being on their bad side. But just because you don’t have a positive relationship with someone, doesn’t mean the next person won’t. (There are a few stop sign runners who may be exempt from this, but we’re speaking generally here.) And let’s be honest, I don’t really do well when someone tells me not to do something. I’ve already befriended half of the Republican outcasts. I also tend to believe that everyone can bounce back from bad decisions in politics. My first campaign was for John Albers, for Heaven’s sake.
Besides, you run into the predicament of running out of people to talk to. If everyone has at least one hater and you have a substantial networking circle, eventually you won’t be chatting, or working, or seen with anyone. You’ll be the guy with the lollipop in the corner. No one wants to be *that* guy.
I’ll continue to think and learn for myself. I’m a watcher. If someone is a bad-news-bear, I’ll figure it out. It may be naive, but I’ll hold off on blackballing someone until they personally screw me. And not in the manner that Seth Harp referenced at the Cobb YR debate.
The Perspicacious Conservative 
Ms. Perspicacious…. Very astute observations of the political “community”. I would add to your overall analysis of the process of determining the “bad-news-bears” characters that it is during periods like the past couple of months that your analysis is overloaded with significant data to make this determination. And even more so when you yourself are a candidate.
Many new friends are made during these events/cycles and much new information is gleaned regarding your “old” friends.
Cheers! And glad to be able to call you one of my new friends!
BJ
Whom I respect very much!
After seeing what the current Party is compared to what I recall it to have been 20 years ago…what I took away from my short return before campaign season 2012 was that there are too many folks with a misperception of their worth, importance and with this terrible…”I’m a better Republican that You.”
Mass Precinct Meetings filled with jackboot rednecks that never participated before…but turned into Delegates on the spot while those that have put in their time were turned away via a “Point System.” As I recall…in my days with Pointevint, the Mass Precinct Meetings were Party Building soirees to bring any and all members of society that wanted to participate into the fold. People actually paid to attend at the door and then were told that they were not allowed to participate because they hadn’t earned points to be an alternate or delegate.
I think there is much too much time spent on disenfranchising up and coming GOP members by putting them in categories or sorting them out by those that they have for friends. By culling out the herd every time there is a campaign season coming up…or county/district party convention looming in, the return on the investment will always run into the nega-numbers. Conning YRs to do the grunt stuff and then tossing them under the bus when it’s their time to take control is obviously killing the incentive of many to belong to Grandpops Old Party.
When the new wave Republicans have been disenfranchised for the last time…it will be pretty obvious that the elders of the GOP need the New Wave Republicans a lot more than the New Wave Republican will ever need the elders of the GOP. At that point, the GOP can start to toddle off to the Elephants Graveyard and/or the tar pits as they’re no longer relevant.
I don’t see the Party pulling out of this tail spin. You guys are probably better off than being the fall guy at the helm when it all goes away.
Dear “TPC”, enjoyed meeting and seeing you at the RNR BBQ.
New to your blog and enjoyed what I have read. Looking forward to seeing more of your thoughts.
Cordially, JC