Goochland Republican Women May 2012

GRW Newsletter

Goochland Republican Women May 2012

Plan to join your GRW friends Friday, May 4, 10:00 a.m. at the Manakin Fire Station, 180 River Road West, Manakin-Sabot, Va.23103 for coffee and conversation followed by the 10:30 a.m. business meeting and our speaker is Robin Traywick Williams. Her topic is “The Diary of a Schizophrenic Writer: Can Humor and Politics Co-exist?” Robin is the author of two books about GoochlandCounty.

Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc. Learning and Development Manager and our March GRW speaker Lisa Dyson and HDL phlebotomy supervisor Terry Duesberry have arranged for GRW members to participate in the HDL "Friends and Family" program free of charge during the May 4 GRW meeting. Each member that chooses to participate will have the complete cardiovascular panel run on their blood which comprises approximately 85 different tests. The patient report will be mailed to your physician for discussion during your next appointment.

Lunch will follow at the Richmond Country Club. Please contact Joan Wilkins if you plan to attend.

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You are invited to the Goochland Republican Women’s Annual Fundraiser

Cocktail Buffet, May 10, 2012, 6:00 pm

Featuring VirginiaState Senator Frank Wagner

DesignCenter at Luckstone

5155 Stone Mill Drive

Manakin Sabot, Va.23103

RSVP by May 3 with check for $25 per person to GRW

c/o Debra Arnold, 819 Dover Bluff Place, Manakin Sabot, Virginia 23103

804-784-8799 or email:

Perspective

By Tyler Scott

Over the past several weeks I have been talking to several activists about the rise of conservatism in the black community. John Myers, former manager of Susan Lascolette's campaign for the Board of Supervisors and a force in Goochland Republican politics, has many opinions about government, race, history, and why many blacks will not be voting for President Obama this time around. Mr. Myers, who lives in Shannon Hill, has a chemistry background and retired in 2005 as a chemical information scientist from a Northern Virginia firm. He believes it may be a challenge to build a black conservative base, however no one, regardless of race or creed likes high taxes, unemployment, or over-regulation.

What follows are some highlights from our conversations and emails.

How can we get more blacks to join the Republican Party?

We have to show them why it is to their advantage to join the Republican Party and that opportunities have been taken from them by liberal policies. It is not going to be easy. They are used to seeing the same old Democratic Party. But the Democrats have promised stuff and not delivered.

You seem to be on a personal quest to organize black conservatives into a coalition and make this a stronger voice in the Republican Party.

I have been attempting to get more blacks in the Republican Party for forty years and it has been an uphill battle. But it is not Mission Impossible. The truth of the matter is most black people have more conservative values than liberal. Many do not believe in government handouts, abortion, environmental extremism, or over-reaching government. Most blacks value their freedoms.

Well, how come most blacks are Democrats?

It has to do more with the messaging than the philosophy. I will attempt to explain with a little history. As you know, the Republican Party was created as an opposition party to slavery. Blacks were Republicans during and after Reconstruction. In 1912 a huge number of blacks left the Republican Party to support Democrat Woodrow Wilson for President because of the promise to support their issues. After his election, Pres. Wilson thanks blacks by segregating the Armed Forces, removing them from their civil service positions and leaving in place the well established Jim Crow practices of Southern Democrats.

Not much happened until Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in 1932. Roosevelt began the Democrats' strategy of appealing to specific groups in order to win elections. FDR was a champion for blacks, Jews, Catholics, and Chinese-Americans. Most minority groups fared well under the New Deal and blacks have overwhelmingly supported Democrats in presidential elections since then. Even though blacks were subjected to the humiliation of segregation and inequality in the Democratic controlled Southern states until the 1960s, they still supported Democrats on a national level.

What's the role black leadership played in all this?

The black leadership hasn't helped. After Martin Luther King, Jr., there has been no real leadership for blacks. There has been no shortage of “wannabees” but so called black leaders, such as Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, and others were nothing more than puppets for the Democrats. Blacks have become the personal property of the Democratic Party. Today indoctrination is the order of the day.

So where do we go from here, especially if the time is ripe for change?

The most powerful weapon against lies and distortion is truth. The facts speak for themselves. Blacks fare far better under an America where opportunity is provided for everyone and each individual can go as far as their God given talents take them. The opportunity is not in the form of handouts, preferential treatment or based on others having to give up something in order for them to gain something.

So, how can Republicans build relationships, and change votes?

First, we have to identity as many black Republicans as possible. Currently, there is no list or association of these people. Once identified, those who are true activists must take the leadership in reaching out to the public at large. Often, black Republicans are ridiculed and chastised. This is by design. This is the method the Democrats use to “keep blacks in line.”

This will not be a problem for the type of people we need to get. Initially, the message to people will be what the Republican Party has to offer you rather than what the Democratic Party is doing to you. The purpose of gathering these black Republicans is they will be ambassadors of conservative principles – limited government, equal opportunity (as opposed to equal outcomes), the free enterprise system, strong defense and fiscal responsibility. There are many, many examples of how liberal politics have hurt minorities over time.

I think if Martin Luther King were alive today he would be proud of how far we've come.

You're right. And if he were alive, he'd be a Republican.

OFFICIAL VOTING INFORMATION

The Constitution of Virginia requires that you be registered in the precinct in which you live in order to be qualified.

In order to be eligible to vote in the REPUBLICAN PRIMARY ELECTION to be held on Tuesday, JUNE 12, 2012, you must register no later than 4:30 p.m. on MAY 21, 2012.

The office at 1800 Sandy Hook Road, Goochland, Virginia, will be open Saturday, JUNE 9th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the convenience of registered voters who need to vote by absentee ballot for this election date.

JUNE 9th at 5:00 pm is the last day for this election on which absentee ballots may be voted in person by qualified applicants.

You are encouraged to make application for voter registration. Please call us at the number shown below should you have any questions. Remember, a good citizen registers and votes.

Frances C. Ragland, General Registrar, 556-5803.

Save the Date

May 4th, 2012 - 10:00 amCoffee & Social, 10:30 GRW Regular Monthly Meeting – Robin Traywick Williams and Go Red For Women Blood Testing with lunch to follow at the Country Club of Richmond.Membership needs to vote on the nominating committee. Be preparedto nominate members to the committeethat have not been on the nominating committee for more than two consecutive years.

May 10th, 2012 – 6:00 p.m. GRW Annual Fundraiser – Cocktail Buffet

June 12th, 2012– The Republican Primary Election – Please Vote

Goochland Republican Women Executive Board

President -Lucinda Slabaugh

1st Vice President (Programs) - Kathy Crockett

2nd Vice President (Membership) - Kay Gates

Recording Secretary - Pamela Johnson

Corresponding Secretary - Joan Wilkins

Treasurer - Carolyn Moore

Immediate Past President - Alison Ervin

Goochland Republican Women Leadership Team

By Laws - Courtney Hyers

Campaign Activities - Carol Pipes

Finance - Patricia Turner/Linda Smith

Historian - Patricia Pratt

Legislation/Public Policy - Susan Lascolette

Public Relations/Publicity - Rita Brighton

Caring For America - Nancy Plageman/Patricia Turner

Fundraising - Debra Arnold

Hospitality - Tyler Scott

Literacy/Barbara Bush - Becki Stokes

Parliamentarian - Verna Seidensticker

Sunshine - Rachel Parker

Support For Our Troops - Roberta Scruggs

You are invited to the Goochland Republican Women’s Annual Fundraiser

Cocktail Buffet

May 10, 2012

6:00 pm

Featuring VirginiaState Senator Frank Wagner

Senator Wagner has representedthe 7th Senatorial District of Virginia Beach since 2006. The U.S. Naval Academy graduate is best known for his visionary energy plan legislation passed in 2006. During the 2012 General Assembly, he was the Chief Patron of 26 Bills. Senator Wagner is the Chairman Rehabilitation and Social Services and a member of Rules, Transportation, Finance and Commerce and Labor Committees.

DesignCenter at Luckstone

5155 Stone Mill Drive

Manakin Sabot, Va.23103

RSVP by May 3 with check for $25 per person to GRW

c/o Debra Arnold, 819 Dover Bluff Place, Manakin Sabot, Virginia 23103

804-784-8799 or email:

Hors d’oeuvre and Beverage List

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