Carter, I totally agree that we need to move on.  However, the most important part of moving on is taking some meaningful steps to bring the party together, and that is even more imperative after a scorched earth campaign like 1973 or 2009.  If the leadership chooses to bury its head in the sand over how the hard feelings impair the party without some proactive means to bring people together they will just cause the hard feelings to solidify and make it harder to unify the party.  Denial on their part is not a strategy.  Unfortunately there has to be at least some discussion of the baseline in order to discuss what is needed going forward.  Unity is critical for 2010 and we are not going to achieve it by burying our heads in the sand and pretending that there is not a real problem.

Reformers shook the cage pretty good at the-event-which-shall-not-be-named. I am sure there will be more of their ranks in the future, because I am working my city find fresh activists. I couch it in terms of needing volunteers for the upcoming election - but I will be urging every one of them to be involved *intraparty* after November.

What I'm hearing from the ones willing to work precincts, is that they are disgusted with the party leadership and tired of seeing their donations wasted. I don't even need to coax these admissions out. They just bubble up naturally.

Anonymous said :

Reformers shook the cage pretty good at the-event-which-shall-not-be-named...

This is clever -- appreciate the humor. Best, Carter

Anonymous said :

Reformers shook the cage pretty good at the-event-which-shall-not-be-named. I am sure there will be more of their ranks in the future, because I am working my city find fresh activists. I couch it in terms of needing volunteers for the upcoming election - but I will be urging every one of them to be involved *intraparty* after November.

What I'm hearing from the ones willing to work precincts, is that they are disgusted with the party leadership and tired of seeing their donations wasted. I don't even need to coax these admissions out. They just bubble up naturally.

A constructive grassroots approach.  Growing the grassroots in the upcoming campaign season as you describe is the best route to a grassroots majority in 2011.  Sitting on our hands doesn't get us there.
 

And if they don't want contributions wasted, like with washed up consultants, maybe they ought to send them to Marco Rubio for his primary with Charlie Crist in Florida and subsequent general election campaign after he beats Crist.  That is also a good way to show your displeasure with the Washington, DC ''leadership'' of the party who are trying to foist leftist Crist on the party as US Senate nominee.

Carter, in many ways I appreciate your decree.  It is indeed quite extraordinary to have to go that far, something that would not happen in a year anything close to normal.  The attacks on personal lives were bad enough when the event was still in progress, but we should not have to continue to have to wade through that crap now.  But it does point to the crying need for proactive steps to reunite the party, and I hope that at least that subject can still be discussed.  The NCGOP cannot afford to let the bitterness linger so that it adversely impacts the 2010 campaign.

I think the divisiveness will be kept under the surface for a while. I was at a campaign event yesterday for a local candidate, where the factions still mingled, and picked up literature and signs. However it's probably just bottled up. 2011 may be "round 2".

 The NCGOP is toast.

Anonymous said :

 The NCGOP is toast.

Why would you say that?

To get attention and be obnoxious, would be my guess.

 NCGOP-NO IDEAS-NO CANDIDATES-NO WAY

Anonymous said :

 NCGOP-NO IDEAS-NO CANDIDATES-NO WAY

Case in point.