Open Letter to RI GOP and Minority Leader Brian Newberry: "It's Pirate Time!"

To the Rhode Island GOP and Minority Leader Brian Newberry:

The more that I learn about Rhode Island, I find myself more interested not just in her history, but in her future well-being. Not to be negative, but the problems which are plaguing Rhode Island are afflicting many states in the union, including my native California, but in the worst way.

I also have a growing concern for the Ocean State, along with the rest of the Northeast, because of the damage caused by the Democratic hypermajority hegemony, a political party which has placed special interests ahead of the public interest, which has taken "general assistance" into insistence that poor people stay poor while rich people stay gone.

Not only that, the National GOP needs a fifty-state strategy, but right now, the Northeast is not getting the love and respect it deserves from Washington leaders Washington or National Committee elites. The Presidential candidacy of former Bain Capital CEO Mitt Romney created more problems for the national conference, portraying a party in disarray, disjointed from local and state leaders, with national talking heads making choices and taking chances without any respect or regard for the interests or affiliations of the grassroots efforts of the Republican Party.

To some residents, the Rhode Island Republican Party represents the quintessence of "loser", a political party which appears like unwelcome party crashers in a vast sea of one-party rule, as opposed to a viable opposition in a state desperate for checks and balances. While WPRI reported that Rhode Island is the most liberal state in the USA, a USA Today poll concludes that the state is the most moderate, so the GOP should stop writing off Rhode Island and the GOP.

The well-known truth should galvanize more GOP support: the Democratic hypermajority in Providence has done improvident damage to the Ocean State, a former colony established on religious liberty and respect for all opinions, a rebellious constituency that held out for its independence and autonomy. Founder Roger Williams and sympathetic compatriot Anne Hutchinson fled the autocratic religious tyranny of the Massachusetts Bay colony. The colonial representatives of Rhode Island refused to send anyone to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and the state resisted joining the United States of America out of concern that they would lose clout and character in the midst of the larger states and expanding territory throughout the country. Rhode Island has a history of rebels fighting back, and the RI GOP can resurrect this fighting spirit.

Now more is the "acceptable time" for Rhode Island Republicans to take back their state. The only interest which keeps the Democrats in power, the public sector union lobby, is taking in diminished returns throughout the country. From Michigan to Wisconsin to major cities in my native state of California, residents, taxpayers, and even youngsters entering the work force are standing up to the Public Sector unions. If Rhode Island can push back, then everyone else can.

Minority Leader Newberry, I write to encourage you. Do not look at the circumstances, do not consider the present limitations of your caucus. The media and the Democratic machines may joke about the "phone booth" GOP, but with the right attitude, the right principles, and the right plan, the Rhode Island GOP can go from "phone booth" to "town hall" to General Assembly once again.

Consider Ronald Reagan, an "amiable dunce" to critics, but the latest Republican Presidential candidate to win Rhode Island. He envisioned the demise of the Berlin Wall in 1968, long before any relevant intellect entertained the idea the demisde of Communism. In 1989, Reagan broke off a piece of "The Wall". Today, a chunk of that broken blockade rests at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

Miracles can happen in the face of "impossible" odds. Consider the 1994 and 2010 election cycles, in which Republicans took back the House of Representatives. Reagan won two landslide victories over an impoverished Democratic Party. Just this  past week, US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky shocked the country and united conservatives with his unprecedented filibuster of John Brennan’s dubious appointment to direct the CIA. President Obama at first refused to ensure that he would not use drones against American citizens in this country. Paul’s filibuster forced President Obama's hand, and the country is shouting Paul's praises.

. Minority Leader Newberry, adopt Reagan speech-writer and conservative columnist Peggy Noonan's advice: "It's Pirate Time!" Rhode Island has a long history of pirates' making landfall, of smugglers making off with profit without paying immoral tariffs, of rebels rebelling against concentrated authority. Break out the best, the boldest, the brightest ideas. Demand a "right to work" state. Demand "school choice" for all Rhode Islanders. Call the "Independent" Governor's bluff, and propose tax cuts. Shout out loud in the GA, or filibuster (another “piratical tactic", in which a small band takes over a big ship). Shake hands, hold more townhall meetings, knock on doors. Do like GOP Rep. Ryan Fattman of Sutton in Massachusetts, who won 70% of his district in the Deep Blue Bay State.

Rhode Island GOP: "It's Pirate Time!"