Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

GOP must review leader's actions

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published November 15, 2006

GOP must review leader's actions 

The article about the lack of support that Pasco GOP Chairman Bunting provided Steve Simon in his re-election bid for County Commissioner is obviously just another low blow by the St. Petersburg Times against the GOP. Surely, there is no way that Chairman Bunting could have thought that Simon would win after the Democratic Party started running a negative TV ad attacking Simon. Nobody in politics has been that ignorant of the power of television since the Kennedy/Nixon debates.

Nobody in the position of GOP chairman would think that making a few more phone calls to the voters would have improved Simon's chances against the TV ad. Also, no GOP chairman would ever provide party funds to non-Republicans, and refuse to fund a Republican candidate. Chairman Bunting could never have made the ridiculous statement that he thought Simon would win, solely because Simon had won his previous two elections (while running as a Democrat). No GOP chairman would have paid for newspaper ads during the final week of the campaign for two non-Republican candidates and then neglect to include Simon.

The statement attributed to Bunting that he did not know that he could have included Simon in the ad's is ludicrous; Chairman Bunting is a professional and would not have made such a basic and costly mistake. Lastly, a politically savvy GOP chairman such as Bunting would have instinctively supported Simon fully, thereby demonstrating to other potential Democrat converts that the Republican Party takes care of their own.

St. Petersburg Times, I'm ashamed of you. Next you will be implying that Chairman Bunting made these decisions on a personal level, rather than a professional one! (On a serious note, I can only hope the state Republican leadership takes a serious look at Bunting's action, or lack of it, toward Steve Simon's failed re-election bid.)

William Porter, New Port Richey

Bunting's critics are way off target

I worked every day the last week prior to the Nov. 7 election doing the neighborhood walks for the local GOP and find the accusations aimed at Bill Bunting to be completely unfounded.

On our walks we were given campaign information for many of our local and state Republican candidates from their campaign staffs. I never met Chris Sprowls during this time, nor did we receive anything from the Steve Simon campaign that we could hand out to the voters on our walks.

The main complaint appears to be that no money was given to Simon. I don't think that would help. Coordination with the local Republican Party, one-on-one contact with the voters and an inspiring message could have helped Simon greatly. Simon already had a substantial financial lead on his opponent, and from the sounds of it, the money wasn't spent correctly.

As a strong fiscal conservative, I am glad to hear that the local party did not chase good money after bad to fund a campaign that was nonexistent up until the last two weeks, and at that point it would have been too little too late.

Julia Albert, Port Richey

Party has grown under Bunting

As a long-standing member of the Republican Executive Committee, I remember a time when the committee was nothing more than a social club under poor leadership. Many open precinct positions existed, and the few members that filled them were disorganized and lacked the direction to work effectively for the party. Along came Bill Bunting and that has changed.

Under his leadership, membership has increased, fundraising has increased, and participation and hard work of the many members has increased. Apparently some of our elected officials see this progress as a threat to their highly coveted positions. I'm sorry they view it that way.

However, I find it hard to believe that Commissioner Ted Schrader would take precious time away from his Internet surfing of resorts to attack our party chairman.

The voters in this election made it very clear that although he may share the values of the Republican Party, they perceived Steve Simon as not sharing the party's own work ethic, and he was subsequently removed from office. Maybe Ted Schrader should stop focusing on Mr. Bunting and start focusing on his own Net surfing habits and work ethic before he ends up in the same spot as Simon: unemployed.

Scott Factor, New Port Richey

First, the country, now the county?

We the people have spoken, loud and clear. The incumbent politicians got a rude awakening. We as voting citizens have given them our thoughts loud and clear. In this past election they thought that they could dodge the bullet. Anyone that does not listen to us - the voting American public, the citizens of Pasco County and the citizens of these United States - will have the same repercussion as they have had in this last election. We the middle class have had enough, and we are going to stay the course. Sound familiar?

We have taken over our country and we can very easily take over our county. Enough is enough. You were elected in these positions to serve the very people that put you in office. Some politicians have drifted from this formula and have taken big business under their wings - namely the insurance industry. The insurance industry has patted everyone in office on the back and said, "Do as I say."

As for Bill Bunting, everyone has the right to carry a firearm legally. But people rule, guns don't! Oh gee, are you being blasted by your own Republican Party, Mr. Bunting? Can't take the heat? What are you going to do: switch parties again?

Elisa Williams, Hudson

Brown-Waite way off base

How utterly sad to read that one of our elected officials is still locked in the "shock-and-awe" mentality. It is a fundamental foundation poured in the concrete of manifest destiny, ignorance, racism and religious intolerance and etched, like childhood hands, in the words of U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite.

The beliefs of Islam, Judaism and Christianity are not representations of the followers, but rather beliefs that represent themselves. To say, as the congresswoman did, that "not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslim" is beyond my comprehension.

To forget about the bombings of abortion clinics, by white Christians, certainly is selective memory loss, at the very least. Dare I say, "Not all Christians bomb, but all bombers are Christians"? How divisive, how cruel, how basically against moral conscience are the words and the actions of this elected official.

Peno Hardesty, New Port Richey

[Last modified November 15, 2006, 07:06:30]