Running with the Elephants

The other morning, a cold, rainy Saturday, I ran my first 5k after taking some time off my track and cross country training. The gun went off around 8:30 and as I began to take off on the road, I remembered something my coach told us about racing,

"It's up to you, if the person next to you starts to pass you and get ahead,
you have to make a choice to go with them or to become complacent and stay the
pace you're in and eventually fall behind."

My State Representative edged me around the second mile after I stopped to tie my shoes, he's very fit...On that note, I raced terribly; no breakfast, no warm-up, no stretching, at least the 5k was for charity! That night, post-race, I attended my county's Lincoln Day Dinner Celebration (yes, my State Rep was there!) . If you've never heard of a Lincoln Day Dinner, Wikipedia has the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Day.

Like other LDD celebrations I've been to, many distinguished guests attended the function. the guest list included Senators and Representatives from the Michigan legislature, local officials, the City of Hillsdale's illustrious mayor, Michael Sessions, candidates vying for the Gubenatorial, Secretary of State and Attorney General spots and a few Congressmen. Michael Zak, the keynote speaker, gave a speech regarding the history of our Grand Old Party. I learned so many facts regarding the truth behind the Liberal agenda to debase the great history of our party--and so did Mayor Sessions.

One of the most important things I got out of the speaker's message and from the others that spoke that night was that we are at a crossroads as a party, which came as no surprise. We've forgotten our past and we're not doing much to stop the spread of the Democrats' influence.
I've heard it amplified at every fundraiser, dinner and event I've been to as well as in every "fair and balanced" media outlet since Obamunism began to sweep the country. That message is clear and cannot be ignored--the Democrats are winning right now.
They are consistenly out-campaigning, out-fundraising, out-performing on the grass-roots level, at every level. In fact, I spoke with a person the other day, a trusted veteran in federal politics, who told me that Obama has already appointed a person to manage his campaign to keep Michigan "blue" and thoroughly Obamunized in 2012. Think about that! Not even a full year has passed in his term and Obama already has his minions strewn across the nation. Well, what does that mean for Republicans?

We need to get fired up! Coaches tell their players, "Championships are won in the off-season". That means in order to become successful, hard, efficient and diligent work is needed, even in a non-major election year. (Although there are two State Senate seats up for grabs...)
We need to win. Tell everyone, use the summer to rouse up support!

Let's come together as a party and get to work. It's up to us, the Democrats are passing us--it's a race, but I hope the results are better than the 5k I ran the other morning...

We have to make the choice: Do we "go" with the Democrats' pace and out-do them in every way possible or do we become complacent and weak in our efforts and attitudes and stay the minority party?

Do we forget our rich tradition in fighting for liberty and the principles the Republican Party was founded on or do we constantly remind ourselves of our mission and rise to battle for justice and rebuild our Party?

Michael Zak's website:http://www.republicanbasics.com/
Michael Zak's blog: http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com/