Published: November 08, 2007 10:13 pm            

Letter to the editor - Friday, Nov. 9, 2007

‘Credibility’ sums up Dems’ victory

On May 12 of this year, the front page of the Kokomo Tribune asked the question, “Can the local GOP right itself in time for November 6”? I believed at the time that the short answer was a resounding no! Now that the election is over and all the votes are counted, everyone knows that was the correct answer.

The answer was no because too many Republicans had been sickened by the bitter poison we were force-fed by our party’s power-mongers, and our recovery won’t happen until new, effective leadership takes over our party.

Months ago, I pleaded with Chairman Craig Dunn no to “poison the well” of Republican politics in Kokomo, but he was determined to follow his own irrational and destructive agenda. He wanted to bring about change in City Hall, whatever the cost. Through his sheer determination and a lot of crafty maneuvering, change is what he is going to get. But that change wasn’t celebrated in Republican headquarters on election night. The Democrats, however, were ecstatic and rightly so.

For many months prior to the primary election, leaders of the Republican Part circulated throughout Kokomo a thinly veiled, orchestrated vendetta against Mayor Matt McKillip. Their intentions were made clear by Dunn in his October 2006 column, “Matt McKillip and the Rule of Law”. He accused the mayor of all manner of law-breaking and called those of us who supported the mayor “toadies and sycophants”. This was unnecessary and very destructive to the party. Local Republican politics went steadily downhill from then on, culminating in the humiliation that took place on election day.

Mr. Dunn will now have to accept the inevitable fact of life that “when you choose the behavior, you also choose the consequences”. And the consequences of his particular behavior are that he has presided over our party’s most stunning defeat in recent memory. He could not find a way to win on Nov. 6 without the support of the very large number of Republican voters he offended, called names and told their opinions don’t matter to the party.

Matt McKillip lost the primary election on May 8, but he is, in many ways, the ultimate winner. Unlike some of the others involved, his character, principles and integrity are undamaged and he owes no one an apology for his conduct. His life is moving forward and his future is bright and filled with new, exciting possibilities and opportunities. He takes with him the best wishes and gratitude of hundreds of his supporters and friends in Kokomo.

Local GOP leadership has already begun to craft a variety of excuses as to why they failed so miserably on Nov. 6. No. 1 on their list of excuses is to blame Mayor McKillip for their humiliation. It’s always easier to point fingers than to accept responsibility for your own behavior. I believe the real reason for their failure can be summed up in one word: credibility. Mr. Goodnight and his party have it. Mr. Dunn and his party do not.

I gladly extend my sincere congratulations to Greg Goodnight on his outstanding victory! Kokomo is depending on him and his team, and I trust he won’t let us down. Greg has already accomplished one thing that no other Democrat has been able to do in the last 47 years. That is, to convince this one, old Republican stalwart to vote for a Democrat. Because of the profound disappointment I have experienced in the leadership of my own party, that vote wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

Gayle Sales

Kokomo

        

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