Manassas needs your help.

There's an article in the WaPo detailing the internecine war and decline of the Va republican party. I think it is a bit overdone but it is interesting. There is no denying that republicans in Virginia are mightily fractured.  This fracture has produced poor results statewide and mixed results locally.  However, I'm not interested in a hunt for the guilty in this affair: that is past…it's the future that interests me. 

Here's the problem.  Poorly functioning parties don't grind the grist that produces good leaders.  If the party unit – at any level – isn't cultivating leaders then whoever walks in the door is your next leader.  Even if you're lucky enough to have talented leaders walking in the door, that isn't optimal.  At the City level, we need better functioning parties.  I, of course, would prefer a strong republican party – one that is looking for leaders and getting them involved in City committees and volunteering to help get other republicans elected.  This way, when they're ready to run for office, they have some idea of how the City (or whatever) works and are much better prepared to discuss issues based on their experience.  Manassas has been successful in the past because we had this process and it is time to return to it.  Look at those guys who presided over the growth of Manassas.  They weren't all captains of industry or even highly-educated executives.  They came from all walks of life but they all had one thing in common: service to the City and a dedication to our collective success.  We need back there.  Political parties are best when they have unifying beliefs but a diversity of opinion about those beliefs.

To that end, I'd ask anyone who is interested in helping to attend an upcoming republican meeting (or if you're a D, go to their meeting).  This isn't going to be a crazy 4-hour meeting featuring speeches or anything else: it's just a membership meeting.  The city needs your help.  I don't care what your politics are (well, if you're going to attend the R meeting it's probably best that you're an R) or if we've had differences in the past.  

The meeting is on March 26th.  Social hour is at 6:30 and the meeting starts at 7:30.  It will be upstairs at City Tavern.  If you have questions you can email me (andy@harrover.com) or contact the republican leadership via the Manassas GOP Facebook Page.  I'll probably have a coffee get together in a couple of weeks to talk about concerns or issues in advance of the meeting.  I'll put it on here and my Facebook page.

Please consider getting involved.  Bring a couple of people.