Speak Your Piece: All politics is still local

We’re midway through the primary election at this writing and it’s a typically slow day at the polls. While it’s usually light, we could attribute it to early mail-in voting, or perhaps what we think about the  (yawn) municipal elections.   

I was interested to learn more about the state of our local Republican parties, especially in traditionally Democratic Lower Bucks, this year. 

For their part, the strong county GOP boasts about their successful and ongoing drive to register Republican voters, having recently overcome a slight Democrat lead countywide. But in heavily populated Lower Bucks it remains a challenge and winning elections is an even greater challenge.   

Republicans are outnumbered and their Democratic counterparts in Lower Bucks usually win. Consequently, the local GOP is weakened by lack of interest and losses. In fact, there are areas where Lower Bucks Republicans can’t field a candidate for one or two local seats.

Wouldn’t it be better to recruit viable GOP candidates in Lower Bucks municipalities and concentrate on the kitchen table issues such as jobs, taxes, healthcare, safety, social security and so on? If Republicans hope to succeed in November and win county seats and in another year maintain the congressional seat, they need to unite and sound a message that appeals to middle-class and working-class families. (The Democrats are still in a “woke” frame of mind.)    

While the county GOP has been concentrating on registering voters, they know winning the vote requires unity, leadership, and a solid message. Closer to home, Lower Bucks Republicans should get together under one, big red umbrella, boost their ranks, and tackle  those kitchen table issues.   

Actually, Republicans have a good track record when it comes to county and local government, but they need to make some noise from the top down.

The Republicans hope to gradually make their way back from that election where they lost the county commissioner majority. Ouch. Since that point, they’ve needed a strong Republican minority voice. 

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo is not that commissioner. Republican DiGirolamo seems to keep the peace with his Democrat majority colleagues, when they deserve otherwise. DiGirolamo has not made enough noise as a Republican minority commissioner. Sometimes, not even a peep! 

That needs to change for the sake of the Republican cause throughout the county. Hopefully it will. And while we may live in a “purple” county, the strength of the party begins at the municipal level. The county commissioners office is a leadership position and not the place for a silent minority.   

Is that a partisan statement? Partly, although it’s rooted in the experience and words of our former congressman and former county commissioner, the late, beloved Mike Fitzpatrick, who said it straight: “The Republicans are better at governance – the Democrats are better at politics.”  

Case in point: A Bucks County Democrat representative once told me, when they were battling a strong GOP machine and a whopping registration gap, “First we concentrate on winning local elections, take over the townships and then the county and state seats.”   

As the late Massachusetts Democrat and Speaker of the House Sen. Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr. said, “All politics is local.” And I believe the voter turnout and results of this year’s primary election will show Sen. O’Neill got it right. 

Pat Wandling hosts “Speak Your Piece,” from which this commentary is adapted, weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.