I Don't Want My Grandfather's Buick

To borrow from the old slogan of Buick talking about your father's Buick, I would say, "NO!" I don't want my father's or my grandfather's Buick, or Chevy, or Olds, or Ford. Those were good cars in their day, but today cars are much better. They can go further, faster and safer than ever before. If you want some toys, they can be equipped with satellite radio, a satellite phone, backup camera, television/DVR, they can automatically sense a collision and slow you down. Today's car is superior to the ones I drove as a young man, although nothing compares to the 1962 Chevrolet SS with at 327 cu. in. engine and 300 hp. I guess we all have our favorites, but his blog is not about automobiles, but change.



My maternal grandfather, Clarence Gates (no relation to Bill darn it), was from Burr Oak, Kansas which is about as Republican as you can get. My grandfather had a bumper sticker I will never forget. It said, "Don't Blame Me......I Voted GOP" I can assure you that he, nor my paternal grandparents, nor my parents EVER voted anything but Republican. I was born with the tatoo of a red, white and blue elephant on my lower region. But I will admit to you that I have voted for Democratic candidates on a local, county, state and national level. NOT OFTEN, but I have done it which now gives me the right to complain about the party of my kin folk.



I now choose to support individual candidates more than I support the party. Over the past few years the Republican party at all levels, county, state and national, has become disjointed, dysfunctional and fragmented. We did a sloppy job in the Presidental election and we are about to make the same mistakes all over again because we refuse to get rid of the "good 'ole boy" network. What is the say, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." There is no room for fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh candidates in the GOP of today. There are, of course, exceptions. I think of my friend Hal Daub who, while he has been involved for many years, he is an exceptional servant and willing to allow new ideas. Tony Fulton is another man who is the exception. He is not the politician of the "good 'old boys." And there are others, but if I try to name them all I'll miss someone I shouldn't have.



What I am saying is that we can no longer do business as usual in the Republican party and Nebraska is no exception. I am spending much of the day watching football. I am reminded of how the game has changed since I played. It is faster, more dynamic, adjusts easily, etc. Perhaps we who love the Republican party should take a lesson from the way athletics, cars, airplanes, medicine, television, etc. have adapted and adjusted. Those newspapers, for example, who refused to make changes are no longer in business. The first computer I owned was a Commodore 64, then I upgraded to a Commodore 128. Today my BlackBerry is faster than either of those and has far more memory. I used to be able to connect to CompuServe only in the evening. Now with lightening speed I can connect to any public server. Change is hard, but change is necessary if the GOP is to remain a viable political party.



As a pastor, I have found that brand loyalty is not important to today's Christian. They don't want to sing the same songs as their parents. No longer do we use a flannel graph to teach or even a black board. We are now high tech, with digital images, the music is more contemporary, people can do online registrations for events, etc.



Don't take me wrong. I am not jumping ship on the GOP. If I were, I would tell you after I had registered Democratic or Independent, which half our kids have done. I asked them why and they say it is just more of the same. I argue that the Democrats have similiar issues, but they are either giving the change a try or just not voting which is even worse. Folks, if you, like me, love the Republican Party then let's change it. You know that's tough and not popular when you suggest changing players, but it has to be done from the bottom up. Just because someone has been involved for years we don't need to throw them away, but we maybe bring in a fresh team. I have been critical as as such have been shut out of some circles, but I will keep on fighting for the GOP to again be the GRAND 'Ole Party, not just the Old Party. Roll up your sleeves, be willing to take some bumps and bruises, but let's again make this the party we know it can be. It's our best hope.



God Bless You and God Bless America!

Ray