Split Party — By John Reed

Split Party?
This weekend, the State Republican Party will hold their annual convention in Columbus. It promises to be a contentious affair. The Trump faction will be out in force as he will be one of the keynote speakers.
There is another side of the party, though, that is tired of the constant drama and haranguing about 2016, 2020, 2022…Democrats would love to label these folks “never Trumpers” but that would be a misnomer. I think “pragmatic moderates“ might be closer to the truth.
As much spilled ink in these pages has shown, the overall state mindset is moving back toward the left, a generation after the right took control for the first time in a century. There are of course, still pockets where extreme conservatism can elect a candidate, but statewide races require more finesse to win.
Folks on both sides of this party schism should understand that discord only benefits their true opponents. While it’s still barely possible that President Biden will not be their candidate, their debate has only been about the person who is running, not the policies of the party. If Kennedy or some other younger candidate wins out in the Democratic primaries, the party will unite quickly around him or her.
Not sure with the GOP. It’s looking more likely that whichever Republican candidate runs in the general election, supporters of the others will simply stay home. That of course, ensures four more years of the disaster we’ve seen since 2020. We saw that happen in the senatorial runoff elections here in Georgia two years ago. 200,000 fewer Republicans voted the second time around, guaranteeing two Democratic Senate seats, which pushed the balance of power in the other direction.
So the events in Columbus this coming weekend will prove to be interesting. Not just for political observers, but for people watchers too.