*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington
I’ve never in my life been involved in politics or government. If you’re a regular reader of the blog you have probably heard me say this before. The first time I ever voted was in 2004. I was working for a conservative organization and my boss very nicely told me it was my duty to vote. And so I did. I was 29 years old and I voted for John Kerry for President, Dino Rossi for Washington Governor and Rob McKenna for Washington AG. You could say I was uninformed…that would be a nice way to put it.
If you’ve been a Washington voter since 2004, you probably understand why this was the first and last time I voted until 2016, when I only voted to vote for Donald Trump for President. I didn’t feel like my vote counted in 2004 and to be very honest with you, I don’t feel like it counts now either. I believe voter fraud is a very real and long-time problem in Washington state.
When I started my “little Facebook group” back in late 2019, it was never with the idea that it would be “political”, but rather a place for likeminded ladies to find connection and community. But God had additional plans in mind. He knew it was important for us conservative ladies to be involved in our government and use our voices to create change.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that the Grand Old Party (GOP) wasn’t exactly waiting with open arms for “newbies” on the scene to bring new ideas that challenge the status quo. And dare you suggest that an elected official with a “R” after their name may not be in alignment with the party values and message and you’ll have people questioning your Christianity right quick. And whatever you do, don’t call anyone a “RINO” (Republican In Name Only), all that does is show your ignorance and make you appear “cocky.”
So here we are in Washington state with a “Republican” (I use quotes because I don’t want to sound ignorant or unchristian by saying RINO) Secretary of State who doesn’t think we have an election integrity issue and she’s just taken an appointment in the Biden Administration. Wait. What? A “Republican” going to work for administration that thinks voter ID is “racist?” How does a person with any integrity take an appointment like this? And more importantly, how does someone like this get endorsed by the Washington State GOP?
But the ladies and gentlemen who have long been part of the Washington GOP tell us that our Secretary of State, Kim Wyman (now a member of the Biden Administration, registering as an Independent for her new role.) has done so many great things for Republicans in Washington state. Our elections are fraudulent. They have been for decades. We had a huge Employment Security Department fraud in 2020 on her watch. If you’re the Secretary of State and this happens on your watch, you’ve failed. It’s not personal, it’s job performance. I bet if you don’t perform your job well, you don’t get to keep it.
But here in the Washington State Republican party and all over the country, we don’t dare call people out in our own party for under or non-performance. Doing so is not acting in “unity.”
Thanks to several Republicans, Biden’s infrastructure bill passed both the Senate and the House. But we shouldn’t speak out about that because we need to be “united” as a party. What I’m seeing is that we are uniting with Democrats, and we are allowing these Republicans who don’t share conservative values and the America First agenda to further the radical left’s very dangerous agenda.
A couple weeks ago at the Log Cabin Republicans’ “Spirit of Lincoln Gala” at Mar-A-Lago the RNC, led by Ronna McDaniel, announced their new “RNC Pride Coalition.” Before people accuse me of being anti “LGBTQ”, that’s not the case at all. I don’t care about a person’s sexuality, and I don’t judge them for it. I do care about “pride” when it comes to sexuality. This is a play by the RNC to get votes from the LGBTQ community by becoming more like the radical left. It’s yet another example of compromising our values for votes. It’s an effort by the GOP to become more WOKE to appeal to a population of people that do not share conservative values.
It is disappointing and sad to witness what is totally acceptable – and often endorsed – in the Republican party. We are living in a time where we must draw the line in the sand and not compromise our mission if we stand a chance of saving our country. Knowing this, I find it extremely discouraging that the party that aligns closest to the conservative, America-First mission has absolutely no backbone when it comes to standing strong for this country and its people. I would say that sometimes it even feels hopeless. But it’s never hopeless until it’s over and it’s far from over.
As conservatives we must demand nothing less from our politicians and elected officials than standing 100% for America First. We, the voters, have the say and it’s time to stop voting for party-endorsed candidates like Kim Wyman, like Jaime Herrera-Buetler, like Dan Newhouse, who do not represent our values and repeatedly betray their constituents. Stop donating to a party that isn’t representing us. Stop voting for these people. Find the conservative candidates that are fighting this fight with us and for us. They’re out there and they desperately need our support – financial, volunteering, etc. Contact the campaigns of these candidates and ask what you can do to help.
We will not be bullied by the party to support elected officials and candidates that do not represent our values and do not forward the conservative movement. We cannot afford to compromise: our nation is at stake.
