Time to De-escalate

I think everything that needed to be said has been said now.

Lew has done a lot of hard, good work for this county for years, and this passion has been an important part of his life.  We understand this, and we took no pleasure in rocking the passion of the man.  We didn’t go down this path out of hatred or spite or as a deliberate campaign to smear a man, no matter how it stung.

Lew is not the only person who is passionate in this county.  Thanks to the abuses of our recent federal government, a lot of people quit spectating and found their voice in the last few years.  This has fundamentally changed the landscape of politics in southwest Washington, by all accounts and metrics for the better. We found ourselves dismayed and surprised when the longtime voice of conservatism in Clark County repudiated these Conservatives who have stepped into the ring.  We did not then and still don’t understand the basis of this thinking.

David Madore has observed that we are family, and indeed we are.  Regardless of who you may have supported in the last presidential cycle, we all share a common core of principles.  To expand on Commissioner Madore’s metaphor, when one member or group on a family feels abused by another, they will take it for only so long before they retaliate.  That’s what’s happened here.

Lew, think about how you’ve felt over the last week – angry, betrayed, unwanted by people you thought supported you.  Divided, unappreciated, frustrated, beseiged.  People were talking and you felt you had lost control of the conversation.  This is exactly how many good, solid conservatives in Clark County have felt during your relentless, unwarranted attacks on people that you should have been allying with, because they share the same conservative values you do.  We tried to ignore it - everyone says things that are over the top from time to time. But instead of moderating over time, the rhetoric just got worse, until absurd charges of corruption and wrongdoing were leveled.

These are not fringe extremists who seek to fundamentally transform Clark County into something you wouldn’t recognize.  They are your neighbors, Lew, and I hope you get the opportunity in the weeks to come to engage with them, have a coffee or a beer or two and get to know them.  Listen to them, instead of telling them what you think they believe, and you’ll be surprised at how thoughtful and reasonable they are. I know I was. Believe it or not, I entered the political fray in 2012 for the first time specifically to lend my voice against the Ron Paul movement that had taken control of the convention in 2008. If you open a conversation with an attack, of course you’ll encounter resistance.  That’s human nature. We hope and encourage that our leaders – you know who you are - take the initiative to facilitate and moderate this dialog over the next few weeks.  We have too big a battle against the Democrats to continue this divisiveness among ourselves.  It’s time we quit reinforcing the Democrat stereotype of being intolerant right-wing extremists and learn to get along with people who share our core principles.

Now let’s get to work.  We have candidates to elect, and a County charter to deal with. This has unnecessarily sucked up far too much bandwidth. The game is afoot!

Some simple questions.

Well, Lew and his wife are reading the blog, anyway.  They're quoting bits and pieces on Lew's facebook page, apparently to try to regain control of the dialog and try to paint us evil, corrupt, underhanded conservatives in some sort of bad light. I guess he doesn't have the nads to just post the links, so people can see the entire context of what they're quoting.  This is standard for Lew, but unfortunately, he doesn't control the forum. 

Come on, Lew.  You've been wordsmithing for long enough, you should be able to craft a coherent response without resorting to vulgarity.

Lew's also dropping depth charges, slandering whoever comes to mind, like Mr. David Hedrick, in the hopes that something floats to the surface and he can ID those of us behind Lew Waters Watch. Mom always told me that you make enough enemies by accident, you shouldn't go out and try to make more.

And poor Lea still insists that it's those dirty Paulians behind it all.  *Sigh* I guess some people just can't be reached.  And yes, Lew, I'm calling out your wife.  Anyone wants to get in the ring here shouldn't get upset if they get spattered.

But we've pretty much said everything there is to say on our end, and Lew is just repeating his chant. We're not going to get into the playground sand-kicking contest that Lew wants to get into to try to make us look like the big, mean people he seems to think we are.  I just have a couple of questions for Mr. Waters, to try and steer this little mud-slinging fiasco onto firmer ground. 

#1.  Since the Clark County Republican Party control effectively shifted to a grass roots conservative movement about a year and a half ago, a number of things have happened.  I would like Mr. Waters to please explain which of these things he thinks is the work of his version of the antichrist New Conservatives, and why he thinks it's been a disaster for the Republican party and conservatism:
 a) Defeating the disastrous Columbia River Crossing boondoggle, with Lew's welcome help
 b) Implementation of a new County GOP website
 c) Improved get out the vote effort using a contract call center
 d) The adoption of new analytical tools to increase understanding of voters and trends
 e) Increased the number of active PCOs. 
 f) Implementation of bylaws to decentralize power in the local party and ensure that the chairman cannot act unilaterally. 
 g) Record-breaking fund-raising Lincoln day dinner that doubled the previous record
 h) Implementing cost control measures
 i) Ending 2013 with a positive bank balance
 j) Instrumental in promoting the election of key figures, including Commissioner Madore.

I dunno, standing here with the sun in my eyes, I'd say these new fellas did pretty durn good.

Okay, question #2:
Lew has claimed that a corrupt, underhanded, secret plot was developed to "stack" PCO slots with people who were sympathetic to the New Clark County Conservatives.
a) Please explain the basis for this charge of corruption. 
b) While you're at it, explain why it's acceptable for the establishment wing of the party to the exact same thing, and not the new conservatives.
c) Explain why it's unethical to encourage citizens who share your values to become active in the public arena.
d) And explain why your position is not trying to disenfranchise those you seem to disagree with.

We won't even touch on the Apollo Fuhriman scandal.

So there you go, Lew.  Care to sharpen your pencil and address these questions?  I think they're legitimate, they're not attacking you.  Just seeking clarity in your thinking.  Will you give us a cogent answer?

Or will you continue to chant? 

Your response will speak volumes about how you deal with people who disagree with you  - or who you think disagree with you.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Lew continues to self-destruct

Lew, calm down and take a breath and reflect for a moment on how you have been treating good, solid conservatives in Clark County for the last two years.  How long do you think you could do that before they started fighting back?  Sounds to me like the troll can't stand being trolled.

You think this just came out of nowhere?  You think one day people up and said, "Hey!  I know! Let's screw with Lew!"

A lot of people tolerated your insane hatred for a minority of conservatives for too long, and that apparently gave you the idea that you had carte blanche to slander anyone who got in your sights.  When you started accusing the people who are ideologically closest to you of corruption, when nothing of the sort is the case, some of us had enough.

If you have any doubt about where this originated, the answer is as close as your nearest mirror, friend.  All of your pain is self-inflicted.  We here have invited you to stop multiple times. The choice is yours.

No one has smeared your name, Lew.  Unless you feel that the truth is a smear.  Man up and quit whining just because someone is finally standing up to your bullying.

Veterans

The whining continues.  Eventually someone is going to realize that nothing is happening in the last week or so that hasn't been happening already for going on two years.  The only difference is that it's going the other direction.

Mr. Waters has been smearing the good names of staunch, solid conservatives who have stepped into the political arena over the last two years and demanded that control of the Clark County Republican Party be returned to the people.  He's been doing this for two years, with terms such as "Paul-bots," derisive commentary, insinuations of unethical and corrupt behavior.  None of which has been accurate or appropriate.

How many of the good people who have been the subject of Lew's jihad are veterans?  I can name a half dozen off the top of my head without even trying.  And I don't know most of them.

So, please, spare me.  Lew has made a minor hobby out of smearing his fellow neighbors without regard to whether they served or not.  Lew is certainly not the only one who served his country in this county.  That dog won't hunt. I just find it remarkable the amount of angst this is causing when someone finally does to Lew what he's been doing to other conservatives for two years. 

How long did you think you could smear people the way you have before they fought back?

David Madore Said it Best

For the record, those of us at Lew Waters Watch have also been sorry to see the deep division that has been caused in the Conservative Community of Clark County.  Mr. Madore is absolutely right, we do need to be united and standing together as comrades.  However, we've found it awfully difficult to do this when one of our own has been unceasingly critical of the very good work that has been done in this county by very good people, all because he has some sort of grievance about the national political preferences of a minority of the conservatives who have made their voices heard in the last few years.

For some time we have approached Mr. Waters in a variety of ways to stop the unnecessary and ill-informed rhetoric aimed at other conservative groups in this county, and for this effort people have been publicly ridiculed, called vile, disgusting things and inevitably banned from discourse with Mr. Waters altogether. It was with great regret that we decided that engaging Mr. Waters on his own turf was futile, and that the only way to counter his divisive attitude, unfounded insinuations and incorrect assumptions was to open our own counter-site to call him to account for his commentary. As we've stated before, all we ask is that Mr. Waters use a normal amount of social decorum when commenting on people who fundamentally agree with him on nearly every topic you care to imagine.  Mr. Waters has created an imaginary stalking horse based on a political prejudice, and assigned it to a group of people to which it's not even relevant.  Why he has done this baffles us, and we're at wits end trying to talk sense to him, because the moment the subject is broached he begins chanting and quits listening.

We look forward to restoring good will to Mr. Waters.  He has done exceptional work for the conservative movement in Clark County for years, and we hope to see him do so for many more.  We just don't understand how he can do this while he's diligently seeking to alienate the conservative base, just because he thinks they support a particular candidate who's no longer even relevant.

Lew goes on later in the comments to label this a smear site and wonders why no one has encouraged us to dial it back.  No one needs to encourage us, Mr. Waters. We have repeatedly stated that we want nothing more than to see this go away.  We will do so when you stop maligning and making false insinuations about corruption against people who are working for the very same things you are.  This is a smear site only in so much as you have used your soapbox to smear other good, solid Conservatives in Clark County.  Many people have offered to meet with you over the years and explain what is going on and why.  You have slapped the olive branches away and continued chanting.

Observe Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment, and no one has a problem.  I would like to see your site go public again, and I would be very interested in your views on the Clark County charter.  I would be delighted to find nothing slanderous about the new conservatives who have made their voices heard in Clark County.  We're not evil, we're not brown shirts, we're not underhanded or secretive or unethical.  And we really don't understand where or how you got the idea that we were.

The Chant Continues. . .

It's shocking to watch a man descend into uncontrolled paranoia.  In Lew's current mental state, any time anyone so much as moves a photo or does some housekeeping on their social media site, it's perceived as a direct attack on Lew and further evidence of corruption in his fevered mind.

Those of us associated with this site to hold Lew publicly accountable for his public misrepresentations have absolutely no idea what he's going on about here.  Either more people are disgusted with Lew's shrill rhetoric than we suspected, or Lew is reacting to imaginary slights.  Given his recent behavior, I'm willing to go either way. It will be interesting to see Lew post his screenshots, so we at least know what he's talking about.  I doubt he will, though, because likely there's no "there" there, and it sounds more ominous to make insinuations than it does to reveal the actual extent of the perceived slight and show that you're really huffing and puffing about a tempest in a teapot.

". . . most corrupt. deceitful group. . . "

The only thing Lew puts forward as evidence of corruption is the recent campaign to recruit active PCOs, and then recommend that they see if they can negotiate with other candidates to avoid contested races.  There's nothing unethical about encouraging citizens who share your values to become active in the public arena, and nothing was done in secret.  Sorry, Lew, but you've really gone from the sublime to the ridiculous on this one.

"Ron Paulies."

Okay, Lew can't read.  We've addressed this many times.  No point in repeating it. The source of all of Lew's selective deafness is his inexplicable visceral hatred of anything associated with Ron Paul.

It's not possible to have a discussion with someone who only wants to chant.  No one has smeared you, Lew.  We've just called you out when you've misrepresented the facts.  We look forward to when you stop the paranoid knee-jerk reaction that *gasp* somebody disagrees with you publicly, and give us some clarity of thought on the proposed Clark County Charter.

Lew Ratchets up the Hysteria

In spite of numerous calls on this blog for Lew to dial the rhetoric back and reestablish contact with the concept of reality, poor old Lew just keeps the hits coming.  What surely should have been nothing more than a couple of passing shots to get him to recognize that the people he insists on demonizing are ideologically in step with him on most issues - all issues locally, in fact, has turned into a "scorched earth" campaign in Lew's agitated mind.

Here's the situation:  Lew has closed his blog to the public.  It's apparently by invitation only.  Not what we had hoped would happen, and surely not an optimal solution, but at least he's not publicly trying to divide the Republican conservative party in Southwest Washington for the moment.  We were considering closing down this blog in response, because there's just no class in spiking the football after this kind of result.  But then Lew posts this sort of nonsense on his facebook page:




*SIGH*

In spite of numerous times trying to explain to Lew, the Ron Paul supporters have nothing to do with this.  The Ron Paul supporters do not control the political scene in Southwest Washington.  They are a significant part of the conservatives who have restored control of the party to the people, but are in no way the Majority.  How many times do we have to say this before Lew wraps his head around it?  Or is he just going to keep chanting?  There are no brown shirts, and no one is trying to silence Lew.  We are just here to correct the misconceptions he promotes that something nefarious is going on in Clark County. We are here to push back when he continues to malign good, solid conservatives and claim that they are up to no good. 

We welcome Lew's Support of Commissioner Madore.  We welcome Lew's analysis of the County Charter Change and the discussions it will engender.  We welcome Lew's support of ALL of our candidates.  This is the truly bizarre feature of this entire fiasco, that the people that Lew habitually insists on deriding, insulting, demonizing and vilifying actually AGREE with him on just about every policy point in local politics! We really don't understand what the hell his problem is, except that he has a strange visceral hatred for Ron Paul, and it's developed into some sort of psychotic paranoia. Instead of seeking common grounds of agreement, Lew has chosen to try to push a wedge into local politics and ensure that there will NEVER be any sort of reconciliation.  Cooler heads have encouraged Lew repeatedly in more subtle ways to dial this down, and for their effort they have been insulted and castigated and publicly ridiculed on Lew's forum.  Finally some of us have had enough, and we opened a forum that Lew can't control, and this has driven him apoplectic.

We have never sought a scorched earth policy.  All we want is for the mindless chanting about how evil the New Conservative activists in Clark County are to stop, for Lew to quit burning bridges and causing dissension, and for everyone to start working towards a common understanding of where the County should be guided in the years to come.

This forum has repeatedly challenged Mr. Waters to tell us exactly what policies have been enacted in the last two years that he materially disagrees with, and he has refused to discuss the topic.  Because there aren't any.  We've asked him define what he means by "extremist" and he has not done so, because he doesn't know.  It's chanting.  It doesn't need to be rational.

The fact is clear that Lew has more invested in his personal biases and misinformed opinions than he does in promoting actual grass roots conservatism.  We wish it weren't so, because he has a tremendous amount to offer the conservative community of Clark County.

As for the graphic he posted. . . well, that doesn't even warrant comment, it's so patently absurd. 

Lew Takes a Break

Lew has decided to take a break, for a variety of reasons.  This is probably a good idea, so everyone can calm down and get a little distance and objectivity.  When Lew decides to start advocating again, we will welcome his perspective and hope that he ups his game to embrace and speak to all conservatives in Clark County, not just the ones with whom he's not had petty disagreements.

The echoes still linger on, and we just want to take a few minutes to address some of these.  Robert Dean consoles Lew on his Facebook page. . .

Yes, Robert, that's what despots do, and what Lew has expended a whole lot of virtual ink trying to do for the last two years.  Maybe you should ask Lew to publish a screenshot of his block list on Facebook and see who has been banned by him from engaging on his facebook page.  Christian Berrigan can't see Lew's posts on facebook.  Now, one can argue that Facebook is a social media and anyone has the right to block anyone they want, which is true.  But if you're using your facebook feed as a bully pulpit to support your political blog, you should be prepared to debate those who disagree with you.  Lew doesn't do that, he just blocks them.  I know a whole lot of other people follow Lew who are part of this evil, underhanded anti-American cabal he's so intent on destroying, but they don't challenge him because they aren't up to roll around in the mud with him the way he wants to, and really don't care to be called shit smearers and assholes in a public forum.

And Robert, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you the plan when we started this blog:  We want to push back against someone who is using his position as a pundit to drive an unnecessary divisive wedge into the local Republican party.  We didn't want to do this, but we felt it was necessary to highlight the errors and outright falsehoods being promoted by someone who has developed a reputation for being a reliable source of political analysis in Clark County.  We don't seek to silence Mr. Waters, we welcome his input.  We just seek to be his journalistic conscience, to remind him that he no longer has the only microphone and the only soap-box in the County, and that he will be challenged when he makes false statements and maligns people's intentions when he has never even bothered to interview them and find out what they're about. 

I have personally suggested to a number of people in power that Lew be invited to participate as a journalist, so he can come in and see what's really going on and report accurately about it.  A couple of years ago, I might have had some success, but Lew has gone so far out of his way to foster ill will within the party over the last two years that no one trusts him to not take what he learns and spin it against the New Clark County Conservative out of sheer spite.  My father always said that trust is something that takes years to develop and a second to destroy.  We would all like to see this rift healed.

As to the "Cowardly" anonymity of this blog, we have tried to engage Lew directly through the comments on his blog, and have been derided and insulted, sometimes in pretty vile ways.  One of Lew's favorite tactics is to identify his target and engage in the politics of personal destruction to avoid the effort of engaging on the facts.  We have removed this tool from his arsenal of underhanded tactics.  It speaks volumes that Lew has yet to address any of the very real challenges we have set forward to him in these articles, but has insisted on always taking the low road and complain about how badly he's being treated. Also, unlike Lew, those of us associated with this blog have lives, businesses and interests that have nothing to do with the politics of Clark County, and we don't see any reason for small-minded people to retaliate against those interests because they don't like being challenged to debate their principles in an open forum.

If Lew can up his game and start conducting himself as an honest journalist, he will be a better blogger, and we'll have nothing here to write about.  That's all we ask.

Honestly, it reminds me of a bunch of cheerleaders suddenly realizing that the football game isn't about them.

Don't confuse me with facts! My mind is made up!

Lew is spun up, mad as hell, and continues his chanting, in spite of facts.  Does Lew read?  Can Lew read?

In these pages, we have repeatedly invited Lew to dial it down and engage in a real, rational dialog.  We have asked pointed, pertinent questions designed to initiate and encourage said dialog.  But we've also held firm that any misrepresentation on the part of Mr. Waters will be refuted - He no longer enjoys the luxury of pontificating in a one-way echo chamber.

So here is the essence of Lew's problem neatly boiled down.  We're going to - to use Lew's favorite new term - "fillet it like a carp" to show that our dear good friend and conservative advocate has completely jumped the rails and gone cross country with no regard to who he mows down in his rampage.

 

Okay, point by point. . .

"Ron Paul Republican Liberty Caucus"  This is a slander, an epithet in Lew-speak.  There is no lower form of life than a Ron Paul supporter in Lew's world.  Ron Paul is Satan's spawn, and nothing a Ron Paul supporter says or believes can possibly have any merit whatsoever. 

Never mind that Lew has been repeatedly reminded that the Ron Paul supporters are a minority in the Republican Liberty Caucus.  Never mind that Lew has been advised that those of us responsible for holding his feet to the fire in the interest of intellectual honesty are most assuredly NOT Ron Paul supporters.  Never mind that Ron Paul is so 2012, and that as a person and a candidate he's become more or less irrelevant in modern politics, although his ideas live on.  Never mind that Ron Paul's crazier ideas have no relevance to local politics, and that his supporters are effectively staunch conservatives who believe in fiscal responsibility and bottom-up governance - just the sort of people Lew tries to style himself to be.

No, facts have no relevance in Lew's world.  He feels better chanting Ron Paul's crimes against humanity.  It gives him a convenient excuse to avoid actually engaging.

"I catch them secretly attempting to stack PCO slots"  Lew insists that something was done in secret, I guess because we didn't call him and get his permission to proceed.  There was nothing done in secret.  The "Establishment" stalwarts were perfectly aware of what was happening, and in fact they were mounting a similar effort to stack PCO slots in their favor, just as they did in 2012.  I know several people who were approached by them in 2012 to try to backstop PCO's who threatened their sovereignty. The New Clark County Conservatives were aware of their efforts this cycle as well, and took it as a matter of course.

For the record, here's how this evil, underhanded, secret nefarious deed was done.

"Hello?"

"Hello, may I speak to Mr/Mrs Citizen?"

"Speaking."

"Hi, Mr/Mrs Citizen, my name is Sparky Dogwalker, and I'm the Precinct committee officer for precinct 123, and I'm calling on behalf of the Republican committee for the <take your pick> legislative district.  Don't worry, I'm not calling to ask for money. Do you still live at 456 Easy Street?"

"Yes. . . ."

"The reason I'm calling is that your precinct does not currently have a precinct committee officer, and we're looking for someone who's tired of the business as usual establishment Republicans telling us how to run our county, who wants to get involved and try to turn this county around and give control back to the people.  Is this something you would be interested in?"

"Well, I'm not sure. what does a precinct committee officer do?"

This was followed by a short synopsis of the role and responsibility of a PCO, including the perks, like being an automatic delegate to the county convention and getting a vote on Committee officer selections.

"Wow!  You mean I actually have a chance to get my voice heard?"  And this was normally followed by a five to ten minute diatribe on how frustrated this person was with how the party has been run all these years.  Refreshing, but ultimately frustrating for the recruiter, because they have a lot of calls to make, and only a short period of the evening in which people are amenable to being called like this.  Once their batteries run down, the call would be ended with,

"That's excellent!  You're just the sort of person we need to help us push back on the Republican Establishment and start steering this party back to the people."  And then the caller would give them instructions on how to register their candidacy.

Evil.  Nefarious. Unethical.  Immoral.  Underhanded.  Un-American.  Criminal.  Why, there ought to be a law!  Imagine, CONTACTING a conservative citizen and inviting them to join the political process!  Why, it's enough to make one's head want to explode!

Here are some basic facts that Lew's chanting is intended to drown out: 

• Precincts are divided up geographically.  To be a PCO for a district, you must be a resident of that district. 
• Any registered voter in a precinct is eligible to run for PCO for any party.  
• One does not to be a member of the party to run for PCO for that party.
• There are 248 precincts in Clark County.

And somehow we're supposed to believe that the evil, satanic "Liberty alliance" managed to have the foresight to seed the population with an even distribution of crypto-conservative operatives who were just waiting to be activated in order to stage a putsch against the honorable and noble old-guard Republican party. Next thing we'll hear is that it's all Bush's fault.

I'll tell you, the surprising thing about the PCO recruitment drive is how many people were sympathetic to the message, even if they didn't want to commit the time to running as a PCO. There was no stacking of the deck, and no secrecy about what was being done. What you need to wake up to understand, Lew, is that the deck didn't need to be stacked.  All that had to be done is tell the average Clark County Conservative that we wanted them to have a voice in the party. 

Instead of condemning this, you should be asking why the old guard Republicans are fearful of an increased participation by the people?  Could it be because they can no longer control the message?  Could it be because the new by-laws undermine the localization of power in the central committee and give more power to the PCOs?

and finally. . . .

"to cover it up, they have launched an all out assault on me."  After enduring your barbs, insinuations and outright falsehoods for two years and doing our best to be reasonable about it, some of us decided to see if the troll could stand being trolled in the same fashion.  It appears you can't.  We've offered you repeatedly a chance to take the high road, to dial it down and return the dialog to one of civility.  You keep chanting and waving your hysterical, factually challenged, allegations around like they came to you carved in stone from on high. We have repeatedly expressed our desire to go to your public offerings and find no falsehoods worthy of challenging you on.  You're a bully, Lew.  You're a bully and finally someone is standing up to you and calling you out, and you can't take it.

You want this blog to shut down, to go away?  So do we.  Here's all you have to do:

• Be polite
• Be factually accurate
• Quit inventing conspiracies where none exist
• Get your facts straight before you start maligning people who are on your side
• Accept that people can disagree with you on some things and still agree with you on the majority of issues.  It doesn't make them evil, it doesn't make them stupid, and it doesn't make them "Paul-bots."

You have positioned yourself over the years as the reasoned, reliable and trustworthy source of conservative opinion in Clark County and we have all appreciated that.  All we're trying to do is to get you to keep living up to that standard. The choice is yours, but we have just as many pixels of virtual ink and as much spare time as we need to give you a reality check if you continue to go off the rails.

Lew Faces a Dilemma

Poor Lew.  Forfeiting the high road, he finds himself unable to be an honest broker in information and advocacy in Clark County.  His irrational fear of that which he does not understand puts him in a bit of a bind, because to be true to his beliefs and principles, he needs to backpedal on his ill-considered rhetoric and mumble a mea culpa to those he has made a hobby of castigating.

Gentle Reader, I refer you, no, I recommend you to an article Lew penned last October:

Clark County GOP Pens Open Letter to Herrera Beutler (Updated)

Please read the whole article.  I have said I will call Lew out in this forum  when he's wrong. But to be fair, I will praise him when he's right, and this time he hit the nail squarely on the head.  BRAVO!


But now the conundrum.  Will Lew publicly endorse Michael Delavar's candidacy to challenge Jaime Beutler in the primary for the Republican position on November's ballot? What is a troll to do?  Accept the candidate who was previously run down our throat for her work in the WSRP party, or endorse a candidate who was previously selected to be the Republican representative for 3rd district in the Electoral College and a *gasp* known supporter of Ron Paul in the 2012 election?

Principle?  Or personal?  The choice is Lew's to make, and it will be an interesting one.  Politics makes strange bedfellows indeed.

Paranoia will Destroy Ya

The depths of Lew Waters' psychosis are being explored, and the more we push, the stranger things become in Lew's world.  Having had prior experience dealing with the mentally ill, I can only express sympathy for Lew and pray for his speedy recovery.  Nevertheless, one cannot start slinging slander around with wild abandon without being challenged to return to reality.  Here are the results of some of Lew's latest paranoid hallucinations.

Lew, come on.  Make me work for it.  This is like shooting fish in a barrel.

"They first decided to seize the GOP."  Who are "they,"  Lew?  Citizens of Clark County?  Residents of Clark County?  Conservatives who have had enough of business as usual politics?  Who are these mysterious "They" you insist on slandering?

I'll tell you.  "They" are housewives, businessmen, entrepreneurs, working class teachers, engineers, pilots, nurses, office workers.  "They" are our neighbors, long time residents and people newly arrived.  "They" are veterans and immigrants and people whose roots in America go back to the revolutionary war.  "They" are people who want their country back, and have gotten damn sick and tired of waiting for the State and National party to start representing them instead of sucking up for personal gains. "They" are what people like Carl Rove laughingly call the "base" and then get ignored while the establishment sucks up to the left to try to garner votes.  "They" are the ones who have stayed home once too many times on election night because the Establishment GOP candidate had no interest in representing them.  "They" are the ones who are pissed off and have finally decided that enough is enough!

". . .what they trump up. . ."
Lew, Lew, Lew. . . I told you this forum was gong to call bullshit on you when you went off the reservation, and here you go again.  Apollo Fuhriman was caught red-handed signing people up to be PCO candidates without their knowledge or consent.  He admitted it in order to contain the damage to the WSRP.  I personally want to see the mutt charged and deposed, so we can find out who told him to do this, who suggested this was appropriate.  Dammit, I want to know who else knew about this, and when did they know it!

So huff and puff all you want.  When you make statements like this the objective observer just sees a loony old man. Stay relevant, Lew.  That's the standard we're going to hold you to.

And then Lew ends with "I don't do bullies well." Which has me rolling on the floor laughing my ass off!  This from someone who has positioned himself to be the biggest bully in the blogosphere in Clark County!  You can dish it out, but you can't take it, is that the case, Lew?  What's the matter, you don't like it when someone does to you what you've been doing indiscriminately for the last two years to people you don't even know? Lordy, that is too funny!

Not to be left out of the race for least relevant voice in politics, "Wild Bill" Cismar offered up this gem of wisdom:


I've got to say, one thing you guys don't lack is nerve.  I remember you, Bill.  You were the one at the County convention holding the microphone while the ballots were being counted and refusing to give it to anyone who you had a personal disagreement with.  Don't lecture us on underhanded and dishonorable.

". . . return the party to representative of the citizens."

Truth in meaning, Bill.  What this means in Cismar-speak is ". .. . return the party to representative of the citizens who agree with me."  i.e. the Establishment.  See above for who these nefarious agents of evil are. Plutocracies?  Please.  Get a grip on yourself.  That's precisely what the New Clark Conservatives have been fighting to end. 

Lew Takes Things Personally

Lew announced that he's going on the offensive if people quit doing "liberty" stuff, like holding him responsible for the misrepresentations he insists on making.  I guess for Lew it's only personal if it's coming his way.  For a man who is on his own record for calling people "shit smearers" and "assholes" on his public forum for having the temerity to disagree with him, he has a lot of nerve now going on facebook and whining about "personal attacks."



We have many times right here in this forum invited Lew to dial it down and try engaging in some actual dialog on issues to find out just exactly what he has a problem with when it comes to having grass-roots Conservatives involved in the political arena. No such dialog has been forthcoming. We know he hates Ron Paul with a visceral hatred that defies reason, and that he erroneously associates anyone who's tried to challenge him to a return to reasonable discourse as a Ron Paul supporter.  And I guess it's also only appropriate to recruit PCO's if you're working for the State Republican Party or higher.

Any attempt at dialog so far has devolved to Lew Water chanting nonsense about Ron Paul, and heaping poorly conceived imprecations on anyone who's not kissing his ass and telling him what a great guy he is. 

One-note Lew Maintains his Tirade

The latest offering on Lew Waters' Facebook forum:

Vitriol?  Lew, who was running around calling people "Shit Smearers" and "Assholes"?   You're mighty brave behind that keyboard, sonny.  I wonder if your chickenhawk mouth is quite as loose face-to-face where you might get your ass kicked?

Underhanded acts?  At the risk of repeating myself, there is nothing underhanded about contacting fellow citizens in various precincts who share the same values and outrage at how the party has been run, and asking them if they have the time and are willing to step up to the plate and try to have a say in how their local party represents them.  And no, we don't have to file public records when we do so, and we don't have to ask permission from an out of the loop curmudgeon like yourself.

Destroy the Republican party?  Would that be the Republican party that you proudly left in disgust four years ago?  What do you actually know about it, then?  Given the progress that's been made in Clark County in the GOP in the last two years, the only person I see destroying anything is you destroying every shred of credibility you ever developed.

Careful how far you're willing to stretch to drive home your point and still maintain your already precarious hold on reality, old fellow.

Did Lew Waters Call Frank Decker a "Shit Smear"?

Well, not precisely. . . .

Source: http://lewwaters.com/2014/05/21/ccgop-digs-themselves-in-deeper/  Comments

Wait, is this the same Lew Waters that just yesterday declared he had nothing to do with the CCGOP?  Let me see here. . . right from Lew's Clark County Conservative Facebook page, May 27 at about 19:30:

Okay, gentle reader, if this is confusing, that's entirely understandable.  "Truth" for Lew apparently means whatever suits his dialectic for the moment. And for the ladies in the house, I apologize on behalf of my fellow wordsmith for his scintillating gutter vernacular. I've been encouraging him to expand his vocabulary, but Lew has apparently chosen to live the "grumpy old vet" persona.

Look out!  He's got a camera and he's not afraid to use it!

But wait, didn't Lew Waters also say. . . .

Spoken by someone who has done nothing but whine about New Conservatives ruining a party he claims to have repudiated four years ago. And when someone (not Frank) decided to run with his suggestion. . .what does Lew do but. . . whine? No, Lew, we don't approve of the way you operate your blog to control who gets to say what, and so we opened a channel you don't control so we can highlight the nonsense when you go off the reservation. If it bothers you, then figure out who your friends and foes really are and stop sniping at the people who ideologically agree with you.

I'm wondering how many candidates are willing to keep associating themselves with someone with such a colorful potty mouth.  I could go on and on about Lew's classy banter, but Frank Decker said it best in a comment elsewhere. . .

"A quick search of Lew’s previous blog articles will reveal that he hasn’t even used that level of demeaning terminology on the likes of Leavitt, Moeller, or even any of the CRC shills. Call me nuts, but I think that says a lot about the man."

Oh, the Irony

Lew Waters continues to flail around trying to find a suitable target on which to unload. In a flattering riposte to this afternoon's article discussing his announcement that he will repudiate anyone who does not repudiate the New Clark County Conservatives, Lew tries to take aim at the CCGOP as the source of his problems (Blog post titled "CCGOP Doubles Down on Stupid").

Bzt.  Sorry Lew.  CCGOP has nothing to do with this, and I hereby proclaim that this blog is not affiliated or endorsed by the CCGOP.  Those responsible for the content here generally lean towards the GOP, but that's about it.  You missed badly on this one.

In further Facebook discussions, Lew insinuates that this is the work of those dirty, low down Paulists (Paulians?  Would Katja Delavar be considered a Paulista?  I dunno, take your pick) who keep screwing things up for the God-fearing Conservatives.

Oops.  Missed again.  We might have had a Ron Paul supporter at one time, but I think he lost interest.  No, I can confidently say that no one associated this blog has ever endorsed the good doctor.  And this is something you really need to wrap your mind around, Lew.  The Ron Paul supporters are not the only conservatives in this County that have had it with the Republican Establishment telling us what to do and who to vote for.

Lew uses his standardized buzzword of "extremist" faction of the CCGOP to reference those who he thinks disagree with him.  Challenge #1 to you, Lew:  Please explain what you mean by "extremist."  Cite examples. Keep it pertinent.  No hand waving. I just want to know exactly what policies have been promoted at a local county level by ANYONE identified as a conservative that you deem "extremist" or "radical."

Lew, there was no "back room dealing" to stack PCO slots.  There was no bylaw broken, no ethical boundary crossed with a group of people contacting fellow citizens in various precincts who share the same values and outrage at how the party has been run, and asking them if they have the time and are willing to step up to the plate and try to have a say in how their local party represents them. It's called "politics," Lew. The "establishment" conservatives were doing exactly the same thing for exactly the same reason, except they really did cross the line and did some unethical and possibly illegal things when their state operative started signing up people to be PCO candidates without their permission or knowledge.  Funny how this behavior is acceptable to you for one group, even when ethical boundaries are challenged, but not for another group.

Or maybe you have a problem with encouraging people to get involved?  I don't know, I've been scratching my head for two years or more trying to figure out what your problem really is.

Then Lew ends by disclaiming that he's not even a member of the GOP, so how could he possibly be divisive.  Playground hair-splitting, Lew.  You are a self-identified Conservative. It's a pretty good bet you don't affiliate yourself with the Democratic party.  Are you a Libertarian then?  No, I thought not.  So what would that make you, if not a Republican?  Let me think. . . .

. . . .

Nope, I got nuthin'. 

*shrug* Call yourself whatever you like, most of your readership identifies with the Republican party.  Now this is where I get confused.  You have apparently repudiated the Republican party in a sort of "a pox on both your houses!" move.  That's understandable, given the squishiness that the party establishment has exhibited since. . . well, pretty much since 1998.  The difference is that you have just given up in disgust, while a bunch of similarly like-minded individuals have set out to reclaim the party for Conservatism. I'm just baffled why you resist this movement, instead of applauding it, even if you're not inclined to get on board with it.

It sucks when some nitwit with a blog who thinks he has something to say starts dragging your name through the mud and deriding your effort without really knowing what he's talking about.  And if you can't see the irony in that, you're smarter by half than I thought you were.

But we're willing to dial it down, Lew.  I was serious when I said I would like nothing better than to come to your blog and your facebook pages and not see falsehoods and slander promulgated as journalism. So let's start by having you stop chanting and name-calling, and lay out in a clear concise fashion what your grievances are against the New Clark Conservatives, so we can all weigh in on them and see if there's any "there" there, or if you've been indulging in straw man arguments all along. 

Lew Doubles Down on Stupid

Source: Facebook

Well, it seems Lew became aware of this blog . . . .

In any drama, the Hero is challenged early on in the story when that which is most dear to him is taken away.  The hero has the choice of responding in one of two ways.  He can take the high road, in which case there is no story, or he can take the low road, which is the basis of all drama.  His motivation to take the low road is usually associated with his fatal flaw.

Lew’s fatal flaw is his ego, which has clouded his ability to see things for what they are, and as a result, we face the spectacle of watching Lew implode.

The content and comments of his most recent offering to the altar of arrogance have enough material for several articles. But before we start, I want to make you aware of a standard tactic used by the left, and adopted by Lew: DARVO.  Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender.  This is precisely what Lew has been doing, and now that he’s lost control of the message and someone is using his tactics against him, he’s going apoplectic.  It didn’t have to be this way, Lew. There have been many overtures to you to invite you to get to know the new face of the Clark Republican Party, and you have declined all of them. 

Warning:  Dangerous animal!  When attacked it has been known to defend itself!

Lew Waters expresses dismay at the amount of “crap” he received from the Newly activated conservatives of Clark County.  Well, duh, Lew, considering that you never once gave them a break, and castigated them at every chance right from the get-go, what the hell did you expect?  Have you once sat down over a beer with any of them to see what they were really about?  I don’t recall seeing you at any of the party meetings, so you’ve always been on the outside throwing rocks at something you didn’t understand, and were unwilling to find out about. 

In a fit of paranoia Lew makes reference to “secret back-door dealings” and claiming that they’re not right.  Oh really?  So when Ryan Hart and the rest of the GOP establishment makes secret back-door deals, that’s perfectly fine, but when the people rise up and say “ENOUGH!” then that’s not right?  People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Lew.  I personally know people who were approached by Ryan Hart to run against the New Conservative PCO recruits.  How is that any different?  Reality check, dude.  You’re not making any sense here.

Lew continues, claiming that the New Republicans are more interested in opposing someone instead of promoting candidates.  This just demonstrates how isolated that Lew has made himself, and how little he’s aware of what’s going on.  The New Conservatives Republicans are promoting candidates.  Damn good ones, who believe in smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and the return to constitutional principles.  No one is being opposed, unless you’re a mouthpiece for the return to top-down Party politics or have other overt defects.  That’s not conservatism, that’s just big brother.  Nobody has done anything in secret, the committee meetings are open to all PCO’s. . . oh, but Lew isn’t a PCO. . . 

Lew wants his targets to be above board and transparent, yet he has not once offered to meet with any of those he derides and find out what’s going on.  And after his repeated and unprovoked attacks – driven by some ideological hatred for Ron Paul it seems – no one is willing to meet with him because he has not demonstrated himself to be an honest broker. The New Conservatives can be as transparent as possible, but it will make no difference, because the obstacles are in Lew's vision, not in anything the Clark GOP has done.

Lew brands those in his sights as extremists and radicals.  If this is how he sees the Newly Activated Clark Conservatives, then they should proudly wear the mantle, for Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!”  Lew brands himself a conservative, but I guess it must be a special brand of conservative that I’ve been unaware of to this point.

Tom Watson sagely suggested that Lew call out his opponents in this little dust up and challenge them to a public debate.  Won’t happen, Tom.  Lew does not engage when he doesn’t control the microphone or the medium.  And he’s got nothing substantive to debate on that won’t be shredded in no time and revealed for the ignorant muckraking that it is.  He knows that in a fair discussion of the issues he will end up looking like the out of touch, shrill nut that he is; and that the New Clark Conservatives will come across as the reasonable, thoughtful conservative voice for Clark County. Lew cannot debate issues in this context, because there are no issues that he fundamentally disagrees with.  He prefers to deal in the currency of personal attacks, insinuations and name calling.  With all the vitriol he's leveled at the New Clark County Conservatives, he hasn't once discussed any actual issues that had anything to do with reality.

The conversation winds down with some general grumbling about “radicals” and “RINOs.”  Let’s stop and think about that.  Radical:  Smaller, constitutional government by the people and for the people.  How is that radical?  Fiscal responsibility.  How is that radical?  Choosing our leadership rather than having it chosen for us by people who are not even part of our community?  That’s a radical concept.  Beware those radical conservatives!

A RINO is someone who has an (R) at the end of their name, yet enables Democrats.  You can play your DARVO strategy all day, Lew, but one group in this County has chosen to push back against the RINOs, and you spat on the invitation to join them.

You want the bickering and attacks to stop, Lew?  Then dial it down, enter into an actual dialog with EVERYONE in the Clark Republican party – that includes the CCGOP chair and committee members – and start reporting honestly about what we’re trying to do here instead of sitting there throwing grenades because someone rustled your jimmies.  I personally would like nothing better than to go to your blog or facebook page and find nothing that I have to call bullshit on.  You don't need to choose friends and enemies.  Just start being an honest broker instead of peddling your ignorance, fear and prejudice.

Lew touts support from the Columbian

Last week Lew Waters sought to validate himself by citing a mention of his blog in the Clumpbumbian (online) newspaper. Details presented here.  Of course, the usual suspects weighed in, and when a little constructive criticism was offered, Lew dismissed it, and likely assigned poor Mr. Dean to the pile of "Paulians and associated nuts."

But right from the get go, I had to just shake my head.  Really, Lew?  Seriously?  Let's think about this a second. . . .

First of all, you're referencing the Columbian blog, not the actual news division.  A blogger with an agenda is going to find a reference that corroborates their desired agenda.  Essentially what you're engaging in is you and Lauren Drake having a self-congratulatory circle-jerk, each citing the other's citing of you as validation of your position.

Second, the Columbian is widely understood to be the local mouthpiece of the Democrat party.  Getting a favorable mention in it should be a badge of shame for you to hang your head about, considering your self identification as a conservative.  Stop and think, man: Why would the Columbian cite you unless you were feeding the very dialectic they want to promote?  In other words, you - a widely reputed mouthpiece of the local Republican Establishment - are tacitly defending the egregious misdeeds of the state party in "volunteering" PCO candidates without their knowledge.  Gee, how does that NOT play into the image of corruption that the Democrats would like to paint us with?  Way to go, Lew, you have confirmed every bad stereotype the Democrats have tried to pin on us for decades.  You have been blinded by your own prejudice and unwillingness to engage with the real conservative movement of Clark County, and have played right into the hands of Jim Moeller and friends.  With friends like you on our side, who needs enemies?

Seriously dude.  Stop the friendly fire and get with the program.  You need to review Reagan's Eleventh commandment (you do remember Reagan, don't you, Lew?  Or were you in your dotage even back then?).  The newly activated conservatives have never attacked anyone, they just got a number of like-minded individuals together who realized that the Republican Establishment is NOT working for the Republicans in the trenches and decided to take things into their own hands.  You of all people should be on board with that.

And Memo to Carolyn Crain:  Silence is golden. There's no law that says you have to weigh in on every single topic that you see.  If anything, this is your worst flaw, and the biggest impediment towards your election.  Ask yourself if you really have anything to contribute to a discussion before you put your oar in the water.  The less you say, the less chance you have of putting your foot in your mouth.  Mom always said that empty cans make the most noise.

Waters' blog triggers candidate Carolyn Crain’s continued heavy criticism of new conservatives

This recent PCO candidate dust up has caused Carolyn Crain to again release her manic fury on the new conservative movement in Clark County and the current leadership in the local Republican Party. 

What happened?  Recently, a few independent PCO candidates conducted a process to educate selected PCO candidates on the presence of apparent 'fodder' candidates. These 'fodder' candidates are citizens recruited for the sole purpose of denying the PCO position to a candidate known or thought to be with the new conservative movement in Clark County. It was hoped that these potential fodder PCOs would vote for the old guard establishment candidates for local party leadership when the new Board of the Clark County Republican Party was elected later this year. In the 2012 PCO races there were many more 'fodder' candidates and many withdrew when they learned the motives of the prior Republican leaders that recruited them. Therefore this reasonable process to find willing withdrawals was being repeated. 

To underscore the negative impact of the fodder PCO candidates, the new conservative movement worked to recruit PCO candidates that would actually conduct the work of precinct voter development. These type of PCOs would help all Republican candidates as this valuable voter data was built.

Thus, another attempt to seek withdrawals of fodder PCO candidates was eminently reasonable—but one would have thought a crime against God and Country occurred to observe the reaction of Carolyn Crain, Lew Waters, and a few other knee-jerk fellow travelers. And a few days after their screams of indignation it was found that Seattle area Republican operatives, in coordination with a few local Clark County people, were illegally signing up PCOs (as fodder). This of course was of no interest to Carolyn Crain and Lew Waters. In two words, 'Wild Hypocrisy'.

In the last few years Carolyn Crain has been appreciated for taking on the liberal candidate in the 49th. The old party pundits said it was hopeless. Based on this alleged hopelessness, she was given little support or attention from the prior Clark County Republican party leadership and inside circle. Now that Carolyn has become one of the main grenade throwers to the new conservative movement in Clark County, she appears to be good friend of the prior Republican leadership and advocates. This started with many of these people helping fund Ms. Crain's PAC from a year ago and now with her campaign. The old saying seems to hold true; The enemy of my enemy—is my friend.

It seems like a poor idea for a Republican candidate to be blasting the more involved and dedicated activists. One would think she would just be quiet for her own sake.  And with Lew Waters casting some in new conservative movement as criminals and all as simply-minded ideologues highlights that he lives in an emotionally driven altered reality. The new activists are in fact thoughtful and educated citizens. These genuine conservatives are simply fed up with the Republican establishment working with the Democrats to destroy America's financial well-being and culture. Because they took decisive action to become organized in Clark County to be part of a national reform movement, these hard working conservatives are condemned. First by the prior local Republican establishment who are mad because their power and social structure was disrupted (ironically many who are conservative). Second by others like Lew Waters who have carved out a certain opinion years ago and are unable to make corrections, no matter the obvious evidence. Carolyn Crain suffers from both of these reasons.

Carolyn Crain has signs around town saying 'I care about you'. This may be true—as long as you don't disagree with her.

Lew has a Facebook tantrum

Recently posted on Lew Waters' Facebook page:

"Since i am now being told by a prominent member of the RepublicanLiberty Caucus, or whatever in the hell they call themselves, in Clark County, "you and the establishment puppeteers that pull your strings have reached the end of your relevancy in Clark County," all candidates that do not wish mine or my blogs support, please indicate below so I will be sure to not support you this election and can remove links to your websites from my sidebar.

Source: Facebook

I'm happy to oblige if any do not desire any support from me."

Well, Lew, if you would actually communicate with these people instead of standing on the sidelines throwing grenades, you would at least figure out what they call themselves. 

I really don't understand what kind of a thorn Lew has under his saddle about a group of people that he seems to never have actually communicated with.  Based on the insinuations and outright distortions of fact that Lew throws around on his blog, it's plain that he's never actually had a sit-down with anyone here and actually tried to have a meeting of minds about what he and they have in common and where they differ.  I'd be willing to bet that the gulf is neither as wide or as deep as Lew makes it out to be. 

So the question is:  Is Lew really an ideologue, one-note chorus  who feels it's "my way or the highway" for conservatism?  Or is he a shill for the "Business as usual" Republican party who places roadblocks in front of its selected delegates to ensure that they don't nominate anyone who hasn't been blessed by the establishment?

When a group of young, aware conservatives stands up in Clark County and declares that they don't like the way the old-guard Republicans are rigging the game to be sure the Democrats win, why does Lew automatically side with the RINOs to shout them down?

Judging by the content of the comments on the Clark County Conservative blog, I seriously doubt that anyone is reading it who doesn't already know the Clark political landscape, and who is aware of the divisive bullshit being propagated there to ensure that the Democrats remain firmly in control of the 49th and Olympia. No one reading this fishwrap is likely to be doing so to decide who to support.  I'm sure they've already made that decision long ago. Lew's vitriol against those who have the temerity to disagree with him does nothing more than provide comic relief as we watch a dinosaur Republican party get hysterical in its death throes. Does Lew really think his blog has an effect on Clark County elections? More evidence that he's becoming detached from reality and a legend in his own mind.

To the right is a screenshot of the discussion in progress.  I know people on both sides of this discussion, and it's clear to me that one side knows what's going on, and the other side is running scared, popping off at the mouth and unwilling to enter into a conversation with the other side.  This divisiveness has to stop, Lew.  Get with the program and figure out who the friendlies are.

And Carolyn Crain, For pity's sake, woman, the Republican party wouldn't give you the time of day two years ago, but now you're their fair-haired girl, because you aren't the evil, destabilizing REAL conservative who has a demonstrable track record of telling the Establishment to go to hell.  Where were you in the State convention two years ago?  I didn't see you there.  Lisa Ross was selected as the Santorum delegate to represent Clark County at the Republican National convention.  I daresay she probably knows a thing or two that you don't about how the Good Ol' Boy's rig the game so that only their anointed candidates get any support.  Since you were one of the prime victims of this egregious behavior two years ago, I find it hypocritical that you're snuggling up to them and pointing your finger at Lisa as if to say she's unqualified.

Meanwhile the Democrats sit back and laugh their asses off as you idiots tear the party apart.