Primary issues: Ideas vs. electability

In 2002, one of us here at K-Pac had a dilemma. He was trying to decide whom, among the announced and prospective Republican gubernatorial candidates, he was going to support.

Even though he had long been interested in current events and his attention to politics was emerging, he had never gotten seriously involved in a campaign. In 2003, he planned to escalate his level of involvement to include financial contributions, volunteering for the campaign, and however else he could help. He sensed that the time was right to help move Kentucky out of the fatal grip of imcompetent and corrupt Democrat rule and to bring progress to the Bluegrass by electing a Republican chief executive.

He was faced with several intriguing choices as to whom to support, but he was struggling mightily over one key element: Which candidate should he support, the one he thought most qualified or the one he thought had the best chance of winning in the general election?

Quite frankly, as 2002 was slipping toward 2003, our hero honestly felt the most electable of the announced and potential candidates was Rebecca Jackson. The thought of making Democrat women in Kentucky, who long had clamored for more of their gender to be in power, choose between one of their own and their party registration was a delicious one for him. He practically slobbers at the images of Democrat hypocrisy in action. He relished the thought of the political benefits of having a female as the GOP nominee. Although he believed Ms. Jackson to be qualified, and obviously better than any candidate the Democrats would offer on partisan platform terms, he didn't think she was the most qualified Republican. He did, however, feel the Jefferson County clerk was the most electable.

On the other hand, he viewed Ernie Fletcher as the most qualified candidate. Fletcher's resume was deep and expansive: Congressman, state representative, military veteran, lay minister, medical doctor, engineering student. The experience and intellect that Dr. Fletcher would bring to the campaign would be head and shoulders above what anyone else of either party could offer up. But he was truly concerned about Fletcher's electability. With the state's registration numbers giving Democrats nearly a 2-to-1 advantage and with the trail of failed male candidates that had been left in prior elections (including good candidates like Larry Forgy, Larry Hopkins, Jim Bunning and former Gov. Louie Nunn), he was afraid the same fate would befall Fletcher. He knew that getting the Democrats out of the Governor's Office was imperative if Kentucky was going to stop its downward slide and start to move forward, but he felt that the Republicans might need an added edge -- such as a female candidate -- to get over the hump.

His quandary continued until he had the chance to have a face-to-face discussion about the campaign with Dr. Fletcher. Fletcher was meeting with people across the state to assess his chances and our hero was one of those invited to speak with the Congressman. Any doubts he had about his choice vanished during that sit-down. He came out of that meeting with his ideas of Fletcher as the best candidate reinforced beyond doubt, and with his mind made up to support the best-qualified candidate instead of the one he felt was most electable in the general election.

"Go with the best," he said, "and let the chips fall where they may."

As it turned out, his fears were groundless. Ben Chandler's campaign never really got off the ground and despite Fletcher's gender and despite the registration numbers being against him, he won by what is really an astounding margin when all factors are considered.

Our K-Pac blogging partner learned something from the 2003 campaign. Ideas and ideology are more important than electability. There is more pride in losing while fighting the good fight than there is in winning by gimmick. Put your best foot forward. Go with your best starting pitcher in the first game of a playoff series. Play your style no matter the outcome (even if it's a 150-95 loss). Throw your heat and dare the slugger to swing at it. If you get knocked down, pick yourself up and go back for the next round. And all that good stuff.

As Republicans listen to Anne Northup and Billy Harper make their pitches over the next few months, we urge them to make the candidates discuss the real issues. Make them tell you why their policies would be better than the Fletcher administration's. If they tell you to vote for them because Ernie Fletcher can't win in the fall, tell them, "that's not a good enough reason."

Because it isn't.