The act that brought about Dean Grose's very public resignation from the Los Alamitos mayor's seat last year may not have been the most racist thing any politician has ever done, but it may rank as one of the most stupid.
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“I'm looking forward to working with the entire committee on trying to bring about some clarity and some core values back to the GOP,” Grose told OC180News. At approximately the same moment, canines everywhere reacted to a high-pitched whistling sound.
The Weekly actually broke the news of Grose's candidacy for Central Committee–kind of. After we covered the tea partiers' insurgent campaigns to transform the committe, we ran a letter from Grose with the headline “That's Using the Ol' Melon!” But we had to edit it for print. Judge for yourself whether Grose is a racist or just a hapless, dictionary-averse target of the liberal media by reading his full, unedited dispatch to us last month:
I appreciated your articles on the OC GOP Central Committee in the OC Weekly. There is a movement to start at the very beginning. As a life-long Republican, I've become very upset with the dis-connect that the leadership has been displaying in both parties. There has been a certain “business as usual” arrogance from the GOP with feelings like “we're back” after some mid-term wins on the east coast. That's not what the people have been saying and particularly the growth from the Tea Party movement throughout California and the country since last April. Things are happening within our country that reflect the fact that the members of Congress and the Senate, as well as those in Sacramento, have lost touch with reality. They perhaps are also frustrated in the two-party system. I am certainly not opposed to the two party system, but somewhere along the line we have developed and “them or us” attitude that isn't working for the citizens of this country. Additional parties won't solve what is wrong, but having properly vetted candidates who are prepared to stand behind their core values are needed. This fall, we will see how many are no longer willing to accept career politicians and 'business as usual' type of politics.
I too have opted to run for the 67th Assembly District, which represents a larger portion of Western Orange County. Rather than complain on the outside, I want to be part of the solution that can occur from the Central Committee level. I am not and will not be a career politician. I'm a small business owner with a passion to help improve our country, from the local level. I ran for our local City Council in Los Alamitos, three times and on the third effort received the top number of votes. I recognize why I wasn't elected the first two times and they were issues beyond my control … but I didn't give up. I had a local reporter ask “Did you ever think of being a three time looser?” to which I responded that “I never ran to loose” and the same applies to my efforts in June for the 67th AD spot on the Central Committee. There are six seats open, and the incumbents are part of the 12 candidates seeking the spots. I vowed to not spend more than $1,000, and am doing what I can to gain name identification for this seat outside of my local communities. That has been through Facebook, both on my personal page and a fan page. This alone will not secure the seat, since the voters will choose based on the name or person they know or recognize. I'm going to be listed on several mailers and am considering small advertisements in community newspapers. I'm listed as a small business owner, just as I was when running for City Council. As a California business, since the early 80's, I know the impacts of regulations and the struggles of the economy. We've had to downsize, regrettably, I'm not discouraged easily because I recognize that success is often measured by your effort. I've been attending meetings of various political groups and helping in getting out the vote, registering of citizens, and trying to help the awakening silent majority to learn to research candidates and make their choices on candidates that meet their own objectives and beliefs. June 8 is an important date in many races on the California ballot. I encourage all voters to accept the challenge to know the individuals you are casting your ballot for, whether it be a spot on the Central Committee, or a school board or college district; a city council or judge; or for the local Sheriff, an Assemblyman or Senator in Sacramento; Governor; or candidates for Congress or the Senate. Each vote is important, each candidate is worthy of scrutiny by the voters. Don't be an uninformed ballot caster, make sure your vote counts!
