So it looks like Bergen County has done something right – just as Conservatives with  Attitude’s! own A. J. Sparxx called it, members of the BCRO voted to replace current Chairman Rob Ortiz with Bob Yudin, 412 to 317.  Ortiz had barely served a full year as Chairman after Guy Talarico resigned with the Bergen County Republican Party in shambles.  Running his campaign on hope and change (sound familiar, liberals?), Ortiz raised the expectations of the party but failed to live up to them.

As a member of the Bergen County Young Republicans, I have been quite disappointed myself with the lack of unity, action, and direction in Bergen since Ortiz came to office.  He seems a nice enough guy, but the farthest thing from a conservative.  And his buddy-buddy relationship with Kevin O’Toole confirms this.  While I respect Ortiz for his ambition (he’s only in his late 30’s), I’ve always felt that he cared more about “the establishment” than about maintaining and strengthening the values of the Republican Party.  I’m ready for a change.

So, best wishes to Bob Yudin.  I appreciate the positive attitude he displayed in his victory speech:

No recriminations. None.  This is about all of us getting together, and uniting as one Bergen County Republican Organization.

I really am 69 years old and I’m not going to stay forever,” said Yudin, who plans to devote himself full-time to the job. “So I want to say to Rob that I want you to stay and be active.

Yudin also had the support of the more conservative members of the BCRO, which gives me hope that he will help bring Bergen County back to the Republican principles that until recently, it held solidly for years.  I’m hopeful that this next year will fare better than the last.

Twice today I heard the argument that the younger generation had to support Rob Ortiz because he was a young politician opposing an old member of the party.  I was sent an email this morning telling me that as a Young Republican, it was my duty to support Ortiz because he was a fellow Young Republican.  I really want to address this because I find this reasoning absolutely childish, empty, and pathetic.  Certainly, I’m in favor of people of all ages getting politically involved, but isn’t it the liberals’ job to run a campaign based on race, gender, age, and demographics?  If Rob Ortiz’s plan for the party and the values he promotes are those that I support, then I’m all for him.  But please, I’m already sick of hearing that I’m a self-hater because I support a male nominee for president over Hillary Clinton.  I don’t know how much more of this meaningless reasoning I can handle.

To me, as long as age doesn’t equate to inexperience (with those too young) or to physical inadequacy (with those too old), it doesn’t need to be a factor when I cast my vote.  And I don’t believe it should.  I’m not sure what happened to people voting their values and their consciences, but I’m afraid it’s become less and less the norm.  I suppose it’s easier for candidate to take the low road and campaign on identity politics rather than policy and ideology, but this should NEVER be accepted as a sufficient substitute.  If it does, we can expect to see few in power other than the naively and arrogantly young, the ever-indignant feminist, and the race-card playing minority.  Am I the only one who’s less than thrilled?