There still is hope for the GOP despite a sojourn into the wilderness, U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th, said Monday.
Pence was the keynote speaker at the Allen County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser. About 400 regional Republicans packed into Ceruti’s to dine, discuss politics and even campaign.
Allen County Republican Chairman Steve Shine said he was pleased with the turnout, noting it was larger than in the previous two years even though there are no local elections this fall.
The national defeats of the Republicans for president and Congress have helped focus the party, Shine said, although the GOP still holds most major county offices and a majority on the Fort Wayne City Council. The large crowd also shows that the party is healing after a few years of turmoil, said Shine, who faced multiple opponents a few months ago in the race for chairman. One of his challengers, Ric Runestad, was at the dinner and said he still was supportive of the party.
State Sen. David Long, R-Fort Wayne, introduced Pence as a proud conservative who opposed the federal bailouts of companies and President Obama’s stimulus package.
Pence said Democrats were successful in the last election despite the fact most voters aren’t overly liberal, because Republicans had strayed from their own beliefs.
“Republicans didn’t just lose in a few elections, we lost our way,” he said.
His partisan speech included an impression of Margaret Thatcher and a less-than-flattering imitation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
While Democrats were able to get the stimulus passed, he said Republicans are beginning to win back voters who see the error of such large spending plans. Pence said residents understand the government can’t bail out every failed company, and responsible homeowners shouldn’t be asked to pay the debts of people who couldn’t manage their own finances.
He told the group the party can come back if it works.
“We need to fight for freedom, free markets and traditional moral values,” he said.
