I also didn’t mean to blow such cold air on the recruitment point; I just want to make sure we don’t think our only problem was organization. Organization takes effort, and effort takes motivation. That’s what was missing thanks to the transportation tax hike.

While we have much to point to with the POTUS, we should learn from HOW he won in 2004. Forget how he governed; he won with pure grassroots in 2004- and got his vote out so well. We have NONE of that in VA. We need a reasonable 72 hour program; we need a good network of vols; all this will feed the wolf.

There are still more conservatives in VA than liberals. While we can, we must mobilize them by nominating better candidates and finding good people to push them. Starts at the top, but there is much everyone can do under our control to start the comeback.

Everything that people here mentioned goes into party building — establishing a strong grassroots base, recruiting the best candidates, and running on the issues that people care about that differentiate Republicans. True, the national climate does play a role, but when you have the other pieces in place, it can help at least some of your candidates buck the trend.

Now, with regard to candidate recruitment, there isn’t much that you can do when you’re dealing with an incumbent and he either loses a primary (Marty Williams) or else is in a weakened state for the general (Nick Rerras). But open seats and challengers are a different story and that’s where we can make the difference.

Party leadership begins at the top. Most campaigns I know of could not even find enough “paid” volunteers. For many it was just one or two staff members and the candidates family. Until Bush leaves or magically becomes more popular this will not change. Most counties had very little volunteers and very few paid college students or others and it certainly was not for lack of effort. You cannot magically generate the grassroots when the national party is in the tank.

As for the NY GOP, it was never “dominant.” That’s an appalling misnomer. The Democrats have had a hammerlock on the State Assembly (lower house) for as long as I’ve been alive.

Think about this: lost Earley, lost Kilgore, lost Allen, and going to lose Gilmore BIG TIME. Some of this is nominating better candidates FOR THE TIME AND DISTRICT. And some is grassroots. But we need it all, and as we’re seeing in some of these close races, the effort is the difference between winning and having hamhanded excuses about national party weakness, brand and other things that have very little to do with local races.