It’s Times Like This When You Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Written by Roberta Biros

My recent move from the Republican Party to my new home as a Democrat has been met with some mixed emotions and reactions from my readers.

• There are some folks that have lost their faith in my decision making skills and question if I am a “conservative” at all. They don’t understand why any right-minded individual would ever leave the GOP, and they are waiting to see if I’ve changed in other ways too. It is as though they think I’ve lost my mind or something. Believe me when I say that I have not.
• There are others that were confused by my decision, but they were kind enough to ask me about it directly in an effort to understand my motivation. They gave me the benefit of the doubt, but they wanted to hear it “straight from the horse’s mouth”.
• There are those that have simply gotten “very quiet”. It is as though they are trying to ignore the “elephant in the room” (no GOP reference intended). I personally find it humorous that I’ve managed to make seemingly intelligent people speechless with one simple personal decision.
• Then there are those who have supported me at every turn because they have taken the time to understand the rollercoaster ride that I’ve had with the Mercer GOP. They understand my frustration and they have faith in my judgment. Perhaps they also have confidence in my ability to hold true to my convictions, and maybe (just maybe) realize that I can be a “Good Democrat” because it is the “Good” that defines me.

It is times like this when you really find out who your friends are . . . which brings me to a shameless musical reference.

For those of you that don’t know me very well . . . I love music . . . all kinds of music. I make more musical references than I should because it comes naturally to me. I grew up listening to and playing country and bluegrass (I’ve been a guitar player since age 10, although I’m still not very good). Back in the 80s, I spent my free time as a Disc Jockey. Yes . . . just picture it . . . on any Friday or Saturday night you could find me entertaining crowded dance halls with “The Electric Slide” or “Old-Time Rock and Roll”. Oh how I miss the days of “big hair” and line dancing . . . but, I digress.

My point was a musical reference. I found a great song that really explains my personal perspective over the past few days. The song is “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” by Tracy Lawrence. If you haven’t heard it, you can watch the video on YouTube HERE. A general point that I take from the song is that when you are on top it is easy to have friends, but when things get tough you find out who your ‘real’ friends are. A few lines from the lyrics tell the story:

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you’re up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down
look up and see who’s around then

This ain’t where the road comes to an end
This ain’t where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

You find out who your friends are
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think ‘what’s in it for me?’ or ‘it’s way too far’
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

I’m at that point in my life when “some folks have jumped off”, but I’m finding out who is gonna “hit the gas, get there fast and never stop to think ‘what’s in it for me?’”. It is a milestone that we all come to at some point in our lives, and some of us have been there many times.

With the Political Primary Season getting into full swing, I thought that this was a good time to remind all of us that “it’s politics . . . it isn’t personal” . . . but it doesn’t hurt to know who your friends are.

As always, just my opinion.
~Roberta Biros, Mercer County Conservatives

More Closed Door Politics in Mercer County?

Written by Roberta Biros

For those of you that haven’t been keeping up with the latest local election news, there has been a bit of a stir in Mercer County lately. On February 5th, the Sharon Herald published an announcement of an upcoming public meeting to be held today, February 17th. The meeting was being organized by Democratic Greenville Mayor Richard H. Miller and Republican Greenville Councilman Brian Shipley [READ HERE]. The purpose of the meeting was to gather people that might have an interest in running for office in the Spring Primary.

I read the article, and I found the concept interesting. It was a meeting that they were offering as a public service, but I was skeptical of the “non-partisan” nature of the meeting. Politics (being what it is) generally isn’t a place where Ds and Rs gather in the same room to discuss the prospect of running for office. My initial impression was that it was a way for the incumbent Ds and Rs to find out who the upcoming competition might be. I couldn’t quite sign on to the “Kum Ba Yah” experience. I dismissed it.

The excitement came on February 11th, when the Herald published a follow up story titled “Some aren’t welcome at political meeting”. It seems that after the initial announcement of the meeting, the planners decided to “limit” the people that could attend. The Herald portrayed it as “banning” certain people from the meeting, but I think the twist was a little unfair. The Herald went on to explain who was “not welcome” at the meeting, and their references were pretty harsh.

I again dismissed the story. My personal opinion was that it was a good idea to try to keep the meeting limited to only those people that were actually interested in running for office. I thought that the concept of keeping “looky lou’s” and press out of the meeting would make legitimate candidates feel more comfortable. It seemed like a fair attempt to protect the privacy of those that wanted to attend. I still questioned the motivation for having the meeting in the first place, but I didn’t have a problem with attempting to limit the attendees. Unfortunately, the way that the “dis-invite” was presented turned into a train-wreck. I woke up on the morning of the 12th to multiple email messages from my readers regarding the issue. People wanted to know what I thought and they wanted me to jump on the bandwagon. I really wanted to keep my distance from this one.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go away. The Herald wrote yet another story this past weekend criticizing Greenville Mayor Dick Miller. The opinion piece was titled “Does Miller want to exchange mayor’s gavel for a crown?” and it used the “closed door meeting” topic to open a whole laundry list of complaints against the Mayor. This, of course, just added fuel to the fire for the people that were mad in the first place. I’ve been receiving email communications about the issue, but I stuck to my guns and didn’t comment. Not until today.

This afternoon I received an email asking if I had heard about the “invite only” meeting that was being held in Greenville. It was an honest question, but it was based on a story told to a friend . . . told to a friend . . . told to a friend. My reader finally came to me to ask about it as they figured that I’d have the facts and “the whole story”. I explained the details that I outlined above, and he was satisfied with my explanation. It was at that time that I realized that I needed to take a public stand on the issue for the sake of clarity and fairness.

The meeting is taking place tonight, and I hope it goes off without incident. My opinion? I think it was a good concept. I would have liked it better had the Democrats and Republicans had held separate meetings and leave the “Kum Ba Yah” at home. I’m not sure who is to blame for the train-wreck regarding the “closed door” announcement, but it was unfortunate. It is just another sign of the changing political climate . . . people don’t trust politicians at all, and politicians seem to stumble over their own feet at every turn when dealing with the press. I’m not judging anyone on this one, as I think there is definitely more than one side to this story. I comletely understand the heated opinions on both sides . . . but I remain in the middle.

Some of you may like my opinion . . . others may think that I’m being too soft . . . hopefully many of you will realize that I’m just trying to be fair and call it as I see it.

As always, just my opinion.
~Roberta Biros, Mercer County Conservatives

More Closed Door Politics in Mercer County?

Written by Roberta Biros

For those of you that haven’t been keeping up with the latest local election news, there has been a bit of a stir in Mercer County lately. On February 5th, the Sharon Herald published an announcement of an upcoming public meeting to be held today, February 17th. The meeting was being organized by Democratic Greenville Mayor Richard H. Miller and Republican Greenville Councilman Brian Shipley [READ HERE]. The purpose of the meeting was to gather people that might have an interest in running for office in the Spring Primary.

I read the article, and I found the concept interesting. It was a meeting that they were offering as a public service, but I was skeptical of the “non-partisan” nature of the meeting. Politics (being what it is) generally isn’t a place where Ds and Rs gather in the same room to discuss the prospect of running for office. My initial impression was that it was a way for the incumbent Ds and Rs to find out who the upcoming competition might be. I couldn’t quite sign on to the “Kum Ba Yah” experience. I dismissed it.

The excitement came on February 11th, when the Herald published a follow up story titled “Some aren’t welcome at political meeting”. It seems that after the initial announcement of the meeting, the planners decided to “limit” the people that could attend. The Herald portrayed it as “banning” certain people from the meeting, but I think the twist was a little unfair. The Herald went on to explain who was “not welcome” at the meeting, and their references were pretty harsh.

I again dismissed the story. My personal opinion was that it was a good idea to try to keep the meeting limited to only those people that were actually interested in running for office. I thought that the concept of keeping “looky lou’s” and press out of the meeting would make legitimate candidates feel more comfortable. It seemed like a fair attempt to protect the privacy of those that wanted to attend. I still questioned the motivation for having the meeting in the first place, but I didn’t have a problem with attempting to limit the attendees. Unfortunately, the way that the “dis-invite” was presented turned into a train-wreck. I woke up on the morning of the 12th to multiple email messages from my readers regarding the issue. People wanted to know what I thought and they wanted me to jump on the bandwagon. I really wanted to keep my distance from this one.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go away. The Herald wrote yet another story this past weekend criticizing Greenville Mayor Dick Miller. The opinion piece was titled “Does Miller want to exchange mayor’s gavel for a crown?” and it used the “closed door meeting” topic to open a whole laundry list of complaints against the Mayor. This, of course, just added fuel to the fire for the people that were mad in the first place. I’ve been receiving email communications about the issue, but I stuck to my guns and didn’t comment. Not until today.

This afternoon I received an email asking if I had heard about the “invite only” meeting that was being held in Greenville. It was an honest question, but it was based on a story told to a friend . . . told to a friend . . . told to a friend. My reader finally came to me to ask about it as they figured that I’d have the facts and “the whole story”. I explained the details that I outlined above, and he was satisfied with my explanation. It was at that time that I realized that I needed to take a public stand on the issue for the sake of clarity and fairness.

The meeting is taking place tonight, and I hope it goes off without incident. My opinion? I think it was a good concept. I would have liked it better had the Democrats and Republicans had held separate meetings and leave the “Kum Ba Yah” at home. I’m not sure who is to blame for the train-wreck regarding the “closed door” announcement, but it was unfortunate. It is just another sign of the changing political climate . . . people don’t trust politicians at all, and politicians seem to stumble over their own feet at every turn when dealing with the press. I’m not judging anyone on this one, as I think there is definitely more than one side to this story. I comletely understand the heated opinions on both sides . . . but I remain in the middle.

Some of you may like my opinion . . . others may think that I’m being too soft . . . hopefully many of you will realize that I’m just trying to be fair and call it as I see it.

As always, just my opinion.
~Roberta Biros, Mercer County Conservatives