Townhall
Small Cities in Small Counties
by Rich Galen
Apr 05, 2013 

From Marietta, Ohio 45750
The Washington County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner 

I love county-level political events. 

Unlike major Washington, DC-based events or national political conventions, the people who come to Lincoln Day (on the GOP side) or Jefferson-Jackson Day (for the Dems) dinners, or county picnics during the summer, or participate in parades are the people who are truly the backbone of American politics. 

The tickets to the event here at the local Shrine hall were, I think $35 per head. Silent auction, extra. The meal itself would have cost $85 each at a restaurant in downtown Washington. 

I am certainly not opposed to events that bring in the high rollers. You don't have to have a PhD in political science to understand that an event that will attract 50 guests at $1,000 per will raise a lot more money than an even that has 250 people at $35 each. ($50,000 vs. $8,750.) 

County events are a collection of people who know each other. In a county like Washington (one of Ohio's 99), these same people belong to the Rotary, or Lion's clubs or the Masonic lodge. 

They are retailers, run small engineering, public relations, or manufacturing firms. Or they are the lawyers and CPAs who support them. 

Their spouses are school teachers or scout leaders or manage the Sunday school at their church. 

These are people who could have moved to, and been successful in, Columbus, or L.A. or New York, but they chose to stay here. 

They have known each other since grade school. They played on the same teams in Little League or Legion Ball. They had the same teachers in high school - or they are the high school teachers and the Little League coaches. 

They remember the same stories and retell them with relish every time they get together - the rolling eyes of their spouses notwithstanding. They tell the stories at their Saturday golf game, or their regular Thursday girls-night-out dinner… 

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