There can be no democracy unless all voices are raised, heard and included. The D.C. Republican Committee demonstrated this year its understanding of that philosophy, advocating for greater citizen involvement and demanding elected officials maintain higher ethical standards. Democrats and their sympathizers, meanwhile, spent the year acting like schoolyard bullies, often using the legislative process to abuse political minorities. But the 100-member DCRC, headed by Robert Kabel, proved a scrappy fighter, willing to challenge an entrenched political bureaucracy and the sometimes corrupt culture advanced by the D.C. Democratic State Committee.
Some folks have asserted the DCRC can never win and characterized the struggle with Democrats as Quixotic. Back in the seventh grade, when I stood up to Big Ruthie — a girl who towered me in size and was known for her ruthlessness — I learned victory has many faces.
