GRAND RAPIDS — Chris Meyer immediately bought 10 more tickets to the Kent County Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner — once he heard commentator Ann Coulter backed out of her March 16 commitment as keynote speaker.Meyer, a Grand Rapids attorney and Republican candidate for state House, protested Coulter’s scheduled appearance by telling supporters on his campaign Web site he planned to leave the event after dinner and before Coulter’s speech.
But now that GOP officials are hunting for a replacement, Meyer said he can feel comfortable going full tilt at the party’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
“I’m pleased she’s not coming,” said Meyer, involved in a GOP primary with Tim Doyle for a chance to succeed state Rep. Jerry Kooiman, R-Grand Rapids. “She’s a divisive figure, and anytime when you’re talking about a Lincoln Day Dinner, especially in an election year, to have a divisive figure come in is not good for the party.”
Well, at least one local Republican, but I’m proud of him, and I doubt he’s alone. The good news in 2005-2006 is that Republicans all over the place are getting sick of being expected to toe the party line and support the freaks that they’ve been expected to support, no matter how appalling their words and actions. You see it on the micro-scale here, and on the macro-scale with the slap-downs that Congressional (especially Senate) Republicans have given the Dubya over the past year or so.