Former candidate wants to rebuild GOP 'from ground up'

A perennial statewide candidate, Mike Protack has always run for office under the Republican flag -- never with the blessing of Delaware's GOP establishment.

But with the comeuppance his party saw on Election Day last November, both locally and nationally, it's time for the Republican Party to regroup.

And while Protack may never be seen as the future of the GOP, he's doing all he can to ensure his party's future.

Protack has started two new Web sites aimed at reinvigorating Republicans at a grassroots level. And this time, he has the blessing of the Republican State Committee, which is partnering with him to provide content and outreach.

It's the kind of thing Protack concedes the Democrats have been far better at -- using technology to engage rank-and-file voters who may not be engaged with party activities on a day-to-day basis.

"We're trying to emulate what President Obama's campaign did and what Howard Dean started four years before, in terms of using the Web to communicate," he said.

But while Protack likes the new president's campaign strategies, he's not too keen on his ideas for running the country. Most of the recent posts on his blog (delawarerepublican.wordpress.com) offer a conservative prospective on how to handle the economic crisis gripping the country. Suffice it to say, he's not a fan of Obama's stimulus package.

“Basically, it’s a special interest spend-fest for one-time projects that will have no affect on job growth. You repave a road and then that job is gone," he said. “Individuals and businesses are more effective in deciding where to spend money.”

But Protack does not confine his criticism to Democrats. He's very critical of the Bush administration's spending and the resulting budget deficit. If Bush's spending had grown 4.5 percent each year instead of 6.7 percent, there would be no federal deficit, Protack said.

“As Republicans, we tried at a local level to co-exist too long with President Bush,” he said. “Now we have a new administration doing some things that are bad for the country and we have an opportunity to make people aware of that."

Protack said he'll be watching closely as Gov. Jack Markell prepares to offer his upcoming budget and strategies to close a $606 million deficit at the state level. He expects to see a top-down review of all state agencies and departments, and possible furlough days or offers of early retirements to cut personnel costs.

"Philosophically, the governor's a little more socially liberal, but economically we're mostly on the same page," Protack said of Markell.

Ultimately, however, the name of the game is raising revenues without increasing taxes, and to that end, Protack has become one of the loudest voices in the state calling for legalized sports betting.

Federal law dictates that Delaware is the only state east of the Mississippi River where sports gaming could be legalized, giving it a huge advantage over its neighbors.

"We're already a gaming state," Protack said, dismissing concerns some have that sports betting would appeal most to residents who couldn't afford it. "We already market our lottery the most in low-income areas, so I find it odd that people find religion when it comes to sports betting."

Clearly, Protack has opinions, and he's not shy about using his blog to express them. But he also wants to find others who may think like him to become active in the Republican Party. That's where his second site (rebuildtheDelawareGOP.com) comes in.

While the site articulates conservative positions on a variety of issues, it also encourages inclusion and organization. On the homepage, visitors are greeted by this message: "Build a big tent, or a small coffin."

"I think the electorate sees the Republican Party as elitist or out of touch in a lot of ways," he said. "It's up to us to change that, and any kind of social networking we can do to engage people is going to be a big help."