County Republican Party Leader Leaves GOP
Ashton Oravetz served the Texas Republican Party for 33 years. He worked his way up to chairman of the Smith County GOP. Now, he has stepped down, saying the party's brand is tarnished and he can do more for conservatives as a grassroots activist.

Comments (5)
Proud Texan
This is a positive development for the GOP. The more people like this that leave, the healthier the party will get.
Jim Golub
The Republican party is broken. They have no identifiable platform beyond suck it up to liberals. They have abandoned the conservatives and swing ever more to the "center" being ever more liberal as they go. They blamed the conservatives for losing the election. But, the conservative vote did not fail. What happened was, the conservative vote did not vote Republican or stayed home altogether. Who was a Conservative to vote for? A non-Christian with views almost as liberal as Obama's? ORomney signed a very Obama like health care bill- that most hated of all Obama creations, into law in his home state. What hope was there Romney would do anything about it? I cast my vote for Romney mainly as being only not quite as bad as Obama. Many people I know of just stayed home in disgust.
Maybe some good will come of it. The country will go belly up so much faster under Obama and, if he doesn't take control as dictator when it happens (as I expect he will) there may arise somebody with a plan that will work with the support to make it happen. If not, well, we are going down the tubes as we were anyway. Obama will just be enjoying the ride. Heck, he is enjoying himself. He and all his followers hate this country and only want to see it buried forever. I could almost, but not quite, pity the fools who support him thinking he is trying to reform the country into some free handout utopia.
One thing I didn't care for that was mentioned was the use of "capitalist" as a defamation. I am trying to build a business. The first European settlers in this country tried communism and rejected it. Our path to greatness was a flourishing free market system. If he is opposed to capitalism, what does he support then? Socialism? Is he then a modern day Bolshevik? That too started as a "grass roots" movement. Whose side is he on, anyway.
Jim Vance
What's a "conservative" these days, really? Labels used for sound-bite, purity-control demagoguery designed to leach money and jack up the adrenaline level of those with a short-term, superficial focus rife with attention deficit disorders on just how "big money" talks so loudly among the more extreme on both sides are the bane of our current political system.
Another 99%
Hopefully, Mr. Oravetz, can convince Voters, to stop putting the garbage in the State Capital. Seems the voters don't get it yet or, how bad it is. Good for him.
Christine Lund
Jim, The powers that be would have liked to have been given this country on a silver platter but they will work with whoever they can to get what they want. In four short years, you will have to admit that President Obama is not a dictator and you were really off base. It worries me when people like you make statements like that. Do you realize how dumb that sounds? Most of the healthcare recipients in this country are women. Do you really object to them getting healthcare? We get paid less than men for doing the same work, we shoulder most of the work of raising the children and elderly relatives. Just what exactly is your problem?