When two elephants fight...

it is the grass suffers.

Or so goes the old Swahili saying.

I offer that Swahili wisdom to my good friends in the Pee Dee who consider themselves Republicans.

In case you are not aware, there is a battle being waged between local Republicans over control of the Florence County Republican party. I'll leave it to our friend on the right, Mike Reino and his SC6 blog to inform you of what's going on in their party. Here, here , here and here.

In full disclosure, let me offer up the fact that: a) I have known two of the people who are behind the "Pee Dee Republicans" since I was little; and, b) I have never met Mike, but feel as though we are kindred spirits since we both share an affinity for ridiculous '80s rock bands and gentleman's clubs.

Having said the above, I feel the need to offer some advice. And I do this with the fun knowledge that for some people, the sheer fact that I take an interest in my opposition's party equates to a weakness. (To those people, I say, "Hello...morons, a true adverserial system is good.") Anyway, here is my advice: screw your local party. If you want to influence local politics, do it by winning races.

Trust me. Politics at the local level, especially here in the south, is all about the good old boy network. Those good old boys often cross party lines to maintain the status quo. That is one thing that tickles me about this latest revolt within the local GOP. Exactly what are local Republicans upset about? What race do they think they should have won that they did not? Let's be real, the only races they lost, were to local city races. And if you know anything about the actual numbers and demographics, you would know they could not win those races. Personally, I think more than a few are upset about the Mayor's race. If that's the case, I don't think they really understand the role their local party has had. Decisions were made about who would run and who would not run and the official GOP party leadership had exactly nothing to do with those decisions.

But be that as it may, let me reiterate my piece of advice: screw the local parties. If you want to take control, run your own candidate. As someone who has been involved in local races, I can tell you this: if you want to change things the best way is to take control of local offices. Run your own race, to hell with the party. Once your candidates are in office, you can dictate what decisions are made in the party and how things are organized.

Just saying.