My wife and I are elected representatives for the Republican Party in Clinton Township, and in that capacity, we get invited to several events. A couple of weeks ago, we received an invite in our email, “for those of you who worked the polls during this past election, you have been invited to a dinner with the Mastrianos as their way of saying thank you.” Even though it was in Harrisburg, we decided to check out the hospitality of the recently defeated candidate for Pennsylvania governor.

There were about 350 people packed into the Sheraton Hotel banquet hall, and right away, I noticed this was a different kind of political event than I was used to. For example, there would generally be a band or some kind of music as the attendees showed up. At this event, two guys played guitars (not very well, to be honest) with no amplification, so it was difficult to even make out what they were playing. The invitation stated that the meal would be served at 6:00 p.m., which was a bit misleading as it was really ‘self-serving’ at food tables scattered around the room and the hallway. It was almost 6:30 when a lady took the podium and announced that it was time to get started. I enjoyed the irony in her announcement that some people would be talking while we would be eating “to keep things on time.”

Things did light up when Doug Mastriano and his wife Rebecca entered the dining room to a standing ovation. I thought he might address the crowd, but instead, he simply waved and sat at the head table while the ‘meal’ continued.

As the night went on, I saw a pattern. This was definitely not a typical event that I was used to from the Republican Party — it did not have the professionalism that real pols demonstrate. The various speakers, who were members of his “leadership team,” were simply sharing stories of amusing anecdotes that were not that amusing. To be honest, it seemed more like a high school class reunion than a political rally.

But I decided to reserve my opinion until I heard Doug Mastriano himself. I have respect for the man; he holds a Ph.D., served as a colonel with the US Army and was deployed in Desert Storm, was elected as a PA state senator, etc. He spoke well and began by thanking those who had worked with him on the campaign. But then he transitioned into the “cause” and that his campaign slogan, “Walk as Free People,” was actually a movement and one that he had no intention of discontinuing.

I do not have any inside info, but from what I was hearing and observing, I believe that the appeal that Donald Trump had for Doug Mastriano was his admiration for this individualism. Yes, Mastriano is a true Republican, to be sure, but there was virtually no evidence of the Republican Party in that room. This was confirmed when one of the speakers asked how many were in their first election campaign, and at least three-quarters of the people raised their hands.

This explained the amateur hour that I was witnessing. These were not seasoned, battle-scarred campaign folks as much as idealists who believed passionately in their candidate. There is much to admire in that sort of campaign, but I am also not a fan of lone rangers. Mastriano lost by 14 percentage points to Democrat Josh Shapiro. He noted in his address how surprised he was because he had such large crowds attending his rallies and how passionate they were about his campaign. By comparison, Dr. Oz, who had no political experience yet highlighted the Republican Party when I heard him on two occasions, lost his campaign to John Fetterman by less than a single percentage point. Moral: minimize the party to your peril.

We may wish the world was different, but in the USA, we have two major political parties, and beyond local elections, that is where our leaders are going to come from. The political parties provide the ground pounders that make or break a campaign. Money is important, but as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proved when running for president in 2020, even by pouring half a billion dollars of his own money into the campaign, he was not able to obtain a single primary delegate.

I salute Doug Mastriano and the passion of his followers, but he needed more help than just those from his own tribe. Sorry, Doug, but that’s politics.