This used to be a softball.
In a past life, Will O'Neill—newly elected chair of the Orange County Republican Party—would condemn the presence of a man who maced police officers. Alas, it's 2025. And the GOP is soft as butter.
Will O’Neill is the newly elected chair of the Orange County Republican Party. He is a man I do not know, and therefore a man I hold no particular grudge against.
However, the other day a reporter from the Orange County Register called him, seeking his position on the Republican Club of Laguna Woods inviting Jeffrey Scott Brown—a man who maced U.S, Capitol police on Jan. 6—to speak.
And this was a no-brainer.
An absolute no-brainer.
An easier-than-pie no-brainer.
Hell, I’m gonna write O’Neill’s statement for him (no charge): “Though I am a proud Republican, and though I generally support the members of my party, I do not think it is wise to invite a man like Mr. Brown to our county. There is no room for violence in politics, and certainly no room for harming members of our treasured law-enforcement community. The Orange County Republican Party will always have the backs of police. Period.”
Again, easier than pie.
Alas, that wasn’t his reply. Or even close to his reply. Instead, O’Neill said the county party has “no position” on the matter, and added that local Republican clubs operate independently of the OC GOP.
And, eh, it’s just so damn cowardly. Like, soooooo damn cowardly. Or, put different, if you can’t condemn the presence of a dude who maced copes, what can you condemn?
I think back to 1991, when David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, was running for the governorship of Louisiana against Edwin Edwards, a Democrat. And even though Duke was a registered Republican who parroted much of the party’s talking points, President Bush had this to say about his campaign …
Edwards won, and Bush was relieved.
Why? Because he was a functioning human who put nation over politics.
Can we say the same for Will O'Neill? Only time will tell.
But this is not a tremendous start.