By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor

Philadelphia Magazine has an in-depth look at the factionalism that has plagued the Montgomery County Republican Committee over the past decade. It paints a brutal portrait of the MCRC.

“A generation ago, Ronald Reagan decreed Montgomery County one of the three best-run Republican strongholds in the entire country. Now, with the party decimated by a half-dozen years of feuding among GOP heavyweights, a very rich, mysterious newcomer has entered the void to take Montco politics to an even darker place.”

As Democrats have flooded into Montco from Philly, the county’s demographics have changed. Add that to infighting that has severely affected the party’s operations, and a county that has been Republican since Civil War days may soon have a majority Democratic board of Commissioners.

It’s too tough to cherry pick one line or paragraph to summarize the whole piece – you should definitely read it.

The article delves into the back story behind the infamous power-sharing deal between Republican Commissioner Jim Matthews and Democrat Joe Hoeffel, the Bob Asher v. Bruce Castor grudge, and the rise of prolific money man Vahan H. Gureghian.

This writer can vouch for at least some of the party infighting in Montco.

At a recent meeting of the PAGOP, as state committee members met up before dinner, the Montgomery County delegation happened to congregate near where this writer was sitting. For about half an hour, I was treated to a nonstop series of details about the factionalism and infighting in the county party.

It was impossible not to empathize with Montco GOP Chairman Bob Kerns as he urged party member after party member to bury the hatchet over some past slight or another. At the same time, it was impossible not to imagine the glee of Montco Dem committee members had they sat where I did.

Certainly every party organization has its share of clashing personalities, and the social media world has been abuzz with Montco Republicans criticizing or dismissing this article. It looks like the county election results this year will have to tell the final story.