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Are RNC Committeemen Even Listening?

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  January 10th, 2011 at 05:01 AM  | 

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I wonder if Republican Committeemen are even listening to the Republican grassroots. Or do they just think they know best? That’s what they thought two years ago. They thought the RNC needed a black man as the face of the Republican Party to take on Barack Obama. They thought the consultants knew best.

Now look at where we are. Maybe, just maybe, if the Republican Committeemen listened to the grassroots for just a minute they’d be able to finally stop the revolt among the grassroots still so intent on doing end runs around the RNC.

If they listened to the grassroots before voting for Chairman of the Republican National Committee, I think they’d be surprised. They might learn some of the following.

Many people who watched the RNC Chairman debate were actually shocked at how well Michael Steele did. I myself, who did not watch it initially but went back to it, have to commend Chairman Steele for doing a solid job. I’m even shocked I’m writing that.

Saul Anuzis also did very, very well. His answers were refreshing and deeply reflective of a tea party heart, something the GOP could probably use at the top right now.

What the committeemen might also be surprised to learn is that among both grassroots activists and conservative organizations in general there is an extremely high level of angst over Maria Cino.

Having given money to and supported an organization that backs pro-child killing candidates, Cino is more divisive than I had realized. And if it is surprising to me how divisive she is, I suspect the committeemen will be taken by surprise too. To be clear here, I am told that Ms. Cino has come around to the pro-life position and I have no reason to doubt it. But many do and I think that lingering doubt should be cause for concern.

But it is not just giving money to and supporting candidates who support killing children that has the grassroots upset with Cino. It is also the very thing the RNC needs to avoid this year — ties too close to the establishment.

Reince Priebus, whose name I will never be able to pronounce, is obviously the most contentious candidate, if only because everyone is presuming Michael Steele absolutely cannot get re-elected.

I have been personally concerned because several people tell me that the same consultants who backed Steele two years ago are backing Priebus. But I will say in his credit that many of the tea party and grassroots activists in Wisconsin sing his praises. [UPDATE on Priebus: I had earlier noted the Anderson brothers backing Priebus. Apparently this info was conflated from the Anderson brothers doing work in Wisconsin for the state party. They are not, however, backing Priebus]

Were I an RNC committeeman, however, I would be deeply worried about the rift between the tea party movement and the RNC right now. And Priebus, more than any of the other candidates save Cino, exacerbates that rift. Outside of Wisconin, the tea party movement wants to see this guy defeated with the passion otherwise reserved for defeating Michael Steele.

It may be unfair. There are many Priebus defenders who think so. But that he has done such a poor job addressing the concerns the grassroots have should worry the RNC that they’d be in for two more years of fighting with the grassroots.

Last is Ann Wagner. Her RNC Chairman debate performance was not stellar. But Wagner is loved, loved, loved by the grassroots in a way no other candidate save Saul Anuzis is. Like with Anuzis, questions on life issues go away as do questions of grassroots support.

Thus if I were an RNC Committeeman I would realize that the present rift between the grassroots and establishment could largely be healed overnight, but only by supporting Wagner or Anuzis.

Personally, I’d vote for Saul Anuzis. I know him and know the amazing work he did when the odds were against him in Michigan. Wager is an attractive alternative.

But you can bet your bottom dollar that, whether you or I may like it, the fight with the tea party movement will continue if Steele, Priebus or Cino is chosen. That’s just the reality of the situation.

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  • lisamiller

    I thought Priebus dropped out? He wasn’t at ATR’s event only the earlier Freedomworks debate.

  • lisamiller

    I thought Priebus dropped out? He wasn’t at ATR’s event only the earlier Freedomworks debate.

  • JadedByPolitics

    is small donor’s have left them, except for a couple of high profile fundraisers on-line. and high dollar donor’s have decided their dollars should not be spent for strippers and houses for friends in Florida. The issue is one of trust and the answer is PACs, whether that be a large PAC, with Palin or Gingrich or any number of big name Republicans or just to the RGA, those are dollars that would come their way with a renewed sense of trust or respect to those people who would donate.

    I take me for example, I used to max out to the RNC back in 2004/2005 but watching the RNC involve themselves in primaries and act like RINOs, I started giving directly to the candidates. The RNC has been taking on water ever since those years and it won’t get better if they choose people like Reince. I only know what Reince has done and he was General Counsel to Michael Steele when Steele was signing contracts for loans not approved by the greater RNC and houses in Florida for Steele’s friends and their friends. Those issue’s alone make him unacceptable to donate money for. I cannot let my money be the money that pays for the house in FL or the money to pay back a loan that was done behind the backs of other members.

    I want an RNC that is honest, hard working and listens to both the grassroots and the big money donors. I want an RNC that understands that the world has changed and the old slap on the back, behind closed doors dealing is HISTORY! and I do NOT want an RNC that is run by someone who already is picking our nominee for 2012, that is for WE The Republicans to decide!

  • JadedByPolitics

    …

  • edwyrd

    integrity-integrity-integrity

  • edintexas

    I haven’t contributed to the RNC in some years either. I spent more this election cycle than I ever have before (don’t tell my wife), but it all went to candidates and a few select PACs. It REALLY ticked me off to get people calling, in the name of the RNC, to ask me to send the $XX,00 I promised – when I had made no such promise. I may be getting older, but I’m far from senile. I wonder how many (if any) fell for that scam?

  • waynemiddleton

    I will with little doubt shortly become a committeman for the RNC, though I choke a bit these days describing myself as a Rebpublican – this after having voted Republican somewhere around 80% of the time over the years of my life (100% for President) despite being a Bible Study Student under Past President Jimmy Carter as a youth.

    You can take it to the bank my friend, that this committeeman is and will connected to our US Constitution, Fiscal responsibility, Limited Federal Government, States Rights, and Individual Responsibility as hallmarks of the Freedoms our forefathers intended for citizens of these United States of America.

    I encourage anyone (PLEASE) with even a close resemblance to that stated feeling to make a plan right now to become a committeman and take over that which must be taken over in our Two-Party System as it is the way to gain back control from the Socialists who are driving this country to ruin.

  • dudette

    I am on our committee for our district but have no clue how this relates to RNC

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    Well, to do that, you had to know who actually votes for the RNC candidates. That means you have to “read the directions.” The Rules of the Republican Party (linked below).

    Are you qualified to cast a vote for who becomes the next RNC Chairman? Have you read ?the directions?? The Rules of the Republican Party? Your state Republican Party rules/bylaws? Think of what our forbears went through to secure our liberties. The Revolution. The Civil War. WW I. WW II. Etc. Have you even read the RNC Rules? It?s not like they?re hard to find. We have the internet.

    ?When all else fails, read the directions.?

    Wanna have a vote on who takes Michael Steele?s spot? Then you have to become – you guessed it – a precinct committeeman ? at least if you live in AZ

    Do you want to replace Michael Steele at the next regularly scheduled vote for the RNC chair? Want to have a vote in that process? Then you?ve got to become a precinct committeemen in your state.

    ?When all else fails, read the directions.?

    Let?s start with the Rules of the Republican National Committee. Ever read them? I thought so.

    Per Rule 1 (a), the members of the RNC consist of the national committeemen and committeewomen, one of each from each state Republican Party, and the chair of the state Republican Party of each state.

    Who is eligible to be a member of the RNC? For that we must look at Rule 5 (a) (1): ?A chairman and a co-chairman of the opposite sex . . . shall be elected by the members of the Republican National Committee.? So, if ya wanna vote to replace Michael Steele, you have to become a member of the RNC. (It gets better ? bear with me.)

    How does one become a member of the RNC? Well, as already explained, you have to either be the chair of a state Republican Party or one of the national committeemen or committeewomen. You have to look at Rule 2, which basically says each state Republican Party can set its own rules for electing the national committeeman and committeewoman and if they don?t have such rules, other rules kick in. And, as already explained, the state Republican Party chairman of each state automatically serves as a member of the RNC.

    ?When all else fails, read the directions.?

    Gee, wouldn?t it be great if the RNC explained all this? You know, sort of a ?how to become a precinct committeeman and why that?s important and how it can actually have an impact on who gets elected to the leadership positions within the Republican Party? online guide? I?ve looked for one on the net. Can?t find one. Can?t even find a layman?s explanation of all this on the http://www.gop.com site.

    But I don?t blame THEM. The ?powers that be? are protecting their political turf. I?m nothing special. I?m no rocket scientist. If I can figure out how to access this information, anyone can.

    I blame YOU. Every conservative who claims to be a ?political activist? who?s never even read the bylaws or rules of their county or state Republican Party committees. On Saturday, at our Maricopa County Republican Party Committee Statutory Organizational Meeting, where the elected precinct committeemen elected conservatives to the officer slots by an over 2 to 1 majority, I met a wise man who told me, “You’re not a real political activist unless you’re collecting signatures for some political cause.” In Arizona, to become eligible to become and elected precinct committeeman, you have to collect a few signatures on a nomination form. No more than ten. Any conservative can do that. (You can read about what happened on Saturday in Maricopa County here: http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/re-bout-haney-counter-punches-establishment-candidate-into-the-ropes-1281-575/.)

    I live in Arizona. Where do I go to find out the eligibility criteria for becoming either the Arizona Republican Party chairman or a national committeeman?

    Hmmm.

    Maybe the bylaws of the Arizona Republican Party would be a good place to look. I looked

    Those bylaws tell me that if I want to get elected chair of the Arizona Republican Party, or as the national committeeman, so I can be a member of the RNC, I first have to be an elected precinct committeeman and then get elected to be a state committeeman.

    If I?ve managed to be elected the chairman of a Republican county committee, then I?m automatically a state committee member. Otherwise, each county committee is allotted one state committeeman position for every three elected precinct committeemen.

    So, I?m going to have to make sure I get elected to serve as a state committeeman so I can attend the annual state meeting at which the state chairman is elected. (I’ve done that.) That election takes place every two years after the even-number year general elections. If I can manage to get elected as a state committeeman, then I?ll be in a position to run for Arizona Republican Party chairman at that meeting, assuming I can manage to get a majority of state committeemen to vote for me.

    ?When all else fails, read the directions.?

    Elections of the national committeeman and woman take place when the Arizona Republican Party holds its state convention, which takes place when the national committee issues the call for a national convention. Then the Arizona state chairman issues a ?call? for a state convention to be published as provided by the rules adopted by the national committee and the Arizona state bylaws. Precinct committeemen, and only precinct committeemen, elect the delegates to the convention, and only precinct committeemen are eligible to be elected as delegates. Those delegates, at the convention, elect the national committeeman and committeewoman.

    So, assuming I can get myself elected state chairman, or elected as a delegate to the next state convention, I?ll be in a position to directly for whom I want to be the next RNC chairman. Because I?ll be in a position to attend the RNC meeting at which the RNC members elect the next RNC chairman. And that meeting, per RNC Rule 5 (b), takes place in January of each odd-numbered year. Which means Michael Steele?s position as RNC Chairman will be up for ?change we can believe in.? But it is too late for me to become the Arizona national committeeman, as that election won?t happen again until the next Arizona convention.

    Did you know any of this for your state?

    ?When all else fails, read the directions.?

    Now here?s the really good part. Did you know that you DON?T have to be a member of the RNC to be elected the RNC chair or co-chair? Yep, Rule 5 (a) (1) also states, ?The chairman or co-chairman need not be a member of the Republican National Committee.? In other words, ANYBODY can be elected RNC chairman or co-chairman. I guess I like that flexibility. In case I can?t make it to Arizona Republican Party chairman, I can still throw my hat in the ring!

    Hmmmm. Maybe I should.

    RNC Chairman ColdWarrior. I like the sound of that. But, it does not matter if it?s me. What matters is that it?s a real conservative. And for that to happen, real conservatives need to gain a majority within the RNC committee.

    Which begs the question: What are YOU going to DO about it?

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior

    P.S. I said above I’d provide the link to Rules of the Republican Party. Part of me says, “Make them find the Rules themselves.” But I guess I’m just a big softee. Here’s the link to the page at the gop.com site where the Rules appear: http://www.gop.com/index.php/rnc_counsel/.

  • ihateliberals

    than Steele. Steel is a RINO and needs to be removed. we need some that will listen to the people. Steele and the center movement of the Party is why I stopped giving to the RNC. I gave to the individuals i wanted to win instead of wasting my money at the RNC. I am retired on Disability and i can’t afford to pay for big air plane trips, gambling and drinking etc, etc. The Party’s message dis all wrong for the Grassroots which is why the Tea Party gained so much strength. If Steele wins again we can kiss the 2012 election good-bye because the Party will split. If the Tea Party puts up it’s own candidate against a Republican and a Democrat the vote will split and the Democrats will win. Can’t the RNC understand what happened last Fall? Are they so think in the head they can’t see we want a Conservative Republican Party again? If the RNC continues to keep the moderate policy in place they wil have a tough time winning again. We are sick to death of RINO’s in the Party. RINO’s like Boehner, McCain, Hatch etc etc. George W. Bush needs to Butt out and not say anything. He to is a RINO. Let’s get some good solid Reagan style conservatives back in the Party not only will we be able to win elections but we can turn the economy around.

  • jdh770

    The RNC prompts me to think of the abuser who is trying to get back in the door by promising they’ve changed. I guess there will always be those who will keep believing them regardless of how many times they get slapped around. Personally, I have no use or respect for the country-club of Crist, Scozzafava, strip-clubs and RINO’s.

    I don’t want to hear that they’ve changed; I want to hear it’s been gutted and completely refurbished from the ground up – a *completely* new org in every practical regard that just happens to have the same name -AND- that has consistently and BOLDLY demonstrated their support for solid, conservative, Tea party principles across multiple election cycles. So, it will be quite awhile before I extend them any consideration.

    In the meantime, I’ve become quite comfortable directly supporting the candidates I like. Honestly, I don’t see why anyone would want to dilute their contribution by filtering it through the RNC and allowing them to take a cut.

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    Erick begins by remarking, “I wonder if Republican [National] Committeemen are even listening to the Republican grassroots.” They are listening to them. But only those who are part of their real constituency. And their real constituency is not “the Republican grassroots” generally. Or those in the “grassroots conservative movement” who are registered Independents. The RNC delegates’ constituency is only those registered Republicans who voted for them. So the only “Republican grassroots” they are listening to, and have listened to, are those who were part of the constituency who elected them.

    The RNC delegates were chosen, indirectly, by those registered Republicans who had taken the time and made the effort (and it take much of either and, in most states, not even nominal monetary dues) to become “voting members” of the Party itself — called “precinct committeeman” in most states, precinct captain in others, etc. These precinct committeemen, in turn, elect those who want to go on to represent the precinct committeemen at the annual state Republican Party meetings. In Arizona, for example, there’s one precinct committeeman slot in a precinct for every 125 registered Republican voters. The precinct committeemen gather every two years (and otherwise meet monthly) to elect one state committeeman for every three precinct committeeman in their local legislative district committeeman. I’m an elected precinct committeeman and was fortunate to be elected a state committeeman. In odd-numbered years, like this one, the state committeeman will elect the state Party chairman, who is one of the three Arizona RNC delegates. The other two were elected last year, during the even-numbered year annual meeting. In other words, the Arizona part of the constituency of the RNC were determined over two years ago, when Arizona elected their precinct committeemen in the 2008 primary elections. Those elected precinct committeemen, in November and December, elected their state committeemen, and those state committeemen, in 2009 and 2010, elected Arizona’s three RNC delegates.

    So, the rest of the Republicans, the “mere” registered Republicans, can yell and scream all they want at the ball players, the RNC delegates, and hope they’ll listen, but they won’t. Because the only “Republican grassroots” the RNC delegates care about are the ones who helped elect them, and the only Republican grassroots who helped elect them are those who actually got inside the Republican Party itself so they could actually vote in the process, either directly or indirectly, for the RNC delegates.

    It’s the difference between being in the bleachers at a football game on down on the field calling plays and actually getting onto the field. Those in the stands watch and yell; those who are part of the team actually play the game and help decide its outcome.

    Here’s the GREAT part: over half of these “easy to fill” precinct committeeman slots in the Republican Party are currently vacant. Those that are filled are split about 50-50 between conservatives and RINOs/moderates. The election of Michael Steele in 2009, over a real conservative, reflected that ideological split. So . . . if conservative Republicans (like regular Redstate readers and Diarists) would get to their local Republican Party committee meetings to become precinct committeemen (there’s about 200,000 vacant slots nationwide, I’ve been told; over half are still vacant here in Arizona), conservatives would OWN the Republican Party — they’d be able to join with the conservatives already inside the party, who have about 50 per cent of the slots currently filled, and create a 75 per cent majority. They’d be able to elect conservatives to all of the leadership slots, including at the RNC level. This is what I refer to as The Neighborhood Precinct Committeeman Strategy.

    Up above, in an earlier comment. I lay out a bit more about the Rules of the Republican Party. Getting involved in the Republican Party is something you ought to want to do — it’s your civic duty, no? Oh, and by the way, the “powers that be” who are in control of the Republican Party right now, they’d just as soon you NOT bother them with your participation. They like the status quo just fine.

    So, if you like the status quo just fine, too, don’t get involved in the Party itself. Or, you can decide to organize with other conservative Republicans where you live and get involved and help to outnumber the RINOs so you can elect better, more conservative Party leaders, as we have in Maricopa County, Arizona and other counties here in Arizona:

    http://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/re-bout-haney-counter-punches-establishment-candidate-into-the-ropes-1281-575/

    It’s a pure “numbers game” — we conservatives outnumbered the RINOs by about a 2 to 1 margin. McCain and Kyl, who both live in Maricopa County, didn’t even show up.

    You can read more about The Neighborhood Precinct Committeeman Strategy at my little blog linked below.

    Thank you.

    ColdWarrior

  • ihateliberals

    enity. They will battle with the Tea Party but they will lose. We are sick to death of the moderate Republicans. If we wanted a Liberal we would vote for the Democrat. This is the what I call the “New Coke” syndrome. for those that are too young years ago Coca Cola hired a marketing team that decide Coke should taste more like Pepsi. Coca Cola almost went bankrupt over that decision. If I had wanted Pepsi i would have bought Pepsi. The Marketers forgot to include the opinion of the most important group, The consumers. Here we are with the RNC now listening to consultants that aren’t listening to the people.

  • adair

    to elect yet another Minority Chairman.

    Between Saul Anuzisito and Ann Wagnerita the choice is clear: With Ann you get a two-fer.

    I sent far more money directly to candidates, many not in my State or my District, than I ever would have sent in a lump sum to the RNC.

    Considering the amount of support the RNC gave to, say, Christine O’Donnell and the amount of money she managed to raise (with considerable left over), the RNC better begin to wonder how critically important they really are.

    The best thing they did was not to endorse candidates for the primaries. Well, at least they said they weren’t going to.

  • tlhanger

    Yep!

  • shelbarbash

    perfectly stated

  • miroco

    We still got one? I am tempted to say we don’t have a Republican party at all, we do have a bunch of dumb ass posers who want to dress up and go to meetings. In the fifties we Texans could hold a convention in a classroom but we damn sure built it up till today. Hate to mention to the rest of you guys but here we are arguing over more or less conservative—and I still don’t like the party —and my own Senator Cornyn is one of the leaders.—I have a test, if you say Sarah is too dumb—get the hell out of my party—if you like somebody else better that is just fine. Don’t get it? Get the hell out.

  • boxedquad

    If you ever want to know, now you can.

    Thanks for the AZ info ColdWarrier

  • boxedquad

    Conservatives seem to think that Steele did not do the job, well in many cases I agree. He should have done more for districts, like #7 in Arizona, till it was too late, and then there were O Donnell, etc, etc..

    The abuse of asking for money by one of the fund raisers, now gone, were why so many sent directly to PAC’s.

    If Steele is re-elected, his background will be known and his errors can be a good thing for the future. All of us make mistakes, correcting them takes time and knowledge.

  • rjwerning

    Where does this stem from, Pompadour’s post “No Reince! NO!”? As far as I can make out, that was the first real assault on Priebus.

    I don’t know Reince Preibus from jack.. and I sure don’t know “Pompadore”.. or maybe I do, guess that’s the advantage of hiding behind a pseudonym – you don’t have to stand behind your words, you can just toss the identity and create a new one with no past.. but I digress.

    Like I said, I don’t know Reince – but the fact is that in Nov here in WI we had the most conservative group of candidates we’ve had in as many years as I can remember, there was a solid conservative message that got out and resounded with the voters, and we had a very dramatic turn to the right (thank god!). As Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Reince Priebus was part of that.

    We voted Feingold out of office after 18 yrs as arguably the most liberal senator in the country, and someone that no candidate before Ron Johnson could seem to touch.

    What were some of pompadore’s attacks on Priebus?

    - He works for a lawfirm that has some association to Obamacare.. Notice how he worded it? “Reince Priebus’s law firm”.. wrong.. it’s not his lawfirm,, he works for Michael Best & Friedrich – along with over 160 other attorneys.

    - He backed Ron Johnson hard, and helped get him elected. No one has proven anything other than Johnson is going to be a staunch conservative, and beat a hard to defeat far left liberal.

    - He didn’t back Dick Leinenkugel? He had no chance of winning.. he was attached at the hip to our EX (again, thank god) Gov. Doyle.

    - Sykes, Belling and McKenna are mouth pieces for Preibus? Seriously? Anyone who listens to Belling host on the Rush show will know that isn’t his style, and for those of us that listen to all 3 daily know that it’s a hell of a stretch to pull off that claim..

    I’m not trying to disrespect Pompadore, sorry if I come off that way. But as someone that is just a pissed off conservative who wants to see things in my state and our country improve.

    What I see from Priebus is a man that can get things done. He can bridge the gap between the tea party and the (like it or not) GOP. We sure as heck don’t have to follow their lead, but we really do need to be able to work with them. at some level. I’d much rather have an RNC that makes changes in their policy to include the Tea Party and respect us, instead of fighting against us or trying to manipulate us.

  • PMonk

    I agree totally. I was a little shocked to learn that there is a rift between
    Priebus and the Tea Party Movement outside of Wi. as he seemed to
    work so seamlessly with us in the TPM in Wi.