If you missed it, you missed out. The GOP Summer Meeting was exciting and full of developments that you can count on the Insider to share. The best part was that it didn't even rain on the picnic.
With so much happening at the GOP Summer Meeting, it's impossible to fit it all into one post. Insider will spend the next few days looking at various events and new initiatives coming out of the Summer Meeting.
Most of the attention, both here on KSGOPInsider and in the media, has been on the Loyalty Committee that was created along with several other important Constitutional changes. The Loyalty Committee is not as claimed by the media and others as a means to conduct a 'Witch Hunt' and it is not some sort of 'Loyalty Oath'. It is simply a mechanism by which an officer or official within the KS Republican Party structure can be removed from office if they decide to become a "Republican for ____", donate to Democrats in contested races, or publicly endorse non-Republican candidates in contested races.
If someone voluntarily chooses to take a leadership position within the Republican party, it stands to reason that they should support Republican candidates. At the very least, they should not actively work to defeat them.
As usual the Democrats and their media spin machine have turned a measure commonly found in other states into Stalinist Russia and the Moderates in the Republican Party will be purged. Read the rules and don't believe it. There is no Conservative or Moderate bias in the new rules.
The other expected measure to be adopted was the expansion of the State Committee to 50 member per district. That measure was tabled.
Next up...The Caucuses and Resolutions
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30 comments:
The "loyalty committee" was a boneheaded idea. Everybody who reads about it thinks that the GOP is on a moderate witch hunt.
I know that's not the truth. But, perception is everything. Remember, a majority of Republicans support at least a couple of Democrats in every election. The idea of the "loyalty committee" rubs most rank-and-file Republicans the wrong way. It was a dumb move.
This isn't the way to achieve party unity. Try nominating candidates that both moderates and conservatives are willing to support ... that's the only real way to achieve party unity.
Nice Spin but the Loyalty Committee is clearly another effort by the single issue conservatives to purge the party. Obviously they have conveniently forgotten the defections to the Reform Party in 02 or 04. It is the intent that is key here. They cannot win with their arguements and with their intimidation so they go to where the small, the weak and the angry always go - Loyalty oaths. Instead of looking for ways to unite the party to win elections, they spend time on an effort guaranteed to bring ridicule to the party and drive more voters away.
Does the "loyalty committee" review posts on this blog as well?
Media attention? More like Media Distaster.
Perception is 9/10 of the political law.
The party staff should spend more time updating the party website then the do blogging. The latest party news is from February?
It isn't "simply" anything. It is an embarrassment. If this is the way the state party hopes to attract candidates, money, and support, they are even more incompetent than we'd thought.
The most attractive element of our party is the big tent. These buffoons wield their pitchforks and seek to excommunicate all who are not in line with their self-serving agenda.
If you tell me that due to the fact that I registered R, I am now obligated to support (or "not oppose") terrible candidates who also happened to register R, you can shove it.
People come first, party second.
Did Kobach and his immigration group endorse any Democrats during the last election?
Kobach being the first one voted off the island by the Loyalty Committee would be the ultimate irony.
This was a disaster plain and simple. It was thought of poorly, constructed poorly, and enacted poorly. Not enough people were involved in the drafting of it and it was slammed through without people understand the full implications of what was done. It truly is a shame, as some kind of loyalty provision was called for, but the one enacted was the biggest joke to come along in a long time.
I can see why the state party is so appalled. Politicians being shrewd and opportunistic? That's cause for serious inquiry and examination.
At least Parkinson was a decent party chair. Oh well, at least Kobach is loyal. But to whom?
Kobach
I'm a GOP precinct committee person. My wife is a Democrat. Our names are all over both GOP and Dem fundraising lists. Also, we had a Paul Morrison yard sign last fall.
So, do I have to turn in my elephant badge? Am I still fit to call myself a Republican? What should I do? I have a GOP bumper sticker on my car. I'll return it if you want.
Please tell me when and where my hearing will be. I'm prepared to take my punishment.
A Witch! A Witch! Burn Him!
Yeah, that gentleman is definitely going to hell. Everybody knows that party always comes before principle.
This is seriously going to hurt the party's fundraising efforts
The party's biggest donors are lobbyists. Most are Republicans who want to be involved in party. But, all lobbyists give to both sides. It's part of the game.
Now, the GOP has basically called them traitors. My lobbyist friends are pissed.
It's not just lobbyist who hedge their bets. Businesspeople usually contribute to both sides. Hardcore partisanship is bad for business, so they'll donate even when it's not a reflection of their personal feelings.
The people on the state committee, of course, aren't businesspeople. They're completes zealots. They don't understand how the real world operates.
The precinct committee are elected by the voters. The county officers are elected by the county precinct people.
However, a committee of five leaders sitting in an office in Topeka have the power to strip these locally-elected officials of their power.
This is nonsense. This is a huge power grab.
We don't need Topeka leaders telling us who is a Republican and what we're going to think.
http://www.kansas.com/static/video/brownback-girl/
Did you see this? It's very funny.
I thought the Republican Party believed that local government was better. Why would they allow a committee in Topeka to override the decision of the local voter?
This isn't the same Republican Party.
Out of one side of their mouth they talk about "involving the grassroots" but on the other, they want to take away the rights of the voter... how do they not see this huge contradiction?
The GOP is changing. We're no longer the local control and limited government party.
Bush changed all that when we gave control of our school to DOE and built a national police force with homeland security. The federal government grew in size and power faster under Bush than even under FDR in New Deal.
Also, the GOP has dropped the concept of personal liberty and personal accountability. The Republicans are all about looking over people's shoulders. We've become the "nanny state" party that tells people what to do, what to believe, etc.
It's sad. But, this "loyalty committee" proposal is consistent with what's happened to the national GOP.
Grassroots is a term that has no real meaning anymore. Just a bunch of power hungry people claiming to represent the grassroots.
How can they say that they represent the grassroots? Obviously they don't represent the majority of the grassroots. If they did, Kobach and Shallenberger would have been elected.
So, I guess the GOP only represents a narrow majority of the grassroots.
A "narrow majority" ? That's silly. The state party represents a very small minority. They represent a radical fringe.
grassroots = activists who get involved in campaigns, parades, put out yardsigns and such.
Each party has their own grassroots folks.
This one seems to have a lot of power hungry people who like to take advantage of the grassroots and tell them what to do.
There's a myth about Kansas GOP grassroots strength. Actually, there's not much of a grassroots organization out there. It's not anything like other states where you have actual precint level organizations.
In the past few election cycles, I'd have to say that the Democrats actually have a superior grassroots organization. They're better at actually turning out the vote.
The Kansas state party is really just a shell of what a party is supposed to be. There's really no infrastructure.
We have these inflated registration numbers. But, they don't mean much. 70% of registered republicans vote for Democrats somewhere on their ballot. This is a state with a historical GOP majority. But, it's not a functional GOP majority. People say they're Republicans, but they're really independents.
Will the loyalty committee investigate local races as well? What if a Republican supports a Democrat for sheriff or register of deeds? Is that against the party rules?
Grassroots = those who benefit economically from the status quo ante in the GOP, including, most of all, those who print campaign literature?
Just a neo-Marxist analysis. Close?
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