The Time is Nigh

Believe the GOP has lost it's direction? Believe the GOP is failing in its mission as the conservative party? Want the GOP to be the conservative party again? Want to have a say? Want to make a difference? Willing to step up to the plate? Willing to invest time?

These are just a few of the questions we need to be asking ourselves. In the last few articles we have been looking at our state and wondering out loud what impact could we have locally and just what we would need to do in order to achieve this goal.

How the National Parties function is a mystery to most. So we at The Oxford Tea Party have been delving into those mysteries. It's not what we might call convoluted or exciting findings. Pretty straight forward stuff really.

Below is a outline of how the Arizona Republicans GOP works. This is more or less how Mississippi's Republican GOP works and for that matter all of the other states. If you would like to read various articles he has written just click on ColdWarrior and that will take you to the RedState site. He is a conservative writer and this is a response to comments he was making in a discussion on a blog site. This picks up in the middle of a discussion.

Conservative? Want to change the outcome of the RNC Chairman election?

ColdWarrior Monday, January 10th at 10:16AM EST RedState

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?

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. Here’s the link to the page at the gop.com site where the Rules appear: http://www.gop.com/index.php/rnc_counsel/.

Well, there are the steps that need to be taken to have a voice in the Mississippi State Republican Party and to have a vote on the candidates they choose to support.

The Tea Parties exist because the national party lost its way. The nation needs a conservative voice and a powerful party who speaks with that voice. I think what happened in November has in some ways lessened their fears of who we are and what we represent. Bite my lip, but we may have pointed a way for them to become relevant once again.

Ron

docnick37@gmail.com

http:/theoxfordteaparty.blogspot.com/