I’m growing really tired of the manufactured narrative of the new Iowa GOP State Central Committee (SCC) having a mandate to “clean house” because the “grassroots spoke” at District Conventions.
Time to clear up some misconceptions.
1) The dreaded Ron Paul people only ever had seven members of the 18-member RPI State Central Committee. Now I was homeschooled, so math isn’t my best subject, but I do know that seven does not constitute a majority of eighteen. So everyone who has bought into the “Paulestinian reign of terror” nonsense should really step back and do the math: Some of the triumphant heroes coming out of this year’s conventions are the same people who supported moving the convention date and voted with us in chair and co-chair elections. Which brings us to the second point.
2) The “clean sweep” narrative is poppycock. Of sixteen seats filled by the District Conventions this year, seven incumbents were returned. Only four incumbents were voted out, and only three of those were Paul supporters in 2012.
Some mandate.
3) Similarly, now that the “right people” are in power, I’m going to predict that the much-touted DECs and the RPI finance committee will quietly disappear again. Once the moderate money starts flowing again and there’s no need for a public show of hostility for RPI leadership, I believe they will be neglected and die out, just like they had before we took office in 2012.
4) Danny Carroll is an evangelical leader, and any perceived mandate to remove the pro-Paul leadership should have nothing to do with him. Danny took office a month before new SCC elections and has done a terrific job thus far. The move to get rid of Danny is nothing more than a power play, and a way of making a statement that…
5) Dissent will no longer be tolerated by the Republican establishment in Iowa. The Governor’s campaign (along with other moderate campaigns) spent a fortune and had staff working for nearly a year organizing this takeover of the GOP. Credit where credit is due; they did a bangup job. As someone who helped organize a similar effort in 2012, I can tell you it’s not easy. But in the end, our goal in 2012 was to give voice to a segment of the party that was largely ignored before. Thus, we gained a seven-member minority on the committee and had to work in conjunction with other conservatives to move things forward. The new Committee has no check, no balance, and has chosen to give no voice to several important groups within the Iowa GOP.
And while they could at least earn the trust of these groups by showing themselves willing to work with respected Social Conservative Chairman Carroll, they appear ready to cannibalize him and forfeit the support of both the Liberty Movement and the Evangelical base, right before a general election. All this, just to make the point that the grassroots of the party had better sit down and shut up about the betrayal of our principles by our moderate governor and his legislative posse.
The division they are poised to pursue will hurt Republicans all over the state, and will again serve as a reminder that the GOP establishment would rather control the party, than control the country.
Photo credit: Sarah Brooks