Getting Off the Bus

If you subscribe to Jack's Substack you may have seen his post today -- his explanation of why he and I are leaving the Republican Party. His reasons are similar to mine.

For me the break point was last summer, when the RPA not only decided, totally outside "the Rules," to nullify our 2024 State Convention's actions but Party leadership decided it was OK to fraudulently submit the presidential electors certification for Trump and remove both Saline County GOP and Convention Chair Jennifer Lancaster because they don't like her leadership and the MAGA voter base that came on strong here in Arkansas.

Ongoing disputes within Lancaster’s Republican Committee were deliberately spread throughout the state and many individuals piled on — most notably, former District 1 Chair Sarah Dunklin — including many of the so-called “leaders” of what once was the state-wide grassroots group that had united to ensure the voice of the People would be heard within the Republican party.

Infighting, Top-Down Control

The Party infighting became local when Faulkner County GOP members and leaders worked together to remove member Jimmie Cavin, a voice they did not like, by running roughshod over due process and basic transparency (again, like Jack says, "the rules" don't matter when the Party machine wants what it wants).

Let me make this clear for folks who may think otherwise: it wasn't and isn't about Jimmie Cavin -- it is and always was about proper behavior in a transparency, rules-for-everyone manner. It's about totalitarianism.

By its actions the Party has proven those vague-on-purpose, bogus RPA Rules exist only so Party leaders can "interpret them" in such a way to support the Party to work against people it does not like. It’s just not right or moral. When the Party unfairly conspires to go after voices it doesn't like, who will defend when YOU don’t agree and the Party comes for YOU?

I Apologize

To those of you I recruited to join the Party -- I sincerely apologize. My bad, as they say. I recruited you thinking that the Party was worthwhile, that our volunteer time, money, and support would certainly serve to further MAGA conservative goals both in Faulkner County and the State. It has become very clear to me that I was wrong.

Many of you know I had rejoined the Party a few years back after leaving years ago when our Republican lawmakers decided to approve Obamacare behind the voters' backs in 2013, just shortly after we “turned Arkansas red” and brought in a Republican majority in state government. I rejoined when I saw the momentum to help spread conservative values and the platform and principles the RPA says it follows. I rejoined to bring more people into the fold — "give the people a voice" — to help elect more conservative Republicans.

Money and Power

I finally realized I've seldom if ever heard leadership speak of Party goals in terms of spreading conservative values and following the platform and principles — or even much talk (action?) about registering more Republican voters. However, I have heard, over and over again, "The Republican Party is here to raise MONEY and ELECT Republicans."

The behaviors and actions of Party leadership prove to me that the Party truly does want only to raise money and put people in office who are willing to put the "R" behind their names, never mind those folks’ ethics or values In fact, all the more the better if those folks can be manipulated or schemed with behind the scenes to gain a specific outcome (“preferred candidate lists” come to mind).

After all those years of Democrat control in Arkansas, I also see that — like some "in the know" have observed — we have numerous Democrats running around as "Rs." Recent actions in the State Legislature by the Republican supermajority prove that to be true, as “R” lawmakers are pretty much rejecting every bill supported by MAGA voters. It’s the allure of power and money and that’s all — not the principles or platform or values.

Transparency is Best

Jack and I have been transparent with everything we've advocated for and done within the Party for several years. Most of you know that we attempted for quite some time to interact up-front with local leadership but that input was consistently ignored. I also realized something else. After two years of researching and sharing information to "educate" the local Party on parliamentary procedure and RPA Rules, the local Party obviously has no intention of following either, or it would have done so by now!

So, we continue to be transparent about why we’re leaving the Republican Party. Some have asked us not to leave and some have told us they plan to continue on with the Faulkner County Republican Committee; we respect your choice. Jack and I are still conservative voters, just will never again be "big R Republicans."

We are instead enjoying our personal blogs on Substack and, of course, writing for Arkansas 1st News as we continue to support MAGA values. Please subscribe to that website and SHARE our information. We invite you to visit Jack’s Substack and Red Wing Post, as well.