RPA Issues Call for May 18 State Committee Summer Meeting; Cuts Off Grassroots

We all know actions speak louder than words

It's the same story we've heard before from the Republican Party of Arkansas. From one side we hear RPA Chair Joseph Wood eloquently describe (at the recent Washington-Benton County Reagan-Lincoln Day event) how "important" the County Committees (the grassroots) and local control are to the Party, but the actions we see from the RPA paint a 180-degree different picture -- and it's not pretty.

The current "package deal" of proposed Rules changes together with very unusual timing of the call for the State Committee Meeting cuts the grassroots off at the knees and serves to strip the grassroots of power within the Party. District 2 Chair Jennifer Lancaster last week explained the RPA’s recent actions with Jimmie Cavin and Dave Elswick on Elswick’s Show on 101.1 FM The Answer.

What’s a Call?

First, what's a call? That's the official notice about the time and place of the mandated State Committee meeting and it must include all proposals to be voted on at that meeting. Voting delegates on the State Committee are individuals who are already elected to a County-level or Congressional District-level position within the Party, or they are elected Republican officials from across the state. Those positions entitle them to a voting seat on the State Committee.

At Cavin’s invitation, Lancaster “jumped in” to describe how the Party structure works:

What’s the Problem?

The problem? The State Executive Committee issued the call extremely early at 107 days before the State Committee "Summer Meeting" on May 18.

The RPA Rules say any proposed Rules changes (operational changes) or platform changes must be included in the call, so once this notice was issued the rank-and-file lost its ability to submit those proposals. The call does, however, include some operational changes submitted by State Committee member(s) that will be voted on at the May 18 Meeting.

Actions:

Long-term GOPers tell us the call has never been issued this far in advance (and with no warning of the early notice). We know once the call is issued that no proposals can be submitted for consideration at the Meeting. Adding insult to injury, the State Executive Committee has ensured its favored items made it onto the agenda while cutting off the average Republican from participating, actions that may be surprising to the average conservative County Committee member, as Cavin points out:

What Changes Made It to the Agenda?

Remember the Rules are what govern the operations of the Party, and it currently takes a majority vote to approve any Rules (or platform) changes.

2/3 Majority Vote to Make Changes

The State wants to raise that threshold to two-thirds to pass any proposed Rules / platform changes -- an interesting approach when you know the Party’s huge numbers of new members from the past few years are focused on moving away from "the way we've always done it" to bring the Party’s power closer to the people. These newer, passionate and involved members have enacted many changes at County Committees, changes that have not always been let's say “welcomed” by the powers-that-be.

Obviously, obtaining a 2/3 majority vote on changes will be a much higher bar than the RPAs’s simple majority guideline that has served well for many, many years. It’s an out-in-the-open, straight-forward power grab by the RPA.

The establishment Republican Party wants to make it very difficult to enact changes, that is, unless you have the majority of elected folks voting for your side, as the GOP old guard still does. (Mainline members of the State Committee are mostly elected officials and entrenched elected officers from County Committees.) Then it's a slam-dunk to put out the word on how to vote and presto -- you get your changes approved.

A great example: At the 2022 State Convention the establishment GOP voted out the entire Pulaski County delegation — 71 delegates. Only a month earlier the Pulaski County Committee had elected a grassroots conservative as their new Chair. (This trend has accelerated under our Republican trifecta state government with Governor Sanders at the helm, but that’s a topic for another post.)

“Not Recommended” Candidates

Another change the State Committee put on the agenda for the May 18 Summer Meeting deals with the controversial "not-recommended" status for candidates.

The Rules currently allow County Committees to vote (2/3 majority) to not recommend any Republican candidate. Over the last couple of years, County Committees have (for example) not-recommended former state Senator James Sturch (truthfulness and adhering to the Republican platform, among other things, led to that vote) and a few County Committees not-recommended Asa Hutchinson as a presidential candidate, moves that highly upset many establishment GOPers. So, the Rules change imposed by the State Committee would bar County Committees from using "not-recommended" status except for County-level candidates.

Aside from the obvious restrictions on County Committees, under open primaries the Party allows individuals to run as Republicans even though it's known that many do not follow or believe in the Party platform and principles.

The "not-recommended" status allows County Committees to bar such unacceptable candidates from running for office. Restricting its use only protects those who want to stick the "R" behind their name when they don't believe in the Party platform. (If 2/3 is a large enough margin to prevent the grassroots from enacting their chosen Rules changes, see "Rules" above, then why isn't it good enough that 2/3 of a County Committee votes to "not recommend" a candidate?)

We Can Make a Difference

If we know the problems, we can apply the solutions. With more involvement at the County Committee level, we have a chance to change a tone-deaf state Party into one that's more attuned to what our Founders envisioned: government by the people (not government by the powers-that-be). If you're not a County Committee member, join today and help us make that change!

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