Well heeeeeeere we go. @ALGOP executive committee meeting. pic.twitter.com/xlKmm0oKP5
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 24, 2013
The state executive committee does not like being told what to think, or do
Flashback seven or eight months to the most recent election for Alabama Republican Party chairman. Most of Alabama’s most prominent Republican elected officials lined up behind the challenger, Matt Fridy. Gov. Bentley, wildly popular with the Republican base, actively solicited support for Fridy’s candidacy, as did Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey, House Speaker Mike Hubbard, and others. Chief Justice Roy Moore was really the only statewide-known Republican to back Bill Armistead’s re-election.
After Armistead easily won, most folks, including myself, chalked it up to a combination of Riley/Hubbard fatigue on the executive committee, and the strong evangelical base on the committee who most identify with the Roy Moore wing of the Party.
Certainly those two factors played a role in the chairman’s election, but I’m no longer convinced they were the most important variables.
On Saturday morning, the GOP executive committee completely rejected a proposed amendment to the Party’s bylaws which would remove members of the GOP steering committee who publicly disagree with any portion of the national GOP platform.
The amendment was sponsored by two close allies of Armistead’s. It was considered by many to be a move by the chairman to consolidate his power by removing dissenting voices on the steering committee.
It failed spectacularly.
The voice vote sounded to be at least 80/20 against the amendment, if not 90/10. The executive committee sent a clear message: they will not be dictated to or silenced, and they will check the power of anyone they perceive to be moving in that direction.
"We're not the Taliban. We're not the third reich." – ALGOP Cmte member responds to amendment.
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 24, 2013
Armistead overplayed his hand, but survived, and the YRs struck just the right tone
ALGOP steering committee members have told Yellowhammer numerous times over the last few months that their meetings have grown more and more contentious since Armistead won re-election. The committee is fairly evenly split between Armistead loyalists and his opposition, with one committee member in particular being the swing vote on several occasions.
Not being able to hold sway over the committee has understandably been a point of frustration for the chairman, but the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to remove committee members was a step too far. The executive committee’s reaction on Saturday was not necessarily a repudiation of Armistead personally, or of his chairmanship, but it was certainly the committee saying, “hold it right there.”
The Party also made a critical error in not complying with rules that require proposed amendments to the Party’s bylaws be mailed out to all executive committee members a certain amount of time in advance. As a result, the Party’s lawyer said during the meeting that any proposed amendment would require a 4/5 vote to pass.
Controversial amendments are prob DOA now because of 4/5 vote requirement. #alpolitics
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 24, 2013
All of that being said, the Scott Walker dinner seems to have been a major success. Armistead says that over 900 people attended the event, an outstanding crowd. Rumors of a resolution asking for Armistead’s resignation were also ultimately untrue. He survived to fight another day.
The Young Republicans have been the epicenter of push back against Armistead in recent months, especially after the “no dissent” amendment was revealed last week. They showed up en masse on Saturday wearing “vote no” stickers. Several of the YRs handled themselves well at the mic throughout the meeting, including Joel Blankenship who I believe was the only member of the entire executive committee to pass an amendment during the meeting.
The YRs were prepared, they were well spoken, and won the day.
Joel Blankenship makes motion to install a financial oversight committee to monitor ALGOP finances. It passes easily.
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 24, 2013
Phillip Brown might just be a rockstar
Brown is the chairman of the Alabama Minority GOP and a candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission, Place 2. He gave the most powerful speech of the summer meeting when he rose in opposition to the “no dissent” amendment.
“I have been a minister of the gospel since I was 17 years old,” Brown said, before noting his support for traditional marriage and the right to life. “This is not about gay marriage. This is about free speech! I am appalled at the extent to which our chairman will go to make sure he has no opposition on the steering committee.”
Minority GOP chairman Phillip Brown: "This is not about gay marriage. This is about free speech." (Loud applause) #alpolitics
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 24, 2013
For those comments, Brown received the loudest applause of anyone who came to the mic during the meeting.
He caught the attention of several onlookers in the back of the room where I was, including one in particular who said she wouldn’t be surprised to one day see Brown become Alabama’s first black governor.
Brown has a long way to go before it gets to that point, and campaigns are about much more than a candidate’s ability to move a crowd with words, but he presented himself very, very well on Saturday. People noticed.
Conservatives’ natural distrust of elected officials complicates the Republican Party’s role
Ask a college Democrat about their aspirations and they’ll likely dream out loud about being a government bureaucrat, activist or elected official — or the most recent popular choice, community organizer.
Ask a college Republican the same question and they’ll probably talk about a small business they’d like to start.
While Democrats have a tendency to place their Party’s elected officials on a pedestal, Republicans many times view their elected leaders with contempt, or at least suspicion.
Conservatives are predisposed to being suspicious of power — especially government power.
I happen to personally think it’s far better to err on the side of suspicion rather than exaltation when it comes to elected officials, but I do think it sometimes complicates things for the Republican Party. (And by that I mean that actual Party operation, i.e. the Republican National Committee or Alabama Republican Party.)
There was a lot of talk this past weekend about the Alabama Republican Party’s role as a clearing house for “real Republicans.” The Madison County GOP just got done censuring a Republican school board member for “dereliction of duty” because she supported a position contrary to most of the members of the local Party executive committee. They’re planning to do the same to their Republican state senator.
While the Republican Party tries to decide who’s a “real Republican,” and publicly censures the Party’s leaders for disagreeing on issues, The Democratic Party’s goal is singular: elect more Democrats.
That is, unless you’re in Alabama where the Democratic Party’s primary goal is figuring out how to pay this month’s light bill.
The words “grand jury” trump everything
According to the Associated Press, “A special grand jury empaneled in Lee County at the request of the attorney general’s office appears to be working on a political corruption case.”
The majority of the speculation among GOP executive committee members, legislators and members of the press over the weekend centered around the grand jury. Attorney General Luther Strange has recused himself from the case, adding to the intrigue.
As much as Party politics is fun to talk about for political junkies, the reality is, what the Party does has very little affect on the average person’s life. The jockeying for power inside the Party quickly gets put on the back burner when the words “grand jury” start getting tossed around.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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