An amendment proposed last week to the bylaws of the Alabama Republican Party would have removed from the Party’s steering committee any member who publicly supports a position contrary to the most recent GOP platform, which was adopted during the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Today, the amendment’s sponsors, Don Wallace of Tuscaloosa and Bonnie Sachs of Double Springs, have narrowed the scope of their amendment to only deal with the issues of gay marriage and abortion.
“Our position is that for the 21 voting members of the Steering Committee who are charged with executing our platform, our resolutions, and conservative message, that they should not use their official positions to attack the party platform,” Wallace and Sachs wrote in a letter to the ALGOP executive committee. “We believe that any member of the Steering Committee or the full State Committee can discuss items they disagree with, offer resolutions on issues they feel strongly about, or seek changes in our platform. The proposed bylaws change is only intended to address the leadership privileges and responsibilities of the Steering Committee, not to remove someone from their membership in the party.”
Yellowhammer had previously asked Wallace if he was concerned his amendment may affect members of the Party who disagree with more obscure portions of the Party’s platform. Their latest revision seeks to address that concern.
But while proponents of the amendment are portraying it as a compromise, opponents say all of this is a thinly veiled power play aimed at controlling votes on the steering committee.
“This is not a compromise,” a member of the steering committee told Yellowhammer on condition of anonymity. “If [State Party Chairman] Armistead can get the CR (College Republicans) and YR (Young Republicans) chairs off the committee, he can consolidate his control over everything the Party does and not have to worry about oversight.”
The committee member asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, which they said illustrates the problem with the proposed amendment.
“I’m fearful of being removed from the committee if I put my name on this,” the committee member said. “I’ve devoted my life to this Party, and I’m as pro-life and pro-traditional marriage as anyone in our Party. If we’re even perceived as defending gay marriage or anything anti-right to life, we lose big time. That’s not what it’s about. It’s a power grab.”
Chairman Armistead says he has not seen the updated amendment language, but was dismissive of the claims that it has anything to do with him or control of the steering committee.
“I think everyone should take these things at face value,” Armistead told Yellowhammer today by phone. “Too many times people try to read between the lines and read things into something that’s just not there. There will always be some folks who try to make things look different than they really are. I would encourage people to read the amendment for what it is.”
The Alabama Republican Party executive committee will vote on the proposed amendment Saturday morning at their summer meeting.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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