The California Republican Party (CRP) will elect a new set of
leaders this weekend in Sacramento. There are two good men – Bill
Back and Duf Sundheim – running for the chairman’s office. In my
several decades of CRP activity I have never seen such a
battle.
The California Republican Party (CRP) will elect a new set of leaders this weekend in Sacramento. There are two good men – Bill Back and Duf Sundheim – running for the chairman’s office. In my several decades of CRP activity I have never seen such a battle.
The e-mail and postal channels are awash with anonymous broadsides regarding this or that candidate. It is my opinion that these are “hand grenades” tossed into the pot by third parties, more interested in stirring up conflict than debating issues.
That goes with politics. What disturbs me more, is the number of Republican activists that take the “bait.” They wrongly assume that the candidate authored the anonymous hit piece, and come back with equally vitriolic strikes at the innocent candidate.
Basic principle: You cannot logically debate with an irrational opponent. That is, you can not reason with a mob.
In the last days of February I suspect the press will make it look like the CRP is tearing itself to shreds. That may be a true account. What follows is my take on what will be tomorrow’s news.
The Democrat Party has changed. Its platform does not trust citizens to own guns, does not recognize and protect innocent unborn life, encourages acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle and welcomes those who would deal in power over principle.
The Republican party has many of the same sort. Over the past several decades, across the country, people who are pro-life, pro-gun, pro-family and interested in preserving our heritage of American liberty have become more active politically. As a result, the CRP platform contains these sound principles.
It was my privilege to establish the “Goldwater Clubs of Connecticut” in 1963-64. That was in the days before mass mailings and e-mail. Media news services were all “politically correct.” I discovered there were many folks like myself, who were interested in principle over politics. Using one-tells-five (a new idea then) I ended up with a giant mailing list of conservative citizens in Connecticut. Bulk mailings then were only three cents.
Those Goldwater supporters interested in power over principle tried hard to grab and misuse that list. Though politically inexperienced, I had sense enough to keep control of what went out. As a result, I ended up in many “backroom planning sessions” because they needed my ability to communicate with the enthusiastic conservatives.
Time and again, I saw Goldwater’s campaign manager Cliff White and his associates deal in power over principle. They steered his wagon into the ditch. It appears to me the same sort of folks have been doing the very same thing to the CRP.
A few years ago, the conservative activists were successful in electing their candidates to every office in the CRP. It appears to me, they fell into the trap of manipulating power, rather than dealing in principle and letting the results take care of themselves. That is, the troops were not ready to lead. They needed more experience in applying principle.
Our current CRP strife traces back (my opinion) to a major mistake made by current CRP Chairman Shawn Steel. He believed the lie that Gerry Parsky wanted to help CRP win elections. Parsky is a wealthy California lawyer who had made contributions to “W’s” campaign and was thus “the president’s man in California.” (A point I question. Rather, I suspect the president has more important things to worry about than CRP internal politics.) Steel, after winning election over the liberal candidate, accepted their can’t-we-all-get-along ploy and agreed to “share the power.”
Another principle: “You can not cooperate with someone who is dedicated to undermining the principles upon which you stand. You must defeat them and do without them, else let them back to the table under the victor’s rules and not as equals.”
To his great credit, Chairman Steel has admitted his mistake and has blown the whistle loud and long regarding the damage that has been done to the CRP by Parsky and his supporters. That is sending lots of folks up the walls. I like it because it shows backbone.
On one hand, you have principled Republicans anxious to redirect the CRP and thus, our state, back to liberty and just government. Another group are those who extort power in exchange for contributing their wealth.
A more subtle group are Republican legislators. They seem to me to have two general problems. One, I call, “belt-way fever.” Once in power, they truly think they know better how to run things than those who elected them. The other is, that they find themselves in a caucus structure that exerts great pressure to go-along-and-get-along. Lastly, you find individuals addicted to power with little regard for principle.
Now, I’ll grant there are some truly great men and women among the wealthy donors, and the legislators. The real problem is in those in each group who are swept with the tide and aren’t thinking things through.
The fact that there is a battle for the soul of the CRP, even taking place, is a good sign. Pray for us and pay attention when you hear about the battle. The results will reach all the way to you and your family.
Ben Gilmore is a Morgan Hill businessman. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear on Tuesdays and Friday.
