Former 1st District Chairman Russ Moulton has allowed Bearing Drift to repost his e-mail to members of the Conservative Fellowship in full. You can read other perspectives on these issues from Bearing Drift editors Shaun Kenney and Brian Schoeneman, and Bearing Drift contributors Rollin Reisinger, Andrew Schwartz, and DJ Spiker. ~Editors.
Three updates:
- I understand the statement of affiliation wording has been changed by SBE/McAuliffe, and won’t be the one voted on by SCC in September.
- I understand that SBE is refusing to allow us access to the executed statement forms, so we won’t get this “gold mine” of “Republican voter” contact data we were promised. We will have to fight for it under FOIA or other legal approaches that may or may not be successful.
- RNC Rule 16 d 2 says RPV must have published the statement of affiliation qualification in a newspaper of general circulation 90-days before the Primary. RPV didn’t do so, and so if RPV proceeds with the statement requirement with SBE, it is violating RNC rules and VA’s delegation is subject to a credentials challenge.
I understand why many voted for this statement initially. At one time, I supported them too. But I have come to believe with deeper understanding they are a mistake.
Establishment Republicans have recently hurt our brand-idea so badly, we have many in our base disgusted with “Republicans”.
After all the recent disappointments with Republicans on the Hill for voting for more deficit spending, funding of executive amnesty, funding for ObamaCare, funding of planned parenthood, etc … — how many of you heard folks say, “I am no longer a Republican” or “I’ve left the Republican Party”?
Even the Rev. Graham recently made such statements publicly.
If we are going to get our party back on the right track, we need these disaffected folks back participating now, not turned away by a statement. We need them to get our Party back.
Primaries are taxpayer-funded evolutions, not party processes. As a result, people instinctively believe they have a taxpayer right to participate in Virginia Primaries. We are trying to push a rope uphill, trying to convince voters they should accept they have no right to participate in our primary nominations unless they are Republicans – only to hurt our eventual nominee with outraged, turned-away voters.
If we wanted a statement of affiliation and to have only Republicans vote, we shouldn’t have picked a Primary in the first place. If we pick an open Primary, then don’t expect to keep out non-Republicans.
In practice, we relinquish our right of free association the minute we adopt a state-run primary.
We keep allowing the establishment to force us into primaries – and then we try to “dress up the pig” with statements of affiliation to make them less “objectionable”.
We should not support “statements of affiliation” designed to “fix” primaries — because they don’t.
And on top of this, now we hear the SBE won’t go with the wording adopted by SCC, won’t give us access to the statement voter contact data, and our statement is in violation of RNC rules.
It’s time to pull the plug on this disaster.
Russ Moulton is the former chairman of the 1st District Republican Committee.
