From the Desk of the Former Chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party Bill Postmus
Posted by: Mighty Thor | 02/18/2008 1:05 PM
From the Desk of
Former Chairman San Bernardino County Republican Party Bill Postmus
Dear Fellow Republican,
Can you believe that email from Tim Morgan this morning?
Tim claims that the National Committee supports California.
But all you have to do is look at the last several Presidential races to know that's not the case.
As a matter of fact, California has not been on the national election map since Tim Morgan became our Committeeman over a decade ago.
Here are the facts about Tim's email this morning:
1. The RNC has given millions to other states for infrastructure building.
California has been left off that list. They even gave more to Rhode Island.
2. Tim Morgan launched a series of negative attacks against Shawn Steel.
Morgan used a supposdly anonymous email blog to do this-a typical RNC tactic.
3. Morgan attacked Shawn Steel because Shawn opposed the RNC plan to let Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer pick President Bush's judicial nominees from California.
4. Tim Morgan then attacked Shawn Steel because Shawn went to bat for Tom McClintock's Controller's race. Even though McClintock led the ticket, he was deemed too conservative by the national party's representative, and he revieved no support.
5. Tim Morgan says he's not endorsed by party elected officials because he attacked the party in the newspaper over the summer. Morgan's attacks on our party have nothing to do with his not having support. Rather it's because our State's elected Republicans are tired of being written off by the National Party.
6. Morgan complains about unnamed "consultants," but it's Tim Morgan who has retained for his National Committeeman race the help of a prominent consultant who has made tens of thousands of dollars off his relationship with the RNC. It's another typical RNC trick- have your "insider" consultant write an email for you attacking "insider consultants."
The fact is, the Flashreport confirmed in an extensive and independent study that California receives little to nothing in support from the RNC.
Tim Morgan cannot hide the facts.
Sincerely,
Bill Postmus, Former Chairman San Bernardino County
Republican Party
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Responses to Mr. Postmus in the same order as his points:
(1) That is because the CRP does not have leadership or a strategic direction that the RNC thinks is worth investing in. Increased secrecy, isolationism, and cronyism among the CRP leadership have rendered the CRP as a non-viable entity: politically and financially. This organization couldn't even successfully rig the primary for Romney. Why would the RNC invest in an org that (a) would even try such a thing, and (b) failed miserably at it. Without passing judgement on Steele vs. Morgan, the only certainty is that it doesn't matter who wins this race, it going to be more of the same until the CRP figures out have to have a chance at survival first, and at winning second. This is going to take a major makeover in the CRP's institutional culture.
(2) And...are you new to politics? This happens in darn near every Republican primary.
(3) Morgan understands that the all-or-none philospohy of most California conservatives typically results in the latter. The history of this nation has taught us that comprimise is how things get done. Its true that we had a good run from 2000-2006 when DC Reps didn't even have to take calls from congressional dems, but unfortunately, those days are over.
(4) As mush as we all love McClintock, he is too conservative to win a statewide general election. Period. Sorry to burst that bubble, but let's be pragmatic. Excepting the unlikely scenario where the Dems fail to put up a quality candidate against him, money spent there is wasted. Its unfortunate, but true.
(5) Being a proper gentleman (and conforming to Mighty Thor's rules) prevents me from the one word response referring to a particular movement by a male bovine that I'd otherwise put here. If the CRP leadership is in the least bit competent, then response (1) will not be news to them. If the CRP wants to lose its status as a joke in DC, then its going to have to build something respectable that the RNC will find worth investing in. Again, the CRP's institutional culture prevents this. If this was truely because "our State's elected Republicans are tired of being written off by the National Party," then trading the RNC treasurer for a freshman committeeman would not be the proposed solution.
(6) Everyone's got consultants. Big deal.
The fact is that there are 2 things going on here. The first is that Tim Morgan is being purged for going to the Chronicle. Given that what Morgan said in the Chronicle is right, I have to believe that if the Exec board had given Morgan a chance, he wouldn't have been forced to seek an outside forum. If only he'd just shut-up and rubber-stamped Nehring's Kamburowski hiring like the rest of the board...
The second thing going on here is that all of the apologists for the last 10 years of failed CRP leadership (including Chairman Steele), especially the supporters of the current chair/board, have band-wagoned on the idea that the CRP's misfortunes are all related to the failure of Morgan to secure more RNC revenue. This is little more than a strategy to shift blame for the state of the CRP from Nehring and his rubber-stamp exec board to Morgan. Who will they blame when the results are the same, or worse, with Steele representing the CRP in Washington?
"The history of this nation has taught us that compromise is how things get done.”, “As mush as we all love McClintock, he is too conservative to win a statewide general election.", and "That is because the CRP does not have leadership or a strategic direction that the RNC thinks is worth investing in."
Thinking such as that is, nationally, exactly the reason we are in the mess we are in this election cycle, and I suppose you are not "new to politics" so you know exactly what mess I am referring to. Compromise is important, but the essential action in compromise is that both sides give sightly. No where is this more obvious then in the legislative arena, where lately a lot of Republicans forgot that point, and compromise has become Republicans surrendering their principles and Democrats holding strong. Let's face it, The Republican Party of Communist China has it easier than the CRP, but, thanks to people like Shawn Steel and Ron Nehring, Republicans in California are challenging the Democrats at every turn and coming away more successful than anyone could have imagined in their wildest dreams.
Just because a McClintock like figure would fall short this time around does not mean we throw our hands up and start pushing Republicans who look more like Democrats. Clearly, we have a long way to go until a true conservative Republican can win a statewide race in California, so start the struggle now; I am sorry, continue the battle and build on the progress made. The RNC has ignored California because they thought they would be wasting their time and money in a state where they would not make any progress, well obviously they were wrong; that was what people used to say about California within the state before Shawn Steel.
Maybe I have a unique view of the situation because I spent the majority of my cognitive life outside the state. When I came to California I expected it to be the “state of Berkeley”. Instead what I found was a state where Republicans were energized, conservatives were running for local seats and winning, and making solid attempts at statewide office. If Republicans outside California could actually see the progress that has been made they would be amazed. California is not a liberal stronghold, at least not anymore, thanks to people like Shawn Steel. Everyone can believe what they will, but Rome was not built in a day, and the things the CRP has been able to accomplish with little in state support (not to discredit the generous donors and hard working operatives) and absolutely no out of state backing has been incredible, and that success is something I want to build on and add to by supporting someone like Steel, who will end the drought of national support and continue to strengthen the CRP and our ability to put real Republicans into office.
Or we can just decide by having a spelling bee; first word, compromise.