Party Power
"THIRD PARTIES ONLY SERVE TO ELECT THEIR ALTERNATIVES, WE HAVE TO RETAKE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY." Rush Limbaugh, April 17th 2009
In 1976 the conservative movement was on the march. Twelve years before they had rallied behind Barry Goldwater who was defeated by Lyndon Johnson and his ads suggesting to the American people that Goldwater would put an “itchy trigger finger” on the nuclear trigger. After Johnson managed to lay the foundation for defeat in Vietnam and initiate the “Welfare State” with his Great Society program, they turned to Nixon, who ran as a conservative. But Nixon, the arch-enemy of communism who knew better than anyone the folly of trying to appease communists, tried to appease the American left by continuing and expanding the bad ideas of Johnson. It didn’t work, and he was forced to resign after Watergate. His replacement was Gerald Ford who had served in the House of Representatives for 25 years and was popular on both sides of the aisle, sort of a John McCain without the military track record or the “maverickiness”. Ford had been identified to Nixon by the Democrat Speaker of the House as the only replacement for vice president Spiro Agnew that would be approved, so Nixon appointed Ford to be vice president after Agnew’s conviction for corruption. Ford then succeeded to the presidency when Nixon resigned, and immediately forfeited any credibility by pardoning Nixon in advance of any prosecution. The conservatives did not want Ford, the poster boy of Washington insiders and a guaranteed continuation of “politics as usual”.
Conservatives were enthralled when Ronald Reagan, who had thrilled them with his speech at the Goldwater convention in announced his candidacy for president. Although most had never been actively involved in politics before, they turned out in droves to attend early party caucuses, and outnumbered Ford supporters nationwide by more than two to one.
But as the primary season ground on, the Reagan majority was eroded, step by step, at the precinct and ward, township and county, state and finally the national level by the “party regulars” who knew the ropes, and used them to their advantage. Ford eventually won the Republican nomination, and Carter won the White House.
After losing the Republican nomination to Ford in 1976 the Reaganites did not go away. Instead they realized that they had been outmaneuvered at almost every step of the political process because they were unfamiliar with it, and resolved not to be outmaneuvered again. They took classes on political activism at their own expense, and continued organizing. Thanks to the most inept and damaging presidency in our history, the Carter administration heightened that resolve, and conservative activists began to infiltrate the Republican Party hierarchy. By 1980, Reagan supporters had gained control of the Republican Party.
We need to do that again. So how do we do it? The same way it was done before. From the bottom up. Remember the truism, “All politics are local”. It all begins with the grassroots, and that is why the ultimate power in politics is “We the People”.
Our political system is a federated system, based upon the idea of that the United States is a unity among sovereign states; the preponderance of power is in the states, and all local government is an extension of the state government. Accordingly, the national party is an extension of, dependent upon and integrated with the state parties, and county parties are an extension of, dependent upon and integrated with the state party.
The “ropes” or rules of the game are defined by law at the national and state levels. Each state’s law covering campaigns and elections are unique, and are the first place to look. The political activist must become knowledgeable about these laws.
In many states, including Ohio, state law also provides latitude for the political parties to further define rules which become an extension of the law. Accordingly, we strongly recommend that everyone read and understand not only their state law, but also the party rules at the state and county level. Party rules are often available for downloading (although seldom easy to find) from the party websites; we have downloaded copies of several of them and make them available on our website.
This copy of the Permanent Rules or Bylaws of the Ohio Republican is an example of how these laws have the force of law, are
administered by the Secretary of State and county Boards of Election, and establish the framework within which county and other
lower level "party" organizations must operate.
- As you may note from reading the state law and party rules, the major political parties are built from the ground up, from the lowest level of political subdivision, called “precinct” in most states. The local political parties are governed by members of their Central Committee who are elected at the precinct level; state political parties are governed by members of their Central Committee who are elected at another level of jurisdiction; state house or senate district or whatever depending upon state law. The national party is governed by a similar committee whose members are elected by the state parties.
Orange County (CA) GOP Bylaws Cobb County (GA) GOP Rules Cuyahoga County (OH) GOP Bylaws
California GOP Bylaws Georgia GOP Rules Ohio GOP Rules
Republican National Committee Rules
- Central committee members elect the officers of the party; the chairman, vice-chairmen, secretaries, treasurer, etc., who become the executive committee. The executive committee in turn may hire an executive director and professional staff. While power is delegated to the staff from the executive committee, and to the executive committee for most ongoing responsibilities, ultimate power on policy, spending and staffing is retained by the Central Committees. They even have the power to remove party officers for just cause. Upon occasion, an elected office may become vacant and the Central Committee may be assembled to appoint a person to occupy that office until the next regularly scheduled election. In most meetings, however, the Central Committee reviews the operations and results of the party, advises the Executive Committee and acts as the representatives of party member in their district.
Becoming a Central Committeeman/Committeewoman
There are two ways of becoming a Central Committeeman/Committeewoman. Between elections, many seats on the Central Committee are vacant, and may be filled by volunteering to serve as Central Committeeman/Committeewoman and by being “approved”, usually by the Executive Committee or officers of the party. Usually a volunteer for this position needs to be “sponsored” by a member of the Executive Committee, and the primary criteria is a record of loyalty and/or service to the party and/or its principles (platform).
The other way of becoming a Central Committeeman/Committeewoman is to run for election to that post. This is the “dirty little secret” publicized by Jim Condit Jr. in the following:
www.WagTheDog2010.com
http://www.networkamerica.org/most_powerful_office.htm
To get on the ballot a candidate gets the appropriate form from the county Board of Elections, and returns it no later than 75 days prior to the primary election with 5 valid signatures (signed name, printed name, address). The signatories must be registered to vote in the district in which the candidate seeks election, and the address shown on the candidate’s petition should be the same as the one on the Board of Elections’ voter registration records. The candidate must run for either Republican Party Central Committee or Democratic Party Central Committee. Central Committee posts are elected in the primary election of even years (see Central Committee Cycles to see in which year Central Committee seats are elected in your county). The party affiliation of both the Candidate and the signatories should be consistent with the voter history database maintained by the Board of Elections; a candidate for Republican central committee and all those signing their petition should have voted in the Republican primary.
In Ohio, the election cycles (whether Central Committeepersons are elected for 2 or 4 year terms, and in which year these elections occur) are available at this link:
Central Committee Election Cycle (Ohio)
A candidate for Central Committee is likely to run unopposed; more than half of these seats are typically vacant. In case there is opposition, it is easy to gain support by going door-to-door talking to voters of the relevant party and asking for their vote on primary day. Precinct canvassing “walking lists” are available from organizations like OhioFAN or the county Board of Elections. See our section on Precinct Canvassing for more information about this vital political process.
Not all states elect party officers using a primary election; some use the caucuses to elect them. The following is a contribution from one such state:
Colorado Caucus Process
Before running to be a Central Committeeman/Committeewoman
Potential candidates should contact their political party or Board of Elections, to identify the current Central Committee person, if any. If the seat is vacant, consider volunteering to fill it. If it is not vacant, find out about the incumbent. If they are a good patriot and working actively to preserve the union, don’t run against them; volunteer to help them as a “block captain”. If the incumbent is not a good patriot or inactive, run against them.
After becoming a Central Committeeman/Committeewoman
You have accepted the responsibility to be the political party leader in your precinct. You should represent your constituents the way you would want to be represented. You cannot just sit back on your haunches and exult in the glory of a title, while doing nothing. Instead, you should get to know everyone in your precinct (or recruit block captains who will do so), help to keep them informed and energize them when action (e.g., an election) is warranted. Plan for the canvassing of the precinct at least once every two years. During campaigns, encourage your constituents to get involved and empower them to make a difference. On election day, make sure that there are an adequate number of election judges and poll observers at your polling place, and make sure that you are informed of who has not yet voted so that you or other volunteers can telephone those who have not yet voted, and remind them to get to the polls. GOTV (Get Out The Vote) wins elections.
The following links provide further information on working your precinct:
2005 Arizona Precinct Leaders Handbook 2003 Washington State Precinct Committee Officer's Manual
If you have not done so already, see our training material on Precinct Organizing, Precinct Walking, and Roberts Rules of Order if you have not already done so.