“Republican National Committee Summer Meeting 2009 Report”
The Republican National Committee Summer 2009 Meeting was held on July 29 – Aug 1, 2009 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California. There were 170 pre-registered attendees, (members and staff); plus over 60 guests.
The owner of the hotel, Doug Manchester is a strong Republican who is very influential in the California political landscape. He was a strong supporter of California Proposition #8, the initiative petition banning same–sex marriage. He has taken lots of criticism and a boycott effort by the gay community. It was a pleasure to support Mr. Manchester’s Grand Hyatt Hotel.
The RNC meeting started with the State Chairmen’s meeting and Executive Directors’ meeting on Wednesday morning. The Budget Committee and the Executive Committee met Wednesday afternoon.
San Diego Mayor, Republican Jerry Sanders, welcomed us at a reception Wednesday evening. Mayor Sanders had changed his stance from his election campaign and supported a city measure guaranteeing “marriage equality” to gays.
The Resolutions Committee meeting was at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. I am one of our two representatives from the Southern Region on this committee. We considered four resolutions and passed all four to the full RNC. The resolutions were:
Resolution on Cap and Trade
Obama Administration’s Policy of Appointing Czars
Obamacare: Marching Further Towards Socialism
Resolution in Support of Good Governance
For a detailed look at the reasons for these resolutions and the text of the final versions, please go to http://www.repconcaucus.com/. It is historical that the RNC is speaking out in this way and making known the conservative positions on these issues.
We also had our “members only” breakfast Thursday morning. The discussion got off on Obamacare. That is a subject many members have strong feelings about. Believe me there was no one present in favor of government run health care.
The Rules Committee met next and held an important election for officers. The Rules Committee consists of a member from each state. James Dunn, our National Committeeman, is our representative on this committee.
The State Chairman of Florida Jim Greer was elected Chairman of the Rules Committee with 27 votes. National Committeeman Bruce Ash from Arizona got 20 votes and National Committeeman Curly Haugland from South Dakota got 4 votes.
Chairman Steele had generously endorsed Jim Greer.
Oklahoma State Chairman Gary Jones and I met with the experts on redistricting privately and discussed plans for our state. We will be having a meeting of stake holders this November to prepare.
The guest speaker at the Thursday luncheon was Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. He gave a motivating speech on the challenges and opportunities facing our Republican Party. His speech may be heard and viewed on U-Tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZvk7jSLCFQ .
Pawlenty is the new Vice Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association.
The Redistricting Committee meeting followed that afternoon. This subject was one that drew lots of interest. Redrawing the lines and the boundaries of congressional districts will have a huge impact on elections for many years to come. The lines will be redrawn after the 2010 Census.
Five election cycles are at stake. The elections of 2010 are our last chance to be ready by winning gubernatorial races, Secretary of State races, and Attorney General races. These are all critical in the power struggle ahead.
It is projected that Texas will gain four congressional seats, Arizona will gain two, and Ohio will lose two. Over all, the Midwest and Northeast are losing seats and the South and Southwest are gaining. Historically 100 seats have changed since the 1930’s due to population shifts.
We must be ready with people, our legislature and money for litigation. Last time, 43 states had law suits. The rules on redistricting are murky, and the stakes are high. That combination is a magnet for lawyers and equals lots of litigation. As a result the courts may end up drawing the lines.
Redistricting is a Chess Match…. This is the first time we have had a Democratic Attorney General of the U.S. in charge. It is guaranteed that this one will not be friendly to Republicans.
Regional Breakfasts were held on Friday morning. We elected two Site Selection Committee members and one alternate. The Site Selection Committee is charged with finding the best city and the best deal with that city to host our 2012 Republican National Convention.
Committeewoman Cindy Costa, from South Carolina and Committeeman Alec Pointevint, from Georgia were elected members. Committeewoman Ruth Ulrich from Louisiana was elected alternate.
Chairman Steele and Vice-Chair Jan Larimer briefly spoke at our breakfast.
The main event was the RNC General Session on Thursday.
We passed all four resolutions that the Resolutions Committee presented.
There was much discussion and questioning of Chairman Steele’s creation of an Ethics Committee. Amendments were made to the motion to establish this committee. The concerns were; “What was the purpose of the committee, what disciplinary authority did it have, and did it duplicate other committee functions?” The amendments passed guaranteed that this was only a temporary committee to come up with a mission statement. The Ethics Committee would not be established until further discussion at the 2010 Winter RNC Meeting.
Two other committees were created. One was the Redistricting Committee and the other was the Technology Committee. These committees are not limited to RNC members.
Chairman Steele gave his report and spoke words of encouragement to us. He said we are headed in the right direction and we are building up our infrastructure. His goal and our goal is to fight the left every single day!
Steele is willing to go wherever necessary to get our message out. He has gone from the NAACP Convention to the NRA Convention.
We have a new web site www.barackobamaexperiment.com designed to give the grassroots the tools we need to contend with the Democrats. Also, our www.gop.com web site is very high tech, powerful tool now to assist Republican activists.
The Obama Health Care Bill is the most serious threat to our country for generations to come. Chairman Steele has launched an all out campaign to fight it. We are running new TV ads comparing Obamacare as a “Reforma drug” with side effects we don’t want!
Radio ads are being run in 61 congressional districts encouraging people to call their congressmen and speak their concerns about the Health Care Bill.
Steele said, “No Blue Dogs can hide! They are Lap Dogs for Pelosi!”
We have governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia going on now that will be decided this November. We are up 15 points in New Jersey and up 6 points in Virginia. We are cautiously optimistic!
As to finances, we raised 8 million in June with 63 thousand more donors. We have 23 million in cash on hand and no debt! We have 695 thousand donors with 137 thousand being new. The average gift is $42.31 with the average per donor total gift amount of $59.61. Our current cost to raise funds is 48 cents to raise one dollar.
Our budget has been cut from 78 million down to 68 million.
The RNC’s new Finance Chairman Peter Turpulek is the former Ambassador to Luxembourg. He was confirmed by the full RNC. Ambassador Turpulek has great fundraising success going back to being a 2000 Bush Pioneer. Pioneers raised $100,000 each.
Steele commented that, “Politics is an expensive sport”.
One motto Steele has been using is well worth remembering, “Speak truth to power.”
“We have been doing this,” Steele said.
His last bit of advice was, “Register Voters NOW!!”
The Temporary Committee on Delegate Selection had its first hearing Friday afternoon. This committee serves to review the timing of the election, selection, allocation, or binding of delegate and alternate delegates to the Republican National Convention. This committee is charged with having recommendations for the method and schedule in place by the Summer 2010 RNC Meeting.
Iowa and New Hampshire were first on the hearing agenda to make their case for their “first in the nation” status. Much discussion was heard on the concern about a “National Primary” that would limit candidates’ ability to get around the country in time to effectively campaign.
The Louisiana delegation promoted registration of Republicans to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference. This event will be in New Orleans next April 8-11, 2010. Invited speakers include Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin.
The Southern Republican Leadership Conference is open to all Republican activists. You can register online at www.srlc2010.com .
It is possible to save $100.00 in registration fees by taking advantage of the special early bird registration. Cost is $159 prior to August 31st. Registration cost is $259 after August 31st.
Carolyn McLarty, DVM, began her role as National Committeewoman of Oklahoma on September 5, 2008 after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. RNC members are elected to serve four year terms. Their role is to represent the state party on a national level; and in turn to represent the national party on a state and local level. It is the member’s responsibility to communicate information, ideas, and resources to state party members.
Copyrighted © 2009
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