While the government and their friends in the mainstream media would like to silence the blogosphere that’s sweeping the nation with a different perspective on the news; While the movement is afoot through a variety of laws to restrict free speech on the internet; the King County Republican Party feels just as threatened by pesky truth-tellers closer to home.
To our knowledge, thus far, this news has not yet been reported elsewhere.
On Saturday, Dec. 2. The King County Republican PCOs after sheepishly re-electing its liberal leaders who led us to defeat in November, went on to pass bylaws that would subvert the will of Republican voters by giving top-down power to the executive board to place sanctions on and prevent their ELECTED PCOs to do the business they are elected to do, including preventing participation in caucuses and conventions, if the executive board deems them guilty of “Egregious, flagrant and continued violations of the Fundamental Principles of Republican Conduct that risk doing damage to the Republican Party.” No objective criteria required.
Here are the particular articles that gives them this absolute power:
19.1 Principles for Imposing Sanctions. Egregious, flagrant and continued violations of the Fundamental Principles of Republican Conduct that risk doing damage to the Republican Party may be appropriate cases for imposition of formal sanctions under this Article.
19.2 Resolution of Formal Repudiation. A Resolution of Formal Repudiation may be proposed and adopted in accord with the following procedures. (a) The Elected Officers of the Central Committee, acting as a committee, shall develop and propose the Resolution, which shall specify the activities being repudiated in sufficient detail to allow a response; (b) the proposed resolution shall be provided to the individual or organization that is the subject of the resolution, together with notice of the meeting at which the resolution shall be considered, which shall be not less than ten days from the date notice was provided, (c) the individual, or representative of organization, shall be entitled to be present at the meeting of the Executive Committee considering the resolution and shall have a full and reasonable opportunity to present his reasons in opposition to the resolution, (d) the Executive Committee shall vote on the resolution by recorded vote, and (e) passage shall require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting.
19.2.1 Any adopted Resolution of Formal Repudiation shall be communicated as the Chairman or Executive Committee shall determine.
19.3 Denial of Good Standing Status. Precinct Committee Officers and other Republican party activists may be denied the status of “good standing” by the action of the Elected Officers of the Central Committee acting as a committee pursuant to the following procedures; (a) a written complaint signed by a Precinct Committee Officer shall be presented to the Elected Officers who shall consider whether the complaint justifies further investigation, which decision shall be communicated to the complainant, (b) if so, the Elected Officers shall appoint a fact-finding committee, consisting of not less than three individuals who shall investigate the charges and make findings of fact germane to the charges, (c) the fact-finding committee shall provide the individual who is the subject of their investigation with a copy of the complaint and shall provide the individual with an opportunity to meet with them and provide evidence, (d) the factfinding committee shall engage in reasonable efforts to receive evidence from other individuals who may have relevant knowledge, (e) the fact-finding committee shall provide a written report of its conclusions to the Elected Officers, (f) a copy of the report shall be shall be provided to the individual who is the subject of the complaint, together with notice of the meeting at which the report shall be received and considered, which shall be not less than ten days from the date notice was provided, (g) the individual shall be entitled to be present when the Elected Officers meet to receive and consider the resolution and shall have a full and reasonable opportunity to present his reasons in opposition to the resolution, (h), The Elected Officers shall consider the report and by motion vote by recorded vote to determine whether the individual shall be determined to be not in good standing, (i) passage shall require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of Elected Officers.
19.3.1 Any individual found not to be in good standing with the King County Republican Central Committee shall have no further voting rights in any meeting of the Central Committee, or any of its constituent parts such as Legislative Districts and committees, shall be ineligible to hold a precinct caucus or to serve as an automatic or elected delegate to the King County Republican Convention, or any District Conventions, shall be ineligible to be elected to represent King County Republicans at any convention called by the Republican State Committee of Washington, and shall be ineligible to serve on any other committee established by or under the authority of the Central Committee.
These disabilities shall survive a subsequent election or reelection of the individual as a Precinct Committee Officer and shall last for a period of not less than two years, nor longer than six years, as determined by the resolution of the Elected Officers, and whichmay be reduced by subsequent action of a majority of the Elected Officers.
Why does this matter? These bylaws give absolute power to a small number of individuals (the executive board) to override the election (and even reelection) of PCOs and/or convention delegates whom they deem guilty of “Egregious, flagrant and continued violations of the Fundamental Principles of Republican Conduct that risk doing damage to the Republican Party.” Without an objective criteria, PCOs stand the chance to be judged based on a subjective criteria of the executive board. This is very similiar to the former policy of the Washington State Republican Party Pre-Primary Censorship Agreement. Candidates running in Repubilcan primary elections were told they had to sign an agreement to not criticize their fellow Republican (including their primary opponent) with penalty of expensive fines, or else not receive access to party events and support. After a grassroots outcry, the WSRP killed it. It seems now that corpse has been exhumed to come after any Republican who dares to criticize party leaders.
How do I get the label “not in good standing” applied to me?
Is it not our duty to find out?
Did a 7th grader with no access to our state or federal constitution write these rules?
George
Good question, George. It might not be too difficult. And if telling the truth about Republican leadership might “damage the Republican party”, but nevertheless, it’s information the public needs to know, then yes, it is our duty.
It’s not clear whether these bylaws reach beyond King County. I suppose they could place a sanction on me, even though I live in Snohomish County. But no doubt, they will attempt to work them into the state bylaws.
This is a good way for the establishment to control who gets to be delegates to the convention.
The author of those bylaws wasn’t a 7th grader. It was that highly regarded Republican attorney, Dick Derham. But the bylaws were approved by the PCOs who remained that long at the meeting in December.
Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”
Congress members don’t say bad things about other congressmen either. Newt and freinds got that rule passed.
It sounds nice at first. But the rule applies to deviants who want to have sex with young male (or female) pages. It applies to any felony that their peers might commit.
It’s a short-sighted policy for a party that want to attact the Family Values vote. It great if we want to get the NAMBLA vote, but that’s not what being Republican is about.
I recently signed up as a PCO. Ron Paul is the only reason I’m back in the Republican party, and why I have sacrificed so much of my own time, money, and everything else to stake my reputation on a party that the majority of my neighbors seem to loathe at the moment. I still believe in limited government by and for the people, I believe that a fetus is a separate living being with its own brain, heart, and circulatory system and that Doe v. Bolton and Roe v. Wade and legislation from the bench are worth revisiting, I believe that I should not have to worry about federal surveillance cameras in my most sacred places of worship and that those of other faiths shouldn’t either, even if they don’t believe in the same things I do. Finally, I believe in the Christian “just war” doctrine and in light of evidence we now have about why we actually entered Iraq and the faulty intelligence vetting procedures that were used, it’s absolutely clear that US citizens are now voting their soul on a serious moral issue this time around. Reagan’s 11th Commandment notwithstanding, the first 10 still mean something to me as a Christian. I believe that anyone who is going to take the oath of office should already have a track record of defending the Constitution, etc. I hope the Republican party will still have me, but if they end up kicking me out because I support someone who Ronald Reagan himself endorsed on national defense issues, someone who believes in constitutional government, lower taxes, the 2nd amendment, right to life, etc. and has a 10 year voting record in Congress to prove it, I will be heartbroken in what has become of the Republican party. I can agree to disagree but it’s sure sad if we’re not allowed to defend what the party once stood for. I hope enough people in places of power in both parties still remember the forward looking advice of George Washington on such matters: “Liberty is the basis; and whoever would dare to sap the foundation, or overturn the structure, under whatever specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration, and the severest punishment, which can be inflicted by his injured country.” (George Washington, June 8, 1783; Writings of George Washington 10:257)
William (at 4):
You say, “I hope the Republican party will still have me, but if they end up kicking me out…”
Welcome to the Republican Party, William. Stick around. You need to help us pry the Party from the fingers of the corrupt leadership that so threatens valuable honest members.
I have yet to see the so called “Eleventh Commandment” stop one Leftist Republican from saying one ill thing about conservatives.
Reagan was a great man, but he wasn’t perfect. This and his immigration policy were two of his biggest mistakes.
The Eleventh Commandment was borne out of the early 1980s. Now Reagan is spoken of kindly by most of all who call themselves Republicans. Not true back then.
Back before he was elected in 1980, Reagan supporters were called loons by other Republicans. Reagan was an extremist. He was unelectable. These were things said by some pretty high up Republicans back in the day.
It got so bad that in 1980 the Republican Left actually found a candidate to run against Reagan in the general election. That person is all but forgotten but his name was John Anderson, a ten term Congressman from Illinois, a prominent Rockefeller Republican. And as third party candidates go he was quite successful with 7% of the vote.
Had it been a closer election, that could have given Carter a second term. But of course that wasn’t the case in 1980. For this “unelectable” Reagan beat Carter by almost ten percentage points in the popular vote. Republicans also gained control of the Senate for the first time in twenty-five years on Reagan’s coattails.
Point is though, back when Reagan proclaimed his so called “Eleventh Commandment” it was the Republican Left mostly saying ill things against him, and that is what he saw as divisive possibly leading to defeat. But he should have realized that such things are only effective on those with principles. Those without principles (ie leftist Republicans) would never allow such a ideal to bind them.
So, what we have seen is that the so called “Eleventh Commandment ” is that it has been used almost solely to keep the conservative base quiet when it comes to speaking out against Leftist Republican politicians and candidates (RINOS). Now the Left speaks out freely against conservative Republican politicians and candidates calling them kooks, extremists, etc. with no consequence.
I believe in Washington state I can find no more clearer example of this than the 1992 Race for Governor against Liberal Seattle Congressman Mike Lowry and someone who I actually would term a moderate, Former state attorney general Ken Eikenberry.
Several prominent Leftist Republicans (they call themselves mainstream Republicans but you can only consider them mainstream if you believe that most people own country club memberships), more that just spoke ill of Mr Eikenberry. They publicly (like in newspapers and such) supported Mike Lowry, someone who had one of the most liberal voting records in the US congress (think Jim McDermott and you get a good idea of what Lowry was like in Congress).
But instead of being called on the carpet by the Republicans for their clear violation of the so called 11th commandment (as well as their complete betrayal of the Republican party) they were still welcomed back into the fold when the election was over. Nothing said and nothing done. To me that has always been a clear example of the one sided way that the so called 11th commandment has been enforced.
I for one will not be binded by something that my enemies have broken with wild abandon whenever it suits their purpose. “To speak ill” when used by the party elite means to not hold politicians account for their actions, and it is my duty as an American citizen to hold all politicians account regardless of party affiliation. Reagan might have been a great man but he was not perfect, and I am sure if he saw how his so called commandment was being used today to attempt to muzzle the voice of the grassroots in the Republican party he would be the first to say “my bad” and would call for its removal.
Conservatives have to be smart when it comes to being a PCO.
First it would ideally be best if they understood that in politics sometimes you have to do things you don’t do in everyday life. If you are forced to sign something saying you won’t “speak ill” of another Republican don’t let that stand in the way of actually speaking ill when necessary. Sure in other endeavors your word should mean something but politics is different so just see it as a tactic.
But the truth is the party can’t force you to sign anything to become a Republican PCO if you get elected a Republican PCO. If you go to the election official, if you fill out the short paper work, if you get elected, then you are a Republican PCO and the party can’t do anything about it. They are stuck with you until they can find someone in your precinct to successfully defeat you. So my recommendation would be to sidestep the party entirely and go to the election officials yourself at the appointed time and file the paper work. It is only about two dollars.
By the way, after reading the bylaws, I don’t think they can legally do this.
The key though is that you need to be elected a Republican PCO. Appointed PCOs don’t have the same legal protections.
If you are an elected PCO then you are a PCO and therefore you should have all the voting rights that all other PCOS do.
So, while legally they could do this with appointed PCOS, if your precinct has elected you, I doubt think they can bar you from participation.
Also I want to let people into this following search engine that they can put on their web browser.
http://www.searchplugins.net/pluginlist.aspx?q=PDC&mode=title
Then all they have to do is type a person’s name into the search engine and it tells them all the people they have contributed to.
It is the same as going to the following web page:
http://www.pdc.wa.gov/servlet/ContServlet
And typing in the name in the box next to “Partial Contributor Name:”
It is last name then first name
Through the use of this database you can find out the people the person you are looking at contributed to. You can find out if fellow Republicans such as PCOs or elected officials have ever contributed to Democrats. You will be surprised at the number who have (most often Leftist Republicans donating to Democrats).
If they want PCOS to be held accountable for “doing damage to the Republican Party” okay then we can do that!
Very good points, Henry. We love Ronald Reagan, but we are under no illusions that he was perfect. It shows the shallowness of the Republican left that they would gasp at us ever having any disagreements with him.
Your account of Reagan’s purpose in declairing an “11th commandment” if accurate, demonstrates the principle of St. Thomas More that if you cut down every law (or erect one in this case) just to get at the devil, you’ll be left with no law to protect you when you’re left standing against the devil.