Virginia GOP Chairman Whitbeck’s Partisanship Forces Haley Back into Chariman’s Race

I have known for some time that Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Whitbeck wasn’t going to work out. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and ended up falling for his story about the removal of former State Delegate Mark Berg from the party. I initially backed Whitbeck based on his story of what happened, only to read overwhelming evidence that Whitbeck’s account was malarkey.

And then there was the loyalty pledge that the Republican Party tossed out for anyone who would vote in the primary to sign, or you could not vote. Ostensibly this “pledge” was designed to prevent Democrats from voting in the Republican Primary – we don’t register by party in the Commonwealth. The problem with that logic is that if Democrats cross party in a ploy to elect the weakest candidate so the Democrat will win, why would anyone believe the pledge will stop them? These people are Democrats and plan to support the Democrat. They only want to throw a monkey wrench into the GOP process. So they walk in and ask for a GOP ballot in an act of deception. Would a pledge stop them? Hardly.

This pledge only comes up when a Libertarian like Ron Paul runs. Or this year, Donald Trump.

The GOP has done everything they possibly can to rig the playing field to the advantage of the Republican establishment. Eric Cantor and his Young Guns were behind the slating that caused the party to implode and lose big time a couple of years back. And they have left such a bad taste in the mouths of people who normally vote Republican that most are hard pressed to vote Republican. But there is no choice. The Democrats are worse. Many hold their noses and vote Republican, but a loyalty oath is a bridge too far. And just one more obstacle to toss in the way of the voters actually having a voice in the process.

And now we find out that the loyalty oath is a sham anyway. The voters don’t pick the candidates, the Party does. It is all rigged. So your vote doesn’t matter anyway.

Yet John Whitbeck happily planned to force Virginians to sign such an oath. Right up until Vince Haley filed papers to run against Whitbeck for State Party Chairman. Then he dropped the idea like a hot potato behind closed doors. And that being the biggest club in Haley’s campaign arsenal, and the single most important issue, with that off the table, the reasons to run were diminished.

But leave it to Whitbeck. The guy is supposed to be the Chairman, but has injected himself into several races even going so far as to pay the filing fees for his chosen people in the Henrico County Republican Committee Chairman race. The Chairman stacked the deck in a County he doesn’t even live in. And this just happens to be the County fired Congressman Eric Cantor lived in.

Whitbeck thought he was home free when Haley suspended his campaign for Whitbeck’s job. Let the shenanigans begin!

But what Whitbeck has done is so egregious that Haley was urged by a lot of people to reenter the race.

And Vince Haley agreed. This is not how the Chairman of the Republican Party behaves. It is time to fire John Whitbeck! I am all in for Vince Haley!

From the Vince Haley Campaign:

Dear Friends,

You are the lifeblood of the Republican Party — the keepers of the Republican Creed. You do the hard work needed to win: staff the polls; knock the doors; make the phone calls; and have your voice heard at conventions.

It is in the spirit of service to you that I have made the decision to re-enter the race for RPV State Party Chairman. I humbly ask for your support. 

When I suspended my campaign in February, I had hoped that the Republican Party of Virginia would take steps to become an organization that was laser focused on victory in November and the fair management of party races across the Commonwealth. This hope was misplaced, which is why I am reactivating my campaign for Chairman.

We have an umpire problem at RPV.

How are we supposed to trust that the RPV organization will play a fair role in party races anywhere in the Commonwealth when the RPV Chairman and his Executive Director have inserted themselves in local party elections in an attempt to defeat their disfavored candidates?

This is not the fair calling of balls and strikes by a neutral umpire.

This is picking a side. It’s an abuse of trust.

Who would want to get involved in a local party race if all the time and hard work of grassroots candidates can simply be neutralized by shadow money allocated by the RPV Chairman and his Executive Director?

If this is business as usual for those running a state party organization that we the party faithful are supposed to accept – then count me out. I oppose such a practice, I pledge to never engage in such behavior if elected Chairman, and I hope to rally a majority of those attending the state party convention to join me in doing so.

How can RPV be laser focused on victory in November if it is so busy trying to enforce loyalty to RPV leadership?

The RPV should not try to control the direction of local parties. RPV should instead let the will of the grassroots play out in their local jurisdictions.

In order to be prepared for victory in November, we must have a Party that is competent and totally dedicated to fighting for the Republican Creed. We are in desperate need for an autonomous state party — an honest broker above any suspicion that it is tipping the scales for or against certain candidates in party races.

You deserve not just a better RPV, but an excellent Republican Party of Virginia. You deserve leadership that represents you with honor and never forgets that leadership in our Party is a sacred trust. The principles of the Republican Creed are not secondary considerations. I’ve devoted the last 14 years of my life to that cause. I am proudly 100% pro-life, pro traditional marriage, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-Veteran, and anti-tax-and-spend. As RPV Chairman, I will not compromise our Republican Creed nor kowtow to those who would undermine it.  I will not take marching orders from anyone else but you. I will fight for our common values and I’ll make sure national Republicans hear your voice loud and clear this summer in Cleveland.

The time to restore our identity and trust in our Republican Party is right here and now. Let’s elect a Chairman who is unafraid and unapologetic to stand with those who honor the very principles for which our Founding Fathers sacrificed their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.

You deserve a Chairman that keeps his promises. You deserve a Chairman who will raise money for the Party to use for victory. You deserve a Chairman who works to make sure the Party processes are fair, professionally, and efficiently run. You deserve a Chairman who uses his bully pulpit to promote the values espoused by the Republican Creed and you deserve an RPV staff that will be effective, efficient, experienced, and totally devoted towards assisting the grassroots and servicing their needs.

With a Republican Party that guards its principles and keeps its promises, we can save our Republic, bring greater prosperity and freedom to the Citizens of the Commonwealth, and bring the Republican Party of Virginia into a new era of principle, efficiency, service, and victory.

I earnestly look forward to your support, our conversation, and engaging with so many new friends over the next few weeks. Thank you for this tremendous opportunity to keep the promise. Let’s build a party worthy of our creed and of you, the grassroots.

I look forward to seeing you in Harrisonburg at the James Madison University Convocation Center on April 29^th and 30^th and I humbly ask for your vote.

In Service,

Vince Haley