Op-Ed: Greenville GOP Unites while the SCGOP continues to attack

GREENVILLE, S.C. | Joshua Cook | Aug. 6, 2013 |

Yesterday, the Greenville GOP demonstrated a remarkable display of unity and willingness to work together.

Earlier this week some members of the executive committee wanted to postpone the election for chairman to allow their candidate to run and avoid a one man race. During the meeting, however, Chad Groover, who is running for the vacant Chairman’s seat, made a motion to delay the election despite his earlier protest.

“Some of the members of our Party came to me and said, “let’s let everyone be heard.” And I think that’s the first step towards unity. Tonight I move to postpone the election to Sept. 9^th,” Groover said. The motion passed.

Those who were attending the meeting (around 200 people) applauded Groover for making the bold move.

State executive committeeman, Jim Lee gave his report on the ongoing rift between the “establishment” and “grassroots activist” within the GOP.

“There is a palpable strain of divisiveness with the GOP as a whole and the GCRP. The problem, in my view, is not one of a difference in philosophy, or right versus left, conservative versus moderate or liberal, but, rather, one based in a simple disconnect between fantasy and reality.

The establishment is fantasizing that the status quo – that brought us partisan defeat in 2008 and 2012 and, more importantly, political consequences in the form of $17 trillion in debt, recurring deficits for each of the past five years in excess of $1 trillion per year, expanding federal government regulation, Obamacare, and scandals du jour – is somehow the best way forward.

Grassroots conservatives, on the other hand, view with absolute clarity the reality of our present state and believe that principle, fidelity to our professed core values, and a return to common sense based in the Constitution and the rule of law that preserves our liberty and freedom is the best way forward. It isn’t any more complicated than that.”

Many Greenville Republicans left the meeting with the hope and the optimism of creating a stronger conservative Party.

But it seems the mantra of the establishment is “unity.”

Unity is great if you are united for a noble cause, but it seems that the SCGOP is calling for the Greenville GOP to be united behind the status quo.

The only unity I am interested in is being united in order to reform the GOP because as Jim Lee outlined, our establishment leadership is leading us down the road of serfdom.

The SCGOP continues to attack the Greenville GOP for its effort to reform and preserve its party and conservative platform.

Yesterday, Alex Stroman, executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, told Greenvilleonline.com, “The Greenville County Republican Party has ostracized itself by attacking fellow Republicans across South Carolina and needs to elect a “voice of reason” as its new chairman in order to return “from the slippery slope it’s started down.”

It’s ironic that Stroman is lecturing us on obtaining leaders who have a “voice of reason.”

Last month the SCGOP sent out a fundraiser email calling the IRS: ‘Obama’s Gestapo.’ The offensive remarks caused a national firestorm and forced Gov. Nikki Haley to issue an apology. Haley told The State, “There is no place in politics for any comments like that,” she said. “I didn’t think so when they were done to me, I don’t think so now.”

Greenville republicans cannot forget when former SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly insulted the Greenville delegation by calling them hardline-liberterians and borderline-anarchists right after this year’s state convention. (The Greenville Party voted to censure him for many grievances at the state convention. READ MOTION HERE).

In an article published at theState.com, Stroman, maintained that the Greenville Party is “continuing to slide down the slope of irrelevancy,” and the group “does not reflect the beliefs of many Greenville Republicans.”

Last week theGreenvillePost.com polled a sample of Greenville County executive committeeman to gauge their feelings on different issues. See Survey below.

The respondents were asked to choose the best answer. Q2 stated, The SCGOP leadership is doing a good job in reaching out to the Greenville Party, 71% answered Strongly Disagree and 16% answered Somewhat Disagree.

It’s clear that Greenville Republican Party does not feel that the GOP is headed in the right direction nor do they feel the SCGOP is reaching out to them. Instead of reaching out, the SCGOP continues to insult them and tries to manipulate their Party’s decisions.

When will the SCGOP be pleased with Greenville? When we embrace the status quo of big government and corporate welfare, when we stop criticizing Republicans for not standing for Pro-life legislation, when we stop demanding politicians to disclose their income sources and be more transparent?  For most Greenville Republicans the most courageous act is still to think for ourselves—loudly. We can choose to be compliant or courageous. I choose the latter.

How can there be unity between the Greenville GOP and the SCGOP?

One of the ways the SCGOP can repair the disunity is to reaffirm their commitment to the Registration by Party Lawsuit by entering back into the lawsuit as plaintiffs. This lawsuit would prevent democrats from manipulating our primaries which they plan to do next year. See article

 Former SCGOP Chairman, Chad Connelly, the day before he resigned, unilaterally dropped the lawsuit without the state executive committeemen’s consent, severely undermining our lawsuit.

Now the SCGOP’s action is being used against the Greenville County GOP’s case.

This was filed by the defendants in U.S. District court on 7/2/2013:

 “With the withdrawal of the State Republican Party, this claim is being asserted by the local Republican organization and individuals in Greenville County. Under the authority set forth below, it is respectfully submitted that these plaintiffs lack standing to assert a claim that the associational rights of the Republican Party, under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, have been violated.

 In Beck v. Ysursa, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86928, 2007 WL 4224051 (D. Idaho Nov. 27, 2007) it was held that the right to challenge the Idaho open primary could only be asserted by the State Republican Party, not a group of members purporting to sue on its behalf.

See Document here.

The good news it is not too late for the state executive committeemen to agree to enter back into the lawsuit. It would cost no legal fees and would strengthen the lawsuit, but the state executive committeemen would have to act now.

What the Greenville Republican Party is doing is rational. They want to reform their Party. They want to hold Republicans accountable to its principles and want to grow the Party by electing constitutional-conservatives. What’s more rational than that?

Survey Regarding the Greenville County GOP – Sponsored by the Greenville Post

Greenville Post – Breaking News & Analysis | Serving Greenville, SC