There has been some discussion in Republican, or maybe Conservative and Libertarian circles;

About the decision of our current President to handle with Executive Orders things which he feels are not being handled the way he wishes by Congress.  This is, in the opinion of many, side-stepping the Constitution and the Rule of Law. 

It would seem this attitude is not limited to Barack Obama on the Federal Level, but can also be seen in the attitude and activity of the Linn County Republican Central Committee Chair, Cindy Golding.

Two months ago, at our November meeting, a motion was made to continue holding our monthly meetings at the Longbranch, where our committee has met for the better part of several decades.   The motion was tabled, as the time was approaching 8:30--the chair's firmly enforced adjournment time!

However, at our January meeting, our Executives announced that rather than honoring the Motion in Force to debate and vote on the status of where our meeting should be held, they had instead DECIDED;

That they were going to do a "SURVEY" of the subject after the Caucus.  

On the surface, there might be some logic in this, as after the Caucus, there will be a brand new Committee.

Of course, if it were not for their insistence that we adjourn at a set time, rather than after the business we have before us is finished, this issue would have been dealt with months ago. 

But the REAL issue is that the Executives DO NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY to override a decision of the Body with one of their own.  

And doing so is a VIOLATION of the Constitution of the  Republican Party of  Linn County, which states:

 

The Executive Committee is subject to the orders of the Linn County Central Committee, and none of its acts shall conflict with actions of the Linn County Central Committee.

 

It was, in fact, the right of the Committee to make that decision rather than the Executives.

I rose on a Point of Order to bring this out,

And the above-mentioned requirements of the Constitution were ignored by the Chair, Cindy Golding. 

That was not the only dubious action by the County Chair, Cindy Golding, at the January meeting.

She also kept bringing up the subject of previous rumors of the Linn County Caucuses being held in a single location.

It is true that there WERE in the past rumors to that effect.

The source of those rumors were the Caucus Team, whose members were asked several times in the first few months if this were true, and answered in the affirmative.

We later heard that after they determined that the cost would be two, maybe three times the amount of money we had in our entire treasury, it was decided to have some Caucuses in more than one location.  Of course, that was also just a rumor.

Still, all of Cedar Rapids' 44 precincts will be in a very few locations, the largest of which being the Downtown Double Tree Hotel and Convention Center, with a whopping 30 Precincts packed into three rooms. 

It should be an interesting Caucus.

As to the Constitutional issues that arose at the LCRCC January meeting, there are several campaigns who seem to have very good ground games.

They might end up placing some of their people on the County Central Committee.

The Candidates seem to honor the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

I hope to see that their supporters, should they end up on the Central Committee, choose to Walk the Walk rather than Talk the Talk;

And also honor Constitutions and the Rule of Law.  

Especially since it appears that the Linn County Republican Central Committee Chair, Cindy Golding...

Does NOT. 

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 2:14 AM CST
Updated: Wednesday, 20 January 2016 3:31 AM CST
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The following is a guest post written by LCRCC member Althea Cole as a follow-up to Friday's post, "The Meaning of Corruption."   

The intention had been from the beginning to help out with my precinct at the 2016 Linn County Republican Precinct Caucuses.  

I’m an elected member of the Central Committee.  It’s my job.  

It remains my job, regardless of my feelings about the chaotic mess that has been made of these caucuses by the leadership of the Linn County Republican Central Committee.

It doesn’t mean, however, that one should remain silent about the poor decisions made by our executive leadership during the planning of the 2016 Precinct Caucuses.  I was always taught to speak up about things that are not right, and I’ve had plenty of opportunity to do so in the months, now weeks, leading up to February 1st.  

It is not right that our caucus team has been instructed to cram 30 (yes, 30) precincts and 4,000 caucusgoers and guests into a single site location in downtown Cedar Rapids.  

It is not right that many of the 80 well-placed locations our party used in 2012 have been taken over by the local Democrats, because our party and its leaders opted to ignore the pleas of past experienced caucus leaders, who begged our executives not to consolidate our 86 precincts into large, crowded locations.

It is not right that the caucus planning team was not opened to experienced, willing volunteers, or that the leader of the team has conducted the vast majority of its meetings as closed sessions, under what he described at the August 2015 meeting as his “singular authority” to do so.

And it is not right that instead of incurring dramatically lower costs by seeking caucus sites at more of Linn County’s 80+ public schools, LCRCC Chair Cindy Golding is reported to be seeking corporate donations to offset the staggering costs of running the caucuses in large, expensive locations.  The Central Committee treasurer’s recent estimates show that the 2016 Linn County caucuses are projected to cost around $11,800.00, more than 37% over the $8,000 budget approved by the Linn County Republican Central Committee.  (The downtown site alone is projected to cost $6,300.00, more than 75% of the total approved budget.)

Like many other dedicated volunteers on the Linn County Republican Central Committee, I’ve been very frank and unreserved with my opinion of the mess that has been made of the 2016 Linn County Republican Caucuses since the very beginning.  But sooner or later, time runs out, are we are left with the circumstances we’ve been dealt.  The show must go on.  The show will go on.  Come hell or high water, the 2016 Caucuses will happen on February 1st at 7:00, and as I said at the beginning of this essay, it has always been my intention to lead my precinct in the 2016 Republican Caucuses.  

So, on Thursday night, I emailed our “records guy” to request a copy of the Republican voter registration records for my precinct.  Our central committee pays a yearly fee of $200.00 to the Linn County Auditor’s office for all of the voter registration, which may then be disbursed to our members to start reaching out to potential caucusgoers.  

Two hours later, I checked my email to see two responses.  

The first was from our “records guy,” Bruce Bernier:

Althea,

Several other LCRCC members have requested and received a list of their precinct Republicans.
In fact, I produced a master list of the registered Republicans in all of the county precincts and sent it to the Caucus planning team lead (Paul Pelletier), and all LCRCC officers in hopes that they could assist in getting such precinct lists disseminated. Any one of them can easily break out individual precinct lists from this master list.

I have copied them on this response to your note. They can accommodate your request.

The second response was from the Linn County Republican Central Committee Co-Chair, Brett Mason:

Ms Cole,

The last time we had any significant conversation was at the end of a meeting last year. You jumped to your feet and ran to the front after the meeting was adjourned, and you were screaming over and over that you felt I was corrupt more than anyone else ever.

Others commented that it was the best meeting we had held in over a year.

In such a context, I can see no manner in which any list could be provided to you which you could possibly trust.  Regrettably I see no path forward for our committee to fulfill such a request. I am certain that you could possibly purchase a list - maybe from the County Auditor's office?

Sincerely,
Brett Mason
co-chair

Now, regardless of the exaggerated manner in which Mr. Mason apparently chooses to recall the event in which I accused him of being “corrupt” (and yes, I did,) I must urgently point out:

It is not right that the Co-Chair, Brett Mason, chose, out of personal animosity, to deny a Central Committee member access to resources that were purchased for their use.   

At the same time, I can’t help but be puzzled at Mr. Mason’s version of the event during which he claims that I was “screaming over and over” at him.  

Surely, I would have been noticed by others if I truly were “screaming over and over.”

Luckily, I have a friend who collects a recording of all of the Central Committee meetings, and he has provided me with a copy, to which I recently listened, keeping an ear out for my own screaming voice.  

The recording of the end of the October 20th, 2015 meeting plays out exactly how I remember the event itself.  Caucus Team Lead Paul Pelletier receives questions about the upcoming caucuses, and although the recording cannot verify this, there are quite a few hands raised with more questions.  Yet Mr. Mason, acting in the absence of the chair, interrupts Pelletier at the stroke of 8:30, saying, “Folks, it’s 8:30, we’re gonna call it on time,” and adjourns the meeting.  

This act of ending the meeting before all caucus questions were answered--and before all caucus business had a chance to be completed--was, in my opinion, an act rooted in corruption.  Not only did the Central Committee not have the necessary opportunity to be advised and informed of the caucus team’s progress, they also did not have the opportunity to bring forth any items of business related to the caucus, or provide any orders which the caucus team, and the Executive Committee, would be subject to carry out.  

And when the committee as a whole is not in session, it is the Executives who have the power to do the business of the committee in the interim.  

I would think that someone who has such an important task of executing the will of the Central Committee would want to continue the meeting until business is complete.  I don't know how they could understand what business it is that they need to carry out if they don't have the opportunity to hear it from the committee as a whole and its subcommittees.

Each time our chair, or, in this instance, our co-chair, ends meetings abruptly without completing, or even addressing important business items, I can’t help but wonder if they intend for the Central Committee to be unable to instruct them on conducting their affairs, so that they may instead carry our their own agenda.

For those reasons, I did feel that Mr. Mason was corrupt in his actions that evening.  

But regardless of what I think of Mr. Mason, or what he thinks of me, I repeat:

It is NOT RIGHT that the Co-Chair, Brett Mason, chose, out of personal animosity, to deny a Central Committee member access to resources that were purchased for their use.

Especially when it prevents almost 300 registered Republicans from hearing from their elected precinct representative about important changes to their upcoming caucus.  

As for Mr. Mason’s insistence that I was “screaming over and over?”

While the recording of the Central Committee meeting indicates that several individuals were vocally upset with Mr. Mason for cutting off the meeting, my screaming female voice cannot be plainly distinguished. 

I can, however, be faintly heard among a sea of other voices giving a stern admonishment to Mr. Mason, which I now find to be particularly ironic:

“You could do this better, and you are choosing not to…”

I deeply wish Mr. Mason would have considered these words and chosen to be better in his actions when he decided out of spite that the Executive Committee would not be providing me with the resources I need to contact the members of my precinct.  

If that was not to be, I still wish that Mr. Mason would have chosen a better course of action when I presented him with this option in response to his petty obstinance:

“If you are to apologize for your egregious lapse in judgement and conduct, and assist me with obtaining the records to which I am entitled as a Central Committee member, I will consider this issue as one that needs no further attention.”

Were he to have done the right thing, it would have saved me a lot of time--and not just with writing this guest submission for Kentucky Dan.

It would also save me the money that I will have to spend on obtaining the precinct records myself if Mr. Mason enjoys continued success in preventing me from doing my job as a precinct chair.  

But Mr. Mason is not the only Central Committee member with a choice, here.

I have a choice, too.  

As long as I participate in politics, there will always be people like Brett Mason around.  There will always exist boisterous egos over which to trip and hubris so thick one could slice right through it, courtesy of folks who prioritize power, control, influence, and the fulfillment of their own agenda over engaging the grassroots whose only skin in the game is their lives and their futures. 

I must choose to be better.  

I must choose to always be the grassroots.  

Therefore, I will find a way to obtain the resources I need.  

I will collect my fellow precinct committeeperson, and we will work together to engage and involve the members of our precinct in the upcoming caucus.  

Why?  

I’m an elected member of the Linn County Republican Central Committee.  

And it’s my job. 

****UPDATE:  Miss Cole wishes to thank Linn County's "Records Guy" for helping her finally obtain the resources she was seeking, especially after The LCRCC Co-Chair reiterated his refusal to allow their provision in multiple follow-up statements.  

Althea Cole is a volunteer for the Linn County Republican Central Committee, representing Cedar Rapids' 7th Precinct.  She first got involved in politics during the 2012 Presidential election and hasn't given her brain a rest since.    

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 11:34 PM CST
Updated: Sunday, 10 January 2016 1:27 AM CST
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I received a most interesting email thread this morning.

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Althea Cole <altheacole8@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 7:17 PM
Subject: Precinct Records Request
To: Bruce Bernier <overland29@gmail.com>
Cc: A**** ***** <a****@*****.com>

I have a young lady named A**** ***** who will be participating in caucus and would like to make calls to her precinct, Marion-**.  Could you please send a copy of the voter list for her precinct to a****@*****.com please?

I would also like the voter list for my precinct, CR07, so Mary Ernzen and I can start making calls. 

Thank you.  

 

On Thu, Jan 7, 2016 at 10:40 PM, Bruce Bernier <overland29@gmail.com> wrote:

Althea,

Several other LCRCC members have requested and received a list of their precinct Republicans.

In fact, I produced a master list of the registered Republicans in all of the county precincts and sent it to the Caucus planning team lead (Paul Pelletier), and all LCRCC officers in hopes that they could assist in getting such precinct lists disseminated. Any one of them can easily break out individual precinct lists from this master list.

I have copied them on this response to your note. They can accommodate your request.

We generally offer voter lists only to LCRCC members, and local campaigns, since we are bound to safeguard this information. Is A**** an LCRCC member?

- Bruce 

 

From: "Brett Mason" <brett.e.mason@gmail.com>
Date: Jan 7, 2016 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: Precinct Records Request
To: "Althea Cole" <altheacole8@gmail.com>
Cc: "Cindy Golding" <cgolding@diffstrat.com>, "Gary Ellis" <egarye@cs.com>, "Robin Tucker" <tuckerusa@aol.com>

Ms Cole,

The last time we had any significant conversation was at the end of a meeting last year. You jumped to your feet and ran to the front after the meeting was adjourned, and you were screaming over and over that you felt I was corrupt more than anyone else ever.

Others commented that it was the best meeting we had held in over a year.

In such a context, I can see no manner in which any list could be provided to you which you could possibly trust.  Regrettably I see no path forward for our committee to fulfill such a request. I am certain that you could possibly purchase a list - maybe from the County Auditor's office?

Sincerely,

Brett Mason 

It would appear that Mr Mason, has a problem with Ms. Cole, and is not only using his position to punish her, but to punish anyone associated with her. 

Now, I do not know whether or not the young lady from Marion is a member of the LCRCC.  But I DO know that Ms. Ernzen is not only member, but a former EXECUTUVE.

But Mr. Mason obviously feels that Ms Ernzen should not be allowed to "make calls in her precinct" as long as she is associated with someone he has issues with. 

I don't think this qualifies as "corruption" but I do feel it has passed over the line of "Abuse of Power." 

Whether or not Mr Mason gets along, approves of, or whatever his opinion of Ms. Cole and Ms. Ernzen is,

ONE THING THAT IS TRUE 

Is that both of these ladies have worked tirelessly over the years in support of the Linn County Central Committee and to help Republicans get elected.

It is true that there has been division in the LCRCC, but I thought there were some attempts being made to work together to try to handle the issues of the Caucus.

It would appear that this is NOT the case.

If the Executives do not "approve" of a person and that disapproval is extended to their associates,

Would the Executives then please give us a list of those they have NO intention of working with at the upcoming Caucuses?

It might be best to go ahead and find out who is going to be purged from volunteering now rather than later. 

Editor's Note: The name and contact information for the young lady from Marion has been redacted at the request of Ms. Cole.   

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 8:55 AM CST
Updated: Friday, 8 January 2016 10:03 AM CST
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Bedlam at the Linn County Republican Central Committee. 

We were told a few meetings back that, unlike other years, we would not be having our annual Christmas Party on the night of the regular monthly meeting, because:

With the Caucuses coming up, we would have to much business to take care of.

Some strange things happened between that time and the time of the December meeting of the Linn County Republican Central Committee.

Our annual Christmas party got cancelled and sequed into a party given by the Five Seasons Republican Women's Club to which the LCRCC was invited.

I find this confusing, since the Linn County Republican Central Committee voted for and budgeted for a Christmas Party.

And my reading of our Constitution is that events such as that cannot be canceled, except maybe for extreme events.

Such as the location burning down and there not being enough time to reschedule,

But I might be wrong.

I just wish I could recall when, how and if we were ever informed of this.

Oh, and the "important business" to be taken care of at the December meeting?

It seemed to have been canceled as well.

We were instead informed that the meeting itself was to last only 30 minutes.  The rest of the night was be taken up by watching the JV and main stage GOP debates.

As if none of us could look it up on the Internet, so it had to take the place of our monthly meeting.

There were some who DID want to discuss business, and they tried to amend the agenda.

That was voted down.

After a call for division was made, the chair immediately claimed that the vote was 15 to 10.  But I must admit that the Chair, Cindy Golding, is able to make lightning quick counts. I certainly was unable to keep up with her.

 In any event by the time the forces of "We must adjourn at the time the agenda says" had been victorious.

There was ONE MINUTE left of the time they alotted for the meeting

Bedlam and a comical one at that,.

One hopes this is not a portent of how the Feb 1st Caucuses will be run. 

I know that MY Precinct will be at the Double Tree with a total of 30 Precincts,

I am wondering how long it is going to take to check in 3 to 4000 people.

Best get there early

HERE are the locations. Check out where yours will be. 

If you are not certain which Precinct you are in?

You can check that HERE 

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 11:13 PM CST
Updated: Wednesday, 16 December 2015 11:13 AM CST
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Recently, there was an opportunity for a "teaching moment."

Something called a Mock Caucus was held at Washington High School here in Cedar Rapids.

If the aim of this event was to engage and educate our youth about what happens in an Iowa Caucus,

Well, let us just say that some of the organizers could not hit the broad side of a barn. 

In the world of organized events, there is something called the 6 Ps.

Proper Planning Prevents P!$$ Poor Performance.

I am not sure that those who ran the event are aware of those concepts.

Let us first look at what usually occurs at a Caucus, and then we can compare it to the Mocked Event that has held.

A Person who holds the title "Temporary Chair" is sent by the political party to the location of a Caucus to open it.

They explain to the the Caucus what is expected to occur.

Then they will open the floor for nominations for a Chair to run the remainder of the evening.

Then the elected Chair will entertain nominations for a Secretary to keep a record.

After that, reprsentatives of the various Presidential candidates will make presentations explaining why THEIR candidate is the best one to get the nomination, therefore why you should vote for them.

For the Republicans, the vote is cast by secret ballot.

After this point there, will be nominations and elections of the Committeepersons who will represent the precinct on the county Central Committees until the next Caucus.

There will be names entered into nomination and voted on, and elections, if needed, for delegates to the County, District and State Conventions.

Lastly, those who desire will present platform planks. 

That is roughly how a Iowa Caucus goes.

What happened at the Mocked Caucus?

There was a representative of the Republican Party--our County Chair, Cindy Golding--in attendance, but no nominations for an Elected Chair.

Nor were there any nominations or election of a Secretary, but of course, our County Secretary, Gary Ellis, was present.

There was a brief mention of video presentations made by the Republican candidates themselves.

These videos did play while the students were signing in, eating their pizza, and talking amongst themselves, but when it came time for actual candidate introductions at the Mocked Caucus,

The LCRCC Chair Cindy Golding said that the Republican Caucuses were run by Robert's Rules, and informed the students that a motion was needed to show the candidate videos.

Having no motion made from a group of students who likely had little to no understanding of what Robert's Rules even is,

NO Presentation of ANY KIND was given to the Mocked Caucus by ANY Presidential campaign.

Now, unlike almost all meetings that use Roberts Rules of Order, a Caucus never votes on an agenda.

The agenda is given as was outlined above.

It ALWAYS includes presentations by the campaigns.

If the Chair had wished, she COULD have handled this situation by saying:

"The Chair requests unanimous consent of the body to run a video of campaign presentations,"

Or, 

"Are there any objections?"

Or,  

"If there are no objections, then the proposal is accepted."

But the truth is that candidate presentations of some nature SHOULD have been included at this point.

Why?

Because that IS what happens at a Caucus.

Now, at LEAST there was a vote on the Presidential nominee.

But while the Chair, Cindy Golding, did inform the Caucus who won, she never told them the totals for the different candidates.

Now, this is rather important because no Caucus happens in isolation.

All totals are sent to the State Party so that the STATEWIDE winner can be determined, and other candidates will be allocated some of Iowa's delegates to the Republican conventions, depending on the distribution of the voting.

Remember the INTENT of this whole event was to show our youth how our Caucus system works.

No nominations or votes for committeepersons were held.

There was a request for volunteers for Convention delegates,

But no mention of the requirements of a precinct committeeperson, and consequences to the county for not meeting, for instance.

I understand that after the call for delegates,

Some mention of platform planks was made, and that after some nudging from the Chair, Cindy Golding, and Co-Chair, Brett Mason, two platform planks were hastily offered by the attendees of the Mocked Caucus.  

Overall, I would give those who ran this Event a grade of D-.  

It is most unfortunate to one who considers how FAR the Mocked Caucus strayed from a real caucus, and how many items of importance were left out.

To me, the most unsettling part of this whole thing is:

That the people who ran the Mocked Caucus?

Are the same ones who are in charge of the REAL Linn County Republican Precinct Caucuses.

We can only hope that maybe they learned a few things as a result of this experience.

The Gazette has an article on the event.  

I have placed a link to it below: 

Students got jazzed about politics during youth mock caucus at Cedar Rapids high school 

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 11:01 PM CST
Updated: Monday, 23 November 2015 1:29 PM CST
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Tuesday, 17 November 2015 - 2:03 AM CST

Name: "Gary Ellis" 

All of the negative attacks are veiled opinions and oblique comments. The author claims an Executive violated the LCRCC Constitution, but he criticized the Executives because they deemed it important to follow the Constitution and verify that new members are currently registered Republicans before voting them in as members. So when you see it to your advantage its OK to violate the Consitution. 

I call that selective reasoning. 

The continual spewing of negativism is demenaing to all of the volunteers who show up every month. It ignores the contribution of those volunteers working in the LCRCC Teams.  

Maybe I should not be so veiled and oblique?

Okay!  

The Linn County Republican Party's Constitution says:

  The Executive Committee is subject to the orders of the Linn County Central Committee, and none of its acts shall conflict with actions of the Linn County Central Committee.

Some time back the Committee voted to reward volunteers for hard work in the 2014 Victory Office.

The Chair, Cindy Golding, REFUSED to honor that commitment.

The Treasurer at the time, Jim Conklin, had to get the Co-Chair at the time to sign the checks Mrs. Golding refused to sign.  

After Mr Conklin was bullied to step aside while issues with a state agency were addressed, the Chair, Mrs. Golding, and the Interim Treasurer did not honor the debts the Central Committee had committed us to, AND they did not handle the records, as was their duty.

So the last person who had EARNED a monetary award from the Committee for all of his hard work never received his reward from the Chair, Cindy Golding, and the Interim Treasurer.

Instead, another member and I chipped in and made the young man's reward whole.  

I hope that is not too "veiled and oblique" for Mr Ellis.

Now, as for:

"...but he criticized the Executives because they deemed it important to follow the Constitution and verify that new members are currently registered Republicans before voting them in as members..."  

In the past, the call for new members has been at the end of the meeting.

But, our committee leadership and their supporters seem to be more intrested in keeping to their adjournment time at 8:30 PM instead of taking care of the business of the Committee. 

They can wax SO poetic about why we cannot go past 8:30, and ALWAYS ask the body to vote against it.

UNLESS, that is, there is something that THEY want to see addressed.

In that case, they are eager to extend the meeting.

And we, on the other side?

NOT being hypocrites, we vote to do so.

That situation is the reason why one person, for instance, had to wait six months to join.

So last meeting, there was NOTHING to vote on after the new members were presented.

But Mr Ellis had a hissy fit about going ahead and voting them in.

EVEN a person who had her VOTER ID CARD on her.

Since she drove to the meeting, it is most probable that she also had a drivers license.

I certainly hope Mr. Ellis never has the deciding say in any regular elections.

Can you just picture it?

So, you have a government-issued color photo ID, AND a voter registration card?

Still not good enough for "They Shall Not Pass" Ellis!

Not until he checks himself.

Robert Heinlein once said:

 

“Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort.”

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 1:24 AM CST
Updated: Wednesday, 18 November 2015 1:50 AM CST
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The final stage of the Revolution will be to search out and purge divisive counter revolutionary elements.

In the comments to one of my posts, the charge of being divisive and thereby affecting the functioning of the LCRCC has been levied. 

 The author may disagree with individual people but publishing a constant flow of negatives does not reflect well on our organization. Perhaps that has had an impact in reducing the meeting attendance from past glory? 

Maybe that accusation is true.

But, then again...

Maybe if one of the Executives had not violated the LCRCC Constitution;

Or,

Maybe if the committee bylaws had been left unbreached;

Or,

Maybe if the Executives had not rushed the body to a hasty descision to eliminate years worth of peoples' work by telling the whole committee lies,

Wiping out the subcommittees and replacing them with "teams" whose only voting members seemed to be chosen by them, and disenfranchizing a large portion of the body;

Or,

Maybe if the Executives had bothered to show some consideration and respect to hard working volunteers,

There might not have been anything to write.

The question is, "Where does the fault lie?"

In the telling of these tales to the Committee as a whole?

In the creation of the elements of the story,

We know the answer that one side would give.

Shoot the Messenger. 

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 5:11 AM CST
Updated: Monday, 16 November 2015 11:18 AM CST
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I was trying to decide what paradigm best fit the impending Linn County Republican Central Committee Caucuses.

The charge of the Light Brigade?

Lemmings diving off a cliff?

Then I realized that a meme that illustrates what our Chair and Executive Committee desire was the most fitting:

A massive Media Event down at the Doubletree.

At its finest, the Iowa Caucuses are neighbors meeting with neighbors in their neighborhood to decide the structure of their local political party for the following two years.

They choose their Central Committee representation, and cast their ballots for the Presidential Poll.

It has been to duty of the party to facilitate this process and act to aid the wishes of the local members of the Republican Party,

Or, that is how it has been in the past...

But in Linn County, this time things will be different.

The Caucuses, rather than being in the maximum number of precincts to optimize attendance and make things easier for the party members,

Will instead be in a few sites and will need to consist of massive numbers.

This will require a very large number of volunteers...

...who do not seem to exist.

Whispers on the Wind have relayed to us that the Caucus Team Leader was berated by the County Chair because they felt the Team Leader was responsible for a lack of enthusiasm to volunteer.

I do not feel this is the case.  In fact, in my opinion, this does the Caucus Team Leader an injustice.

I do not feel that the present Chair and Executive Committee need any help in discouraging volunteers.  They seem to have done very well with their own efforts.

There are reasons for this.

They have, as I have pointed out, purged the membership of a large number they did not desire.

There has been some dispute between the figures relayed to me by a Committee person long involved in membership attendance and our present Secretary.

So for the sake of discourse, I will not use discrete numbers.

I will say that I have known five different County Chairs, and during the term of three of them, the Committee filled two rooms at the Longbranch often to over capacity.

Now, were it not for guests and candidate reps, our meeting would rattle in one single room.

The number of potential volunteers has declined by a large amount.

Part of this has been the result of how people have been treated.

In the past, when volunteers could not attend their own Precinct Caucus due to working elsewhere, it was the practice to present those doing so in their precincts as nominees for the position of Committeeperson.

It has been relayed to me that this was not done last time in the usual manner.

They were presented, but only as Assistant Commiteepersons, and at the very end of the seniority lists.

That is what has been told to me.  Forms from the 2014 Caucus will verify these claims.

Now, whether that was due to negligence, or due an attempt to ensure that people not approved of by the Executives would not be likely to vote?

That, I cannot say.

I can say the person who relayed this information to me will not be anywhere or do anything during the upcoming Caucus away from their precinct, and for that very reason.  

Then, there was the treatment of volunteers after the last election.

For the Inauguration in Des Moines, each County Chair is given tickets.

Not a SINGLE one of the top volunteers was given the opportunity to go to Governor Branstad's most recent inauguration in January.

At the Officers Election this spring, I heard more than once from a volunteer hearing the speech of some of our present Executives.

"They are taking credit for what I did," said the volunteer.

I don't have to take the volunteer's word about what they said.  

I heard it myself.

So, we have people who have been our hardest working volunteers in the past treated so shabbily,

And NOW?

They are being approached by the people who ignored them and exhorted that we must "all work together."

So, NO, I don't think that volunteer avoidance is the fault of the Caucus Team Leader.  

He had no part in what I have relayed above.

Therefore, I give the claim by our Chair that he is in some way responsible:

THREE PINNOCHIOS.

Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 6:28 PM CST
Updated: Sunday, 15 November 2015 2:24 PM CST
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