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By briangriffiths Posted in Republicans — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Promoted from the diaries by streiff.

Brian Griffiths has been doing yeoman's work at Red Maryland covering the melt down of the GOP in Anne Arundel County, MD and other items. Drop by for all the gory details.

One might think that, given the clobbering that Republicans received on the national level and here in Maryland in 2006 that Republican Central Committees and activists would have a mission. A mission to adequately prepare for the 2008 Presidential Election, and the 2010 elections for state and local office. To conduct party building efforts. To encourage new Republican voter registrations.

Obviously, you don't know the Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee.

Over the last week, the committee has being embroiled in allegations about useful party building tools such as secret meetings and leadership coups.

More below the fold.

Discontent with the Committee has been running rampant since their election in September of 2006. The party structure, once vibrant and active, is not as focused as they once were. The Lincoln Day dinner turnout was best described by attendees as "anemic." The Committee became embroiled in an imbroglio recently when Central Committee members picked the hand-picked choice of our very-Liberal Republican County Executive John Leopold for a vacancy on the Committee.

Apparently, that was the tip of the iceberg. A cadre of Committee members, including a former Democratic member of the County Council who publicly supported Democrats three days after his election to the Republican Central Committee, began plotting a takeover of the Committee. Committee Chairman Mike Collins, whose leadership and ideological leanings do not sit well with some members of the committee, was targeted for ouster. Members began allegedly holding meetings in order to gauge support for Collins' removal. Committee members were allegedly asked to sign an Orwellian sounding "Commitment Sheet" indicating their support for this effort.

And all of this culminated in a meeting last Thursday, August 9th, to ask Collins for his resignation. A meeting that Collins did not attend, and that brought forth questions as to whether or not this meeting was violating Maryland's Open Meetings Act due to the lack of announcement of the Committee of a meeting that was to discuss Committee business.

And then all hell broke loose. Stories were leaked to the Annapolis Capital, finger-pointing began as to who leaked what to whom, and nobody wanted to take any responsibility for anything that has happened. All of this in an environment where the Maryland Republican Party is going bankrupt and got soundly defeated in the last election.

Ultimately, Mike Collins days are likely numbered as Anne Arundel County Chairman. More than likely Committee members have the votes to remove him per the party bylaws. And that is fine if that's what the members really want. The question boils down to how the party has gotten to this point. And I think this quote from Committee member Debbie Belcher says it all:

"The meeting is pointless. A decision has been made by at least two-thirds majority and we need to more forward. It's best for the Committee and Party that this be done quickly, efficiently and without undue attention."

We have Republican elected officials, our party leaders, seemingly trying to accomplish the very public act of removing its Chairman outside of the public arena. And that's problematic. Any time you start holding meetings that are described by outsiders as "secret", when you complain about the attention that is being paid to this act, and when you refuse to comment publicly about any of the things that have been said in the media and in the blogosphere, people start to talk and people start to question. The members could have all of the legitimate reason in the world for trying to remove Mike Collins, but their methods seem shady and underhanded. We in the blogosphere get blamed for spreading what are perceived to be mistruths and exaggerations while simultaneously nobody who was in the room wants to say anything on the record. And I have extended an invitation for all of the members to do just that.

The point of my telling this story is this: local central committees, local party clubs, local activists are where the rubber meets the road in politics. The 2008 Presidential election will be decided by these same people working their tails off for our party's nominee. Fifteen months prior to the most important Presidential election of our lives, the Central Committee here in Anne Arundel County not only can't play from the same sheet of music, they can't even agree what instrument to play.

If events like these are happening at other local Central Committees and Republican clubs across the country, then we are in deep trouble. Because if you can't trust your own local party leadership to work together to advance the party, who can you trust to do it?

The next Central Committee meeting is on September 5th, at the State Party Headquarters at 15 West Street, Annapolis. If you are interested in how the story plays out we will continue covering it at http://blog.briangriffiths.com and http://redmaryland.blogspot.com.