Part whatever. Good Lord. It’s one thing to be beholden to the downtown Houston business establishment, it’s quite another to dismiss activists and a demolishing election that happened just a week or so ago. The Harris County Republican Party is as dysfunctional as usual. Sigh.
First, remember that I let you know that former HCRP Chair Jared Woodfill was calling for the 2016 Texas RPT convention to be moved from Dallas to Houston. As I said, brilliant move, turning the pro-HERO argument around. Then I get this from a fellow HCRP precinct chair named Mark Brown via email:
There is a controversial resolution to be considered tonight. In a misguided attempt to punish Dallas economically because of the Dallas City Council’s support of transgender bathroom rights, the resolution calls upon the Republican Party of Texas to pull the State Convention out of the Dallas area. However, the fact is, the Dallas Convention Center and area hotels will make over $800,000 in contract cancellation penalties if the party cancels the convention. In other words, Dallas will benefit economically no matter if the party shows up or not. But the state party will lose a significant amount of money if they cancel the contract. As Trump would say, we must be smarter than our opponents, and we need our leaders to be smarter than this.
As we saw in Houston, the only way to stop liberal activists like Mayor Anise Parker is to defeat them at the ballot box, because they will never stop trying to force their progressive agenda upon all of us. The state party deployed significant resources to defeat the HERO ordinance. With the financial help of the state party, our county party was able to knock on 36,000 doors and made 125,000 phone calls leading up to the defeat of the HERO ordinance. My friends, we are called to be wise financial stewards of the money that is given to us, and the party must be wise in spending the money it receives from donors. We need our state party to continue deploying its resources in get out the vote efforts that will defeat the democrats at the ballot box. Instead of needlessly draining the state party of funds, we need the state party to deploy its resources in helping us win at the ballot box.
In addition, planning a state convention with 10,000 delegates takes at least a year or more of planning. It requires numerous site visits and important decisions to be made regarding breakout spaces, food and beverage options, multiple hotel options, audiovisual needs, local media partnerships, trade show booth sales, vendor selections, etc., etc. It is doubtful the state party could adequately plan for an alternative location in such a short time. In order for Texas to participate in the selection of the Republican nominee for President, our party must select our delegates to the national convention by a certain date. We select our national delegates at the state convention. If we miss that deadline, Texas will have NO SAY in who our presidential nominee will be. If the state party cancels the Dallas convention, there is a very real possibility we would be unable to hold a replacement state convention in time to select our national delegates.
My mother always used to say, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” This resolution would do just that because it does far more harm to the party and will hurt our cause more than help it. Please join me and voting no against this foolish and poorly thought out resolution.
I don’t know Mark Brown and he doesn’t know me. What I do know is that, at least according to his email, he is one of those people that are scared to make waves. He uses a number of $800,000 with nothing to document it, just says it. Sorta like the Mayor of Houston, Annise Parker, except he doesn’t know how to spell her name. Not to mention that he says the resolution is “controversial”. Really? Most rational people would say it is a good thing to strike back in the only terms Democrats understand.
For what it’s worth, my mama also used the term “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.” But she was also a realist. If your nose is infected with cancer, you cut it off to save your face. Because, you know, you might still be around?
And then he uses the term “foolish and poorly thought out”.
The only fool is Mark Brown, who lives in SD13 and is a HCRP District Chair. He might want to do something in his district, which is a solid Democratic Senate District that is represented by Rodney Ellis before his calls people foolish for supporting this resolution. Just sayin’.
But HCRP Chair Paul Simpson must have liked Brown’s email because he picked up the theme!
- Other: I cannot engage in live debate at the EC meeting, but want to share facts about a recent proposal that HCRP demand moving the May 2016 Texas GOP Convention from Dallas to Houston because Dallas recently adopted a HERO-type ordinance. Such a demand, though seemingly clever, is impossible, and wrong.
Under then-Chairman Steve Munisteri, the RPT signed contracts several years ago for the 2016 Dallas convention. The RPT convention – the largest political gathering in the country – requires vast convention and hotel space. That space is not available in Houston next May. And even if feasible, breaking the RPT’s long-standing Dallas contracts would cost millions of dollars.
Even if demanding that RPT break its contracts might sound fun to some, it is wrong. Our voters and our grassroots volunteers need to know that the Republican Party honors its word and lives up to its obligations.
Dallas can mobilize, as Houston did, to overturn its ordinance. But let’s not embarrass HCRP for the sake of a PR gimmick.
“Clever”? “sound fun”? “space not available”? “cost millions of dollars”? “PR gimmick”?
Really Paul? “I cannot engage in live debate” but by golly Big Jolly, I can dang sure send out 50,000 emails before we get there and use no facts, just rhetoric! I get that Simpson has changed the party’s dynamics and now the party depends upon large contributors instead of small ones. And those large donors demand that he push aside social conservatives and anti-immigration activists. And maybe he is doing a better job of financing the party. Who knows? I’ll check that out after the next round of finance reports.
But why the disdain for the grassroots? Why “cost millions of dollars” with no documentation whatsoever. After all, the other dude said $800,000. Why “clever”, “sound fun”, and “PR gimmick”?
Oh, yeah, that’s right, because Jared Woodfill is leading the charge.
Folks, I understand that this is very much inside baseball stuff. And I know that most of you will click away and say this doesn’t interest you. But I want you to know that Mark and Paul are not the majority here. There are many of us that put principle over money. This in from Dale Huls, Precinct Chair of 0655, a solid Republican precinct:
Thank you for taking time to read my earlier request for support. However, I would like to call attention to a minority of arguments being made to not support this important resolution. Mark Brown has made an accountants argument against supporting this resolution (see below). First of all, let me say it is a fair argument. Being fiscally conservative is an important Republican principle. The other argument is that we should not be like those supporting an NFL Superbowl boycott of Houston over the defeat of the Houston bathroom ordinance.
Let me address those. As I said before, what is the price for doing the right thing? What is the cost that we are willing to bear to see our principles and values through? If we do not take up this fight, would we be hypocrites? Have we not blasted our national Republican leadership over failing to uphold Republican values and fighting the other sides abuses? Speaker Bohner and Mitch McConnell make the same reasoned arguments for not fighting on the issues, for not standing on principle and why it is always necessary to give up the fight today in order to fight sometime in the future. To tell you the truth, I never won a fight when I dropped my hands and refused to hit back (of course, I lost more than a few when I did punch back – but that’s another story). When the left uses the threat of boycotts to intimidate the right, do we not have the right to do the same to them. DFW has raked in millions of dollars from the RPT over the last several years. In fact, this will be the 3rd PRT convention in a row held in the DFW area. Isn’t it time to say enough is enough? Why do we continue to support DFW with our hard earned conservative dollars?
Well, I say the time to fight back is now! Whether the convention is moved or not, we in Harris County must send a message that unilateral actions by local governments without the benefit of a citizens’ vote will not be tolerated. Harris County stands at the precipice of leadership in Texas for conservative principles and traditional values. We have already shown the way at the ballot box. Let us not cheapen that vote by not making an effort to move that vote into actual practice.
I hope I have your support for this resolution tonight. Let Harris County speak with a clear voice that we do not condone any spiteful, contemptuous city council votes that disrespects the voters of Houston.
I’ve got nothing to add to that other than I hope that the precinct chairs present tonight adopt this resolution unanimously.
Don’t be afraid to fight. You are not alone. Even if “leadership” is against you.
Orlando Sanchez and I are providing barbecue for all the precinct chairs that show up to the exec committee meeting. Thank you!
Chris Daniel
Well stated Big Jolly.
The vote at the meeting tonight was overwhelming to set this resolution aside. Maybe 80-20. Arguments against included that other cities had offenses to GOP policies of their own: sanctuary cities, etc. That the GOP should go and march on Dallas City Hall, or carry all our own liquor and refuse to spend money in the bars. The real problem is that only 4 cities have the capacity to host the convention, enough hotel rooms and meeting space. San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth all have non-discrimination ordinances, so that would only leave Houston to host all future GOP conventions in Texas. Not a likely outcome.
Breaking the Dallas contract and moving the convention to Houston would bankrupt the RPT. Someone running for chairman might claim to have enough people who so ardently believe in double paying for the convention, that they would donate close to $1 million dollars – but that seems unlikely. Mark Brown was right – the $800,000 is a reasonable estimate for the costs the RPT would eat if it left Dallas. Unanimous consent to push the state party into insolvency to host the state convention in a city that just elected Annise Parker several times – there’s no consistency left any more.
Seems to me that some people are working real hard to destroy the Harris County Republican Party. Makes for very interesting observation as to how they go about doing it. I guess we will soon have two dysfunctional parties in Harris County.
HCRP has always had people who disagreed with each other.
I was opposed to the HER Ordinance, but agree with the folks that say “Once you give your word, you shouldn’t go back on it..”
I’m Tom Zakes and I approve this message.