Life of the Party

Who’s Pushing the “Unity Slate”?

The Battle for the Heart and Soul of the Republican Party

The above story from Reality Check highlights the initial roll out of the so-called "Unity Slate" at the Pierce Co. Republican Convention on March 24. County conventions and district caucuses all over Washington State have seen this "Unity Slate" being promoted, designed to give Mitt Romney the lion's share of delegates to the state convention, in order to ensure he gets the most national delegates from our state. The man promoting this "Unity Slate" in the video is Alex Hays. Here's what the "Unity Slate" promoters don't want the grassroots Republicans to know about who's promoting it:

Alex Hays is the Executive Director of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington (MRW). MRW has a long history of opposing conservative movements in the Republican Party. MRW's website tells how their “movement was hatched” in 1964 in reaction to what its leaders perceived as “the hard-line ideology that permeated the ’64 National GOP Convention” which they believe “forced ruin in the General Election for Republicans throughout the country and in Washington State.” Most conservatives hold a contrary view of what the Barry Goldwater candidacy did for the conservative movement in 1964: It helped to launch what we now refer to as “the Reagan Revolution.”

Goldwater was not the only Republican campaign the MRW reacted negatively towards. In 1986, they were quite irritated that Christian conservatives "took over" at the Washington State Republican Convention. Here it would be helpful to mention that when MRW accuses a group of "taking over", this simply means that they succeeded in mobilizing a majority to the state convention. In 1988, the success of the Pat Robertson presidential campaign in Washington outraged the MRW into becoming more and more organized so that they would become a force to be reckoned with, for any conservative movement.

Additionally, MRW has become the safe haven for Republicans who don't share our Republican philosophy on a number of issues, often--but not limited to--the social issues. For instance, Republicans who have recently come out in favor of legalizing gay marriage in Washington State. MRW has been known to list their "strategic partners" on their website (though recently, it has been scrubbed of this information). These strategic partners include a handful of Republicans for Choice groups, Log Cabin Republicans and Environmentalist groups. MRW has recently sponsored a new website promoting the candidacy of Rob McKenna for Governor. The website is http://insleevsstateworkers.com/. The footer on the website proclaims MRW's sponsorship and, "Proud to be Pro-Choice...".

In recent years, the MRW has tried to "tone down" it's anti-conservative rhetoric and given their website a whole new look and removed it of embarrassing content. MRW has gone to great lengths to bring in more conservative members to give themselves legitimacy within the Republican Party. Nevertheless, when Republican politicians are opposing the platform on policy issues, you can always trace them back to the MRW. And conservative members who've joined up with MRW have become decidedly less outspoken in their conservative views.

It is no surprise that MRW's Executive Director Alex Hays, given his group's background, is supporting Mitt Romney for President. What is ironic is the claim that he and other cheerleaders of the "Unity Slate" have been spreading, designed to stir up fear throughout the grassroots of the GOP: that there is a group that wants to "take over" the party. Again, "take over" means that a group that they oppose might be successful with a majority of votes. t is also ironic that this fearful claim accuses this group of "outsiders" (implicitly and explicitly) of intent on a complete overhaul of the Republican platform. The irony is that the influence of the MRW has been for elected Republican officials to thumb their noses at the platform (written and adopted by grassroots members of the party) and reduce it to a "meaningless piece of paper" that everyone ignores. What is the point of even having a platform if our elected Republicans ignore it?

The truth is: it is the promoters of the so-called "Unity Slate" intent on handing the majority of Washington's national delegates to Mitt Romney, that are the threat to the Republican platform! Alex Hays describes himself as "adamantly pro-choice" on abortion. His Mainstream Republicans of Washington provide a safe haven and financial support for pro-abortion, gay-marriage promoting Republicans like Reagan Dunn. According to the Abortion in Washington blog: "The majority of the board members of WMR were involved in legalizing abortion in Washington and/or currently believe in continued access to legal abortion."

The Potential Impact of Pro-Life Voters on the Washington U.S. Senate Race

These were my opening remarks at the Life of the Party forum on Friday night, the night before the caucus. U.S. Senate Candidates participating were: Art Coday, Rodney Reiger, Craig Williams and Paul Akers. Also, Clint Didier was represented by his campaign manager, Chuck Beck. Candidates in the race who declined to participate: Chris Widener, Sean Salazar and Don Benton. The candidates were asked the tough questions about how they plan to restore the unalienable right to life endowed to us by our Creator, and guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence. Please feel free to share this with other pro-lifers.

Tonight I want to welcome you to the first Life of the Party U.S. Senate Candidate Forum. Similar to the Values Voters Presidential Debates of 2008, it is our un-hidden agenda, through this forum, to advance our cause in Washington State’s 2010 Senate Republican Contest. We want to know where the candidates stand and we want them to know... that we want to know. We believe this forum and our videos of it may be the primary vetting mechanism for this issue --for this office-- this year.

Since the landmark candidacy of Ronald Reagan changed the face of American Politics in 1980, when he unashamedly asserted the moral superiority of the pro-life position and resoundingly defeated Jimmy Carter in debate, the human rights of the preborn child have slowly advanced in the American conscience.

What was once belittled as a sectarian religious quirk of ultra-orthodox Catholics is now the majority opinion of Americans.

A strong majority of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong. Only a tiny minority believe it should be unrestricted by government… most of whom seem to actually be IN government, unfortunately.

The pro-life movement has sprung up like a giant field of wheat, awakening to the brilliant sun of the great plains of America’s heartland. The shining light of truth has slowly won the hearts and minds of our countrymen. But while those fields are white unto harvest, the political laborers have been few.

Though it has been embedded in the very foundation of our Republic, the Unalienable Right to Life, with which Americans, indeed, the whole human family has been endowed by our Creator, is treated like a shameful step-child by the political class.

While NOW, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood have dug their talons into the very heart of the Democratic Party, demanding and getting more and more radical legislation and more and more radical candidates, The Republican Party has

Help Me Help Dino

Yesterday, I posted a link to the recent interview that Dino did with King 5's Allen Schauffler and Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman.  In that interview, Postman cornered Dino on the abortion issue and the "Plan B" issue (the right of pharmacists to object to dispensing drugs that violate their conscience).  Postman framed his question by pointing out that these are issues Dino doesn't like to talk about and asked, "aren't the voters...entitled to ask...these questions...and entitled to know where you stand?"  Unfortunately, Dino continued to dodge, and would only give his personal moral conviction as a devout Roman Catholic, but insisted that his job as Governor wouldn't have much to do with this issue.  It would be "out of his control," he said.

Dino is obviously

Life of the Party Endorses Delavar for Congress

Life of the Party is proud to endorse Michael Delavar, candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District. 

Michael is a principled candidate who is committed to upholding the U.S. Constitution and ending legalized abortion through the most sensible means of defining personhood as beginning at conception or "fertilization" in the law.  This simple step would automatically place preborn children under the protection of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states in part, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." 

Not only does Michael hold true to the first of our founding principles, the Right to Life, but across the board, he examines every issue with the guiding light of the Constitution.  At times, this puts him at odds with pro-life organizations and with his party.  But it ought not be that way.  His position on Life is solid, not discriminating towards babies conceived through rape or incest, and he only differs with pro-life organizations on some of their pragmatic legislative proposals, because a) they violate a particular constitutional principle or b) they further enshrine Roe vs. Wade into the law.  With his party, he is at odds over the war, but his position is more in line with traditional Republican thought in the model of Robert Taft.  Republicans who fancy themselves Goldwater or Reagan Republicans, would do well to go back and read the book A Choice Not an Echo by Phyllis Schlafly, which helped to propel the candicacy and presidential primary victory of Goldwater, and ultimately paved the way for the Reagan Revolution.  Shlafly's book exposes the backroom manipulation by big government figures in past Republican primaries, to ensure that no conservative got nominated within the party.  The primary issues were opposing big government, including the New Deal domestic policies and foreign interventionism, both of which benefited the fat cat power brokers who were manipulating public opinion through their media and corporate connections.  Robert Taft was considered a model conservative in this landmark book. 

This brings us to Michael's primary challenge, which will be covered here soon.  For now, please visit Michael's website and donate or get involved to help this principled, pro-life, constitutional, freedom loving candidate for Congress!

Full Report of Washington GOP Convention

Coming Soon!

Highlights include:

Allocated National Delegate Ballots with only one candidate (pre-screened by John McCain staffer), and no option for write-ins or nomiations from the floor.

Ron Paul takes 4 unallocated national delegates from the state of Washington. 

McCain & Party Leadership led a March Out in Exodus, in order to pull quorum, to avoid debate on the issues. 

When the March Out backfired due to the hefty quorum remaining, the McCain & Party Leadership Marched back in to fillibuster and obstruct the body from completing any other business.

Still, the body managed to pass three pro-life resolutions including: support for a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, opposition to the WA state Assisted Suicide Initiative I-1000, and support for the freedom of conscience for pharmacists to not despense abortion drugs.  In addition, the body passed a resolution opposing any military action on a nation without the U.S. Congress declaring war, which is in keeping with our Constitution.

The spontaneous Ron Paul March and Rally immediately following the convention, signalling this movement has just begun. 

Please stay tuned for the full report.  I need to get reacquainted with my family and then find an opportunity to write a blow by blow.  Meanwhile, TVW has full coverage of the convention business.  Note: there are three segments and they are long.  Most interesting are segments B and C.  More details can be found here, here and here. 

My apologies to Geri Modrell (Snohomish Co. Republican Chair), who appears to have stayed during the "march out".  It was reported to me otherwise, and I am sorry for repeating that misinformation.

Good Republicans Must Rise Up and Oppose Corrupt Leadership

Hat tip: The Reagan Wing

This is the kind of thing they resort to when this doesn't work.