Important yet Impotent: the Oregon Republican Party.

From the new book by Sam Carpenter, a chapter from Making Oregon Great Again: Guide to the Grassroots Revitalization of the Oregon Republican Party (and the Defeat of the Ruling Class).

Download the entire book for free at www.makeoregongreatagain.com/book

CHAPTER 33

Important yet Impotent: the Oregon Republican Party.

So, WHY, precisely and simply, have we Oregon Republicans been such losers in statewide races over the past thirty years, and in the legislature for the last fifteen? You’ve already read about a major element of the reason in Part One: it’s the “blue myths” yes, but those myths set the stage for the other prime reason for losing year-after-year: a Republican Party leadership vacuum. As you’ve learned, the problem is not so much that conservative voters are outnumbered or discouraged. The problem is that we haven’t produced enough solid conservative candidates to get excited about, especially in our statewide elections. Instead, we’ve been given candidates who come across as apologetic and wishy-washy. To date, the Oregon Republican Party leadership has done little to cultivate – never mind screen, encourage, coach, protect, or promote – candidates who can win. Why? Because these candidates might just seem to be…a bit too conservative.

This is our own Republican Ruling Class version of fear-mongering!

Our Republican Establishment Ruling Class says, “We’re the smart ones, and we smart ones know that Oregon is a blue state and a competitive Republican candidate must move to the left in order to secure Democrat, Independent and unaffiliated voters.”

Just looking at history – and most pointedly these recent gubernatorial primary and general elections – it is flat-out obvious that going to the left doesn’t work. It didn’t work for the Buehler candidacy, it hasn’t worked for three decades, and it’s not going to work in the future.

As already mentioned, in some Portland districts, progressive-lite Knute Buehler won less than 7% of the vote.

Look at us! We’ll be doomed to the same electoral outcome in the 2020 and 2022 races unless we change our ways, now!

Concerning our general deportment going forward, here’s a new rule-of-thumb: “progressive Democrats lose when they are exposed. Republican conservatives win when they stand up tall.”

Here’s another critical stance: This IS war. progressives readily admit it. So, since they have defined this particular game, let’s stop trying to “have a conversation,” beg for “a-place-at-the-table,” or ask them to “meet-us-in-the-middle.” Instead, let's push back hard.

Let’s beat them at their own game!

This past gubernatorial general election, where our nominally Republican candidate touted his leftist positions on just about everything, is only the latest example of the failure of this cross-the-aisle line of thinking, and of the ORP in general. By disavowing his actions publicly, the ORP could have stopped this faux Republican.

(I can’t ignore this: Buehler, in the general campaign, touted himself as a “different kind of Republican.” This begs the question, just how does he describe Republicans like you and me?)

Our failed current ORP leadership – the “moderate” Executive Officers – must exit. The time for that to happen is this upcoming ORP organizational election on February 16, 2019. What about the rest of the 21-member Executive Committee? Let’s talk. Do you support the ORP platform as written? Do you support our President? If you do hold those two stances, please consider staying with us…

The Oregon Republican Party has no employees, a part-time volunteer chairman, a tiny budget, an unmanned headquarters office in Wilsonville that is, essentially, a storeroom, and most visibly: a website that has not been updated since before the general election last November. (Oh wait. I see today as I write this on January 10th 2019, it’s been updated on the heels of much back and forth with current leadership about this sort of thing…).

The ORP as it stands today has significant debt that it can’t pay back, and it’s incapable of raising proper funds. And so it is not just a failure as an organization, on the precipice of its own insolvency, it can’t get to its primary purpose which is to fight successfully against the progressive Left.

The current ORP can’t do that if it can hardly support itself!

The ORP Executive Committee convenes once a month but, really, what has been accomplished for us out here, in the real-world? It’s been a lot of back-and-forth political posturing, with the age-old backbiting between conservatives and not-so-conservatives. It just goes on and on as our state continues to sink.

And the Party Platform which has been developed over the years in intense ORP gatherings? In 2018, it was completely ignored by the gubernatorial candidate. To Buehler, the Platform was a handicap and an embarrassment. Our carefully constructed platform was a waste of everyone’s time. Why have an ORP at all if this is the way it’s going to be?

Buehler’s General Election Loss was, as I’ve repeatedly pointed out in these pages, inevitable: “moderate” Republican Buehler alienated his Republican base as he ignored the Platform and scurried for Democrat and Independent/unaffiliated voters who, in return, rolled their eyes. (At least progressive Democrats stand up for what they believe and are willing to fight tooth and nail for their platform.)

There was no way Buehler could win. It’s just that simple.

Exactly as in my own gubernatorial primary race last year, President Trump’s travails demonstrate the progressive Left’s ultimate Alinsky-tact perfectly: If one can’t win on the merits of one’s ideas, personally destroy the opponent by any means necessary. Now that protocol has inserted itself onto our side of the fence.

Reading and studying about the Republican Establishment Ruling Class is one thing. Experiencing the wrath of it is something else altogether. The 2018 Oregon Republican primary election has been described as the “most heavily funded, vicious, scorched-earth statewide primary campaign in Oregon history.” That’s true, but note that the heavily-funded, vicious, scorched-earth tactics emanated 100% from Buehler’s Republican Ruling Class Establishment.

Not a shred of the “vicious scorched-earth” rhetoric came from my campaign although that was the incessant accusation of the very people who were conducting it. It’s a false accusation that has carried over into this ORP campaign, too. Between now and the ORP elections in mid-February, watch for it!

Why? Because they have nothing else, and sometimes it works….

Let’s move on and learn from this. Let’s, right now, begin the necessary repair work. Within the next four years we can secure the Great Oregon Red Trifecta!

My First Interview, as I run for ORP Chair

Following is a January 7th written interview I did with Gary Warner of the Bulletin. (I thank David Jaques for working back and forth with me on this last-minute submission, as Warner was up against a deadline and I was stone-cold exhausted from my 18 hour days trying to finish this book):

From Gary:

Hi Sam. I've seen on your website where you have laid out your effort to replace Bill Currier as state GOP chair.

I'd like to get an update today on how that effort is going. I'm aiming for a story for tomorrow. Can you give me a call today or shoot me a message back with answers on the following?

GW: How do you think Bill Currier has failed as GOP chairman?

SC: Bill Currier has had his shot at strengthening the Oregon Republican Party and delivering results; getting Republicans elected to office. Sadly for our Party and for Oregonians his efforts were ineffective, and came up short. As the head of the Executive Team for the ORP, Mr. Currier demonstrated absolutely no leadership in challenging the Republican nominee for governor, Knute Buehler, who should have been called out on any number of issues, which ultimately led to his defeat. As the top of the ticket in Oregon, Buehler’s running hard against the adopted state party platform – and our grassroots conservatives – led not only to his own defeat, but a defeated down-ticket as well. If a coach of a collegiate or professional team came up with back-to-back losses going 0-16 over four years, the only reasonable correction would be, change the coach and leadership staff of the team.

GW: How is your attempt to replace him going? Are you getting firm commitments for the Feb. 16 vote?

SC: My team has a powerful outreach and constant communication with well over 100,000 Oregon Republicans and their families, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly in support of our vision and plans to win a Republican majority in Salem. With the new officers at the county level, following the elections last month, we are very confident that they too embrace our plans to make the ORP relevant again across the state. Due to the current executive staff at the ORP withholding the list of newly elected officers and their contact information, we had to go to considerable effort to compile that data ourselves, in order to communicate with them, and frankly conduct a campaign for their support in February. We achieved this, and even Mr. Currier has admitted that we may now have more complete data than he does. This is but one example of the huge shift in management style that I and my executive team will bring to the ORP. It will be open, transparent and accessible to the entire state central committee. The ORP will again be a servant to the county and Congressional district organizations as well as elected PCPs.

GW: As chair, how would you handle current lawmakers who don't endorse all aspects of the state party platform or don't vocally support President Trump?

SC: I applaud every single one of our Republican lawmakers for their willingness to endure the Democrat supermajorities. As ORP chair, it won't be my job to question their stances. The caucus will handle that. It will be my job to head up an ORP that will recruit, screen, train, protect and promote candidates who are faithful to Republican ideals and to our state and national platforms and leadership. Last election we had 16 out of 60 house districts with no Republican candidate. It's a sad state of affairs…one we will not repeat again. I'm especially looking forward to the recruitment of new Republican voters in our state, especially the younger millennials, as they become the future of our party.