Memo from Joseph Rice regarding Solomon Yue, reprinted here with permission
CHAIR
2nd Congressional District
March 17, 2020
Dear Oregon State Central Committee Members,
As a Conservative Republican, I have watched with pride as President Trump drains the Swamp in Washington DC. In my tenure with the Oregon Republican Party (ORP) as Chair of the 2nd Congressional District, I have realized some of that same swamp draining must also occur in Oregon. That is, if we as Republicans are to gain stronger footing in the Salem political landscape.
In his private business, Solomon Yue has been financially profiting by leveraging his position as Oregon’s National Committeeman and selling access to Republican National Committee (RNC) meetings.
On February 18th, 2020 the Oregon State Central Committee (SCC) received an email from Solomon Yue, forwarded by ORP Secretary Becky Mitts, with the following signature block;
Solomon Yue
Republican National Committeeman for Oregon
Vice Chairman and CEO
Republicans Overseas, Inc. and Republicans Overseas Action, Inc. https://www.facebook.com/republicansoverseas https://republicansoverseas.com
Look at Yue’s signature block and the website links below it. It is not just “Republican National Committeeman for Oregon,” it is also “Vice Chairman and CEO – Republicans Overseas, Inc”. Yue is advertising his privately owned company to the State Central Committee as if it is associated with the Republican Party, which it is not. It is a “for profit” corporation! I invite you to follow the web link in Yue’s signature block, to here: https://republicansoverseas.com.
It will lead you to his Republican Overseas website;
Select the “Membership” tab and it brings you here:
Especially note the “benefits” of the $750 AMBASSADOR and $10,000 ADVISORY COMMITTEE membership levels. “Sponsored Guest to RNC quarterly meetings and Republican debates.” This is what is commonly referred to as “Pay to Play.” Yue as Oregon’s National Committeeman is selling access to RNC meetings and pocketing the cash at the rate of many ten’s of thousands of dollars annually! Yue is not representing Oregon in this. He is personally profiteering from the elected Oregon Republican National Committeeman position and it’s morally and ethically corrupt. Complicit in this are some of ORP Executive Committee leadership, people who have attended these crucial RNC meetings and firsthand seen Yue’s “guests,” and have remained silent about it. Can you remember anytime Yue offered an SCC member an opportunity to attend an RNC meeting as his guest? Solemn Yue became so abusive of the RNC guest policy, bringing up to 40 “guests” at one time, the RNC has now formally changed the meeting guest policy to only “two guests per attending official,” except for immediate family. This new policy is known as the “Solomon Rule.”
We in the Oregon Republican Party, as members of the State Central Committee must come to terms: we have a swamp right here in Oregon that ALSO must be drained.
With this type of misbehavior and abuse of position going on and on, how can we as conservative Republicans believe we can move Oregon back to the right from the extreme liberal left? As Oregonians, we deserve integrity and professional representation at the national level. We will not be taken seriously by the RNC when they know the elected National Committeeman is using his title and position for personal financial gain and access. Yue’s timing of self-promotion activity always up-ticks during election time, giving the SCC the illusion he is hard at work for Oregon.
Just prior to President Trump’s election in 2016, Yue accused RNC Chairman Reince Priebuis of “institutional tyranny”, not a good representation for Oregon. As this became known and started to circulate at the SCC meeting in Newport, Mr. Yue flashed around a picture of himself and Mr. Priebuis standing together, smiling giving the impression all was well and they had a strong relationship. The picture was taken prior to Yue’s accusation of Priebuis.
I was personally subjected to one of Yue’s “whisper” campaigns, a “false-valor” accusation initiated by Jeff Grossman that I was not a former military officer, had never served in the Army as a helicopter pilot or served in Afghanistan. I had a direct interaction with Grossman telling him I would provide him the opportunity to validate his statement in a legal setting, which he declined. The Maoist tactic employed was only defeated when Daniel Crowe, candidate for Oregon Attorney General and a former Army Staff Judge Advocate drafted a report countering Grossman allegations after his full review of my military records and credentials. This is not the first time this tactic has occurred, Wally Hicks was accused of not graduating the United States Navel Academy or being a decorated Marine Officer.
I detest the Maoist Tactics Yue employs within the ORP and the RNC. This type of behavior does nothing to advance our conservative ORP Platform and the values of the ORP within Oregon. In fact, it works to the contrary and has had the detrimental effect of driving solid, conservative volunteers and potential candidates out of the ORP. The ORP should be recruiting conservative candidates and assisting them in their bid for elected office as a public servant. That is the ORP primary role as defined by ORP By-laws. I have watched good people destroyed and sidelined by Yue’s tactics he engages others to execute.
I have never been in any organization which changes it’s by-laws as often as the ORP does and always just prior to a major election. This constant manipulation of our By-laws is intentional in order to aid in furthering the agenda of a small self-ordained few in ORP leadership as directed by Yue. Imagine if the United States Constitution was changed as frequently as the ORP by-laws. The country would be in chaos. The Oregon Republican Party is in chaos, and has been for a long time, which has rendered it ineffective in the state political landscape. These by-law changes always seem to originate from Jeff Grossman, Yue’s right hand man and have done nothing to establish a stronger Republican presence in Salem.
It is time for change and for Oregon Republicans to step up and support the President’s swamp draining right here in Oregon. After twenty years, It’s time for Yue to go and it’s time to elect a moral, ethical individual into the National Committeeman position. Someone conservative republicans can be proud of. When we make this happen, Oregonians will be able to rest secure knowing their interests are truly being represented to the RNC, instead of the current self-promoting, financial profiting agenda of Solomon Yue.
Integrity is earned by demonstrated actions, not by boisterous claims.
Preserve the Republic,
Joseph Rice
Chair – 2nd Congressional District
Josephine County Precinct 21Committee Person
Credential Committee
ORP Executive Committee