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All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
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Friday, June 20, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Serving West Virginia since 2005
Russ Weeks: An American Life
What are national committee members and what do they do?
On Saturday, the West Virginia Republican Party will conduct several items of official business, both at its state executive committee meeting in the morning, and at its state convention in the afternoon.One of the most meaningful decisions to be made in the morning is in regard to its national committeeman and national committeewoman.The Republican National Committee is comprised of a national committeeman, a national committeewoman, and the state chairman from each of the 50 states. These individuals are, in essence, the governing body of the RNC.Every four years -- staggered against the years in which a state chairman is elected -- the WVGOP elects a new national commiteeman and committeewoman.In 2004, the individuals holding these positions -- Bill Pauley and Sen. Donna Boley -- did not seek reelection. Jim Reed was elected the new national committeeman on the first ballot, while Donna Gosney won the national committeewoman election in a multi-candidate race after the third or fourth ballot.On Saturday, Reed and Gosney are standing for reelection. Reed appears to be running uncontested, which is a reflection of his widely-perceived effectiveness. Gosney is being challenged by Lynn Staton of Berkeley County.Over the years, being involved with various RNC committees and initiatives, I have worked with national committee members from several states. I have seen great ones, good ones, average ones, and bad ones. And nothing can help drag down a party more than a bad national committee member.All too many national committee members believe their job consists of attending meetings and shaking hands with presidents. Some committee members even call these activities "accomplishments." Believe me, it is not an accomplishment to meet presidents. It may be an event, a thrill, an honor, or an accident, but it is not an accomplishment.I have known many national committee members over the years who will regale you with all the meetings they attended, all the presidents they met, all the inaugurations they witnessed, or all the places they have been. Again, these are not accomplishments. They may be the fulfilling of basic duties, but they are not achievements.A strong national committee member brings two important assets to the state party he or she serves -- the ability to raise money, and the ability to influence the RNC in regard to what the RNC ends up doing for the state party.The leading fundraisers for any state party organization should be its chairman and its two national committee members. National committee members are, in a perfect world, tireless fundraisers for the party. It is not necessary that they be personally wealthy or have the ability to write large checks themselves. It helps, but it is not necessary. What is necessary is that they spend a few hours nearly every week calling donors, twisting arms, and making sure the state party is properly financed. When the state party finds itself in financial difficulty, its first calls should be to the national committee members, who then spring into action to try to resolve the situation.Additionally, national committee members are the state party's leading advocates to the RNC. So, for example, when the state party is looking for a high-profile speaker to attract a crowd to a fundraising event, the national committee man or woman is, again, twisting arms, cajoling and pleading with the RNC to line up a high-profile governor, senator, TV personality, or even the president or vice president to come into the state and keynote the big event.Over the years, though, I have seen national committee members elected for every reason under the sun besides the things that truly ought to qualify them. I have seen the positions given to ex-officeholders as some sort of reward or expression of appreciation for service. I have seen them awarded out of sympathy. I have seen them given to individuals as part of a deal to assuage hurt feelings over the person not getting another position he or she really wanted instead.On Saturday, the WVGOP will elect its national committee members, who will serve for four years beginning after the 2008 national convention. These individuals can make a huge, positive difference for the state party. Or, they can hold the title, attend the meetings, meet some presidents, and tell themselves and others that those things are accomplishments. | ||||
Watch out! He's on the loose!
No, it's not the Hawaiian Strangler racking up another victim. It's actually our own Gov. Joe Manchin, mugging for the camera and casually enjoying an event this week at the Greenbrier resort, mingling with those who could afford $4 a gallon gasoline to attend the West Virginia Automobile and Truck Dealers' 75th anniversary.
Charleston Daily Mail
(Press Release) Secretary of State Betty Ireland announced on Thursday that starting on West Virginia Day, June 20th, membership in the West Virginia Voter Hall of Fame will be open to all registered voters who have voted for 50 consecutive years. “We have had such a tremendous response, and inducted truly outstanding citizens into the Inaugural Class of the West Virginia Voter Hall of Fame, so we felt now was the time to make membership available to all voting citizens in our state who have voted for 50 consecutive years, or more,” Secretary Ireland said. Secretary Ireland established the West Virginia Voter Hall of Fame last year, when members of the Inaugural Class were nominated by the county clerks and recognized as being the oldest voter in their county with a voting history of 50 consecutive years, or more. “We’ve heard wonderful stories about election days in the past from these dedicated voters in the Inaugural Class,” Secretary Ireland said. “And it has certainly been my pleasure to recognize and honor them, meet their families, and celebrate their longstanding personal commitment to the democratic process of voting.”“There are many more citizens in this state who deserve recognition in the West Virginia Voter Hall of Fame, so going forward, citizens need not be nominated by their county clerks to be eligible for induction,” Secretary Ireland explained.Applicants for the West Virginia Voter Hall of Fame must be registered to vote in West Virginia and must have voted at every General Election at which they were eligible for 50 or more consecutive years. For further information, and a copy of the application form, please visit WVvotes.com or call the Secretary of State’s Office toll free at 1-866-767-8683. Ireland announces HOF opening to more voters
Whatever happened to the recusal controversy?
Hey, whatever happened to the big controversy over recusals at the West Virginia Supreme Court?After all, it seems that since sometime around the second week of May, the whole phony news story just disappeared.Let's see, what happened around that time? Hmmm. Oh yes! The primary election was held, and Spike Maynard was defeated!Could it be that the whole controversy -- the one that dragged Brian Ross and ABC News into town, that dominated the headlines, that had Justice Larry Starcher in a complete uproar, that targeted Justice Brent Benjamin with an endless string of groundless accusations -- was just a political ploy designed to help defeat Maynard?No..... of course THAT couldn't have been the case. And whatever happened to the stories about how those Maynard-Don Blankenship pictures ended up with lawyers for Hugh Caperton? Oh, wait -- there really weren't many stories about that in the first place! Cause that wasn't too interesting, right? The photos were received anonymously, and that's all we need to know.It's amazing how a simple election and its preferred results can just make all the side issues that for a while were treated like big issues suddenly vanish. (PR) The West Virginia Citizens Defense League (WVCDL) sent an open letter this week to officials in the City of Ranson in opposition to a proposed ordinance that would prohibit law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to otherwise lawfully carry a firearm on city property. WVCDL says the ordinance is in violation of West Virginia’s municipal gun control preemption law.
WVCDL objects to Ranson gun plan
