Sound Politics Public Blog: KC GOP Executive antagonism

August 15, 2006

KC GOP Executive antagonism

I would be interested in knowing if there was any higher attendance number for the 2006 King County GOP Picnic. What has past attendance been, in earlier years? This year seemed well publicized on radio, so what happened?

The Reagan Wing has pics, and cites about 27 people attended the County wide Picnic - Reagan Wing article, pics

This is a sad turnout. Does it indicate the KC GOP base is not enthused, this year; and why?

And the unfriendly response of Vice Chair Lori Sotelo to someone taking a photo at a public picnic doesn't speak well for tolerance. Behaving like a petulant child on the playground doesn't do much to make for an inviting event.

In 2005, the KC GOP Executive blacklisted and blockaded a Convention nominated candidate for King County Council, without any transparent cause.

Members of the public are invited to participate in the Convention process via the caucuses, as delegates. I attended my GOP precinct caucus. Convention nominated candidates are acting on the authority of the delegates to the Convention. The Executive and Central Committees become the trustees of the delegates' selections, after the Convention.

If the Executive, or Central Committee, are to act against the express will of the delegates, they must do so in the same transparent manner that those candidates were chosen during Convention, to preserve the authority and integrity of the Executive or Central Committee.

With this kind of Executive behavior, why should anyone volunteer to be a delegate to any Convention, knowing your candidate may be on the next Executive "enemies list"?

I am amazed the KC GOP can raise funds to operate the Party, when the leadership behaves in such an autocratic and unpleasant manner. Perhaps contributors should be notified of this behavior? They can easily be mailed from the C3 info over at the PDC web site.

It seems the "big tent" has been folded up by the KC GOP, replaced by a roped off sand box for the self-appointed elite. And if you don't live up to Executive expectations, you get sand thrown in your face.

No wonder the GOP can't make headway in King County.

Posted by ccwt at August 15, 2006 08:45 PM | Email This

Comments

1. There were many, many more than 27 people at the picnic. The picture is of one place in the picnic at one (unstated) time of day. The vast majority of the people that I saw at the picnic were milling around the booths most of the time, not under the tent for very long.

I don't know very much about the self-appointed "Reagan Wing". How many members do they have? What have they accomplished in terms of winning elections? Weren't they the backbone of the coalition that elected Reed Davis to the U.S. Senate?

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on August 15, 2006 10:00 PM

2. Let's get some photos up with the crowd! That's the best counter to the R Wing.

SOMEBODY else had to have a camera ...

Posted by: APictureLastsLonger on August 16, 2006 02:57 AM

3. I too was at the picnic and there were alot more than 27 people there when my family and I(total of 6) arrived at 10am. We had to leave at noon to get to work, but even by then the numbers whee in the hundreds and growing. The picture was taken from an angle that did not show the podium and the speeches did not start until 11am, so it could be that this picture was taken prior to the speeches when the only people sitting there where listening to the music while the majority of people were checking out the booths (as Stefan pointed out).

I did get to hear Steven Beren's speech and I must say it was awesome. I hope to see alot of you at the Fundraiser tommorrow night (and I am not even from KC).

Posted by: TrueSoldier on August 16, 2006 10:17 AM