If you’re following the controversy over party-infighting between people getting involved with the party at the local level for the first time trying to toss out those who have been involved for years or decades, there are a few realities that come to mind.
It’s apparent that these groups haven’t really thought it out very hard about what happens when they get their way and they’re now “in charge,” and they can proceed on their mission of “replacing ‘establishment Republicans’ with grassroots conservatives,” as the coalition of confederates claim to be doing.
A couple of items bring to light the headaches that they’ve set themselves up for.
A climate of distrust.
If you recall a recent article in the Yankton Press and Dakotan, a situation came to light where the outgoing leadership of the Yankton County Republican Party determined that they felt they needed to create a Political Action Committee to ensure that funds raised from the donor base went to their intended goal, to support candidates, because they didn’t believe that the incoming group would spend them for those purposes.
The Yankton County Republicans are seeking a sheriff’s investigation into three former board members’ transfer of $12,000 last fall from party funds to a political action committee (PAC).
And..
“We did this (PAC) before the meeting (where they elected new officers). We weren’t reacting to anything,” he said. “We just thought it was prudent to put aside the funds, that it was a good move.”
The former board members are following state GOP by-laws, Meyer said. In addition, he said he conferred with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office in setting up the PAC.
And..
The former board members didn’t transfer the full amount in the Yankton County GOP treasury, he said. The county party still has a mailing list while another copy of the list remains in private hands, he noted.
As for the Facebook page, the site belongs to a GOP member and not the party, he added.
The new people involved in the Yankton County Party are just howling, but a political party forming a political action committee is not uncommon, nor is shifting funds between the two. Completely legal, and fairly common.
The only difference here is that the new group of county people are trying to rescind the action of the old, and are being told no. And it sounds as if the group is in significant disarray.
There’s also rumors that the new group may be filing suit against the old. In effect, the new group spending what limited funds they have on an attorney to try to claw back money legally spent by the old group to support candidates.
What kind of message does that send to donors, large and small? It’s not a good one.
As messy as the Yankton County GOP is, the Minnehaha County group is even more of a cautionary tale.
Back 30 years ago, the Minnehaha County Republican Party had a well-funded and long-established organization, which had an executive secretary, with sometimes more employees. In the late 2000’s the internal organization of the office started to crumble, but fundraising and events were still going reasonably strong. That is, until Lora. In 2012, Lora Hubbel was the first wave of the political outsiders to hit Minnehaha County – and it literally crashed the organization overnight. And it has not recovered to any significant degree since.
In their first meeting this year, the Minnehaha County GOP has announced they had either $1400 in the bank, or $4500, but they weren’t sure. So now they’re raffling portions of a donated hog, valued at $500.
The biggest county in the state has less than $5000 in the bank? That’s a bit of a head-scratcher, because for the state’s largest county, you would think the chair has the ability to raise ten times $500 in a brief period of phone calls. You would think.
But, I have the feeling the number of willing donors in those circles are not exactly opening up their checkbook.
With the rhetoric coming from a number of these groups calling for the excommunication of ‘establishment republicans,’ there is a strong climate of distrust. And as Yankton and Minnehaha are finding out, it’s bad for their bottom line. People won’t give money to groups they don’t trust.
Blowing up the Pyramid of Giving
If you’ve spent any significant time involved in fundraising, you’ve heard of the pyramid of giving.. and if you’ve heard of it, it’s clear that the people involved in these groups demanding the ouster of long-time volunteers, and the repudiation of ‘establishment politicians’ don’t have a clue on how to raise funds for a stable and functional organization.
The pyramid of giving is really, fundraising 101 for organizations and non-profits. And grasping the concepts are how an organization can make the shift from short term efforts to long-term goals.
This might be the best example of it I can find that’s applicable to the area of political organizations..
As you can see, it involves donor acquisition, getting them used to donating on a regular basis as you move them up the pyramid, and possibly getting them all in for larger and larger donations. I don’t know that I agree completely with this example, as letters are lower level in this field, as if you want larger political donations, there’s more of a personal element to the ask. But you get the hint.
Now, some say a more modern version of the pyramid is a funnel..
Which I stole from here.. (Please visit their website)… but it’s the same principle. You engage with people, and over time you build their engagement to the point where they are foundational.
Healthy organizations are going to be constantly working at all levels to bring people into the pyramid (or funnel) of giving.. and this is something that takes YEARS, if not decades, to gain their personal investment into the group or cause to the point where they’re willing to make major or transformational gifts to a county Republican organization.
People are not going to build their involvement in a group to the point where they make generational gifts to a county Republican organization when there are people who come in and express their goals are to completely nuke the Republican organization and throw people out. It literally is the most counterproductive thing to organizational efforts that they could do!
If you blow an organization up about the time people become a repeat donor, you are not going to achieve organizational stability and long-term growth. You’re going to have to start over every time.
A fact, as Minnehaha has found, and I’m sure Yankton will find out if they haven’t already.
Who cares if we throw those guys out?
Of course, there are those who have blinders on, and will cluck around the chicken coop saying “who cares if we throw those guys out?” For party organizations, they should. They really, really should. Because it directly affects their longevity as a group, and their ability to conduct activities.
With campaigns, I was taught that a successful campaign is a mixture of experienced campaign veterans and new people with enthusiasm and energy. They both benefit each other. The same goes with party organizations. Organizations without new blood – even if they are good – will become stagnant and outdated. Organizations without experience will make some really dumb mistakes, and have to re-learn everything, sometimes in a painful manner.
Contrary to what some may think, political party organizations are extremely challenged to raise funds, because they are the least sexy aspect when it comes to receiving donations.
If I have limited resources, and my options are a candidate I like, who believes the same things I do, versus the county party organization, who is saying they want to throw out all the establishment republicans, or have craziness like people claiming vaccines cause autism or they can heal illness with essential oils… guess who I’m going to support? The candidate. People will donate to candidates first and foremost almost every time and will skip the party unless their relationship with the party is foundational to their goals.
Speaking as someone who has been involved in campaigns for several decades now (or as my daughter claims, it’s my I’m old line), county political organizations are a tool for candidates if they can provide useful resources.
If candidates can rely on them for assistance with volunteers, support them in some manner at election time, help with mailings, sign locations, etcetera, that’s a great thing. If not? Well, then they become an obstacle to go around. And candidates do not spend a lot of time debating whether they should do so or not. It’s a snap judgement, and then the candidates move on with their own volunteers and their own fundraising.
Which leaves the organization a bit in an awkward situation when they claim they’re helping the candidates, and the candidates will directly express to anyone that asks that they can’t rely on them. Over time, it will wear on that group.
Elections are still actually about the future
It used to be that Republicans would have their primary election fights, and then at times bruised and battered, at least begrudgingly move forward towards running the election in the fall against Democrats.
But especially over the past two elections, there’s a climate where there are those who are less interested in uniting as a group for mutual goals are more focused on being the group “in charge,” claiming to be the true Republicans and ignoring the fact that those they call the ‘establishment’ were a decade ago the ‘grassroot conservatives’ they themselves try to lay title to at this point.
I would offer to them that it might be a rude awakening in 2033 when they find themselves called the ‘establishment moderates’ when a new generation of republicans try to flex their muscle because they want to be the ones in charge, pushing out those they consider old guard in the future.
In perspective, it’s very generational, and it’s all happened before.
Probably the best advice to offer groups who aren’t interested in history, and wish to declare their version of republicanism is supreme, is to go ahead, and lead by example. Put the work in, and show us how you have raised tremendous amounts of money, built a group that will stand the test of time and be there after you’re gone, and put us all to shame. And most importantly, get candidates elected.
Because we will know if you don’t, and electing candidates is what county organizations are supposed to be about.
Elections are about the future. And that is what we should all be working towards.
I’m not a huge fan of ousting because you can get someone worse.
But there is no denying that, one way or another, for whatever reason, due to a hair-brained plan or Satan himself, our leadership has failed to exhibit courage to protect the American brand of democracy as property rights around “Opportunity Zones” are leveled as if under attack from a Panzer division.
Engage in the debate if you like, but party leadership must admit the election was stolen and the vaccine was not efficacious if they want to earn back the trust of the majority of people in the state who find themselves so upset so as to march against our leadership strata.
They must also come clean about what we all know is in the SD voter roles, what will be discovered eventually by the public, leaving someone holding that bag when the SHTF.
One group (elitist leadership who screwed the pooch and took money that probably shouldn’t have from certain sources who love needles) has done something horrible to another group (voters who didn’t pay close enough attention to politics, but worked their asses off for their country and community and families thinking elections were real and delegating the responsibility to the voting population who had time to discern the best choices), thus denying their victimization in a way that could not be more disrespectful to the country we love and the principles that made it a reality.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1644028043940208642
I wouldn’t bet apologies will be enough, but there is hope.
I personally am not calling for people to resign.
I’m calling for a group of overly confident a-holes to humble-up and engage with the people who have hunted – AND CAUGHT – the elusive Unicorn, the storied Snipe, the truth about our elections and what has been happening to our country in the last 150 years.
Talking to long time GOP members, the attitude is wait and see. They all know the election for Trump was stolen. They all know the vaccine was not a great idea, Somehow, these extreme right-wingers think they are the only ones who know anything. If they run the extreme-right Posse Comitatus, Freemen, Proud Boys candidates, Rupublicans I know would rather vote for a Democrat. Hopefully it will not come to that, so let’s wait and see if they are as radical as expected.
The attitude was “wait and see” during a 10 day investigation of the election.
If Trump did this on purpose, and it’s a Roger Stone ruse, I’m out. Don. Fin.
Alex Jones for President?
Because deception, ignorance, and stupidity is no way to go through life?
The problem is though, is that the average American voter knows that the election was NOT STOLEN and that the Covid vaccines as a whole are good. If the party leadership would wake up from this Trumpian fever dream, maybe Republican candidates in 2022 would not have been so disappointing and we would have a larger control over the House of Reps and have control over the Senate.
You want to play wait and see? If things don’t change expect us to get massacred in 2024.
No more gas-lighting.
We didn’t forget.
https://conservativebrief.com/considering-subpoenas-72289/
LOL, this post. Some hard hitting journalism here. Mr. Dale, keep on googling for whatever posts that make you feel good…
Also, could somebody please find a way to ground Lee in the reality of the human condition?
For instance, the word “Boob” should not kick off a multi week conflict in the SD legislature.
Thanks.
That is all.
I guess “wrung-out whore” on the House floor is more acceptable.
Stop making sense Pat. Just stop it.
There is insufficient evidence the election was stolen, and plenty of evidence that the vaccines were effective in reducing the severity of disease.
The saner members of the Republican party understand both and are not going to agree with your delusions
If only the SDDP was more organized, many of the problems facing local Republican organizations would be limited to the kind of in-fighting that was resolved in a primary election. Face it – there is a much larger gap between the positions of the assorted factions in the Republican caucus than the positions of mainstream Dems and establishment Republicans.
Is it complacency? Is it basic human nature that people need to argue and debate even the most obscure issue? Adding to this mix a governor who is mostly focused on raising her national position above the 1% support mark (the new “Mendoza line”) who fails to exhibit real leadership, and you have a recipe for uprisings at the county levels.
What serious party puts R. Shawn in charge and considers Rhonda Milstead any kind of establishment type? Time for reasonable, rational people to sit this out or head for the doors and be labeled a RINO. I still can’t figure out who the RINO is anyway. Is it the traditional fiscal conservative, strong defense, globalist; or the culture warrior, Christian Nationalist?
The far right are determined to convince everyone they’re right. Here’s the thing — when I was growing up, my mother always said to always watch for cars when I’m crossing the street. I would protest that I was in the crosswalk; I was in the right — it was the car’s duty to stop. Mom answered if a car hits me, it doesn’t matter if I’m right. I’ll still be dead.
The problem with the far right is that they’ve marched into the political crosswalk declaring how right they are. Now they’re getting hit with reality: donors don’t *have* to donate. Donors won’t choose to give their money to the county when the leadership has no relationships with the donors, much less when the county leadership attacks the donors and actively declares war against the donors’ friends— the established candidates the donors have supported for years. Moreover, when donors actively reject the county party and its leadership (as they are already doing …. and loudly, I might add!), they also will reject any candidates that are seen as tied to the county party leadership. Affiliation with the county party actually becomes a liability for a candidate, hindering his/her ability to fundraise. That, in turn, leads candidates who want to win to openly reject the county party, and a downward spiral takes hold.
Unfortunately, the far right is in the process of learning that it doesn’t matter if you’re right or not. When you’re hit with reality, you’re still dead.
this analogy is great if you think the right is right, and there’s a crosswalk where the speeding car will smash them for being “right” but injudicious in their tactical choices. it doesn’t work if you think the tea party bunch is willfully delusional about a stolen trump victory or vaccination crimes.
my point: the top agenda item in seeking these posts, is to spread their unique viewpoint with perceived larger party backing, and less about building a unified party of whatever varied views there are out there.
I’m not saying they’re right — I’m saying even if you think they’re right, it still doesn’t matter. Regardless of whether they are/were right, they’re still getting hit by reality.
one can hope. but in response to trump’s woes, i heard a longtime gop strategist paraphrase mark twain thusly: “Twain said there’s no education value in the second kick from a mule. Republicans lost ground with Trump in 2018, 2020, and 2022, so its like the third fourth and fifth kick of the mule.” the pundit was asked if republicans are ready to dump trump. by the answer i presume they are, but just don’t want to anger trump and draw his wrath and zeusian lightning bolts if they don’t have to. time and trump himself will get rid of trump. i feel the same about the wingnuts.
I don’t know if those wingnuts are going to go away. The anti-vaxxers are immune to reality.
One told me she just “knows” that “millions of people” (plural millions) have died from the covid shot. Another asked me “haven’t you seen all the young men dropping dead after being vaccinated?” Apparently they live in a world littered with dead bodies.
When people stop giving the party money and don’t show up for their election denial conspiracy events, they will declare that everybody died, from the covid shots.