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Open Letter to Alaska State Republican Leadership

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Restoring Liberty and at least one other Alaska media outlet received a copy of the below-letter yesterday afternoon. The signatories include current and former leaders of the Alaska Republican Party as well as a number of convention delegates and activists (additional stories about the ARP’s internal strife are available HERE and HERE):

Click HERE and HERE for additional articles on the Alaska Republican Party and the removal of yet another party chair on April 8, 2013.

Alaska Republican Party On Shaky Ground in Disregarding Democratic Elections

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The Alaska Republican Party entered untrodden ground Jan. 31 when the outgoing state party leadership chose not to accept the legitimately elected state chair, but instead staged a coup against him just hours before his term was set to begin. In doing so, these party leaders have unwittingly laid siege to the very sacred fabric that our Republic was founded on —respect for the succession of political power by popular vote.

Before we are so quick to give up this foundational right that was purchased on bloodstained battlefields by our ancestors, consider the oath you took the last time you pledged allegiance to the flag: “… and to the Republic, for which it stands.” What does it stand for? It stands for the freedom to choose your own leaders by popular vote and have that vote respected by both the winner and the loser. The state party just violated that sacred principle for internal political or personality differences.

You see, our soldiers didn’t purchase this right with their own blood just for individual politicians or political party bosses who come and go like the change in seasons. They gave their lives for an ideal, a principle, a dream. They died for our Constitution, our law, our right to choose. Don’t dishonor their memories by casting aside this sacred principle of freely choosing the succession of our elected leadership by popular vote — right here, right now, right under our noses.

We chose a new leadership team at the 2012 state convention by means of a free and fair election. Just because the past administration didn’t like who was elected, it is no excuse to circumvent the election results. Doing so places cracks in the foundation of the very institution that placed them in power in the first place.

It does not matter whether or not you personally like Russ Millette. His qualities for leadership were determined and voted on by a majority of our state delegates at the 2012 Republican State Convention and therefore are not subject for debate. The issue here for debate is our adherence to our own party rules and the sacred tradition of honoring the succession of political power by majority vote. If we are too morally weak to challenge this evil, our party will be hopelessly corrupted. You may argue that the old administration was just too powerful, too connected and too indispensable to be replaced by a free election. Charles de Gaulle once said, “The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska’s RINO’s Fail to Remove Liberty-Minded Chair-Elect; Kangaroo Court to Reconvene February 1

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Alaska’s Republican Party (ARP) leadership failed in its attempt last night to remove Chair-elect Russ Millette, a constitutional conservative, as well as vice-chair elect Debbie Brown, from the ARP.

Their efforts fell flat after a motion by Fairbanksan Ralph Seekins to allow Russ Millette a continuance so that he would have time to prepare a defense to the charges raised by leftist ARP Rules Chair and Ruedrich confidant, Frank McQueary.

The charges against Debbie Brown were raised by chairman Ruedrich himself, alleging financial improprieties. The fact that the charges were raised by a chairman who apparently not only transferred tens of thousands of ARP dollars to the Murkowski-supporting Juneau Capitol Hill club without proper authorization just a few weeks ago, but who also seems responsible for a significant FEC fine for financial improprieties related to VECO has many within the party scratching their heads.

It also is shocking that this same chairman was reportedly entrusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars for Joe Miller’s direct mail campaign in 2010 but who has refused to disclose the database evidencing that he actually spent the money for Joe Miller instead of Lisa Murkowski, as suspected by some party members.

To make matters worse, the inquisitors had the gall to confront Millette on who he supported for president in 2012 – despite the fact that the very people asking the questions failed to support Republican-nominee Joe Miller in the 2010 US Senate race. The fact that none of the Alaska press in attendance reported on this extreme hypocrisy reflects that little has changed since their efforts in 2010 to sink the anti-establishment candidate with false stories.

Russ Millette commented after the kangaroo court that McQueary had “brought up charges that he’d never seen before.” He stated that the “whole thing, the charges, were totally bogus.” Millette also noted that “most of the minds [on the ARP executive committee] seemed made up.”

Millette was amazed at the effort to remove him, suggesting that the effort by party-insiders to keep RINO’s in charge of the party would devastate its cohesion. If he were allowed to take office, Millette claimed that he would “unite [and] bring the party together.”

During the hearing last night, he was supported by a number of conservatives who waved signs outside of the ARP headquarters in Anchorage:

Stay tuned for the continuance of Ruedrich’s efforts to unseat his successor on February 1.

Alaska’s RINO Establishment: Tearing Out Liberty and Integrity from the Republican Party

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Strengthening our party should be a major priority, especially after the devastation of our recent national elections. Not only does the GOP need to increase numbers, but revamp itself. A recent Scott Rasmussen poll shows that, nationwide, almost two thirds of party members feel leadership is out of touch with its base. Prior to the poll, but affirming its revelation was the election of fresh, new leadership at the 2012 Alaska GOP convention.

We should be striving to attract people of conservative values, outstanding character and action. However, our national and state-level old guard continually demonstrates behavior that, out on the street, causes distrust, disgust, and disdain. That well-earned “dissing” distances people of character, for what upstanding citizen wants to get anywhere near the dirt of self-serving manipulations and Boss Tweed-style despotism generally associated in the public mind with our entrenched leadership?

Past and acting Alaska GOP head, Randy Ruedrich and his associates play right into the hands of the leftist news spinners and editorialists. His arbitrary flexings of power and skilled, but underhanded procedural manipulations are magnified by the liberal media, assuring a lot of wonderful potential new Republicans that, “Yep, it’s just as I thought: Alaska’s Republican leadership is corrupt. I either need to stay clear of organized politics altogether or find a cleaner group”.

I ask these questions: was the Republican State Convention registration and vetting—right while Mr. Ruedrich presided—carried out according to party rules? If so, did all attendees have the right to run for office? Under his close watch, did everyone running have the same opportunity to work the convention crowd and stump from the stage for votes? During his oversight, was the voting conducted in an orderly and by-the-rules manner? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Where, then, is his legitimate gripe?

Did not the voting reflect that folks were sick and tired of the old guard and its ways? Does not Mr. Ruedrich’s low-handed, sore loser, take-my-ball-and-go-home backlash prove those voters’ very point?

There isn’t enough cheese in all of Wisconsin to go with the post-voting whine being poured and passed around by Mr. Ruedrich and his cronies. In my humble opinion, the very mongers of all that is bad about the Alaska Republican Party, those skilled political connivers who needed to be ousted, were ousted. And the ones were voted in who give strong indications they will prove to be people of integrity who’ll play by the rules and keep their word and obligations.

As a convention delegate I feel Randy Ruedrich has already slapped me in the face by so much as threatening to overturn voting results. Mr. Ruedrich and his fellows obviously have two sets of rules. There’s the set available for all to examine and go by. Then there’s his own under-the-table set he pulls out when play by the open set fails to deliver results according to his will. That he would so arbitrarily disenfranchise half a thousand delegates by willingly robbing those like me of the time, energy, and money we trustfully invested disgusts me to a degree beyond polite description. But what he is doing to tear down liberty and integrity within the party—and ultimately the state and nation—draws even more of my ire because of its broader ruin beyond effects to my own person or to other individual delegates singly.

Alaska RINOs Attempting Coup: Effort Underway to Remove Constitutional Conservative Chair, Others from State Party

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It appears that the Murkowski-RINO wing of the Alaska Republican Party has taken its cue from allies in DC and is attempting (again) to destroy the state party.

Yesterday, the Chair-Elect of the Alaska Republican Party, constitutional conservative Russ Millette, received a copy of a letter charging him with violating the rules of the Alaska Republican Party. It seeks his “removal from office.”

The letter was written by the Rules Chair of the party, closely aligned with outgoing Chair Randy Ruedrich, who overtly opposed – in direct violation of party rules – the Republican-nominee for US Senate in 2010.

These charges followed a similar effort commenced last week by Chairman Randy Ruedrich himself, also designed to remove another newly-elected ARP officer, Vice Chair-Elect Debbie Brown.

With respect to Chair-elect Millette, the most serious charges are that he misrepresented his life-long affiliation with the Republican Party (he was “undeclared” in his party affiliation for a period of time) and failed to raise money for the party over the last several months.

The letter also contends that the ARP convention where the ARP’s new chair and vice-chair were elected was taken over by “an organized group of political activists registered as Republicans … with the express purpose of ‘taking over’ Republican party operations and disrupting the normal candidate selection process.” The ARP official’s letter continues, “These activists had no prior history of positive conservative political activity or support for the Republican Party Platform or Republican candidates.”

Of course, the letter is a not-so-masterful effort to use Hitler’s “Big Lie” technique – telling a lie “so colossal” that no one would believe that the author would “have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.”

Those who know Russ Millette recognize that he has far more allegiance to the ARP platform than the majority of the ARP’s governing body, many of whom overtly violated party rules in opposing the 2010 Republican nominee even though he was nominated by the largest turnout of GOP primary voters in state history.

Now that there is a sudden focus on compliance with Party rules, perhaps the ARP will also examine last year’s illegal transfer of tens of thousands of dollars of party funds to the Juneau so-called Republican Club, infiltrated by Sealaska’s cronies and other crony capitalists, more concerned about their liberal social issues and corporate welfare than the party platform.

Or how about the ARP’s officers – when they’re required to promote party events – openly advocating for delegates to stay home from the convention last year so that a quorum would not be reached?

Or advocating candidates for office that openly disagree with the party platform?

Or the repeated refusal to vote on the Murkowski censure (a sitting member of the Central Committee who – even when she was running against the nominee – was not removed from the Committee)?

Or the age-old questions regarding financial improprieties with VECO funding of the ARP?

Or the failure to fully disclose how donated funds were used on direct mail campaigns?

Or taking sides in contested primaries?

Or the current Chair’s efforts against the Party’s nominee, including public statements and the filing of a questionable affidavit against him?

And the list goes on and on.

What’s really going on here is that in Alaska, like the rest of the country, the RINOs are being exposed for what they are: big government, corporate welfare hypocrites who don’t support the party platform and who will compromise any moral code to accomplish their aims.

Grassroots activists must demand that these RINOs remove the massive logs out of their own eyes before being permitted to criticize whatever specks they imagine in others’ eyes.

Did Lisa Murkowski Cause the Alaska Republican Party to Adjourn Prematurely in Fairbanks? (+video)

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The Alaskan Republican Party central committee meeting in Fairbanks on Saturday, September 22, 2012, adjourned after only an hour. Yesterday, we suggested that the premature adjournment reflected the dysfunction of the state party. But some suspect the early adjournment by out-going ARP Chairman Randy Ruedrich was intentional, so as to avoid any vote on a pending censure resolution against Senator Lisa Murkowski.

One attendee, an ARP District Chair, wrote down his observations of the Saturday meeting. Here’s his description of what happened after the initial roll call, invocation, and pledge of allegiance:

At approximately 0930 Mr. Ruedrich moved to the Treasurers Report. It was at this time that Alaska Republican Party Treasurer Mr. Frank McQueery stood and stated that Mr. Daniel Palmer had been recording the entire event and was live streaming onto You Tube. He stated he was not comfortable with the live streaming as this was a private organization discussing political strategy.

A motion was made to have the video stopped and the vote was overwhelming to stop recording. At this point Mr. Palmer started discussion on the subject citing his right to record the meeting. Another member pointed out that anything broadcast on You Tube is on a permanent record. Various other members became involved at this point, pointing out the fact that it was being broadcast worldwide and they were not comfortable with speaking live on YouTube.

National Committeeman Ralph Seekins said he agreed he could record his own private conversation but did not believe it was right to record other people without their consent. He also noted that the event was not public but was a private event of the Republican Party.

The motion to restrict the recording of this and future meetings of the SCC was called and passed. The Chairman requested that the video be stopped and Mr. Palmer declined. At that time, following additional comments from the party Treasurer, a motion was made to remove Mr. Palmer from the meeting and recess the meeting until that was done.

Chairman-Elect Russ Millette approached Mr. Palmer and told him that he had voted against the motion to stop the recording but asked him to stop the recording because it was going to create problems for party unity. Mr. Palmer refused to cooperate and said he would continue the recording. Chair-Elect Millette again said, “I’m asking you again nicely to reconsider”. But Mr. Palmer still refused.

Following additional time the meeting was called back to order and a motion to adjourn was made by the proxy vote for Don Young and was seconded. Mr. Ruedrich called for a vote from the few people remaining in the room and the motion to adjourn passed.

This type of action was completely detrimental to the Alaska Republican Party as a whole. We have approximately 42 day’s left to win the election and at the present time Obama has 269 confirmed electoral votes. The fact is, we will not win this election as a divided party.

For the video of the Fairbanks SCC meeting, click HERE.