Republican™--Who Has the Right to Use Republican™?
A Battle is beginning in Missouri, and was already decided in Vernon County (Nevada, MO) over who can call themselves a Republican on the Ballot.
Vetting and Accountability
Across the state of Missouri, there is a push to certify and vet candidates for public office who wish to run as a Republican™. However, there are candidates who are attempting to run as Republicans™ without the approval of their county’s party officials.
In essence, it’s a trademark battle. Can knock-off Republicans give their money to the County Clerk (who is a neutral party and traditionally does not file a candidate as a Republican without approval) so they can have their name placed on the ballot? The correct procedure is for the candidate to:
Speak with the party officials, called the Central Committee (I personally dislike this name as it sounds like the CCP),
File their fee with the Treasurer of the Central Committee
or File the Fee with the County Clerk, who forwards the fee to the Treasurer
The County Clerk must wait for approval from the Central Committee
This did not happen in several counties this year because people wanted to run without being vetted, and many Clerks overrode the Central Committee, accepted the fees, and accepted the candidacies without confirmation.
[Lawsuits ensued]
Get a receipt of their filing fee
Turn the receipt into the County Clerk
Be Certified to run on the Ballot as a Republican, Libertarian, or Democrat (This is the process for any party)
However, Conservative Central Committees are tired of Candidates going to work in their County and in Jeff City against the Constitution and voting against Missouri voters. Too many of them are voting with the lobbyists. The lobbyists then ensure that no one will run against them, and they game the system to keep these good little Reps and Senators in office.
These Reps fail to meet basic constitutional and conservative values and fail to uphold liberty. Several Central Committees have decided they will no longer accept a potential Candidate’s word that they are a Conservative. Each candidate will be vetted based on a series of questions before they can pay the filing fee. They can pay the fee, get the receipt, and then file with the County Clerk if they pass.
If the county Candidate fails to live up to Conservative standards, then that candidate is held accountable for their votes, and they are not allowed to file with their County’s Central Committee anymore as a Republican—no more trademark.
This is simple. However, far too many potential political candidates realize that running as a Republican is the easiest way to get elected in Missouri, and they don’t give a ratatouille about Conservative values. They want the easy gravy train of Lobbyists’ gifts and power. We saw this May 17th when several Republican Senators voted against unborn Missourians and the 2nd Amendment and instead voted to kill IP Reform.
Vernon County’s Win
I’ve covered this issue in a previous article here. Vernon County’s Central Committee sued their County Clerk when they accepted the filing fees without following the procedures set up by the Central Committee.
The Court found that the Central Committee has the sole right to decide who can call themselves a Republican on a Ballot. The Central Committee does have the right to vet and hold accountable individuals who desire to be associated with the Republican party and to have the party’s endorsement. In many ways, this is a trademark issue. The County Clerk does not hold the authority to decide who is and isn’t a party member.
Imagine if I wanted to run as a Democrat and decided it was in my best interest to do so in a county in St. Louis. I would have a good shot at running there as a Democrat. I could bypass the party and turn in my filing fees, and my name would be on the ballot. The other candidates would have to spend time and money trying to prove I wasn’t a “true” Democrat.
In this portion of the Palsey v. Marshall decision, it is clear the party (Central Committee) has the authority to accept and reject filing fees. Consider the nightmare we are dealing with right now in Jeff City with the Gubernatorial race.
KKK Gets to be a Republican?
KRCG’s Summer Ballentine of the Associated Press reports, “A longshot Missouri gubernatorial candidate with ties to the Ku Klux Klan will stay on the Republican ticket, a judge ruled Friday.” His filing fee was accepted before anyone vetted him.
No one asked questions. No one said, “Hey, who is this guy? What does he stand for?” They took his money and gave him his receipt, and now he has a place on the ballot along with the other Republican candidates.
McClanahan, the Klan member running as a Republican for Governor, has had a history of running for Missouri Senate and suing the Anti-defamation League. He’s not been hiding in the shadows, but because the Republicans want to allow weak Republicans or RINOs into the party just to maintain their supermajority, they are willing to create situations where individuals like McClanahan can make them look incompetent.
Wright County Knock-Off Republicans
In Wright County, the Central Committee vetted 13 existing committee members, has 4 pending appointments for vetting, and has three alternates waiting to be vetted. In their county, 24 individuals refused to be vetted and filed with the County Clerk.
The Wright County Central Committee has protested the filing of these 24 individuals with their County Clerk. However, the State GOP has not shown solidarity with Wright County but instead has allowed these knock-off Republicans to not only use the trademark name without permission but also place an unsanctioned Lincoln Days on the State GOP website’s calendar.
Here is the flyer for the event.
And here is the email asking the MO State GOP to remove the event from the calendar.
In the email, Cyndia explains to Nick Myers et al, that the event is being run and sponsored by individuals who are not Republican, nor do they have the endorsement of the Republican party in Wright County. With the judgment and ruling in Vernon County, Wright County has legal grounds to have these individuals removed.
*****Edit*****
Removes Republican in front of the Event’s title, but retains the event. There is a recognition that the State GOP can’t confer the Republican™ without the Central Committee’s approval though they aren’t willing to disavow the event entirely. In a way, this is even more damning. The State GOP acknowledges the limits in their credentialling power but demonstrates their willingness to interfere with the County’s internal policies with the hope of polluting the County’s ballot with officials who aren’t true Republicans™.
*****Edit*****
GOP Plays Dumb
On Friday, May 17th, the Vernon County Clerk appealed the decision to the Western Appellate Court. I would like to know who is helping her waste the taxpayer funds in Vernon County—it’s not a wealthy county. If the County Judge’s decision is upheld, and it is likely because the McClanahan judge also referenced the Vernon County Court decision (making two courts reaching the same conclusion), then this will uphold the Central Committee’s right to verify, vet, and hold accountable any candidate who wishes to remain in good standing with the committee.
If it fails, then the Republican party is dead—and, consequently, the Democratic party is dead, too. Lobbyists will choose all of our candidates for both parties in Jeff City. They will decide who is best at bending over and taking it for the team. There will be a supermajority—the Uniparty.
That’s what is at stake—nothing less. It’s now in the hands of the Western District Court of Missouri because the GOP is so afraid of vetting and accountability that it is willing to destroy the brand's values so it can keep the trademark facade.
We’ve all seen a beloved company bought out by soulless and greedy corporatists. Let’s hope the fight started in Vernon County and elsewhere won’t lead to cheap Chinese knock-offs running our state wearing cheap suits and smelling like cheap whores.
Below is the email exchange between Haggard and the Establishment knock-offs who want to use the word Conservative without knowing what it means.
1st Email exchange with Haggard and Clate Baker.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Cyndia Haggard <vcrcmo@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, May 18, 2024, 1:29 PM
Subject: Re: 😲Bogus Event Being Allowed on GOP Website!😲
To: Clate Baker <clatebaker@yahoo.com>
Wow! Such aggressive indifference from someone who is a member of the state party and should therefore be protecting our brand, not allowing it to be co-opted. Sad.
Cyndia Haggard
Chair, Vernon County GOP Central Committee
President, REPACCMO, Inc.
913-634-2347
"Never underestimate the power of noise." - Scott Buerge
Donald J. Trump 2024
On Sat, May 18, 2024 at 11:49 AM Clate Baker <clatebaker@yahoo.com> wrote:
Wow such vitriol from a person claiming to want to advance Republican ideals and I assume one professing to be a Christian. Sad.
Sent from my iPhone
On May 18, 2024, at 10:35 AM, Cyndia Haggard <vcrcmo@gmail.com> wrote:
To: Nick Myers, Miles Ross, Trey Faucheux, Chandler Haynes
CC: Jim Dake, Wright County Chair
BCC: ALL county chairs, the MRSC
The event below was apparently sent to the state GOP to put on the calendar of events. The problem is, this is NOT coming from the county central committee. Look at it. It bears the GOP logo. It references a GOP event, namely Lincoln Day. Everything about it looks like it's from the Central Committee....except it's not! So, why is it on the GOP website?
Since when do we allow groups to co-opt and subvert our county committees? Jim Dake, the county chair, contacted Miles three times this week to have the fake Lincoln Day event removed. However, that has not happened as of the writing of this email on Saturday morning, even though a new event was added to that site for the same date. I create and manage websites. It doesn't take long to remove something.
The screenshot below is as of Saturday morning. The ice cream social is legitimate. The "Wright County Lincoln Day" is most certainly not.
<image.png>
Is this being allowed intentionally?
What does it take to get the state GOP to actually support our 114 counties and the thousands of committee members?
We are now asking the MRSC to put pressure on the SALARIED employees of the state GOP to do their jobs, since Nick apparently doesn't care, protect Wright county from counterfeit organizations posing as official county committees, and tell someone to show up and remove the post as previously requested multiple times.
Plus, this fake group is inviting guests to speak. Imagine how that will go over when the candidate finds out this isn't an actual Republican Party sanctioned event, but a fake group, and the candidate now been put in the middle of a controversy and managed to tick off the folks who actually are part of the GOP to boot.....and the GOP stood by and did nothing!
Would someone in authority with some actual respect for our party's brand please make the appropriate phone calls and get this taken care of.
Respectfully,
Cyndia
<image.png>
Cyndia Haggard
Chair, Vernon County GOP Central Committee
President, REPACCMO, Inc.
913-634-2347
"Never underestimate the power of noise." - Scott Buerge
Donald J. Trump 2024
2nd Email Exchange between Haggard and Pat Thomas
From: Cyndia Haggard <vcrcmo@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2024 7:26:01 AM
To: Patricia Thomas <pat@patthomas.us>
Subject: Re: 😲Bogus Event Being Allowed on GOP Website!😲Morning, Pat.
The difference is, the Wright County group is blatantly attempting to look and feel like the county committee, to the point even of trying to hijack a Jay Ashcroft event by holding their own at the same time. The GOP appears to condone the hijacking by promoting it on their website. I see the title has now been modified when it should have been removed. I wonder, if the actual event were a gubernatorial candidate Nick supports, would he be so complacent about the intentional confusion.
Conversely, since I assume your comparison is a nod to REPACCMO, we have NEVER purported to be supported by or speaking for the GOP. In fact, we exist solely because the MRSC largely ignores CCs and provides minimal support at best, and that's if I'm being charitable.
So, while I appreciate your attempted analogy, it's like mixing apples and oranges.
Best,
Cyndia
On Sat, May 18, 2024, 11:57 PM Patricia Thomas <pat@patthomas.us> wrote:
I can certainly see where this causes confusion, very similar to when people think you are speaking for the state committee or a sanctioned organization of county committees.
Lots to think about.
Thanks,
Pat Thomas
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Conclusion
The evidence is clear. The State GOP officers don’t want vetting at the county level because the State GOP is bought and paid for by lobbyists. Billions of dollars flow through the state coffers. This last year, the budget was $50 billion dollars. The lobbyists don’t care if they are Republican or Democrat; they want to own their Representative or Senator.
The State GOP is helping the Lobbyists buy and sell the votes of these cheap knock-offs. Most of our Reps aren’t conservatives, nor are they even Republicans. They wouldn’t know who Ronald Reagan was if he haunted them. Far too many of them have more in common with 1980s Joe Biden than they do with 1980s Ronald Reagan.
Don’t let them tell you vetting will keep us from having good candidates. That’s like saying a Pear Phone is just as good as an Apple Phone. Or you don’t need a Ford; you need a Bord.
If you are smart enough to know this isn’t a real Tesla Cybertruck, then you need to be smart enough to know what a real Conservative and Constitutional Republican is.
Credit: Hindustan Times
We vet, hold accountable, and control the party's trademark—not the fake Nick Meyers of this world, not the fake Ben Bakers, and not the fake Mike Parsons. We are the voters. We are the true power of the party. The GOP is nothing without us.
They are a vapor, as insubstantial as a dream. We have to stop believing the lies they try to tell us that we don’t matter. We are the only ones who matter in this Republican party. We hold the Trademark and copyright. Make them earn it. Make them work to keep it. If the candidates can’t, toss them into history’s trashbin.