Steve Stepanek has formally announced his bid to become the next Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. The Union Leader quotes Stepanek as saying that, “At this juncture, the Republican Party doesn’t exist in New Hampshire as an organization,” … “It has failed in fundraising and organization; and we need to completely revamp what’s going on here in New Hampshire.”
That all sounds very familiar and it happens to be true.
Related: Take it Back or Burn it Down
Over at WMUR, we get this.
“I am running because I strongly believe that, at this juncture, the state Republican Party needs to be rebuilt,” Stepanek said. “We need to focus on grassroots organization, we need to focus on fundraising and we need to focus on unifying Republicans.
“We need to bring the Trump supporters, the ‘never-Trump’ supporters, independents and even conservative Democrats into the Republican Party. And we need to craft a New Hampshire Republican message that will appeal to the public.”
What Will Stepanek’s Message Sound Like?
I admit that I’m curious about his version of a message that appeals to this vast array of voters. Probably a version of the Trump 2016 message?
I hope lower taxes, smaller government, and a focus on a thin client state – one that defaults to private citizens rights and liberties before the interests of politicians and bureaucrats undergirds such an appeal.
Fight the insiders. Mr. Trump won fighting the insiders on all sides.
It is also essential, and this comes from across the grassroots as well, that his message includes a complete change of state party leadership. Vice Chair, Area Chairs. We need new people across the E-Board, the party’s executive committee.
And while that sounds great, the Republican Political Aristocracy in the Granite State isn’t going to just let that happen.
Five Guys Fundraising And Lies
On several that I know, and there are probably more, NHGOPe figureheads have been attributed with threatening to call off the check writers over who serves as State Party Chair.
Rhetorically referred to as the Five Families, these people above the people running the New Hampshire Republican Party claim to have its best interests at heart. They express this tough love by threatening anyone who runs for state party office of whom they disapprove. So, if you aren’t made of the right stuff, they’ll inject themselves between the Chair – whose job it is to fundraise – and the ‘check writers’ to ensure they fail.
That’s a big joke down here in the grassroots. The NHGOP is notorious for at least two things. Never having any money and backing the worst possible candidates for State Party Chair. Cullen, Horn, Forester, even MacDonald. Some of them are nice people. Some of them were nice people. And a few have benefitted from the electoral success in New Hampshire the way a leaf benefits from being dragged downstream.
Not a one could run a lemonade stand unless by “run” you mean into the ground.
All because of the people who say they will call off the ‘check writers’ whenever the wrong candidate finds some support. Check writers who never really write any checks. Are you catching on the the scam?
For Steve’s message to reach anyone, including the folks above the folks at the top, he’s going to need to do a financial end-around that keeps the party flush with cash (a wholly new experience from where I sit) regardless of what anyone says to him.
That Means Trump Connections Which He Has
Stepanek will need different “investors.” As a former Trump co-chair, he’ll know a few people who know a few people. And while that may not usually matter with the 2020 Elections looming, Trump may want to make a statement in New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary.
Check writers for Trump might be interested in what happens to Republicans on the ground here. Maybe.
Not to worry. Stepanek says Republican Presidential challengers won’t find a Trump-only sign on the door. “Where the party needs to be neutral, I will be neutral.”
That would be the bylaws speaking, I hope. One thing Mr. Stepanek could bring to the party that it sorely lacks is pressure in the “Right” direction. The aforementioned Five Families have been applying pressure down the leftward path for years. Pushing against the conservatarian base and toward the progressive, moderate middle.
We just had several years of the progressive, moderate middle from the Republican majorities in State Government. No one in the party appears to have much influence over politicians operating private “franchises” using their brand to advance policies, not on the menu.
A strong chair and a strong e-board serve as a potent reminder of what you claim to mean when you put the (R) after your name. I’m not holding my breath, but a blogger can dream.
Who Else Wants the Gig?
Other Republican activists who are considering running for party chair, or are being urged to run by other activists, include former NHGOP vice chairman Matt Mayberry, strategist Michael Biundo, Cheshire County activist Kate Day and former state Rep. Dan Hynes.
I like all those folks, but Hynes is the only one who hasn’t backed some significant move to push the NHGOP to the left (as far as I know). And I like Dan, but he has some baggage he’s had a hard time shaking. I also think the party needs someone with a bit more charisma.
Mayberry strikes me as the candidate the Five Families would back. And while Mike Biundo knows people who write checks and can be a strong advocate for conservative principles but his last-minute push for a platform change on marriage and family still has me shaking my head. If you can toss that in the heap what else might be grist for the cultural mill?
What Will Sununu Do – What Will You Do?
More names may surface but you can almost guarantee that Gov. Chris Sununu will pick (if he picks) whoever the other Governor Sununu likes best. And if they don’t win the chair, the infamous Five-families will wield their establishment forces to undermine them. It’s what they do.
Knowing what we know today I think Stepanek is an excellent choice. But for him to be effective, the establishment lickspittles need to be run out of the party structure. The power from above needs to be neutered. To get there, we need all new leadership. To get that we need delegates to elect voting members who will support these changes.
Its What’s Under the Big Tent that Matters
If voters truly yearn to be free, Republicans, independents, moderate Democrats, then they will need a place to turn with those ideas. They will want someone to stand up and defend them from the Social Justice PC warriors; the Jackbooted Antifa anti-free speech thugs; the tax and spend grow-government-first-corporatist-industrial-complex.
The NHGOP can do that. And I think people want that. They want lower taxes. To be left alone. And how about the freedom to choose things for themselves, their business, their family? We have failed as a State party to provide anyone in leadership who will not just articulate that message well but often.
They need to challenge the Democrat’s narratives every time they wield one. This chair needs to be in print or in front of a microphone or camera, selling the package. Lean, efficient, transparent government. Better paying jobs come from less government and lower taxes, not more government and higher taxes. Opportunity is not something you get from a bureaucrat or a politician, and neither is success or prosperity.
If Stepanek can clean house, find actual ‘real’ money for the party, and is willing to promote the platform brand often, 2020 will be a great year. But just like any election, it doesn’t happen unless we make it happen.
ICYMI – Girls Can Grow Up to Be Anything Unless They Vote Republican
Image Credit: NPR