The Local GOP Longhouse

Is there any hope for Local and County Gynocentric Republican Organizations?

A good Texan reached out to me a few days ago and related some frustration with his local GOP organization. His frustration is relatable. If my own local organizations aren’t throwing appreciation dinners for Dade Phelan, they are having Zoom cheerleading sessions with none other than Abbott the Boneless. Our local tea party organizations aren’t much better. While there are a few good local and county organizations that do good work in Texas, the ugly reality is that much of the institutional Republican machine is coopted by a cabal of neocon establishment types, political status seekers, and worst of all, Republican Women Groups.

We are taught to believe that the Republican Party is the place to go for traditional American values and that it stands as a bulwark against the rainbow-colored degeneracy of the modern Democratic party. Once we get beyond the superficial platitudes, bumpersticker slogans and trite, uncomfortable opening prayers of most GOP organizations, we quickly discover that these aren’t serious people or serious organizations. There is no desire to implement any real counter to the leftwing cultural revolution and no desire to unseat the uniparty political establishment from power. These organizations are far too often simply placeholders unwittingly functioning as controlled opposition to a political party that actually understands the nature of political power and uses it (yes, the Democrats.)

What To Do?

Given the unpalatable proposition of joining a local political organization run by 80 year old schoolmarms that is politically attuned to the edginess of a mature Bob Dole, what is a young rightwing man that wants to do his civic duty to do? I can think of four options… and these options aren’t mutually exclusive. You can do one or several of them simultaneously. It all depends on the level of time, energy, and commitment one is willing to donate. Let’s take a look at them.

(1) The option requiring the least amount of time is to join up to the established local GOP organization regardless, bide your time, and attempt to influence the decision making as best you can. The upside is you will likely be welcomed in and can advance up to precinct chair and county chair provided you hide your power level and don’t make too much trouble. If you behave yourself, you may even get a chance to go to State Convention. The downside to this approach is that you are likely paired with an organization that has many weak links and these weak links are always the limiting factor on how effective the local organization, as a whole, will be. Frequently, these weak links have firmly entrenched themselves into leadership. These dynamics apply to Republican and Tea Party groups alike.

(2) The second option, the most difficult option, is to be an entrepreneur- start your own group. This takes LOTS of time, energy, and resources. It also requires a certain type of personality… someone charismatic with people skills and is adept at networking. Political networking is tricky for authentic right-wingers because most people you will come into contact with in Republican circles are either liberals or moderate conservatives and it takes some time to figure out where everyone actually is on the based scale. This option also requires a bit of leadership. You want to create a culture of learning and teamwork, setting up a wide front door for welcoming people in. You will want to help the ones amenable to understanding rightwing politics with good education and resources, some local activism, and you want to set a narrow back door, reserved for trouble makers. Building a group from scratch is very hard work.

(3) A third option is reach out to established groups and request help. If you have a good, successful group in the region, it is possible that they may help you attempt to plant a local group. The feasibility of this option is directly related to the whether or not you have a core group of allied local activists that are ready to begin. The established group can assist with helping schedule speakers and can even farm out some members to attend local for support while you are building the group.

(4) The last option is to forego participation in local political organizations and instead, network through special interest organizations (border, 2A, RTL, Christian or RW groups, nonparty political groups). The benefit to this approach is that you don’t have to hide your power level and you may actually be able to use your influence to pull local party organizations in your region to the right. The downside here is that you are out of the official party structure. If you are in a local area with a solid GOP longhouse and no regional organizations that can help locally, this may be the best option. Regardless of whether you go with options 1-3, this option is always on the table.

Ultimately, the GOP is going to have to be taken over to be made useful or destroyed and this won’t happen through democratic consensus. Good men have options, but use your time and talents wisely.

Lastly, I would like to offer our Republican Women Groups some advice for their consideration. If you want to really help the conservative cause, and I know that you do, then the most effective thing you could do is organize and work to repeal the 19th Amendment, please and thank you.

Kidding! :)