Iowa GOP - Do The Right Thing!
Governor Romney had a great day Saturday in Ames and Team Romney has used the event to maximum advantage since their victory.
Now it’s time for the Iowa GOP to do the right thing. As I understand it, the Ames Straw Poll is the major fundraiser for the state party. Money from the straw poll will fund legislative candidates, state-wide candidates, and numerous party activities. Without the money from the straw poll, the Iowa GOP would be damaged terribly and their effectiveness would be cut dramatically.
McCain, Guiliani, and Thompson knew of the Iowa GOP’s dependence on the straw poll when they decided to drop out of the race. In effect, they said “Screw the Iowa GOP. We can’t handle the bad press when Mitt Romney cleans our clocks.” It was a clear message to every Republican in the state of Iowa that these candidates simply don’t care about the Iow GOP.
After the other “top tier” candidates ran away from the beating that they were going to take in Iowa, Governor Romney’s campaign had a decision to make. They could have easily said that because of the other defections that they would take their time and money and invest them elsewhere. While not winning the straw poll, they would have avoided the “empty victory” stories that we’ve seen over the past couple of days.
Instead, Governor Romney kept his word to Iowa Republicans and made a terrific effort at the Straw Poll. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars along with tremendous national media attention flowed to the Iowa GOP because of Governor Romney’s decision. Had Governor Romney pulled out, the Staw Poll would likely have collapsed.
With these facts in mind, I call on the Republican Party of Iowa to formally endorse the candidacy of Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President. Governor Romney stood with the Iowa GOP, and now is the time for the Iowa GOP to stand with Governor Romney!
I urge everyone who reads this to contact Ray Hoffman, Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, and tell him that it’s time for the Iowa GOP to endorse Governor Romney. You can contact Chairman Hoffman at (515) 282-8105 or ray@iowagop.org.
If you are a blogger, I hope you will post Chairman Hoffman’s contact information on your blog and urge your readers to contact him in support of an endorsement for Governor Romney! This movement can take off if we get Governor Romney’s netroots involved.
-Kyle Joseph Farmer
August 13th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Kyle,
GREAT POST! For all those reading Kyle’s post and this comment, please send an email to Mr. Hoffman. This is very important. I just sent him a note informing him that I am a blogger on this site and that we expect him to now officially endorse Gov. Romney following Gov. Romney tremendous support of the ASP both in keeping with GMR’s commitment to support it and with his financial support.
I agree with Kyle that had GMR decided not to keep his commitment (as Giuliani and McCain decided to break theirs) to the ASP, it is highly likely that it would have collapsed. At the very least, Romney dropping out would have caused a precedent to be set for future events that could easily have caused the ASP to cease to event.
Chairman Ray Hoffman CANNOT RECEIVE TOO MANY emails on this subject and request. Please do everything you can to encourage as many people as possible to send a short email to him requesting his and the state’s official endorsement of Gov. Romney.
This is very important.
And thank you!
August 13th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I just called this # and spoke with a secretary. She indicated that Ray Hoffman is not at this number. He has an office in Sioux City in western Iowa. She also stated that the Iowa GOP can’t officially endorse anyone at this point–not until the nominee is selected (after the primaries are over).
I thanked her for the information, and put in my two bits for Romney and his efforts in the state. I also made it clear I had a unique interest in the state’s position and prominence in national politics, since I had lived in Iowa City for 5 years.
So, you may wish to contact them, but they are powerless to endorse him at this point. You could express your appreciation for Romney’s commitment to the historic process associated with the Ames Straw Poll.
August 13th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Here is the text of my email to Chairman Hoffman:
Chairman Hoffman,
Congratulations on the Ames Straw Poll. I was able to watch the event on CSPAN, and it certainly seemed to be a tremendous success. As I understand it, the event serves as a major fundraiser for the Iowa GOP, which brings me to my point.
The fact that Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain broke their word to both the citizens of Iowa and the state party when they decided not to participate in the straw poll obviously had a negative effect on the attendance at the event. The fact that former Senator Thompson never even showed an interest in participating in the event shows his level of concern for the Iowa GOP. I’m frankly shocked that the national “leaders” in the Presidential campaign would treat the state party with such disdain knowing the negative financial impact that their actions would have on your organization.
Much credit should go to Governor Mitt Romney and his campaign for keeping their word and participating in the event in Ames. Since Governor Romney was the only top-tier candidate to participate, it seems that he really was the key to the event’s success. It may have been politically expedient and certainly cheaper for the Romney campaign to have skipped the Straw Poll, but they kept their word to you, the state party, and the citizens of Iowa.
Based on these facts and Governor Romney’s clear win on Saturday, it seems obvious to me that the Iowa GOP should move quickly to formally endorse Mitt Romney for President. I hope you will begin this process immediately, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this situation.
Again, congratulations on a fantastic event!
Sincerely,
Kyle Joseph Farmer
August 13th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I may be ignorant here, but can state republican parties actually endorse a certain candidate? If so is that a common occurrence, or usually an exception.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Nate,
As I indicated above, the Iowa GOP cannot officially endorse a candidate until the primary process determines the victor (nominee for the party).
August 13th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I think if the Iowa GOP did endorse Romney in conflict with their rules or policy that would be the only story out of Iowa for months. This is not a good idea.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Nate…..I know that here in Ohio the state can and does endorse in statewide primaries. In fact, there is even talk of extending the state party’s endorsement to state legislative races.
Nealie…thanks for following up! The number I listed was from the Iowa GOP’s website.
Chuck….nobody is asking the Iowa GOP to do anything in conflict with their rules. However, most organizations have methods by which to suspend the rules in extraordinary circumstances. I would say that the national candidates breaking their word and doing serious harm to the Iowa GOP is an extraordinary circumstance.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
No way should the Iowa state GOP endorse ANYONE at this point. You Mittmen are jumping the gun way too soon. It looks unprofessional. Keep it up!
I’m a FREDeralist.
August 13th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Matthew…..maybe the Iowa GOP should just eliminate those who fall so far below fundraising goals that they cannot even enter the race from their endorsement list!
August 13th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Matthew,
Check out this post on Fred and tell me where I’m wrong:
http://nyformitt.blogspot.com/2007/08/thompson-depends-on-khachigian-advice.html
August 13th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
It’s a nice idea, but if the Iowa GOP were to go through with it the other candidates would drop out.
We need to win this one in January, not August.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
While I agree that McCain, Giuliani, and Thompson (to a lesser extent) have hurt the Iowa Republican Party, there is no way that the State Party will endorse a candidate prior to the caucus. I have not seen a copy of the Iowa Republican Bylaws, but I am guessing that there is a rule similar to Rule 11 of the RNC bylaws that prohibits the state party (or officers) from making endorsements prior to the caucus.
If you want to work the endorsement angle, I think a better shot would be by going to the auxilliaries (like the Republican Women orgs, or the College Republican chapters) and trying to get endorsements from them on the premise that Mitt really went to bat for the Iowa GOP.
Personally I think the statements by Chairman Hoffman have been great so far talking about long memories and how candidates that skip out on Iowa and the Straw Poll will pay a price. I know it falls far short of a straight endorsement but it is getting the point across that Rudy and McCain did not help the party by skipping the straw poll.