Rebels of Cantina Republicana

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In a Capitol Hill bar, young Republicans address dissent in the ranks.

By Brandon McBride, University of Utah

 

Perhaps you’ve heard this line before, but some of my best friends are Republicans. Really. So, picture, if you will, a bar two blocks from the Capital Building in Washington D.C. The entire bar is packed to the brim with the bright and brave leaders of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). Walking up to the bar, I began to imagine miniature versions of Karl Rove and Ralph Reed wandering about in a drunken haze sloppily arguing that we have successfully rebuilt democracy in Iraq and that we must, simply MUST stop “the gay lifestyle” from destroying America. I was beginning to slowly edge my way back towards the front door when my friend found me, shook my hand, and took me into the belly of the beast that is the CRNC.

The CRNC is an institution dating back to 1892. A young man of 24 named James Francis Burke started it at the University of Michigan as a way of uniting the young Republicans of the country and swaying the youth vote in the favor of the GOP. Since the first convention in Michigan the organization has added somewhere near 1,300 chapters across the country. It’s a huge juggernaut that claims, and probably rightfully so, to produce roughly 200,000 votes for Republican candidates. Along with a new generation of voters, the organization also produces some of the most controversial figures on the American political scene. Previous chairmen have included the Rasputin behind Bush II, Karl Rove, tax “reformer” and hilariously named Grover Norquist, and the controversy kid himself, Jack Abramoff. Who is next on the list of leaders produced from this organization? Paul Gourley, a 23 year old from South Dakota.

When I stepped into this Cantina Republicana, I was mildly surprised at the normality of it all. When my friend introduced me to the others as “my liberal friend from the Center for American Progress,” they all offered to buy me drinks in an attempt as an entrée to try to start a debate that would make me realize the errors of my ways. Though my ideology wasn’t changing, I was actually having a pretty good time. But that was when my drinking companions alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t exactly hanging with the core College Republican leadership, but, instead with the shadow leaders of the internal College Republican rebellion. These days, there is quite a divide amongst the campus Republican set.

Back in June of 2005, CR delegates from every state gathered in Washington DC to elect their new national chairman. As was widely reported, the whole thing was rife with controversy and fraud. Gourley, the front runner, was hit with a shit storm of accusations involving his actions as treasurer the year before as well as claims that he used undue force to sway delegates to vote for him. Gourley was, despite the controversy, the odds on favorite from the start, mostly due to his service as the treasurer. His opponent, Michael Davidson, was quite the underdog but did have one thing going for him—the alleged sliminess of Gourley.

The CRNC, as of 2002, is a 527 political committee, meaning it is not a branch of the Republican National Committee (RNC). When the finance law of 2002 came through, a $150,000 stipend given to the CRNC from the GOP was pulled and the CRNC needed to find new ways to bring in money to fund its expansion plans. Gourley, in association with then-chairman Eric Hoplin and the direct mail firm Response Dynamics, set out to get their money by any means necessary. That meant sending letters to possible donors, often the elderly, implying donations would be going straight into the coffers of the RNC or towards the 2004 Bush presidential campaign. On top of these misleading letters were, of course, misleading letterheads reading “Republican Headquarters 2004” or “Republican Elections Committee.” The most incriminating letter was accompanied by a lapel pin and was sent to elderly people saying that if they donated $1,000 dollars then President Bush would wear the pin at the Republican Nation Convention. Of course, President Bush’s involvement with the lapel pin fund raiser was a complete lie cooked up by Response Dynamics, but at the bottom of the letter was Paul Gourley’s signature. Gourley claims he never saw the letter and didn’t give Response Dynamics permission to use his signature but many in the CRNC doubt the veracity of that claim.

The 2004 fundraising controversy splintered the CRNC and gave rise to challenger Michael Davidson’s campaign. When the election got close some of the delegates, from North Carolina in particular, received calls from freshman House Rep. Patrick McHenry and his Chief of Staff Jason Deans saying if they voted against Gourley they were somehow harming McHenry and would lose any support the Congressman would lend to their chapter of the College Republicans. North Carolina Federation of College Republicans regional director Elizabeth Beck told The Hill News she received a call from McHenry saying “ Elizabeth, I thought we were friends, that you cared about getting me elected”. He then went on to tell Beck that Gourley requested that he make these calls to sway the close race in his favor.

This all hit the fan last June and even now, 10 months after the fact, the reverberations of the bitter election season are still being felt. There is bitterness and bickering throughout the College Republicans as some members distance themselves from the corrupt shenanigans (if not the conservative policies) that have tainted Gourley at the junior level as well as many elder statesmen like Tom DeLay. Several websites and blogs have been spitting anti- Gourley sentiment since early ‘05 and still carry on today. Truth Caucus, Save the GOP, and CRNC Chatter all shred Gourley frequently. There aren’t any large pro- Gourley sites to be found. Meanwhile, the ground troops for both sides bicker and argue at every chance they get.

As Kanye West played at top volume and a room full of Republicans sang along (“we want prenup”) my new-found friends and I discussed the future of the Republican Party. They told me about how they, along with their constituents, still find themselves in a war of words and petty infighting with the Gourley camp. Concerned with the nasty trickery and shady dealings Gourley was involved with, my half of the CRNC wanted to get someone in office who is honest and true. Sadly enough, they fell just short. Still, it was nice to hang out with a group of young Republicans who cared about trying to stay above the muck of lowest common denominator politics. And, it’s intriguing to consider the possible ramifications for the GOP if these fissures on the JV level continue to brew over the coming years as this generation takes their place as leaders on the national stage. Perhaps it could mean a more honest if fragmented party leadership?

Of course, just like any Saturday night out on the town, it wasn’t all deep, heart-felt talk. The train ride home featured one last attempt to turn me to their side. The drunkest and crudest of the bunch informed me that liberalism is a disease. I told him I agreed entirely and that the only cure was medical marijuana. We all laughed, I left the train, pulled out my iPod, threw on some Kanye, and made my way home.

Illustration: Matt Bors