Will Republican state chair be scolding Pueblo GOP county chair?

10 Comments

by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

A couple years ago, GOP Chair Ryan Call suggested that Sarah Arnold, who was an El Paso County GOP Secretary, resign because Republican office holders are not supposed to publicly criticize Republican policies–or favor one GOP primary candidate over another.

Call wrote that if Arnold "does not feel she can separate her personal opinions from her role as a County Party Secretary than she should consider resigning her position as a Party officer and thereby be free to speak out and be an advocate for whatever issues or causes, or for or against whatever candidates or Republican officeholders, she felt was most appropriate, free of the duty of loyalty and obligatory support that is a necessary corollary to official Party leadership." [BigMedia emphasis]

Pueblo County GOP Chair Becky Mizel should be hearing from Ryan Call soon, if he's consistent, because Mizel showed clear support for Tom Tancredo during an Aug. 16 radio interview.

At least that's what I take away from this discussion among Mizel, KNUS' Peter Boyles, and Jennifer Kearns, who's a spokesperson for the recall effort.

BOYLES: You guys can’t expect somebody with at least a room temperature I.Q. to go, “Boy, that Republican Party in Colorado, those are my guys!”

MIZEL: Yeah, but Peter, look at the people like Tom Tancredo, who are Republicans. You know, we’ve got Tom Tancredo, Cruz, people like that. [BigMedia emphasis]

BOYLES: Huh-uh. Tommy is the red-headed stepson of the Republican party, and all three of us know it. They just wish Tom would go away. I mean, that’s the truth. You know it. I know it. Becky knows it. I think smart people listening to this radio show wish – I mean, they believe,– not believe, they know the Republican Party of Colorado would just as soon Tancredo go soak his head.

KERNS: Well, that’s why –

MIZEL: Well, the same goes for Ted Cruz and Ted Cruz isn’t going to go away.

BOYLES: No. I agree.

MIZEL: So, you know, it’s — I think you do have to take it over from the inside.

You'd think that Mizel, who's found herself in the media spotlight due to the attempted recall of State Sen. Angela Giron, doesn't like Ryan Call much, given that she wants to take over the state GOP "from the inside." And she's certainly not scared of him, as she's violating rules that Call clearly supports.

I shared Mizel's Boyles' interview with Arnold, and she wrote me that she's not surprised by Call's inconsistency in enforcing the thou-shalt-not- criticize-Republicans rule:

Arnold: Ryan Call is perfectly consistent in his inconsistency. He arbitrarily and capriciously applies the by-laws as it suits him (for example, it's okay if he contributes to a Democrat while a party officer, which is a clear violation of the by-laws, but not okay for someone to have a policy disagreement with the House Majority Leader while a party officer, as in my case–a topic on which the by-laws are silent). In fact, he's happy to change the bylaws so he could endorse Romney for President, an unprecedented act. The irony would be even more incredible since many Party officers (including Ryan) turned a blind eye in 2010 to the numerous endorsements of Tancredo as a third party candidate made by other party officers across the state, if he were to choose to pursue removal for mere comments about a candidate that don't appear, to me at least, to be an endorsement.

10 thoughts on “Will Republican state chair be scolding Pueblo GOP county chair?”

Republican 36 says:

August 27, 2013 at 8:51 am

Jason,

I enjoy your threads and comments here on Coloradopols but I'm not sure reading the transcript that Ms. Mizel was supporting Mr. Tancredo. I read it to mean she agreed with Mr. Boyles' opinion of what the Republican Party thinks of Mr. Tancredo and she appears to put Sen. Cruz in that category as well.

Log in to Reply
1. BlueCat says:
  
  August 27, 2013 at 9:08 am
  
  Agree trying to make this a big deal is a stretch. And there's so much really worth making a big deal over.
  
  I do remember that back when I had a minor local Dem party position, we weren't supposed to make public statements (that would be mainly at meetings, while speaking to our local Dems in our official capacity, etc. since nobody was interviewing anyone at my lowly level) for or against one primary or potential primary candidate or another because anything we said could be taken to be coming from the party and our primary job was going to be helping to elect whoever wound up winning the primary and running. That would be hard to do had we trashed that person in the run up. That's why I didn't use my real name on this blog in the first place; so I could be free to express myself here without reference to my small role in the party.
  
  Log in to Reply
2. ElliotFladen says:
  
  August 27, 2013 at 9:12 am
  
  Exactly. There is a big difference between saying "I support Tancredo" (could be taken to mean support in general because of agreement w/policies but not in any race in particular) and "I support Tancredo in the governor race". It was roughly the former which Becky said, not the latter.
  
  As for Sarah Arnold and Ryan Call, I wouldn't surprised if personal animus is driving Sarah's comments.
  
  Log in to Reply
3. Jason Salzman says:
  
  August 27, 2013 at 4:22 pm
  
  I see your point, but i asked myself, does Mizel support Tancredo over the others? Most likely yes. It's not a statement you'd expect to hear from someone who's neutral, right?
  
  Log in to Reply
dwyer says:

August 27, 2013 at 9:40 am

Jason,

Do you have any information about what is going on with Democrats and the party?

Log in to Reply
1. BlueCat says:
  
  August 27, 2013 at 10:57 am
  
  Instead of relying on Jason you could just start going to the meetings of your HD. The districts are supposed to hold meetings once a month. The HD is the basic building block with the mission of getting HD reps elected but also helping elect Dem candidates in general at all levels, doing voter turn out, providing education on issues, fund raising, recruiting volunteers, recruiting people to run for local office, community outreach, organizing for the county party at the local level. That's where you'll get to know the local active people who are tuned in to what's going on in the party and up the chain through that entry level.
  
  You'll hear all kinds of stuff that isn't going to be put in writing on the county or state sites or talked about in pressers. Who's in, who's out, what the over all strategy is supposed to be, who did what to who, who's ticked off at who, secret and not so secret dirt etc. Candidates at every level and people from the county and state party levels will will turn up, especially in run ups to elections. You can ask them questions and tell them what you think directly. It takes time and energy but you'll learn you more than you can get from anybody on a blog, even Jason, if you really want to know.
  
  Log in to Reply
  1. BlueCat says:
    
    August 27, 2013 at 11:01 am
    
    Oh and what I said about party officials being discouraged from showing public preference at the primary stage so they can preserve the ability to advocate with credibility for the chosen candidates in elections? Privately is a different story. You'll find out pretty quickly what your local HD activists and their friends higher up really think.
    
    Log in to Reply
2. Jason Salzman says:
  
  August 27, 2013 at 4:28 pm
  
  I was told a couple years ago that the dems don't try to muzzle their country officials. See http://bigmedia.org/2011/05/09/radio-host-says-el-paso-gop-trying-to-shut-up-republican-activists/
  
  Log in to Reply
  1. BlueCat says:
    
    August 27, 2013 at 4:52 pm
    
    Well when I was involved in the Arapahoe Dem Party we were strongly urged to maintain a certain public neutrality, especially among local candidates, in the early phases. Naturally we were free to go to our assemblies and conventions in support of whoever we liked best. Early on we were supposed to invite all and sundry to speak and present their cases at our HD meetings and give them equal chances to win people over. The caution had two main reasons.
    
    1) People might take our views as reflecting official Dem party views.
    
    2) We were going to have to work to elect whoever won the nod. That was our primary job. Electing Dem candidates.
    
    For most lower offices we only had one candidate most of time long before the actual caucuses and so forth so not really much of a problem.
    
    Maybe it's different now or maybe other county parties have a different culture.
    
    I was specifically advised by a then county officer ( I was down the chain at HD level) not to participate here under my own name because of my position.
    
    Log in to Reply
mamajama55 says:

August 27, 2013 at 1:16 pm

I'm guessing Becky Mizel has a lot of clout, due to her hubby's extensive contributions to the Senate Majority fund. That may be at the bottom of the mystery of why Call isn't being more publicly punitive. I'd post a link but the followthemoney site is down right now.

Log in to Reply