Incoming Party Chair – Republican Candidates “Will Have Access to Me, But Will Have a Test…”

Imagine being on the other end of the line, listening to a teleconference with former US Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller and incoming Republican Party Chair Russ Millette. I bet you’d hear some interesting stuff. Remember that the GOP convention experienced a “coup,” as long-time Chair Randy Ruedrich decided this year to step down. Ron Paul supporters flooded the convention and voted in a new slate of party leaders. It’s now a mix of Joe Miller, and Ron Paul supporters who see eye to eye on many issues, but maybe not all. Time will tell.

In any case, no one knows a whole lot about Russ Millette, so that conversation would certainly provide some interesting clues about what exactly is in store for the Republican Party and the State of Alaska for the next couple years at least.

Well, lucky for you, Mudmole was in on the call last night! And also lucky for you, Mudmole takes pretty good notes.

Discussed:

• A continuation of the disastrous Republican Convention which may be scheduled at the Anchorage Baptist Temple on June 9.
• Concern that Ron Paul supporters need to turn out again so there is a quorum
• The booing of Senator Lisa Murkowski at the Convention
• The orchestration of “the coup”
• The infamous “Mike Cook” email, if it was real, and who may have created it
• Primaries for those “masquerading as Republicans”
• Where are the financial statements/audits of the Republican Party?
• Republicans should need to “sign an agreement” about party values
• “Putting the heat” on Republicans who don’t vote “the way we want them to.”
• Republicans will have access to Millette, but will “have a test.”

It’s going to be an interesting development.

I’ve left the notes as is, but I’ve bolded sections that may be of particular interest.

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It begins with discussing the convention tentatively re-convening on June 9 at the Anchorage Baptist Temple Gymnasium.

Russ Millette will be in Fairbanks on the 18, 19, 20th. He’ll do a listening & speaking tour so he can meet those unable to attend the Republican Convention. Going to visit the Fairbanks Republicans on Friday, and will attend BBQ’s and brunches on the other days. Can get announcements on Facebook via Alaskans for Ron Paul. Hopefully more announcements will come out. He’s also going to Seward on May 12.

Joe Miller: Convention was groundbreaking., Turned out a lot of delegates, liberty-minded people made the change. I heard from people that I was running for Chair, Committeeman… not true. I’m excited about the liberty-minded people that took over the party. A lot of people don’t know Russ.

Russ Mllette: It’s miraculous what happened. David Eastman, Evan Cutler, and a dozen others asked me to come on board. A lot of people got this done because they love liberty and freedom. I was born and raised in California, went to schools in Southern California, took government in high school, went to college. (Really bad phone connection, and unable to make a lot out). Something about grandchildren and “Christian citizens”…  I spent over 25 years in corporate America, in advertising. My wife is a graphic artist. I made a bunch of businesses run, and have a good management background.

Joe Miller: What’s going on in AK is not an isolated event. Getting the country back on the right track is going on in states like Maine, and Nevada. What other leadership news do you have?

Russ Millette: Well, Minnesota, Iowa, Alaska, Missouri, Washington, Wisconsin, and there’s a rumor about Massachusetts too. Young people want someone who is a straight shooter and they can recognize when someone is being genuine. Barack Obama promised change, but has not delivered. Ron Paul has a phenomenal following, and is principled.

Joe Miller: Is it a Ron Paul movement or a Constitution movement?

Russ Millette: It’s Constitutional. No one wants to be beaten down anymore.

Joe Miller: I hear all the time that Ron Paul people are taking over but it’s the growing constitutional movement.

Russ Millette: Our forefathers wanted us to have liberty and states to have power, but it hasn’t turned out that way. George Washington said our Republic was meant for moral people. There’s still a lot of morality in this country.  I remind people that the constitution was meant to protect people from the government not government from the people. Alaska needs leaders who will obey Constitution. Need to fill pipeline. If that pipeline isn’t full there won’t be jobs for my grandchildren.

Joe Miller: A lot of people in the Lower 48 are not aware of our high energy costs in Alaska despite being energy-rich. If our delegation spent more time trying to open up our resources instead of getting “the easy money” we would get jobs and ensure our children’s future. The easy out  is a dead end. Advocated for change in leadership. The principles that motivated this change were feelings of disenfranchisement and also a love of the Constitution. Now we’ve got the “real deal” in leadership. Russ, who else was elected that shares your principles?

Russ Millette: Debbie Brown from Kenai, Ellis (something) from Juneau is the secretary and is savvy, Julie Gillette is the Asst. Secretary, and we are all independent, liberty-minded people. I, as Chairman, want to return the party to its legacy, the common man and woman should have a voice at the table, someone who will listen to them and not turn them away, I want honesty and transparency. The Republican Party should come back to its values – honesty, integrity, and be for the common man. Can I make that any plainer?

Joe Miller: Regarding the recent Republican Convention, one of the YouTube videos made the rounds. There was a video of the crowd booing Senator Barrasso. And Lisa Murkowski when she introduced him was booed. A lot of people asked me about that. As far as scheduling goes, the former leadership made a decision that despite the fact that over 70% of Republicans voted for me in 2010, they invited the “Independent candidate” Lisa Murkowski to introduce Barrasso and even Andrew Halcro who does not represent conservative values, and who acted against the Republican nominee. That really pissed off a lot of people. Speakers were invited who don’t have anything in common with the Republican party platform. As a result, people reacted. I’m not going to tell you that what they did was appropriate. Kathleen and I walked out as a sign of protest before the banquet began. Over 70% of people voted against Lisa Murkowski in the primary.

Evan Cutler: I was not at the banquet, but I know that Ron Paul supporters were there. I was aware of some kind of plans for the Ron Paul protest. I was of the mindset to be respectful. I saw the YouTube videos. Reiterates that he felt Lisa and others were not the right people to speak at the convention. There was no place for Paul, Gingrich, or Santorum supporters. He understand the concerns of people. Lots of people were protesting Lisa because of her support of the National Defense Authorization Act which contained provisions for indefinite detention. Alaskans for Ron Paul is a separate group, and they started a Facebook page.  The important message is that we should 1) be bringing everyone together, and protecting the Bill of Rights/Constitution. There has been a breakdown of laws protecting the Constitution. 2) There is a constant state of war in the world. 3) Money. People don’t understand the creation of money, and that we need to be challenging the existence of the Federal Reserve. We never even have enough money to pay down the interest on our debt. People are seeing the country in decline, and are ready to stand up! There were fifty people who joined Facebook group in a very short time. Many people have been working constantly on Ron Paul advocacy since 2007. Ron Paul campaign even threatened legal action against the party when everything went down prior to the Convention.

About the “Mike Cook email” that circulated talking about Ron Paul group and how they would take down convention – Our group is AlaskansforRonPaul2012.org.  Mike Cook had a completely different email address, and there is no record on the Internet of that name. The letter wasn’t sent to the Ron Paul people, only to others. There were copies of it distributed on the table. Andrew Halcro quickly had a round-up of it on his blog, and maybe it was him who did it.

Joe Miller: Everyone has got to give it 110%. I know many of you are new to this. But we really need to make sure that the ideas that got these people elected are spread.

Evan Cutler: We will start sharing information and will put up a website and open a communication channel with a message forum, and membership tiers. The public can come if they are civil. Need to focus on modernizing communication methods. Need to encourage participation from everyone. No credentials. Need to be year-round, statewide, and bring it to the public.  We will encourage and train candidates to run for office.

Joe Miller: The exciting thing about this leadership change is looking at the party platform, and knowing the Constitution matters. If you’re out there, masquerading as a Republican, you might get a primary challenge and a grassroots effort against you. Every corrupt and establishment figure will quiver.

David, how did the party change?

David: My characterization is that Alaska has strayed far in unaccountable leadership, and corruption. There are lots of indications as to how far we have gone in that direction, but now the momentum is good.

Joe Miller: David, what comments do you have on where we have been, what problems we have had with old leadership and how it wasn’t in line with Republicans?

David: We had the longest-serving party chairman in the nation. The Chairman was just not supporting Republican candidates. The Party was more interested in preserving who is in power.

Joe Miller:  People who are ideologically compatible with the Constitution worry about the need to bring money into the Party. I’m not worried about it. The money and support will come. We do need to recognize that a party hostile to Constitutionalists with money will do more damage than a party with poor finances. This new leadership can help. I am excited to see the new direction the party is taking. Do as much as you can in Alaska to be supportive of the new leadership. Russ, what can people do?

Russ Millette: I need physical, intellectual help, and personal assistants. I need proactive help. As the new Chairman-elect, I see it as my job to represent the Republican Party of Alaska, and those who want answers from Republicans. I want to get Constitutional conservatives elected to office. Small-government, lower taxes, resource development to get the resources out of the ground, processed, and turned into money. I want jobs for my children.  I want Republicans that will represent Republicans, and I don’t like coalitions like in Juneau that want to penalize people that live here. If we don’t get more oil in the pipeline, people will leave the state. There’s nothing wrong with work. We don’t want to live in a welfare state. We need Republicans who think like this.

Emailed question: I’ve heard that Rush Limbaugh is too liberal for you, is that true?

Russ Millette: Rush Limbaugh would make a good economic professor in a High School. Rush wants a strong federal government, and I don’t.

Jeremiah: I’d like to hear from Russ and Joe and Evan or David about what ideas you have floated around to get people who are in the state and ideologically aligned with us but who are still not getting off the sidelines to work against long-term corruption?

Russ Millette: We’re going to have to turn that perception around, and it won’t be accomplished overnight. Our objective is to open up the party. From a big-tent standpoint they’ll see that the platform we laid out is very conservative. People won’t be denied credentials for nefarious reasons. I’m in this for the long-haul, and I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.

Joe Miller: Not using the party as a vehicle for corruption, we’re taking a stand. We’re rugged folks up here, and we have a bit of a paradox in respect to the amount of the federal dollars that come in to the state. We will be upside-down if we continue to go that way. We need to focus on state’s rights and resource development. This is a new party with an open door, and we will get people running in primaries.

Emailed question: What can be done to deal with the anti-conservative media, and anti-conservative organizations that will lie to the people now and again in 2014?

Russ Millette: Has interviews scheduled with the Washington Post and the Associated Press.

Joe Miller: We’ve dealt with unbelievably biased media at the local and state level in 2010, through now. Litigation. There is much we can talk about.

David: My thought is that we need to create structures, and provide resources so that people can carry the banner. We need people to add to the commentary, bloggers, and people to take an investigative journalist approach. There is a lot of room for this in Alaska, and we need to provide a tremendous amount of support, encourage and motivate them.

Joe Miller: We need to realize that we can’t expect a fair shake. This is why I developed my website to provide alternate news. It might have a “tilt,” but we have news articles that we don’t think have a bias.  I’m concerned about efforts to restrict the Internet because of need to get other types of information.

(?): I believe that we take the time to identify some of the most conservative members of the House and Senate. This is an important step. Randy Ruedrich has made some real enemies over time.

Joe Miller: Agree that there are people in the legislature  that are not standing on principles of liberty.

Barb: With all the anger and frustration of independent voters, how will you gentlemen take the anger and frustration and turn it into positive action?

Russ Millette: We must identify those people and where they are. We’re tired of getting kicked back and not being represented after we vote for them. We must be given what we voted for.

Karen:  Is there anyone on this call who has seen a financial report from the last 12 years with Randy as Chair? Thinks it was an insult to Republicans to have Lisa talk at the convention. Don Young talked freedom but voted yes on the Internet bill.

David: Regarding the financial statement, we have limited information at this time, but we welcome the chance to see the financial statements.

Russ Millette: I met with Randy today. He was cordial, nice and polite, and he promises to have that information tomorrow morning so we can get a handle on the finances.

Joe Miller: There has to be accountability on the transfer of the funds. That may occur sooner than next February.

Alice: We spent time with Randy at the Party offices, and he explained the finances. They do review the finances regularly, but there hasn’t been a “formal audit” the entire time Randy Ruedrich has been the Chair of the Party. I’m not sure of the reason for that.

Joe Miller: Appreciate you, Alice, stepping up with leadership.

Michael: The 2010 election was a confusing time for a lot of us. Those of us who believed in Joe were so excited when he won the primary. When we discovered that Lisa would come into it as a write-in, and we called on Randy to ask him what was happening. He decided to be neutral. I was disappointed. Many of us left the party because of that. My question to Russ is what are your first thoughts about how you will bring us back. There is such confusing information out there as to what happened at the convention. How can those of us who are listening assist you, and participate in this process?

Russ Millette: The first thing you can do to help me is to show up at the Convention here in Anchorage so that we have a quorum. If we don’t have a quorum then we won’t make it, and we’ll have to have another attack.

Joe Miller: If you’re not a delegate who is credentialed from the convention, you can’t go this time.

(?): Many of us were insulted by the Party in 2010. What is your battle plan?

Russ Millette: We want a transparent, honest process. You know what you will get with me. We want the Party to come together – the young and the old and middle aged. We need to re-establish the common man’s voice. We won’t get pushed to the back of the bus. We must elect honest conservative Republicans who will do what they say. We want to establish a website to show how people vote, and if they don’t vote they way we want them to we put the heat on them, text/phone/email… they need to sign an agreement about the core values of our party…

Matt : Russ, I want to share a perspective on the party, and why I wanted new leadership – why I wanted someone besides Randy. He was neutralizing someone against conservatives. We just wanted a fair person who would be a good arbiter, where every Republican candidate could get the same access. Everyone should get a fair shake. Could you clarify something? People are accusing you of supporting right-wingers. Joe, there is lots of propaganda out there saying that you orchestrated the coup. Could you clarify?

Joe Miller: No, I can’t take credit for that.

Russ Millette: In terms of regime change, I only talked to Joe once on the last day for maybe ten minutes. I never approached Joe that I can recall. I respect him, and I’m sad that he’s not a U.S. Senator, and I do believe what he says about small government. The Republicans running will have access to me, but will have a test. I want to know what you believe. We will have an eye on you!

Evan Cutler: I wanted to address two things. Barb comment about how few voters are actually registered as Republican.  People need to join, if they are liberty minded. If you are in the Republican party and are frustrated, come back and give it another shot. After this convention, the Ron Paul group will create the group The Alaska Liberty Caucus.

Joe Miller: The reality is that there have been both problems and good things with the Party. With new leadership, we will have a great opportunity to move forward. We have to unify on the GOP platform. It’s a solid platform – a strong platform based on Constitutional principles. There are some changes pending. I’m really excited about where we are going. We will expand the base, so we can elect good solid people to represent us in DC. Comments: Rush Limbaugh is Tea Party supporter, budget hawk… Ready to close out… Russ?

Russ Millette: Ron Paul wants to eliminate seven departments. We just passed the first battle, but we need to get the delegates there so we can establish quorum and finish the battle.

Joe Miller: We need people there in order to get changes done before February. Must have diverse representation. Encourage everyone you know to show up June 9 to finish what we started. Thanks for joining us, not our last conference, the Restoring Liberty group is tax-exempt, please donate at JoeMiller.US… support Russ and other liberty-minded GOP leadership, contact Russ or Alice or me, we will direct you… the constitutionalists in this state need to move us forward. There won’t be anything happening until February of next year unless we get a quorum.

End of call.

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