My Stance on Chairman Kirk Sullivan

As a newly minted delegate to the Idaho State Republican Convention, one of my most important votes will be for State Chairman. As I already detailed, I have no personal animosity for Chairman Sullivan. In terms of general election success, it’s hard to say the amazing 2006 success of Idaho Republicans (the Idaho GOP captured all State Constitutional Offices and controlled all the State’s U.S. House and Senate seats for the first time in 78 years while Republicans got spanked nationwide) had nothing to do with our chairman.

Under such circumstances, it would normally be wise to re-elect your chairman. However, these are not normal circumstances. There have been many issued raised.

Sullivan’s failure to act promptly in an alleged dirty tricks situation in District 21 may have cost John Vanderwoude his seat. Yes, there are legitimate concerns about the chairman of the party serving as partner for a contractor that does work in Republican Primaries.

However, there is one issue I think matters more than any other and that is Chairman Sullivan’s handling of the Closed Primary issue. Let’s lay aside what one thinks about a closed primary v. an open open one and just think about how the Chairman has responded.

Three times the Party membership has approved closed primaries at the Idaho Falls Convention in 2006 as well as two State Central Committee meetings. The first two times he ignored it, the third time his efforts could be best described as passive aggressive by introducing legislation to close primaries that could not possibly pass and then filing a lawsuit, but not serving the state.

All just power comes from the consent of the governed. Power flows up to party leadership. Instead, what Sullivan seems to represent is a regime that believes power originates with him and orders flow down to below.

I heard a great question tonight. Why do we hold State Conventions if the party chairman chooses to ignore resolutions passed by 80% because he doesn’t like the vote? The very grassroots foundations of our political party have been undermined by Chairman Sullivan. When he was telling our district 18 meeting how he and the State Party were here to serve us, I had to bite my tongue to avoid asking what in the heck he’s doing on this closed primary issue. Because whoever’s interest he’s serving is not that of grassroots activists.

Final point, but I think it’s the most important. I’ve received numerous endorsements for Chairman Sullivan from the Party elite: Our Constitutional Officers, Senator Crapo, Congressman Simpson, and former Governor Batt. A few lines from Batt’s letter endorsing Sullivan really underpin my arguments against the Chairman:

Another primary election season has come and gone in Idaho and now is the time for Republicans in this state to do what we do best—come together and work hard to win elections in November…After a spirited primary election, it is important to focus on what brings us together as Republicans—not what divides us.

What Governor Batt hit on is a basic truth of our political parties. It is so fundamental, we take it for granted. As a party, we vote in the primaries and then when it’s all said and done, we accept the decision of the party whether we like it or not.

Would we let a precinct committeeman get away with treating the winning Republican Candidate for Gem County Sheriff the way Kirk Sullivan has treated the closed primary issue? The fundamental thing that makes our party work is that after a contentious fight, we come together and unite.

The principle of leadership by example is immutable. And what type of example is our Chairman setting? We cannot accept from the Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party conduct that we would never accept from a precinct committeeman. For this reason, my vote will not be for Kirk Sullivan.