One Week After the Michigan GOP Convention, I Have These Fun Observations

AP Photo/Paul Sancya
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of RedState.com.

I feel that, after reading the above disclaimer about contributors’ opinions not necessarily being the views of RedState, I should do a disclaimer of my own, as I did in my article last week about the Michigan GOP convention. That article you can check out right here — Michigan GOP Blows up With Chairman Choice and Democrats Rejoice and Laugh — before you get started.

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So, if you are prone to fainting when somebody disagrees with you, screaming “RINO” at the top of your lungs because of said disagreement, and seem to think that all you have to do is say that an election was stolen with no proof, you may want to move on from this article. I care about you all and want you to have a spectacular 2023, although the way some of you are rolling in my comments sections, that possibility looks a bit dicey.

In my article last week, I went over what the newly elected Michigan GOP chair Kristina Karamos’ actions and views were, prior to her election by the whole convention on February 18th. From my amazing article of last week…

Karamo ran the least effective campaign of anyone statewide and was soundly defeated by 14 points.

Let me be really clear here there is no evidence of any fraud in her election because if there were, then why has Karamo herself not shown it?

Instead, we get people regurgitating the phrase “EVERYONE KNOWS IT” which is not proof but is a lazy talking point meant to get people riled up who get pissy when they don’t get the prize they had hoped for in their Crackerjack box. If you have the proof you show it, if you don’t you act like liberals do and scream to intimidate those asking reasonable questions and looking for evidence.

Now, I fully understand the pushback on the “establishment” of the Michigan GOP. For far too long, those who have been in politics professionally in this state have made a fabulous living just collecting paychecks not concerned if the candidates with an “R” after their name won or lost. One of the lazy stances and lies that has been repeated for 20 years is that Michigan is a red state, no pun intended. The fact of the matter though is Michigan has been trending blue since John Engler left office in 2002 and it is firmly in the deep blue genre right now. Yet state leadership and grassroots folks all just ignore that trend and the results have been devasting.

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Now, in all fairness to Chairwoman Karamo, I don’t have any fun or stellar observations about her first week in office. Quite frankly, she is probably still learning where the bathrooms are in the building that she is now in charge of. So, there is no real criticism of her and her team because they haven’t had a chance to do anything good or bad yet.

Yet, I do have general observations and some of them make me scratch my head and say hmmmmmmmmmmm. So, here they are, in no particular order.

There are currently 619 days until the November 5th, 2024, presidential election and there is no question that the previous chair Ron Weiser and co-chair Meshawn Maddock left the Michigan GOP in a severe mess for Karamo and her team to come into. The party is possibly millions of dollars in debt, which means there is little or no time for a learning curve to utilize. Also with the Republican presidential race for the nomination bound to heat up in the next couple of months, time is of the essence to lay out the plan.

After talking to a number of people who were at the convention last week, there is a feeling of doom about the direction that the party has been in for the past couple of years, and where it is going for 2024.

This is not necessarily based on whether you supported the current team or somebody else who ran for Top Chair. This seems to be more entwined with people who have unyielding, unwavering support for Donald Trump, and are chastising anyone who is willing to look at the field that is shaping up before committing to somebody to vote for in the primary next year. The circular firing squad analogy could be in full display here–depending on how the new party leadership handles these disputes over the next year. As I continue to speak to people about this, I will be curious if this continues to be the case.

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Tying into my last point about party unity not happening so far, fundraising will be absolutely critical across the board.

With Karamo decisively winning last week, the party faithful delivered a victory to somebody who refused to concede her 14-point loss and railed at the establishment Republicans, who did deserve some criticism. Yet in most cases, establishment Republicans are the ones who donated large amounts of money and helped make things behind the scenes run smoothly. In other words, you can hate all you want on Betsy DeVos for quitting the outgoing Trump team on Jan 7th. However, who is going to pick up the missed donations from people who have contributed to causes Republicans have traditionally supported but are no longer welcome because the term EsTaBlIShMeNt has been slapped on them? You never see the left going after their big-money people, which is a big reason why they win here in Michigan.

As bad as the State party has been run, there has been some shady stuff going on in the local parties, like in my backyard of Macomb County. More to come soon than that.

I’m stunned at how many people claim they know firsthand about fraud in the 2020 or 2022 elections, yet they have no proof that they can provide. We live in an era where your phone can record all sorts of misdeeds, and you can purchase video cameras just a tad bigger than your thumb. What I have seen so far are some really good questions but not a lot of answers. This is due to both stonewalling on the Government agencies’ part and pure incompetence in lawsuits being filed.

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Just remember that Donald Trump has moved on from 2020 and is running again in 2024. If you keep looking back, you will miss the next chance for him to win in just over 500 days until the convention.

The term RINO is thrown around a lot and is meant as an insult.

In case you don’t know, the term is an acronym for Republican In Name Only. I realized something long ago, though: if the Republican party is full of moderates, then it is moderate policy-wise. If it is full of people who spout off nonsense when challenged on their feelings, then that is what the party is. I can tell you I’m not a Republican, but one of those annoying independents that decides elections. You “RINO” screamers might amuse me with your antics, but your last two cycles of pouting while screaming cost you many of the people who have no party affiliation and caused you to cry. Do better.

I have much more coming on how this is all shaking out in the deep blue state of Michigan, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you love or hate this, you can always let me know by checking out my bio RIGHT HERE and let me know via email to social media platforms. If you get really creative, I may mention you on my radio show or Facebook live events.

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