HIT THE ROAD RONNA ROMNEY

After another disappointing election, Republicans desperately need new leadership. The current Chairwoman, Ronna Romney McDaniel, has been exposed as an utter failure.

She has been the party’s leader for almost six years, and, in that time, the GOP has lost every election: 2018, 2020, and 2022 as well as three Georgia runoff races for U.S. Senate positions.

While some may claim that the Republicans “won” in 2022 by seizing control of the U.S. House of Representatives, in fact, the “red wave” never materialized. With an economy this horrible, an open border, and a litany of serious failures committed by President Joe Biden and the Democrats, the Republicans should have won dozens of House seats and taken control of the U.S. Senate.

Sadly, the GOP only won a minuscule number of House seats — lost a Senate seat and two governorships. According to Roger Villere, the Republican Party National Committeeman from Louisiana, the 2022 election was “the first time since 1934 that the incumbent party has picked up a Senate seat and two Governorships.” Villere labeled the 2022 election results “very sad and disappointing” for the Republican Party.

Villere has joined with Solomon Yue, Oregon’s National Committeeman, to officially support attorney Harmeet Dhillon’s bid for the chair position. Romney McDaniel is also being opposed by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Villere noted that Romney McDaniel promised not to seek a fourth term as Chairwoman after her last election. In a letter announcing his opposition to her candidacy for another term, Villere urged Romney McDaniel to “honor your commitment” and not seek re-election.

Despite Romney McDaniel’s horrific record, her supporters assembled endorsements from 101 of the 168 members of the Republican National Committee (RNC). This level of support does not extend to the activists and volunteers who donate their time and energy to help the GOP. Villere claimed that “almost every grassroots Republican” wants a new chair.

A spokesperson for Romney McDaniel, Emily Vaughn, claimed that the support for her re-election is due to “unprecedented investments in the grassroots, election integrity and minority communities.” Unfortunately, these achievements have not translated into election victories, which should be the only measuring stick for how any RNC Chair is judged.

In his opposition, Villere also alleged that Romney McDaniel has misspent party funds on “Luxury gifts, high end private parties, private jet charters, lots, and lots of consultants, some who are still on the RNC payroll. This is money that should be going to win elections, not enrich a few individuals.”

In the aftermath of another disappointing election, the RNC is conducting an audit to determine what happened. Yet, for Villere, the answers are obvious, “the RNC has been running an outdated election model. We need better messaging, better and more aggressive recruiting, better and more training and much more grassroots involvement.”

It might also be an innovative idea for the GOP to select a chair who is not the niece of Trump-hating U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT). This toxic Republican launched two failed presidential bids and only won his Senate seat after an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Romney repaid that favor by leading the effort to impeach Trump twice. In both cases, the charges against Trump were ludicrous, so he was easily acquitted. Nevertheless, Romney was the only Republican Senator to vote twice to convict Trump.

In 2022, Romney steadfastly refused to endorse the re-election bid of his fellow Republican Senator from Utah, conservative Mike Lee. Romney could not support Lee because he was opposed by a “Never Trump” independent candidate, who was the favorite of many progressive Democrats. Despite Romney’s neutrality, Lee easily won another term as Utah’s real Republican Senator.

It is critical for Republicans to choose the right leader before the critical 2024 presidential election. The country cannot afford another four years of progressive Democrat leadership in the White House. Yet, the RNC, under Romney McDaniel’s leadership, seems unprepared for the challenge.

In the Georgia Senate runoff, Villere asserted that the RNC had “no plan” for “early voting…same day registration…mail in ballots…ballot security.” In effect, Villere believed the GOP had “no plan to win, just to run a good race!”

With the stakes so high for our country, this kind of incompetence is not acceptable. Yue is opposing Romney McDaniel because of her “leadership based on her past performance.” He is terrified of what may happen to the country if the Democrats win again in 2024. He believes that if the “RNC fails to deliver the White House” in that election, “we lose America.”

Joining the RNC members in opposing Romney McDaniel is U.S. Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who considered entering the race for RNC Chair. He said that Romney McDaniel should not “even be running again.” He called on her to “step aside” because the Republican Party needs “fresh blood.”

While Romney McDaniel has accumulated endorsements from RNC members, grassroots leaders in both Texas and Arizona are demanding new party leadership. The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Arizona “unanimously passed a resolution calling for…Romney McDaniel’s resignation.” The Arizona GOP activists said it was time “for a new and fresh leader as RNC Chair.”

The call for change was also endorsed by the Texas Republican Party. Their Executive Committee “unanimously” passed a resolution expressing “no confidence” in RNC Chair Romney McDaniel and urged “new leadership” for the GOP.

The RNC members need to listen to their disgruntled grassroots activists. There is almost no support for Romney McDaniel outside of the elitists who benefit from the perks she delivers. In a recent interview, Romney McDaniel showed her total disconnect from reality by claiming the Republican Party did an excellent job in the 2022 election. She maintained that the RNC “flipped the House and our ground game worked.”

If the “ground game worked” in the last election, Republicans would not have lost a Senate seat and two governorships and won only a smattering of House seats. Republicans cannot reward delusional thinking; Romney McDaniel must hit the road. 

By: Jeff Crouere
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Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America's Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-11 a.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America's Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com