Nashville, a movie directed by Robert Altman (of MASH fame) came out in 1975 - more than four decades ago. There are some critics that have called the film a masterpiece. I’m not one of them, but the film does have its moments. One of the recurring themes throughout the movie is the populist rhetoric of one of the characters in the movie - Hal Phillip Walker. Walker never appears on screen but his presence is felt, or rather, heard through a bull horn in the background during several scenes as he campaigns for president running on the Replacement Party ticket.

Fast forward some 40 years and it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same, except that instead of the Replacement Party, today we have the Independents.

According to an NBC poll released in mid-2015, the percentage of voters that identified as Independent had grown to 45%. That was just 2 points shy of Democrats and Republicans combined. Said NBC commentator Chuck Todd, “The largest political party in the United States in no longer a party at all.”

There is a similar dynamic happening here in West Virginia. The ranks of those registered as Democrats in the Mountain State has cratered from approximately two thirds (66%) of the electorate in 1994 to under 50% today. During that same time frame the percentage of registered Republicans in our state has remained remarkably constant at right around 30%.

For now, in West Virginia, as voters leave the Democrats they are registering as Independent, not Republican. However, they are clearly voting Republican - and that bodes well for the party if they can capitalize on it and continue the momentum. In the latest election there was a seismic shift in the makeup of the House of Delegates. For example, in 1994, the Democrats’ majority in House was 69-31. Today the Republicans hold the majority 64-36. The GOP also took control of the state senate but by a smaller margin. My how times have changed.

To be sure, one of the reasons for the resurgence of the West Virginia GOP is that the Democrats have moved away from West Virginia values and voters have become aware of it. Conversely, on the state level, the GOP has done a pretty good job of reaching out to those voters and Party Chair Conrad Lucas has provided the leadership that has broadened the tent. Four years ago, I attended the convention in Beckley to participate in hammering out the Party’s platform. To Conrad’s credit, the process was open and inclusive. The platform that emerged was one that all West Virginians could rally around. And they did.

Perhaps the local Jefferson County GOP could take note. However, the local Republican Executive Committee recently issued a press release that has me scratching my head. According to the release, the REC held an “emergency meeting” on January 20th to issue a “Resolution to Protect the Integrity of Republican Primaries”. A serious matter to be sure, especially when undertaken in an emergency session.

To quote from the resolution, “Whereas, tampering with elections by anyone must not be condoned or tolerated, Therefore, Be It Resolved, the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee will publicly admonish or censure any elected official(s) or candidate(s) that are deemed by this Committee to be found tampering, hindering or exerting undue influence on any candidate(s) or potential candidate(s) for elected office at the county or state level, and Be It Further Resolved, that admonishment or censure will be decided by a majority of the statutory members of the Committee”.

While I’m relieved that “tampering with elections” will not be “condoned or tolerated”, there are laws that already cover that. If the REC believes that election law has been broken they should report that to the proper authorities. However, “exerting undue influence” is something that may mean different things to different people. It isn’t defined in the resolution leaving it open to interpretation.

My concern has to do with First Amendment principles of freedom of speech and freedom of association. According to the by-laws of the REC organization, “executive committee members and officers may endorse and support particular Republican candidates in the primary election, provided they do so as individuals and not as Executive Committee members or officers.” Or not support. In other words, you are free to have an opinion and can express it freely so long as you are not representing that opinion as being that of the committee.

A resolution adopted during an “emergency” meeting has a sense of urgency to it. Further, the emergency meeting was followed up by a regular meeting where the public was excluded. Even party members were then excluded as the REC went into executive session. From there, business was conducted in secret. So much for transparency. The REC leaves too much to the imagination - and that’s not a good thing.

Regarding the resolution, I sincerely hope that the REC isn’t saying that individuals cannot participate in the political process unless it is officially sanctioned by them. Because there is an irony to this situation. While expressing concern for the integrity of elections, this same body recently voted to remove a duly elected member of their committee simply because they “deemed” that individual to be a pain in their collective necks - and probably other parts of their anatomy. That election was paid for by the taxpayer. Voters participated in that election. They cast their votes and expressed their preference. In my humble opinion, the committee needs to recognize principle over personality.

When I moved to Jefferson County, more than 14 years ago, a Republican primary was not a common occurrence. The party had to work hard to recruit and field a slate of candidates and wasn’t always successful in doing so. In that regard, much progress has been made. There are more candidates; more quality candidates.

One more thing, when I moved here I was a registered Democrat and had been all my life. Shortly thereafter I made the switch to the GOP, so I am part of the great exodus that presents opportunity. On the state level, the West Virginia GOP is resolutely working to take advantage of that opportunity. I sincerely hope that the local GOP can resolve itself to do the same. That would be an act of leadership.