Posted on 01/25/2004 2:28:32 PM PST by Spiff
Top-down communication without the inclusions of lateral and bottom-up communication is a sure recipe for organizational failure.
Organizations that value communication from management, subordinates, customers and a wide range of publics are more likely to be vibrant, successful entities.
What are we seeing in the Republican Party, regarding the border invasion? Paternalistic, top-down communication. We talk; you listen.
We are seeing a disconnect between the grassroots level and the upper levels of the party. The words of the people, precinct committeemen and district chairmen have for several months gone unheeded. Opinion polls strongly favoring PAN have been ignored by the party. The White House, the Republican National Committee and Arizona GOP are trying to force unpopular policy down the throats of the party base.
The upper brass favors a guest worker program that many people believe amounts to nothing more than amnesty for lawbreakers. ''Trust us,'' say the big boys. ''Protect our citizens and our sovereignty,'' say the common folks. This is a classic disconnect.
It is no wonder then that this volatile situation boiled over at the AZ GOP executive board meeting Saturday. AZ GOP Chairman Bob Fannin has been calling for unity and support for the president.
Some of the state's district chairmen had had enough, and they read Fannin the riot act. Instead of forcing an unpopular policy down the people's throats, they said, Fannin should use his position to relay to the White House the strong disapproval for amnesty on the grassroots level.
Fannin's days are numbered as AZ GOP chairman. It is likely that former Gov. Fife Symington will be approached -- if he hasn't already -- about running for election as AZ GOP chairman next year. That's when Fannin's two-year term runs out. Fannin had also placed himself on thin ice for trying to mainstream the pro-abortion WISH List into the pro-life GOP. As a result, there are now 500 anti-WISH List lapel stickers in circulation at party meetings.
The lesson to the story is that the Republican Party needs to take in opinions and information from below and give rank and file Republicans legitimate consideration -- as opposed to dictating unpopular policy on an unwilling constituency. The White House had better start listening to the people and re-thinking its position, because a lot of Republicans are saying Bush will not get their vote as things currently stand. The White House can choose this day whom it will serve. If the White House gets behind PAN, Arizona is in the bag for the president's re-election chances. It's that simple.
Notes
The two state representatives who serve as senior advisors to the Protect Arizona Now (PAN) initiative are both thinking about running for Congress.
Rep. Randy Graf, of D30 and Green Valley, may decide to oppose Cong. Jim Kolbe in Congressional District 8. Kolbe, Sen. John McCain and Cong. Jeff Flake are co-sponsoring a guest worker program that has greatly angered conservatives. Incidentally, the District 8 precinct captains attending the state GOP convention in Mesa Saturday, voted by a margin of 54-20 to support the PAN initiative -- a direct rebuke of Cong. Kolbe.
Rep. Russell Pearce, of D18 and Mesa, has been urged to oppose Cong. Flake in this year's election. Stan Barnes has already declared for the same race. Pearce believes that if he enters the race, the non-Flake vote may get diluted in a two-way battle with Barnes. Pearce is much more popular than Barnes and may be able to mount a serious challenge to Flake.
Candidacies by Graf and Pearce would undoubtedly be opposed with all the weight and financial resources of the White House and the RNC. Which takes us back to the disconnect subject we started with. We saw how ruthless the president's senior advisor, Karl Rove, can be when he made deeply disturbing threats against Republican congressmen who opposed the president's Medicare bill a couple months ago.
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Sen. Jon Kyl told me Saturday he is hoping for more recess appointments by President Bush. The senator said any future appointments would have to involve judges who are not opposed to going through the confirmation process again after the recess appointment expires.
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