Tennessee County Party Seeks to Remove RLC Member from Elected Vice-Chair Position

Contacts: Dave Nalle, National Chair: (512) 656-8011 or
chapters[at]rlc.org; Gregg Juster, TN Chair: gjuster[at]rlctn.org

Davidson County Republican Party Seeks to Remove Republican Liberty Caucus Member from Elected Party Vice-Chair Position
Soon-to-be Ousted RLC Member Too Dedicated to Liberty to Be Part of County Party?

NASHVILLE, TN — Last week, the Davidson County Republican Party Executive Committee voted 14 to 5 to begin the process of removing Matt Collins, Vice-Chair of the Davidson County GOP as well as Vice-Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Tennessee, from his elected position within the Party.

Collins was informed that he will face a hearing where a two-thirds majority can remove him from his post. This effort to remove Collins has been engineered by a faction within the county party which includes some former Democrats and moderate Republicans. Davidson became Vice-Chair of the Davidson County GOP after an election in which he tied current Chair, Kathleen Starnes for the Chairmanship. He lost the run-off for that position, but was elected Vice-Chair instead so that he could represent the many grassroots Republicans who support him.

“This is the third state in the last year in which party insiders have tried to purge grassroots activists belonging to the Republican Liberty Caucus,” said Dave Nalle, National Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus. Purges also took place in Marion County, Indiana, where RLC member Liz Karlson was removed from her Ward Chair position, and in Florida, where five Republican Liberty Caucus members were removed from the party for criticizing party leadership or opposing candidates with a history of fiscal irresponsibility and raising taxes.

According to a statement on the Davidson County GOP website, Collins is facing removal because of “behaviors not supportive of the Republican platform including unprofessional actions and words and use of his DCRP title when expressing personal opinions that were often ‘derogatory to and disrespectful of Republican candidates or elected officials’.”

“These charges do not hold weight,” said Gregg Juster, Chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Tennessee. “Matt has inspired disaffected folks to join up with the Davidson County Republican Party and support Republican candidates that believe in the Republican platform,” he said.

Republican Liberty Caucus Chairman Dave Nalle noted that “it looks like a weak faction which barely gained control of the county party decided that Matt Collins and his supporters threatened their position of power, so despite the fact that he has not violated any rules, they decided to override the party members who voted him into office and force him out.”

“It is contrary to basic Republican values to punish someone like Matt Collins just for expressing his honest opinion,” asserted Nalle. “Kathleen Starnes is a former Democrat, but no one is trying to have her removed from the party. Matt is simply speaking out for individual liberty, the Constitution, and the rule of law – principles that Republicans should be admired, not penalized, for defending,” he said.

The GOP has a tradition of diversity, tolerance, and support for freedom of speech and the right of dissent. The Republican Liberty Caucus is encouraging its members to contact RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Tennessee RNC Committeemembers Peggy Lambert and John Ryder to ask for their intervention in the matter.

The Republican Liberty Caucus (http://www.RLC.org/), founded in 1991, exists to promote individual liberty, limited government, and free enterprise within the Republican Party. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Tennessee (http://www.rlctn.org/), formed in 2009, is the state affiliate of the national Republican Liberty Caucus.

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Contacts for Grassroots Supporters of the RLC:
• Leadership, Davidson County GOP:
http://www.davidsoncountygop.org/leadership.shtml
• Leadership, Republican Party of Tennessee:
http://www.tngop.org/leadership/officers.html
• State GOP Committee Members (Districts 19-21 and 23 represent Davidson County):
http://ms.tngop.org/new/sec.asp

References/Additional Information:
• Davidson County GOP Statement on Motion to Remove Matt Collins (PDF):
http://www.davidsoncountygop.org/2009-10-28%20Collins_removal.pdf
• Complaints Against Mr. Collins: http://politics.nashvillepost.com/2009/10/28/davidson-county-gop-moves-to-oust-ron-paul-supporting-vice-chair/
• Tennessee GOP Civil Wars:
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/pitw/2009/10/tennessee_republicans_fight_ci.php
• RLC Blog: Matt Collins Elected Davidson GOP Vice-Chair
http://www.rlc.org/2009/04/06/vice-chair-collins/

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm and is filed under States, Tennessee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.