The RNC summer meeting is approaching (Aug. 14), and there is a grassroots effort mounted to address the egregious 2012 RNC rule changes. You can sign the petition to show your support of the resolution at this link: http://tinyurl.com/restoreourvoice

During the 2012 Republican National Convention, Americans witnessed a set of rules passed under highly controversial circumstances – rules which will have a detrimental impact on future attempts at grassroots participation and future presidential candidates. The National Convention Delegation vote is one of the very few opportunities for the grassroots to have their voices heard within the RNC, and the failure to follow proper parliamentary procedure during the passage of the 2012 Rules of the Republican Party left many grassroots activists feeling as though their voice within the RNC was unwelcome, and effectively stifled.

You may recall the incident during the Republican National Convention in Tampa in which the chair announced that “the ayes have it” while presiding over the vote of the Rules Committee Report without allotting the proper time for input and debate from the delegates, as is required per the governing rules of the National Convention. To those in the audience and those who later watched the video, it was also clear that the vote was too close to call, yet objections from the delegation and requests to bring the vote to an official count were not recognized. It was later learned that the vote was scripted on the teleprompter prior to the vote itself being taken.

The neglect of proper parliamentary procedure at the 2012 Republican National Convention has left party members working within an atmosphere characterized by intense friction among factions, and a large body of grassroots activists feeling as though the Republican National Committee operates as a “production,” with predetermined outcomes, rather than an assembly meant to serve as a forum for input from the bottom-up. The disparaged morale of the republican grassroots resulted in a devastating outcome during the 2012 general election, the effects of which we suffer today.

How are we to encourage Republican Party participation when the grassroots are left feeling that the foundation meant to ensure that their voices are heard is purposefully neglected for the very intent of stifling any voice of dissent from top-down intended outcomes? It is necessary that the RNC take swift remedial action in order to maintain grassroots faith in the Republican Party’s adherence to the rules and recognition of the procedural process, so that the grassroots once again feel that the Republican Party is the party that is open to those who want to participate, and we can once again work together to defeat the liberal agenda.

Sign the petition to show your support of the resolution at this link: http://tinyurl.com/restoreourvoice