Georgia Association of College Republicans Distances Itself From Trump
The Georgia Association of College Republicans officially distanced itself from Donald Trump’s candidacy Monday afternoon. In a statement released Monday afternoon, the organization’s General Assembly wrote, “Donald Trump, throughout his presidential campaign and beforehand, has made several comments and statements that have offended women, veterans, Gold Star families, the disabled, political refugees, and religious and ethnic minorities.”
Chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, Brennan Mancil, disavowed Trump last week. His statement came moments after the Chairwoman of the College Republican National Committee, Alex Smith, tweeted her opposition to Trump and Clinton.
The Party of Lincoln is not a locker room, and there is no place for people who think it is. Definitely not with her, but not with him.
— Alex Smith (@AlexandraCSmith) October 8, 2016
You can read the entire statement below or here if you can’t view the PDF.
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As a former chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, I have mixed feelings on their statement. On one hand, as a member of #NeverTrump, I am personally satisfied with their position. On the other hand, I wonder how this will affect the integrity of the organization. Their mission statement includes supporting local, state, and federal Republicans. Trump, whether or not he shares the same values as conservative Millennials, is the Republican nominee. This statement opens the door for future College Republican leaders to pick and choose which Republicans it supports. That is simply unacceptable.
My hope, however, is that the Republican Party will never again have a candidate as disrespectful, vile, thin-skinned, and dishonest as Donald Trump. The future offers zero guarantee of that, though. And with Georgia’s political trajectory aiming towards a Democrat led future, the legitimacy and integrity of the College Republicans is all the more important.
About Author
Will Kremer
Will is an active member of the Georgia Republican grassroots. He previously served as Chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, 2nd Vice Chairman of the 7th District Republican Party, and Treasurer of the Forsyth County Republican Party. Promise Land = Forsyth County.
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Come over to the dark side…we have progressive ideals and cookies.
Could be worse. I was a College Republican in the Vietnam era. Though I must admit that Trump makes Nixon look like George Washington by comparison.
“This statement opens the door for future College Republican leaders to pick and choose which Republicans it supports. That is simply unacceptable.”
People can share a wide array of viewpoints even within the same political party. That sort of thing used to be celebrated, not excoriated. Its the “draw a line in the sand” nonsense that’s partly to blame for the current partisan political stalemate.
This entire nation is one giant compromise. Otherwise we’d just be a bunch of loosely affiliated groups roaming around trying to fight each other for food.
Jack, I agree in your premise, but we’re talking about a Republican auxiliary organization. Its mission statement guides leaders to support all Republicans. When I was chairman, we canvassed for Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia despite his past of supporting sodomy laws and a host of other socially conservative causes that many Millennials disagreed with. At the end of the day, though, our job was to elect Republicans.
It’s obvious to everyone paying attention that I’m not supporting Trump. But, I speak for myself, not an organization dedicated to electing Republicans. It would be one thing for the organization to allocate resources to races other than the presidential election, but GACR released an official statement distancing itself from Trump. This was meant to tell the public that Millennial Republicans oppose Trump.
It’s a political organization. Period. It should adhere to its principles and mission statement.
There should always be a fail-safe. There must be a line beyond which we don’t go. That line may be hard to draw, but surely the GOP is right up against it right now. You wouldn’t be advocating support if Mussolini were the candidate I suspect. This is barely a step away from that, don’t you think?
Well, the Louisiana CR’s may be faced with the choice of supporting David Duke, so let’s see how this plays out.
I don’t think its so cut and dry. Trump threatens to drag down other Republican candidates that this organization is also supporting. Trump also threatens the viability of Republican candidates and the party in the future. So I would argue that they are fulfilling their mission by doing this.
My argument is that the organization could have distanced itself from Trump in private, allocated resources to down-ticket Republicans, and used its network to promote Isakson and the sort. The public statement was unnecessary. The only outcome I foresee is a fractured organization heading into 2018. If Stacey Evans does run for AG, her campaign would mount a serious challenge to the GOP.
The GACR constitution states that one of its purposes is “To aid in the election of Republican Candidates on all levels of government who share those ideals held by the GACR.” If GACR determines that Trump does not share those ideals, is there an obligation to support him?
Yawn
Not as exciting as the usual dumpster fire? Just wait a couple hours.
That logo looks like a diagram of a colon though. They need a logo-<strike<oscopyectomy.
At least one group within the GACR understands the importance of supporting the party’s nominee:
“[T]he College Republicans of the University of West Georgia will continue to promote the Republican nominee, and his nominee for the position of Vice President. Our belief is, to no longer show support to the Republican presidential nominee, is to vote for the Democratic “presidential” nominee. We will devote our efforts to maintaining a Republican victory to win the White House, and will dedicate the remaining days before the election to the campaign.
We do encourage other chapters across the state to continue their support of the Republican candidate, and to maintain unity against the rising tide of the Establishment, and their down-ballot tactics. We also implore that College Republicans on a domestic level, regardless of state dividing lines, to also maintain support for the Republican presidential nominee, and to stand against those who would cast-off their lines of support to the victory we are nearing in Washington.”
//Our belief is, to no longer show support to the Republican presidential nominee, is to vote for the Democratic “presidential” nominee. //
The West Georgia CRs may be young but they show, through their use of distinguishing quotes, that they are well-trained and ready to assume future partisan roles.
Also noted is their endearing belief in the victory to come.