Carter County Republican Party Chairman Anna Flatt is raising hell in the GOP and it’s not the first time she’s been embroiled in controversy.
Our earlier story about her telephone confrontation with State Chairman Dave Weston over her opposition to sitting GOP Congressman Tom Cole is below this story. It has created considerable conversation, and comment.
(Weston says her account is inaccurate.)
So did her actions as a delegate to the GOP National Convention, when, even though bound to Mitt Romney, she refused to support him.
Here’s The New Yorker’s account: “Mitt Romney is not one of the Paulites’ favorite people. Anna Flatt, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who is technically a Romney delegate, said that she wouldn’t support him. ‘I would have, had they not cheated. It’s hard to get behind someone who’s cheated so hard to win.’ Flatt said that when (Ron) Paul passed by her delegation he gave her a hug and said something reassuring about winning the war, if not the battle.”
What’s the back story on her opposition to Cole?
From her website, here’s Flatt’s explanation for filing against incumbent Cole:
There are many different kinds of Republicans. While Tom Cole is definitely a Republican, it seems clear to many that he has lost touch with the kind of Republican that highly values limited government, individual liberty, and personal moral responsibility.
This is not to say anything bad about Tom Cole as a person, and it’s important to make that clear because encouraging primaries in the Republican Party should not be about slinging mud, but about discussing ideologies.
It has long bothered me that parties discourage members from running against incumbents. Why not always give voters a choice? Not all Republicans are alike. It’s understandable if all one cares about is the party winning, then of course it makes perfect sense to not bump the official who already occupies an office.
But if one prioritizes principles and the good of the country above simple party politics, then it makes much more sense to have many wonderful Republican candidates to choose from and let the cream rise to the top, always enjoying the very best that the party has to offer. This is not to say that I think I am the best the party has to offer. I have no illusions of actually winning this seat. Adding my name to the ballot is about practicing what I preach and giving the voters a choice.
I realize this is not a popular position in politics. Encouraging primaries is not meant as a personal attack on any Republican currently in any office. I’ve personally met and like many who currently hold elected positions, and they are all extremely good people. Some of them simply have different ideas as to the proper role and function of government than I. It’s all about giving the voters more choices.
I am consistent in my beliefs. Just as I am running against Tom Cole, with whom I disagree on several issues, I would encourage competition even against incumbents with whom I identify closely. I truly believe the conversations that come from primaries about political philosophy are good to have, and primaries are helpful to keep the official paying attention. Having a primary makes better candidates and then better representatives.
Amen, Anna!
I agree with Mrs. Flatt. Good for her. The founding fathers never intended for the Peoples’ representatives to take that job on as a full time career, it was meant to be a part time position of public service away from one’s normal occupation to which he was expected to return after a reasonable term of service. I believe the founders intended for Congress to be a constantly refreshing or changing body of Representatives as a means to help them stay in touch with the everyday people and their concerns.
So, exercising one’s right to participate in the election process by daring to run against a professional politician is raising Hell in the party? Maybe the party needs to re-examine its values. I personally think he needs to go, but that is the voter’s choice – not some party leader who obviously is a status-quo worshiper.
Clearly, it is raising Hell in the Republican Party, but how else will we take that party back from the lilly-livered RINO’s that have turned it into democrate-lite?
Now hold on a second…I think our state chairman is entitled to a little more consideration than this. Even if he turned out to be mistaken, he’s still our state party chairman, and we’re being made privy to only one side of a dispute. How about giving Mr. Weston an opportunity to weigh in from HIS perspective prior to passing judgment.
Just because Anna Flatt uses some stoutly worded rhetoric that makes it sound as though she’s standing up to a bully doesn’t automatically mean everyone should blindly run to her defense. Stop and think: WHO MADE this public? Proverbs 18:17 says “He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.” So of course, when we’re getting one side of this story, Anna is going to come out looking like the persecuted victim standing up and saying, “I ain’t putting up with this”…but is that really all there is to the story? Could Mr. Weston have had some terribly honest concerns that underlie what he said to her in their private conversation? And along those lines, just who decided to make this public? Where did the private correspondence come from, and who provided it for public eyes to see…and more importantly, WHY was this done?
A couple of years ago, I was at our state convention. I saw a faction of our party shamelessly try to disrupt, up-end. and basically overthrow the entire system. They’d park near the microphones so they could shout “POINT OF ORDER” and prolong every single process, call for time-consuming roll calls every time a vote didn’t go their way (even when it was blatantly obvious that dividing the house wasn’t necessary), and even protest the adjourning of the convention when our time was up and the employees were bringing out room dividers to divide the room. They all decided that we weren’t following the rules, so like children playing pretend games out at the sandbox, decided to go out in front of the building and stage their own “rump” convention. NOW–to hear these people talk, you’d think they were righteous crusaders, standing up to the “establishment RINOS” and not taking that status quo sitting down. What you’d know if had been there is that they were a bunch of loud-mouthed rabble rousers trying to take over the party for their own gain.
All of that to say this—how do you people who are blindly supporting Anna Flatt know that you’re not simply being sucked into the vortex of people like that? Do you KNOW what the precedent is that has been set by other party chairs who run for office? Do you know the lengths that other counties have gone to to avoid any hint of impropriety at a time like this? She says she’ll let the county committee decide—how do you know that the county committee hasn’t been stacked with her cronies? That’s not an accusation, but stop and think—there’s so many question marks out there. Let’s not be so quick to jump on bandwagons that we leave behind our common sense.
Mr. Fullerton,
I was at that convention. It was my first time to be a delegate to the Republican party. I was dismayed at the leadership who didn’t follow the rules and ended the convention rather than finish business in a proper and orderly manner. Personally, I stood at no microphone, I never yelled or told anyone they were an “Obama Lover” because they didn’t agree with me. I was there to be part of the process. But, the process is corrupt and what I saw looked to be thuggery on the part of the party. As a result, I walked away disillusioned because it was the moment I realized the Republican Party are literally staging these conventions for show. While some local decisions may be legitimate, the state party is just following marching orders from above (from what I can tell). There are very few real principled individuals doing what is right instead of ensuring the status quo stays in place. And if you really believe what you wrote above, all I can do is shake my head and hope (and pray) the Lord will raise up a leader for us who will be a light in this world of darkness. I believe we need more candidates like Anna Flatt.
Mr. Fullerton it is obvious that you have an axe to grind with Mrs. Flatt and “those kind of people” since you blindly support Chairman Weston’s position by assuming to know his motives. That sounds very blind and bandwagony to me. Mr. Weston was given the opportunity to present his side of things to Mrs. Flatt, and didn’t, it appears like you are letting your personal enmity of Mrs. Flatt and ‘her kind’ lead you to make accusations and assumptions with nothing more to fuel them than your own bitterness and spite. Maybe you should call for a special state committee meeting and ask Mr. Weston to defend himself and clear up any mis-conceptions.
Casting aspersions on Mrs. Flatt’s character and alluding to nefarious purposes in her disclosing this information is a page right out of the Obama administration hand book. We preach transparency to the Dems, but we are exempt? Practice what you preach!
As far as 2012, well that fiasco has been covered nationally by every form of media and exposed gross corruption in the Republican Party. Which you pretty much admitted to, by your lack of denial of the improprieties that went on at the state convention.The only saving grace we have had is the complete failure of the last 6 years. It has given the Republican Party a temporary state of grace, to regroup and show ourselves as truly a party of the grassroots, to bring in Libertarians, conservative democrats, and independents. To be exactly what we say we are, and ditch the underhandedness, the subterfuge, and backroom dealing we have come to represent. It could be so simple, all you have to do, is overcome the pettiness, and remember who you are supposed to be representing, and it isn’t special interests, it isn’t incumbents, and it certainly isn’t Dave Weston. It is the people that elected us into our positions, and if as you suggested Carter County is ‘stacked with Mrs. Flatt’s cronies’ and they refuse to request her resignation, then she has done her job right, she has represented THEM.
I am registered Democrat so I don’t have a dog in this hunt (republican primary) but who do you think you are that you can call her supporters “cronies”?
Mr. Fullerton – what if this is not the only phone call to a challenger made by the Chairman? Would it change your opinion of there were others?
The 2012 Convention is irrelevant to this matter, but I was one of those people standing at the microphone all day. My sole purpose was to ensure the Rules of The Republican Party were followed. They were not. I can prove it, but are you interested in the truth? Does it matter to you who broke the rules, and that those you disparage were the ones trying to follow them?
In short, the 2012 State GOP Convention – and the 2012 National Convention – is a distraction from the 2014 Chairman’s actions.
If the any unit of the Republican Party is acting in a manner inconsistent with either the Rules of the GOP or the law, we should all do everything we can to expose it and stop it. That is the only thing that is going to stop the corruption that has permeated politics in this country. “hints of impropriety” be damned.
Mr. Fullerton, you sure talk a lot, but don’t seem to say much. The issue isn’t whether Ms. Flatt is the BEST candidate – it’s whether she can BE a candidate. It sounds to me like YOU are the one wasting time by calling for points of order and asking inane questions.
Vernon, did you bother to READ my post prior to responding to it? I ask because at no time in anything I wrote did I say ANYTHING (not one word–zip, zilch, nada) about anybody’s candidacy or suitability. Let’s not re-cast this as something it is not–I’m specifically referring to people just assuming that Mr. Weston must be wrong simply because it looks like someone is standing up to him. I’m trying to remind everybody that this has happened before (I.E., when a certain faction of the party tried unsuccessfully to derail the 2012 convention). I think we need to look before we leap prior to jumping onto bandwagons and be sure we’ve got the whole story. It is ominously strange to me that we’ve got the entire text of a personal letter from Anna Flatt to the chairman, but we don’t have one word showing Mr. Weston’s side of the issue—is that not strange to you as well?
Mr. Fullerton, please try, in as few words as possible, to explain why Ms. Flatt should not run against an established professional incumbent. If rules are violated, then state that, and provide the rules as written. If it’s your personal opinion, then state that. But stop trying to ‘strangely’ defend the honcho who started this whole issue.
Sice Mr Fullerton seems to suffer from selective memory, below is a blow by blow description from someone who was there. I agree with Steve Dickson that 2012 does not matter in this dispute except to explain the actions of Mr Weston and his fellow bullies in the OKGOP heirarchy.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/13/why-the-oklahoma-gop-delegate-dispute-matters-to-you/
Or here is another, in case Mr Fullerton still doesn’t remember.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/17/oklahoma-gop-continues-national-trend-of-disenfranchising-paul-supporters/
Oh, I remember well, John—no memory aides needed here:
http://servetopapers.blogspot.com/2012/05/point-of-order.html
Troy – your account is so riddled with inaccuracy that it is hard to know where to begin, except it is not relevant to the actions of Mr. Weston in 2014. Well, I don’t recall him listed on the delegate roster in 2012, so maybe that is relevant (and it probably doesn’t surprise you to know I have such lists).
I will make two points – first, you can count on a very large, organized and vocal group at every single GOP event going forward. Each time, the group – let’s call them the Liberty Movement – will be more educated about the process, and will have recruited yet more friends. Young friends, who will be around for many, many years. We are going to grow the party and hold our elected officials accountable to our Platform. Enjoy it.
Second, your account of the 2012 convention is incorrect in a number of ways. While it is true that we (those who supported Ron Paul) did everything we could to be organized and well represented, it is false that we made any effort to disrupt or delay. We fought for the rules. When the party violated the rules, there was no “lawsuit”, there was a challenge according to the Rules of the Republican Party” that was carried all the way to Tampa. This was the avenue given to us by the Chair of the Convention, as can be seen on video. This was the avenue we took, when the party illegally determined the delegates and alternates without a “roll call” vote (see Rule 18D).
It is sad that you cannot see that the people you seem to hate are the ones fighting for the rules of the party. We aren’t going anywhere, and we are only growing stronger with time. Ask yourself what it is that you claim to believe. Ask yourself if the current leadership of the GOP, either in public or party office, reflects your views.
We do this all the time, and we act on our conclusions.
I know Anna personally…im not a crony…if I don’t agree with her…and sometimes we do on facebook…she lets me know what she thinks…I let her know what I think…follow her close…if you don’t like what she is doing…don’t vote for her….just like she didn’t support Romney…but listen to her close…you will probably find she is what you want…she may not have the money to run with the big dogs…we will see…but I think she will do what she says…