Election results have Republicans nationwide asking, “Who are we?” And Michigan is no different

It began in earnest on election night, as tallies rolled in and the Republican Party realized it had taken a beating locally and nationally. The party faithful started asking, “Where are going to go from here?”

That answer is reflected in a national dialogue happening at the newly minted rebuildtheparty.com. The new Web site, run by a coalition of GOP activists from around the country, is designed to start the following discussion:

2008 made one thing clear: if allowed to go unchecked, the Democrats’ structural advantages, including their use of the Internet, their more than 2-to-1 advantage with young voters, their discovery of a better grassroots model — will be as big a threat to the future of the GOP as the toxic political environment we have faced the last few years.

The time is now to set in motion the changes needed to rebuild our party from the grassroots up, modernize the way we run campaigns, and attract different, energetic, and younger candidates at all levels.

We must be conservative in philosophy — but bold in our approach. We don’t need a slight tweak here or there. We need transformation. We can’t keep fighting a 21st century war with 20th century weapons.

This is a document about bringing the Republican Party into the future — and it isn’t just about strategies and tactics.

Revitalizing the party will have much to do with how we talk about issues and standing on principle. And, above all, it will require leadership.

And the party in Michigan is also going through the growing pains as well, starting with the battle for the chairmanship of the Michigan Republican Party. Speculation abounds on the Internet that current Michigan GOP Chair Saul Anuzis is planning a run for the chair of the RNC. Joe Sylvester, a Bay City conservative Republican, secretary of the Bay County Republicans and publisher of the blog the Michigan Conservative Dossier, told Michigan Messenger, “According to the various articles I’ve read, it looks like Saul Anuzis is at least considering the prospect of running for RNC Chairman.”

Anuzis’ leaving for the national post could open a battle for the Michigan chair seat, and that battle appears to be starting.

Well-known Republican political consultant Chetly Zarko, on his Outsidelansing.com Web site, ran information about a robo-poll currently being conducted in the state. A robo-poll is a poll conducted over the phone with the use of a computer. It is unknown who is sponsoring the poll. The poll was being conducted Wednesday. From OutSideLansing.com:

If anyone has further details, please let us know, but this is the opening salvo in the battle over who replaces Saul Anuzis. Anuzis himself appears (according to Washington Post speculation, today) to be running for Republican Party National Chair – a position I believe he’d be qualified for and with the right philosophy, although the Michigan losses will be considered a weakness. I also believe it is time for Saul to make that step and move on, regardless, as freshness in leadership at this time would be good. Saul is clearly not the cause of the current chaos and would be well-positioned to bring the new online tools to the RNC, allowing a perfect opportunity for a different leadership style in Michigan.

Zarko goes on to list the names that are presented in the robo-poll:

1. Suzane Miller Allen, Traverse City, Sterling Corporation, wife of Jason
2. Glenn Clark, 9th, Michigan Christan Coalition
3. Craig DeRoche, Former MI House Speaker
4. Scott Greenlee, Kent County
5. Jack Hoogendyk
6. John Jamion? [Ed: Jamian]
7. Dan Toles (Toless)? [Ed: Tollis]
8. Jerry Zandstra, Pro-Life Federation, Brownback supporter

Blogger Sylvester explains who these GOP players are in an e-mail to Michigan Messenger. Glenn Clark is an early McCain supporter, chair of the 9th Congressional District and aligned with the Christian Conservatives, like Gary Glenn of the American Family Association. Suzane Miller Allen is married to State Sen. Jason Allen and has worked for Senate Majority leader Mike Bishop. Scott Greenlee was the deputy director of GOP Victory Centers in the state until his dismissal Oct. 4. He is aligned with MI-GOP power broker and former National Committeeman Chuck Yob and comes to the party from Kent County. Jerry Zandstra is part of the Pro-Life Federation and is closely aligned with Yob, even though the two had a “falling out.” Dan Tollis is a two-time state representative candidate from Macomb County and, according to Sylvester, appears to have “meaningful alliances” in the party. Tollis is rising into the race by criticizing the state party. Former Michigan House Speaker Craig DeRoche has also been mentioned, and Sylvester said he does not know who John Jamian is.

Another name that has surfaced as a possible replacement for Anuzis is Ingham County Republican Party Chairman Norm Shinkle. Shinkle is a former state representative and tax judge.

“He is very qualified to be state chair,” Sylvester said.

On Sunday, Republican state Rep. Jack Hoogendyk, a social conservative from the Kalamazoo area, sent a letter to supporters via e-mail announcing his plans to run for state chair. In the letter, subject-lined, ‘I am running for state party chair,’ he wrote:

The Republican Party in Michigan is hurting. Since I took office in January of 2003, we have lost 20 House seats, three Senate seats, two Congressmen, a Supreme Court Chief Justice, and countless township and county officials. We failed to regain the governor’s mansion in 2006 and we missed on US Senate seats in 2006 and 2008. We have consistently lost the debate in the battle of ideas.

It is time to make an evaluation of the situation and resolve to make some significant changes. There is no point in dwelling on personalities or looking back, what is important is that we right the ship before it sinks.

Hoogendyk then outlines his plan to make the MI-GOP functional again:

I would like to share with you some of the things I believe we need to do:

* We need to unify the party around the core principles that define who we are as Republicans. The Number One priority is reducing the size of government.

* We need to identify the key issues that identify Republicans and which will win at the ballot box.

* We need to begin working with local county leaders to identify strong candidates for House and Senate who will grasp the issues and commit to supporting them.

* We must organize our ground game to build strength in the high schools, universities, and grass roots organizations.

* We must improve communication between state leadership, the districts, the counties and the membership.

* The party has lacked transparency and accountability. We need to audit the books and become a lean, efficient operation. Vendors need to earn their business through a bidding process.

* It is time for the party to go on offense, to engage the voters in an issue-based campaign

Hoogendyk sent a letter to supporters on Thursday titled “Looking forward to Morning in Michigan.” In that letter, Hoogendyk, who was handily beaten for the U.S. Senate by Democratic incumbent Carl Levin, wrote the following:

Fellow Republicans, you have had a day to mourn. I challenge you to take off your sackcloth and ashes, anoint yourself and get back in the game. But let’s do things a little differently from now on. Let me suggest:

* We recommit to the Core Principles upon which this great party was founded.
* We decide as a party to stand firm on ALL of those principles, talk of them and LIVE them.
* We commit to recruiting candidates for office who firmly believe in those principles.
* We encourage our party chairs and members to work together in unity of purpose to elect candidates who will bring about real reform of government.

The former head of the Western Michigan University College Republicans, Megan Buwalda, has started a Facebook.com group to enlist Hoogendyk as the next chair of the MI GOP. Buwalda worked for Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid.

While the battle lines are beginning to be drawn, with the traditional fractures of east-west and social vs. fiscal conservatives in the party, Inside Michigan Politics Editor Bill Ballenger, who is a former elected Republican official in the state, said the party is in “terrible shape.”

“They have nobody waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces,” Ballenger said in a phone interview. “They have a lot of behind-the-scenes acrimony and infighting going on.”

Ballenger said the party is going to need a figure like former Gov. John Engler, who he said governed from the center and created a “big tent” approach to the party. He said since Engler’s departure the party has been left leaderless.

[Editor's note: The author of this article, Todd A. Heywood, was endorsed by the Ingham County Republican Executive Committee, under the leadership of Norm Shinkle, in his bid for re-election to the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees in 2003. Heywood is no longer a member of the board.]