ALEXANDRIA, VA (Press Release) - Monday the Brownback for President campaign announced opposition to rule changes in a proposal that would move the Michigan Republican State Committee from a primary system toward a convention system. The proposed changes, which are available at www.migop.org, have been advocated by a committee lead by a public supporter of Mitt Romney and are also supported by party chairman Saul Anuzis.
Congresswoman Candice Miller, the Michigan Campaign Chairman for Rudy Giuliani, also recently announced opposition to the proposal.
Rob Wasinger, campaign manager of Brownback for President, made the following statement:
"Senator Brownback attended the last Michigan Republican convention and was pleased with the warm response he received from the pro-life, pro-family crowd. The Michigan Republican Party should be proud to have one of the strongest grassroots organizations anywhere in the country.
"There is some discussion that the Michigan Republican State Committee may move toward a convention rather than a primary system. They have every right to utilize whatever system they choose to allocate delegates to the national convention.
"However, it is important that the process is fair and that the rules are not changed to assist any particular campaign. Whatever rules the Michigan Republican Party uses for a presidential selection process should be the same or largely similar to the rules that have been used successfully in past conventions. For example, the Republican National Committee changes its rules four years in advance to prevent gamesmanship by any campaign, party leader, or worse, Republican Party staff member.
"These proposed rule changes as posted on www.migop.org would take authority away from District Chairs and party activists and put it in the hands of paid staff members and other appointees of the chair who may be biased in the Presidential contest and who do not have the experience of running district caucuses. The authority should remain where it has been for years: in the hands of grassroots Republican activists elected by Republicans across the state.
"The Brownback for President campaign urges the Policy Committee and the Michigan Republican State Committee to use the same rules or largely similar rules to past conventions and to resist the urge and attempts to change the rules to benefit a particular campaign.
"We are confident in our ability to win Michigan under a fair process and we trust grassroots Republicans to act fairly and honestly as they have for years."
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