The ongoing GOP soap opera starring the party’s resident racist, Dave Agema, has taken a few interesting twists and turns in the past 24 hours that could have an impact on 2016 presidential politics.
The actions by the Republican National Committee on Wednesday to censure Agema for his bigoted online posts called on the Michigan GOP to “explore options” to remove the state’s hyper-controversial RNC member.
But, given the tea party’s influence in the MIGOP, it’s quite possible that two key figures with ties to Rand Paul and Mitt Romney may quietly try to block attempts to oust Agema.

First, we have Ronna McDaniel Romney, an RNC committeewoman and the odds-on favorite to win the election for state party chair next month. Romney McDaniel is making efforts to cozy up to the tea party as she lines up support to succeed Bobby Schostak as leader of the MIGOP. Far from addressing the prospect of finding a procedural means to oust Agema, Romney McDaniel has yet to criticize or condemn her infamous colleague on the RNC.
As the niece of Mitt Romney who played a key role in his Michigan presidential campaign of 2012, her actions in the next few weeks could complicate Mitt’s apparent effort at a third presidential run.

The first item on her agenda if she’s elected party chair at the state GOP convention in February may be the sticky situation of removing Agema — a potential process that earned an endorsement from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

Second, we have John Yob, member of a prominent Michigan Republican family and the national political director for Sen. Paul’s RANDPAC presidential fundraising organization. Yob (the top supporter of the disastrous Terri Lynn Land Senate candidacy) chose to speak at the tea party “Pow Wow” in Mount Pleasant last weekend even as Agema’s keynote status at the event caused Heritage Action and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy to boycott the event.

That event produced a torrent of hate speech and fear-mongering, according to a report by the liberal website Progress Michigan. Key players at the event were the GOP trio of new state House members, pro-Agema tea party extremists Todd Courser, Cindy Gamrat and Gary Glenn.

Here are some of the observations of Progress Michigan about the second annual Pow Wow, held at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort:
“The problem is, the only [Muslims] in Dearborn or anywhere else in America that have a voice are the ones who want to destroy this country and they want Sharia to be the law of the land,” said Lt. General William “Jerry” Boykin to a gathering of the Michigan Tea Party on Saturday in Mount Pleasant.
That was just one of many Islamophobic and xenophobic rants made over the weekend by speakers at a gathering of state tea party leaders, including incoming State Reps. Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser, who spoke and helped emcee the event. Incoming Rep. Gary Glenn was also in attendance, as was Lt Gov.Brian Calley, who swore in Gamrat to her position.

Boykin, who has an “extremist file” on the Southern Poverty Law Center website and is classified as having “Anti-Muslim” ideology, went on a tirade about Muslims in Dearborn — and Islam in general — during his hour-long speech. He also claimed that the Council on American and Islamic Relations (CAIR) was a “terrorist group.” 
 
How long before Paul, who has had a rocky relationship with the black community, is forced to condemn the Pow Wow and Yob’s appearance there?
 
One more dynamic must be pointed out. The Agema mess could also impact the 2018 race for governor. Calley, who has a reputation as a pragmatic, “compassionate conservative,” has a disconcerting habit of desperately trying to become buddy-buddy with some of the ultraconservative tea party types. These actions, obviously an attempt to outflank another likely GOP gubernatorial contender, Attorney General Bill Schuette, could backfire.
When the lieutenant governor shows up at the Pow Wow, despite condemnation of the event, and swears in Gamrat, who is sure to embarrass the House GOP at some point, I have to believe that Calley will regret his decision at some point in the future.
 
*****
One other aspect of the substantial national media coverage of the GOP’s Agema Anxiety that is particularly delicious is the ancillary connection between the RNC member now known as the Grandville Dragon and Trucker Randy Bishop.
In one of the national media reports that featured a screenshot of an Agema racist screeds on Facebook, there in full view was Trucker Randy’s “Like” for Agema’s message that blacks are culturally incompatible with American life. I’m told that Trucker Randy, who was convicted of two felony fraud charges during his time in Macomb County, also “Shared” the Agema message and urged others to do likewise.
 
When Romney McDaniel issued her initial call for support for the chairmanship, she specifically listed Trucker Randy, Antrim County GOP chair and notorious knucklehead on talk-radio, as one of her backers.
Trucker Randy went on to provide comments to the media that he — who in 2013-14 declared war on the GOP — was now a unifying force within the party.
The question remains: Did Romney McDaniel make a deal to keep Trucker Randy as Antrim County chair, despite his criminal past, in exchange for his endorsement, knowing that his backing would be prominently noted by right-wing members of the Michigan tea party?
 


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