It’s been an astonishing and paradoxical weekend for the Shelby County Republican Party.
On Saturday, some 100 or so members of the party faithful had a dissent-free reorganizing convention in which chairman Cary Vaughn, who was re-elected by acclamation, called for “turning the page” and distancing the party from “the Trump brand.”
On Sunday, rumbles were heard from the local GOP’s populist right wing, notably from former Shelby County Commission chair Terry Roland, who issued a retort saying, “Without Trump you don’t have a party,” and contending that there were “more Trump [voters] than not” among the county’s Republicans, “and we aren’t taking a back seat to anyone.”
Roland, who chaired the local Trump election efforts in 2016 and 2020, went so far as to say: “Most of us won’t support anyone else, so I’m done with the Shelby County party after 36 years.”
In his acceptance remarks on Saturday, Vaughn had said, “We need boots on the ground. We need new people. … We can’t get there with the same core group. … We have to truly look at how we market the Shelby County GOP. … We have to work on the depth chart, right?”
Vaughn said, “We’re kind of fractured a little bit. We’ve got Trumpers, we’ve got Never Trumpers, we’ve got moderates, we’ve got people that are ultra ultra conservative, and and we all have to live together in the sandbox. But here’s my point. There’s enough common core, enough common ground, right?”
The chairman illustrated his point by citing a conversation with an African-American acquaintance, who told him, “We as African Americans want to be a part of the Republican Party in Shelby County.” Vaughn quoted the man as saying many Blacks were “pro-life, pro-God, pro-business, pro-traditional marriage [and] believe in core values. But we’re not coming over under the Trump brand.”
[Apropos this aspect of Vaugh’s appeal, Roland’s statement declares, “So you would throw Trump under the bus to get maybe a few minority votes and lose all the the Trumpers. Real smart.”]
Calling for the party to broaden its recruitment efforts, Vaughn identified as potential new GOP cadres “the people that serve in the same pockets that we serve, the people that we work with, the people that we serve with.” Republicans should say to such people, “You need to join. I’m gonna sponsor you to join the Republican Party. And then all of a sudden, activity happens.
“If nothing changes, nothing happens, right? And so we have to find a way to say look, there is room for everybody at the table with the Shelby County GOP. Now maybe we tear down the silos just a little bit so that we can come together on these core competencies, and we can move this party forward.”
There was also the matter of fund-raising for the party, which he spoke of as being urgent. “We know people that have the financial capacity, but they have no desire. We have people that have desire and passion, but they don’t have two nickels to rub together. … No money, no mission. We’ve got to focus on this money piece so that we can move forward.
“We want to be more successful in winning in elections, right? We begin with the end in mind — we have to win elections. That’s why we’re here. But at the same time, we want to focus on how we market ourselves how we push membership, and also how we raise more money for the foundation, and how we raise more money for the GOP.”
After his remarks to the convention, and as members gathered in groups according to state House districts and busied themselves with the process of electing a new steering committee, Vaughn expressed optimism regarding the GOP’s future in a session with reporters.
Asked if he anticipated blowback from die-hard Trump supporters, Vaughan said, “I think all that’ll work out in the long run. I think what we have to focus on is electing the right people for the right positions for the right purpose. It’s kind of a Tom Sawyer approach. We’re gonna paint this big fence, everybody’s gonna grab a brush, and everybody’s gonna do it together. We’re gonna have fun.”
That, of course remains to be seen. If Roland’s sentiments turn out to reflect a significant number of the county’s Trump-leaning Republicans, the big fence may not get painted so easily, and chairman Vaughn may not experience all the fun he’s counting on.
