Special Message From Bobby Schostak

Dear Republican Party activist, tea party organizations, 9-12 groups and all conservatives across Michigan:

As most of you know, I care deeply about the "family" of activists I address in this letter.

I ran for this position so that together we would bond ourselves to the basic core values we all believe in so deeply as our purpose for existing. Specifically, conservative policies are pursued by our party with accountability and fairness and that I would be a chairman that would engage the grassroots, making them, (all of us), the priority, and serve in an open and honest way throughout my tenure.

It is with this as a backdrop that I address you today.

There has been a lot of heated discussion about decisions made by the credentials committee, (which I sit on), regarding the awarding of the at-large delegates.

Since the presidential primary election last Tuesday, I’ve spent hours speaking and emailing with hundreds of Republican grassroots activists throughout the state regarding the decision by the credentials committee. I thank all of you for your time, candidness and most of all, the overwhelming support – not only toward me, but more importantly for your support of the Michigan Republican Party.

As some of you may know, due to a request by one of the presidential campaigns, the process and dispute over a single delegate may be reviewed by the Republican National Committee and/or the Committee on Contests. Rest assured, whatever decision the Republican National Committee or the Committee on Contest chooses to make, we will not appeal, we will accept it.

However, that does not address how this issue came about and more importantly ensuring that in the future, this issue never reoccurs.

When I ran for chairman, I promised that when I leave the chairmanship, the party will be stronger than it was before my tenure. My observation is that this entire dust-up could have been largely avoided if the decisions made by the credentials committee were communicated more clearly and timely to the state committee.

Therefore at the next Michigan Republican State Committee meeting, I propose a resolution be adopted to improve the communication between the credentials committee and state committee.

All decisions by the credentials committee should be brought to the attention of the all state committee members within 24 hours of any vote.

I am also proposing that a special committee be comprised of each district chair, to make any further suggestions to avoid these mistakes in the future.
This special committee will provide its list of suggested changes no later than July (next stand alone state committee meeting).

These changes are meant to augment the important decisions of the credentials committee and are by no means intended to disrespect the existing credentials committee and its members. I know we all have the greatest respect for its current members, and while there were some disagreements, I know they all acted in good faith and no one questions their integrity or honesty.

Furthermore, there has been a lot of talk about “assigning blame,” and though there were errors, I have and will continue to refrain from looking to blame any person or persons and as the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, whether it is fair or not, take responsibility for any errors in communications, process or execution of the decisions that were made by the credentials committee.

I appointed the members, hence the responsibility for running a good committee falls on me and not the individuals on the committee. I take the responsibility for the miscommunication on this issue.
I feel, I also must address comments of mine that have been reported by the press and used by certain individuals to undermine the Republican Party. Personally, I did not communicate the intent of the credentials committee clearly. I continually reiterated that Michigan’s primary allowed any candidate to compete with the chance to win delegates. However, I answered off the cuff quickly and misspoke.
I cannot take back or change those words and I won't start or try to split hairs over my choice of words or offer any excuse. I misspoke and was reminded the hard way the importance of being careful while addressing the media.

I have and will do my 100% honest best to serve as your chairman. I apologize for my error because I am truly honored to serve as your chairman, but I will not apologize to those who seek to use any mistakes in this situation to fracture our party or to discredit my intentions.

Sadly, there are folks trying to use our intra-party dispute for personal gain. That is wrong. It is disrespectful to all of you, to the presidential campaigns, to those in our party who deeply care about our values, and worse yet in the end it will only serve to assist our opponents in November.

There is a lot at stake this year. The progress made by our Republican leadership in Lansing is up for grabs including our Republican led state house, the rule of law majority on the supreme court, congressional seats across Michigan, a U.S. Senate seat and of course, the control of the White House.

This issue is deeply important to me and I hope to continue to speak with members of our grassroots about other ideas in order to never allow this to happen again, however, I will also not allow those who seek to disrupt our party to be successful. While continuing to discuss this issue with members of the grassroots, I will continue to work hard each and every day to advance our cause, spread our message, raise the necessary financial resources and defeat President Obama’s radical agenda.

As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

I look forward to working with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, as we fight on to November.
Thank you and God bless,

Bobby Schostak