Michigan GOP kick Wendy Day out of elected position for not backing Donald Trump
The Michigan Republican Party removed their “grassroots vice chairwoman,” Wendy Day, for refusing her support for Donald Trump in next month’s contest against Hillary Clinton and third party candidates.
Spokeswoman Sarah Anderson said the rule had never been invoked before as Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel declared the seat vacant of any officer who declines to support a Republican nominee.
McDaniel, in a letter to the GOP’s 113-member state committee, said all 12 officers have a duty to support Republican nominees.
“Officers are held to a different standard because ‘Michigan Republican Party’ is part of their title, and when they speak, they are reflecting the party as a whole,” she said.
Committee member Matt Hall had asked McDaniel to remove Day, saying she used her position as a “bully pulpit” to voice her opposition to Trump, most recently during an appearance on Fox 2’s (WJBK-TV) political show. McDaniel asked Day to either declare her support for Trump or resign.
Day, a tea party leader from Howell who served as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s Michigan director during the GOP primary, refused to resign in an email to McDaniel and committee members, stating that she cannot back Trump as “a matter of conscience. While some may say that I am not supporting the party, that is simply not true. In fact, in looking long term, I am doing my best to try to protect what the party has stood for.”
She said the party believes in freedom and the Constitution, and that “women should be cherished and that morality and character matter.”
“We have never had an election like this,” Day wrote. “Those who say that the normal rules don’t apply to this election are correct.”
Day said she would not support Democrat Hillary Clinton, either.
McDaniel said Day could have remained silent while working for other Republicans on the ballot, but her appearance on the most recent “Let It Rip” show “gives the impression that the party does not support our nominee.”
Day told panelists that neither Trump nor Clinton is fit for office and “whoever wins, we probably need an all-male staff in the White House because between Bill (Clinton) and Donald, there’s a lot of potential for trouble.”
photo/ Mary Pahlke via pixabay
Unlike the socialist who supported Bernie Sanders and now are rallying around Clinton, Trump is finding it hard to hold on to some Republicans.
For example, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, who has been openly critical of Trump on several occasions, told some news outlets he was not sure if he would vote for Trump.
Alaska’s two U.S. senators this month resigned honorary posts in the state Republican party after denouncing Trump and saying he should step aside. Party officers there are also expected to back party candidates.
In Michigan, top Republicans have condemned Trump’s comments, but many still support him. Notable exceptions include Gov. Rick Snyder, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and U.S. Reps. Fred Upton of St. Joseph and Justin Amash of Kent County’s Cascade Township.
photo / donkeyhotey
