Conservative group hosting RNC auditions

A group made up of nearly half the voting members of the Republican
National Committee (RNC) will interview the chairmanship candidates in the
hopes of installing a conservative leader, according to an invitation obtained
by The Hill.

The Conservative Steering Committee, a growing caucus with 74 members,
will meet in Dallas on Jan. 5, a gathering they hope will serve as a platform
for candidates to voice their conservatism.

{mosads}The group appears to have close ties to current RNC Chairman Robert
“Mike” Duncan. One organizer is Solomon Yue, Oregon’s national
committeeman, who is publicly backing Duncan. Another organizer, Indiana
national committeeman James Bopp Jr., is handling the RNC’s lawsuit challenging
sections of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

Regardless of the connections, how many candidates they get to attend
remains up in the air; Jan. 5 is the same day Americans for Tax Reform plans to
hold a nationally televised debate on C-SPAN in Washington. Already, ATR has
commitments from five candidates, with three more invited. Duncan is among
those who have yet to confirm their attendance.

“It’s not trying to be difficult,” Yue said. “We want to
accommodate everyone and we also want to accommodate” Grover Norquist, who
heads ATR and will moderate the debate.

The group had tried to schedule their candidate interviews for later
this month, but rescheduled when conflicts arose. Yue pointed out that reorganizations
of state parties are scheduled to take place during January, making another
reschedule difficult, if not impossible.

The simultaneous events put candidates in the awkward position of
having to choose some RNC voters over others, and just three and a half weeks
before votes are taken on Jan. 31.

“All the candidates understand that this is about getting 85 votes
out of a 168-person committee. And the place that has the most members is going
to win out,” said one staffer to a candidate confirmed for the ATR debate.
“All the candidates are going to go where the most RNC members are.”

So far, no candidate has sent regrets to ATR or the Conservative
Steering Committee.