 enough is enough  it rsquo s time to talk about the ldquo elephant in the room rdquo so to speak let rsquo s shed some light on what rsquo s going on behind the scenes to stack the state convention with brian calley delegates for those of you who don rsquo t know me my name is steve willis and i have been the current chairman of the clinton county republican party ccrp for the last 4 years but active in the party for the last 6 years whenever i speak to individuals or groups i introduce myself as a ldquo christian rdquo first a ldquo conservative rdquo second and a ldquo republican rdquo last because i have no other choice i am a ldquo true conservative rdquo in all ways a prolife antiabortion traditional marriage states rights rule of law constitutional conservative pro gun secure border conservative unlike many other previous county chairs i did not and i do not hold any aspirations for higher office the reason i spend 40 to 60 hours per week on ccrp business is strictly altruistic i do not receive any payment for my time and efforts and actually have spent a significant amount of money on ldquo party business rdquo over the last 6 years i am writing this because i am thoroughly disgusted with the actions of monied interests and special interest groups when it comes to the precinct delegate elections that will be taking place on august 5 around the state this week the michigan advocacy trust sent another mailing out around the state to inform the voters as to who they should be voting for in the august 5 primary in a previous mass mailing these people were defined as the ldquo true conservatives rdquo in their precincts this latest mailing is just another confirmation that these are the chosen ones they need to be elected to make clinton county better implying that the other people on the ballot with them are in some way inferior or deficient as far as the names that appear on the ballot for watertown township that are the ldquo chosen ones rdquo they are not and have not for the most part been active in the county party in recent years or ever it seems ironic an ingham county political action group would have intimate knowledge related to a clinton county rural precinct to be able to make such assertions additionally why is the michigan advocacy fund involved in contested precinct delegate races all over the state as i stated last week in my blog on the ccrp website who are these people who have determined that these precinct delegate candidates are the ones who should be voted for on august 5 from the mailer that was sent to me today that has been arriving in mail boxes this week this mailer can be seen at the top of the ccrp home page rsquo s website i know three of the people who are listed as the ldquo annointed candidates rdquo that they are asking the voters to vote for i can rsquo t judge how conservative they are and i wonder how the michigan advocacy trust can know that either well ndash truth be known ndash i think i do know for the last 6 months or more there has been a concerted effort on the part of the michigan freedom fund a dick devos funded group lieutenant governor calley the state republican party the michigan advocacy trust representative tom leonard and his wife jenell who works for calley and who knows who else that have been capturing data on who they think will vote for brian calley at the state convention in august all i know is that for this election cycle clinton county has seen a significant increase in the number of precinct delegate candidates running as a result in six of the county rsquo s 33 precincts the delegate seats are contested for the first time it doesn rsquo t take a rocket scientist to figure out the agenda of these special interests they will say the governor should be able to pick his running mate they will say if calley doesn rsquo t win it will embarrass the governor and the republican party the truth is the republican party should already be embarrassed by their underhanded tactics and actions the bottom line is that republican party rules allow for someone else to run for the lieutenant governor rsquo s position at the convention even though the state party has tried to circumvent the process several times in the last year if the state party makes a rule they should live by it if they want to change the process for the next election cycle do it then not in mid stream i ask is brian calley rsquo s selection as the governor rsquo s running mate all we have to worry about at this convention and as a party should this issue be consuming all of the time and resources it has by all of these groups and individuals wouldn rsquo t we be better served by letting the ldquo people speak rdquo at the convention without stacking the deck ahead of time it certainly seems like we have gone down a bad road where the ldquo ends justify the means rdquo ndash i thought we were the party of principals not to be lumped in with the democrats shouldn rsquo t we be more concerned about the destruction of our country and electing responsible people to office in lansing and washington the state republican party wants to be inclusive and have a ldquo big tent rdquo but that means they want the votes of the undesirables who don rsquo t agree with everything they do but no participation in the party structure or decision making process as far as the lieutenant governor rsquo s selection is concerned the people who are working so hard to get calley reelected need to let the process take its course without rigging the delegate elections from groups and interests external to the county i have no dog in the fight i believe in honesty and transparency of which i see neither you wonder why people get disgusted with the political process what rsquo s transpiring right now is the reason all i know is i can go to be bed at night knowing i have done all i can to make our state and country better over the last four years i have been vilified and accused of destroying the county party because of stands i have taken on issues that are contrary to the governor rsquo s agenda i have been attacked by lobbyists and asked to not take a position representing the county party that oppose the governor rsquo s agenda in those instances i have not spoken for myself alone but with approval of the ccrp rsquo s executive committee if any of the 80 of the precinct delegates who ran and were elected ever came to a county meeting they would know that i don rsquo t believe the county party should be a rubber stamp for any and or all republican politicians if proposed legislation regardless of who it comes from is wrong we have an obligation to oppose it not just go along to get along i ask that you consider my comments and go into the ballot booth with an open mind and do what is right if we want to succeed we all need to accept each other rsquo s differences and have a common focus that will make us victorious this november we can rsquo t afford to squander this opportunity  god bless america     enough enough  