Dear Chairwoman Hathaway,
We represent a group of delegates to the Indiana Republican Convention this June. We are writing to assure that the convention has the opportunity to make clear its priorities for the upcoming legislative session, in addition to the statutorily required nomination of candidates. Our goal is to ensure that resolutions may be introduced and debated at some point in the Convention. The Republican Party exists to advance the policy desired by its members, thus, we care most that discussion be promoted rather than that any particular resolution be passed, as is the norm for state party conventions through history, and around the country.
At the 2022 Convention, a number of delegates worked to propose several amendments to the party platform. They rightly viewed the platform as the standard to which the candidates we elect are to be held. While they were stymied by the platform committee, they intended to assert their rights to propose the amendments and have them voted on by the convention. Chairman Simcox called for a vote on the proposed rules, which reduced the hearing of all platform amendments to his personal discretion. He gavelled through, in spite of one delegate's firm attempt to invoke his right to debate or amend these rules with a point of order. Delegates were justifiably outraged, and fuel was added to the narrative that Indiana's Republican Party exists for the interests of the select few at the top, rather than for the will of rank and file Republican voters.
In 2024, we have an opportunity to begin to mend the divide within our party. We can do this by facilitating honest discussion within the party. There is no reason we should not come to an amicable agreement. Our desires are limited and reasonable. We are happy to negotiate on the mechanics of how this should operate, though we are not open to the idea of a Convention that is merely performative. If we cannot come to an agreement on how to handle the schedule of events, then we intend to move from the floor, and we will enforce our rights to do so through every legal means. In the interest of party unity, it would be best to arrange this in an orderly fashion ahead of time.
If the procedure is conducted fairly in accordance with the rules and we lose, we will submit to the will of the body. The procedure must be followed, though, and followed in good faith.1 If it is not, we will complain loudly, to the delegates, to the press, and we will make a public protest during the Convention. We will also consider avenues of legal action which may be available to us.
We suggest the following:
- — That two hours of the convention be devoted to the discussion of Resolutions. This could come before or after the Nominations and votes on the Nominees, perhaps after a break for lunch.
- — We will submit finalized resolutions to the secretary by Monday, June 10 so that they can be distributed to the delegates.
- — The resolutions would be included on the agenda. They would be circulated electronically to each delegate, and copies would be available that morning in writing near the entrance. A delegate of our choice would be given 5 minutes to explain the purpose and importance of resolutions to the convention.
- — For each resolution on the agenda, the resolution shall be read, by the author, and 10 minutes per side will be allocated for debate. The author of the resolution shall apportion the time as he sees fit to delegates in support, and the chair shall determine who shall lead the opposition to apportion their time.
- — The vote could be taken in multiple ways. We would love to see in the future a system which would allow for efficient recorded floor votes (and the technology now exists to facilitate this). However, recognizing the logistical limitations and short time frame for arranging such a voting method for this year's convention, we propose that for this convention, the resolutions as proposed be put forward for a simple yes or no on passage as written, to be taken on the ballot along with the Lieutenant Governor's race.
We are prepared to write up these rules formally to add to the Proposed Rules or as an Amendment to the Proposed Rules at the Convention. We have attached a list of proposed resolutions we intend to make the case to the convention for, to be finalized within the next week.
We’ve laid this out in some detail to show that we have given this considerable attention, attempting to be fair and practical. We all would like things to run smoothly at the Convention, and if we have disagreements it is best to try to resolve them as far in advance as possible, however we are prepared to assert our rights through appropriate means if ignored. At the end of the day, it is in our mutual interest to work together under the umbrella of the Republican Party to beat back the existential communist threat to our country posed by the radical left, a danger to our families, our wallets, and our way of life.
For further discussion, please contact Mr. Joseph Bortka at joseph@bortka.com or 812-844-5637.
Yours sincerely,