Hoplin to Run, Gourley to Drop Out?
Written by Mark Harris on February 23rd, 2005Rumors are flying fast and furious in the district concerning the CRNC election, so much so that SaveTheGOP is starting a new category to put stories about the race in. Well the newest rumor on the block is that Paul Gourley, establishment candidate, is to drop out with Eric Hoplin replacing him.
I have to believe this is just a rumor. Hoplin would have a heck of a time getting re-elected, as he caries similar baggage as Gourley, plus if he loses it would leave a negative splotch on his record, as Mr. Hoplin clearly has higher ambitions. Look for more developments on this front as the wheels fall totally off the Gourley train.
23
PM
Higher ambitions? Maybe he can declare his candidacy for the Minnesota used car dealers association presidency.
23
PM
Perhaps Hoplin and Gourley can start building a campaign for chairman of Cell Block D in federal prison. Can you say mail fraud?
23
PM
Why isn’t anyone asking for an audit of the College Republican National Committee’s books. If there are all of these problems with the fundraising there has to be problems with the accounting.
24
AM
I agree, the National Board needs to take a look at the books.
24
PM
The CRNC has been pulling this crap for 4 years now. The only way to clean up the finances of the organization is new leadership. Go Davidson!
24
PM
Dan Centinello for National Chairman
25
AM
Are you sure Centinello is running?
Oh yeah… Hoplin declared his candidacy for Deputy Chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota today. So it looks like the old guard is stuck with Gourley.
25
AM
The RDI contract has been around for 13 years. Eric Hoplin and Paul Gourley are the ones that got rid of them. You are all so close minded it is ridiculous. Michael Davidson is a poser, that would only turn the CRNC into the Youth for Schwarzenegger coalition. He would partner with the Republican Youth majority and turn the CRNC into a moderate, pro-choice, pro-gay organization that abandoned its conservative roots.
Heck, he probably wouldn’t even take the time to talk to CRs, just like he wouldn’t waste his precious surfing time on the CRNC field reps.
25
AM
Right… Davidson is a moderate… I guess that explains why he received endorsements from Ann Coulter and Michael Reagan.
As far as Hoplin and Gourley getting rid of the RDI contract… The CRNC got in trouble for their unethical fundraising practices back in 2002, when Hoplin was the ED. The leadership promised to clean things up, but instead the tactics continued into 2004, netting the CRNC millions. (Most of it paid to RDI). Only after the story broke in the Washington Post and Hoplin had to get his boy elected did he “verbally terminate” the contract.
We are not “close minded.” We would love to hear Gourley’s side of the story. Unfortunately Hoplin and crew have stonewalled the media for months and still won’t comment. What a shame
25
AM
Davidson will do for the CRNC what he did for California. Under him this organization will grow larger than ever before, and receive more press than ever before. The only difference is it will be the kind of press an organization like this needs. Not the scandalous press the other candidates would\did provide.
25
AM
The Davidson campaign continues to charge ahead while Gourley twists in the wind. Tennessee unanimously endorsed Davidson today. They join the CR federations of Texas, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.
http://www.yourcrnc.org
Other state federations are going to start figuring out that endorsing Gourley would be attaching themselves to a losing horse. I’m seeing a landslide at national.
25
AM
Do I understand this correctly? There are still people out there that think Hoplin and Gourley have nothing to do with the RDI contract. In 2001 Hoplin himself admitted that RDI goes after the elderly. Look at open secrets or any other site that chronicles capmaign donations. Look at the occupations of most of the CRNC donors. Hoplin ought to be ashamed, but he’s not. Gourley ought to be ashamed, but he can’t read. Hoplin not only ignored all of the warning signs he stepped up a mail program that did the exact same thing in house. Hoplin defrauded senior citizens directly. Gourley was either too stupid to know what was going on or he was a willing participant in the fraud. Either way he’s not qualified to chair the CRNC. For all of you critics of Davidson, he’s a left coast liberal like Ronald Reagan was a left coast liberal. Oh wait a minute, Ronald Reagan’s son endorsed Davidson. Pack it up Lapel Pin, it’s over.
25
AM
It’s very telling that two pro hoplin state, Pennsylvania and Iowa, have decided to endorse Davidson. I guess they reached the point where enough is enough.
25
PM
I’ve heard rumors that there will be tough opposition to the establishment’s pick for state chair in Minnesota. Needless to say, if Hoplin doesn’t win his own state for Gourley, this one is over.
25
PM
Looks like it’s already over….Gourley doesn’t even have a web site. Not that he could read it even if he did.
28
PM
Did anyone notice the goofy looking face Paul made when accepting the endorsement from Senator Thune at CPAC? Shooting awkward glances at the Senator, he looked like a slightly-retarded (and quite overweight) kewpie doll after a few bong hits.. Our new national chair? ridiculous.
28
PM
I wish one of these states that endorsed Gourley would come out with an endorsement resolution, a possible sample:
Whereas, Paul Gourley defrauded thousands of elderly Republicans as National Director of Republican Headquarters 2004
Whereas, Paul Gourley’s tenure as CRNC Treasurer resulted in a media firestorm so devestating that it actually stopped Eric Hoplin from being a media whore
Whereas, Paul Gourley destroyed the credibility of the CRNC
Whereas, Paul Gourley stil refuses to answer questions about his involvement in the fundraising scandal
Whereas, Paul Gourley still thinks that he did nothing wrong
Therefore, be it resolved that, we strongly endorse Paul Gourley for National Chairman, for his committment to destroying the reputation of College Republican chapters across this great country and prowess at raising funds from Alzeheimer inflicted Seniors. Paul Gourley embodies our vision of what the College Republican National Committee should be.
28
PM
Paul Gourley and Eric Hoplin are true heroes. They took such a courageous stand in getting out of this contract, and how do you guys repay them? With insults, mockery and condescension. These guys saw an injustice and they responded. And now you are all dragging CR’s through the mud with this foolhardy campaign to divide the CRNC into two, and to permanently wreck the future of this organization. Way to go! Idiots …
28
PM
Oh yeah. So courageous. They wait until there are front page stories, then they decide it’s time to get out of the contract. Integrity is doing what’s right when no one else is looking. They waited till the whole world was watching before they decided to do a damn thing.
Maybe Hoplin should have been courageous and ended the contract when the CRNC was sued in 2001 by families who had elderly relatives scammed by the misleading, manipulative and aggressive letters.
Maybe Paul Gourley should have been courageous and said “I’m not signing that letter. It’s full of LIES.”
Oh. But they didn’t. So now we get to mock and insult their dishonesty and corruption. We had eight full years of practicing just that during the 90s.
28
PM
Can someone explain what is actually motivating Gourley’s supporters? Are you being paid? Are you just stupid? Did your parents not raise you to have any integrity? I just don’t get it. That guy is more radioactive than all that stuff Iran has been importing lately. Does nobody else see a credibility problem if he is elected chairman?
28
PM
Oh please, spare us your “integrity” speech …
Look, the fact of the matter is Paul Gourley and Eric Hoplin stood up when nobody else would and got us out of this dreary contract. Did Michael Davidson get us out of this contract? No. Did you get us out of this contract? No. Who got us out of this contract? Eric Hoplin and Paul Gourley.
While they aren’t “heroes” they surely did the right thing, and that’s what is important here.
28
PM
I think a lot of the Gourley people were led to believe that he was the heir apparent, so they wanted to get in on the ground level. Now they’re probably a little to pig-headed to admit what a mistake they made. I doubt many of them had any idea about all the baggage. I met Paul early on last summer, and I had a good impression. Little did I know…
28
PM
They “did the right thing” as soon as everyone found out that they were doing the wrong thing. If the articles hadn’t come out, the letters would still be going out today. And do we really have any tangible proof they’ve stopped???
28
PM
1) Answer me this: What moves to Hoplin make to get out of the contract in 2001 when the scandal first came to light and Hoplin was executive director?
2) The Washington Post and Dan Centinello had a lot more to do with the termination of the contract than Hoplin or Gourley.
3) Is it even independently confirmed that the contract has been terminated. Last I knew, all he had was Hoplin’s word (which doesn’t count for much) that it would be terminated.
4) Since when is getting out of a contract a great act of political courage? We were the *customer.* It shouldn’t take any acts of moral courage. The only thing that even made getting out of the contract an issue is the undue influence people like Morton Blackwell and Ron Robinson have on national CR politics.
28
PM
1) Hoplin initiated the first ever refund policy, and has been working over the past few years to develop an alternative source of funding for the CRNC.
2) The Washington Post didnt come out until after Christmas, the CRNC terminated the contract on Nov. 21st
3)Eric wouldnt lie to us about that.
4)It takes a considerable act of courage to just drop your entire source of funding without any real indication of where you’re going to be able to get money to run the basic day-to-day operations.
28
PM
I guess based on Mr. Hoplin’s fine example all those liberals out there are right who insist it’s okay to steal a loaf of bread if you’re that hungry.
28
PM
RE: the “great source of funding” these manipulative, misleading letters provided. After scouring IRS reports the CRNC was required to submit as a 527 group, the Seattle Times reported that it appears 90% of all money raised was given back to RDI in order to send out more letters. So one dime out of every dollar they got from grandma actually went to College Republican activities.
Eric Hoplin has called this a “lie.” But he refused to ask for a retraction or a correction. Usually when someone has lies printed about them in a paper, you ask for a correction.
Alison Aikele, who used to be the spokeswoman for the CRNC (wonder why she left?) was quoted by a newspaper in NC as saying that 79% of the money went to fundraising.
Are either of these numbers acceptable? Most non-profits attempt to keep overhead below 10 or 20 percent of revenue.
Even IF the CRNC wasn’t raising the money through unethical and possibly fraudulent means, the fact that they mismanaged it should be cause for alarm in and of itself.
28
PM
Paul Gourley is corrupt … what kind of sick human being would sign something like that? why would you do that? He’s got a lot of nerve to run for National Chairman after doing something like that … especially since it’s been splashed all over the media. The Gourley supporters are definitely missing a few in the head.
28
PM
Listen, this fundraising issue has been resolved, it’s over. Paul Gourley and Eric Hoplin took care of the problem. Why dont you guys focus on the future instead of the past?
1
AM
I guess if I had done a whole bunch of awful things, I’d want to “focus on the future” too.
The problem for you, Mr. Gourley-supporter is that past performance is indicative of future results.
1
PM
Anonymous (aka Jake Grassel), I’m guessing you were applauding Bill Clinton when he admited to having an affair with Monica. Both the Seattle Times and NY Times came out with articles on the CRNC before the general election, and Hoplin didn’t cut the contract then, why because his organization was being funded fraudulantly. To focus on the future, you have to look at the past, we can’t repeat these mistakes again, and to go on, we need a new national leadership.
1
PM
Because terminating a bad contract that you didnt start is so awful …
nobody disputes the fact that the contract was wrong, and that the letters had serious problems, but come on, give these guys some credit for getting out of the contract.
1
PM
The CRNC sent out a press release today about the RDI contract. Are any of us average CRs going to see it???
3
AM
I’ve only met two guys who are as impressed with Eric Hoplin and Paul Gourley as these lemmings… Eric Hoplin and Paul Gourley. Could it be? No, no. That would mean that Paul learned how to read AND use the internet.
5
AM
mean,weak,silly. Paul Gourley is a hard working,wonderful person who cares. Tell me something about Davidson that makes him anything….
7
AM
He took a state federation with an annual budget of $200 and raised $150,000 and doubled the number of chapters WITHOUT SCAMMING ANYONE. I’m sure Gourley does care, but clearly, it’s not about the elderly or CRs. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ripped off the one and discredited the other. He cares about himself.
8
AM
Michael Davidson didn’t do crap for the California CRs, it was us, the individual chapters that actually did the work. As a chapter chair, I couldn’t even confirm that CCR has rasied $150k, because Michael and his underling Robb McFadden won’t show us the books.
Michael was “too busy” to meet with the CRNC Field Reps when they came to our state, I wonder how he will free up time to make sure that the CRNC is in tune with the states.
This guys is a poser…
Word in California is that Governor Schwarzenegger didn’t actually endorse him!
11
AM
Good to see the “UCLA Chair” has something constru-
OH WAIT!
That’s right. Even the majority of Republicans at your school don’t like your club. Now I can see why.
Are you kidding me?
Davidson gave that organization his life, and made it more that just a mouthpiece, something dimwits like you can’t grasp.
Oh, and by the way, McFadden has won more races in his left pinky toe for the Republican party than your lazy, spoiled self could ever dream of. Party insiders statewide see this guy as a future leader within the party. Not smart to knock any of these guys like that.
15
AM
Dan Centinello and Ben Dublin announce the birth of their new fag baby, Marcus Povinelli!!:)
18
AM
I would like to officially announce the candidacy of Douglas Van Ness for the office of National Chairman. He has been a devoted College Republican at the University at Albany in the Empire State. We believe he will serve the Nation well, as he has served in the United States Navy, representing the core issues that are important to the Republican Party. His platform and web-site will be announced in the next few weeks. He can be reached at douglasvanness@gmail.com
27
AM
well, mr. hoplin has a history of being somewhat on the homosexual side, as his ex-swim teammates such as myself can attest. hopefully he’s got it all under control now, so that he can condemn and despise those damned dirty faggots, huh?
7
AM
This is such a wonderful and informative way to reach others. I Will be more than glad to share this site
9
PM
This nice is very good, i will recomend it to my friends and partners
15
AM
You may find it interesting to check out some information on- Tons of interesdting stuff!!!
19
AM
Congratulation, it was very interesting surfing around here, It was a great pleasure for me to visit and enjoy you site. Keep it running!
10
PM
Congratulations on finally setting up your site. I am sure the website will become a internet legend
11
AM
This is a great page. And the contents are really that worth reading. I will add this to my own library
13
AM
You have a good site, i enjoyed my stay!