On July 2, 2024, the Saline County Republican Committee moved out of their meeting place located at 125 N. Main in Downtown Benton which had been the committee’s home for years. The reason for the move was reported as due to an eviction notice served by the landlord, the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc. What followed next was a series of press releases and statements from the committee and the landlord. Links to the statements and other reports can be found at MySaline and the Republican Party of Saline County Committee websites.

When the dust settled, questions about the players in this story and their official role in the party structure began to surface. Given the similarity of the names of both sides of this situation, confusion by onlookers is understandable.

It is the purpose of this series of articles to clarify the circumstances as well as discuss policy and position statements. A set of questions were sent to each of the two entities with the understanding that the questions and the respective answers would be posted as sent and received, respectively. There is no interpretation by this writer. That is for you, the reader, to do.

Early on in the press releases and statements, specific labels were designated by the chair of the Saline County Republican Party Committee. While it is not the intention of this writer to suggest these labels are accurate in their description of the membership, they do help identify the differing sides.

Therefore, “Patriots” will be used to identify the Saline County Republican Party Committee, and “Establishment” will identify responses from the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc.

First up, the Patriots. Responses from Frank Curtis, party chair.

Background

Have you run for political office in the past? If so, which office and what was the outcome?
I have never run for political office.

Have you always been a Republican and for how long?
I have always been a Republican, I started educating myself extensively when Barrack Obama stepped onto the scene.

Patriot versus Establishment

Please provide a definition/description of what it means to be a Patriot versus the Establishment. What makes them different? Are there areas/ideology where they are similar and/or overlap? What ideology is specific to being either? How do you know someone is a Patriot? How do you know someone is Establishment?
Patriots are for the people, & want a bottom up government where the people have a strong voice & can make a difference in important decisions & how the govt. is run. Establishment people prefer the opposite. They favor a top down style where all decisions come from a few at the top, & everyone below obeys. This occurs locally, statewide & nationally. Most politicians today are establishment. It’s the nature of the beast. Get in, sit down, listen up, do what you’re told & you’ll have a very good life. This is how career politicians are made. We are vehemently against this style. We want term limits for all elected people, including congress. When this country was established, ordinary people served their term, then went back to their private lives. This style keeps corruption to a minimum.

What do you see as the future for the Republican Party of Saline County? Which group is specifically associated as the party of record for the Republican Party of Arkansas in Saline County?
Moving forward I believe the Saline County Republican Committee will continue to grow. We are the only official group connected to the Republican Party of Arkansas, which is connected to the Republican National Committee. With the country collapsing on itself due to poor leadership at the top, many Americans are fed up & ready to pitch in to help save this great nation. This can only happen county by county, state by state on a grassroots level. We have failed as a nation by allowing progressive policies to take over. 

The recent eviction

1.) When did you first hear of the possibility of the party being evicted from its headquarters at 125 North Market in Downtown Benton? Did you know or suspect it was coming before the service of notice? Do you have a copy of the notice that you could share for this story? 2.) Who received the notice and when? What was your reaction? 3.) In their statement regarding the notice to vacate, the “Establishment” noted, “Over the past year, the current committee has taken a strange turn.” They go on to state that “meetings before the meetings” were being held behind locked doors where decisions about the party were made without full knowledge of the committee membership. Is this true? If so, why were these meetings held in such a manner? If not true, what explanation can you give for the accusation? (Note: for these series of questions, we were directed to a statement the committee released on July 2. Links to their statements can be found in the opening paragraph of this story.)

The statement goes on to say that “It was additionally troublesome that meetings were conducted with no regard to decorum or a sense of ‘fair play’”. Can you provide clarification as to what this statement illustrates? Is it true? If not, how is it not true, and can you give examples that repudiate the claim?
In regards to the statement that meetings were held with no regard to decorum, I disagree.  I don’t know what they are referring to.

The statement goes on to say that there were “two incidents that prompted the decision to request the committee to vacate”: the committee’s vote of “no confidence” in the currently elected members of the U.S. Congress, and the alleged failure of the committee to pay the location’s property insurance by the due date. Are these allegations true? If so, how? If not, can you provide information otherwise? Did the committee receive notice to pay the property tax? Was it paid and when, if it was? What other comments/details can you provide to clarify each of the two allegations?
We decided to issue the no confidence resolution to the AR members of congress to show our displeasure with their ongoing approvals of large amounts of money for Ukraine.

Where will the party meet now that the downtown location is not available? Have you found a permanent location? Have you had meetings since the eviction? What has attendance been like? Same? More? Less?
We will be meeting in larger rented auditoriums moving forward.  No permanent building has been chosen yet.  Our first meeting after leaving the downtown building will be August 1st.

It has been rumored that the meeting of the committee on July 1 was combative, for lack of a better word. In your opinion, is this correct? If not, please give your description of the meeting and how it went. If so, please elaborate.
The meeting on July 1 was a typical meeting. There were a couple of people that got emotional, but that is fairly common. We often talk about difficult issues & people are passionate.

I understand that all meetings are recorded with video and audio. Would you be willing to share a copy of that meeting for this story?
The meetings are recorded by an individual to assist the secretary with writing the minutes. They do not make them public.

Ideology/Position

What spurred the committee’s decision to issue “no-confidence” designations for Sen. Cotton, Sen. Boozman and Rep. Hill? Did the resolution pass unanimously or by majority? What was the vote tally?
The no confidence resolution was approved unanimously.

A similar designation was made for former Gov. Asa Hutchinson in his bid for the presidency. What were the conclusions drawn that brought about this decision?
A resolution was also made for ASA in the past because he has largely governed from the left & often did not represent the conservative will of the committee.

Was the library book issue from the spring of 2023 the catalyst that brought about the rise of the Patriots within the party? How did this impact membership?
The awareness of the rampent pornograhy for children at the libraries was a catalyst for many people to join the committee.  Protecting children from evil is something people on both sides of the isle should do.  The membership has grown from about 50 members to almost 200  in the last 2 years.

What specific issues do you see as primary for the national election this fall?
Open borders, the struggling economy, our safety at home & abroad, the education system & of course abortion are the key issues we need to see major improvement on.  We believe the current administration is doing a poor job.

What are you thoughts on the 2020 election for president? Do you feel the election was rigged and that former President Trump was the duly elected and legitimate winner?
I do believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.  I do not believe that Joe Biden received more votes than Donald Trump or Barrack Obama. There is endless proof of how this was done.

1.)What role does religion play in the development of policy and direction of the party? 2.)What is your stance on Christian Nationalism? One of the officers of the committee posted the following on Facebook in July 2023: “The only movement that will save us is Christian Nationalism. Not this watered down, counterfeit Judeo-Christianity stuff.” Is this the stance of the party or simply a member using his constitutional right of free speech? (Note: these questions were asked separately. The response received is that the following answer is for both.)
Christianity plays a huge role in our Republican platform, as we know the constitution was written by God fearing men that loved God & country.

What is the official committee stance on paper ballots?
We believe that paper ballots are necessary for fair elections. Without a paper trail it is impossible to verify how each person has voted.  Machines & computers can be manipulated, & have no paper trail.  

What is the official committee stance on the recently passed Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be placed in all public school classrooms? Is this an approach that the party will pursue with the Arkansas legislature? What is the official committee stance on the recent decision by the head of Oklahoma public schools to require a Bible in every classroom as well as the daily teaching from it? Is this also an approach the party will pursue with the Arkansas legislature? (Note: these were presented as two different questions. The following response covers both)
We have not yet discussed the ten commandments or the Bibles in school issues.

What is the committee’s stance regarding abortion? Restrictions, etc.?

What is the committee’s stance on school vouchers?
We are in favor of school vouchers so parents can decide where to send their kids to school.

What other comments/quotes would you like to be included in this article?