In part one of this series, we looked at the recent eviction of the Saline County Republican Committee from their meeting location at 125 N. Main Street in Downtown Benton. The eviction was served by a group called the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc., a non-profit organization which is the landlord for the meeting space. The resultant eviction and the strong similarities between the organization names and intended purpose of each has caused a level of confusion among some everyday residents.

The Republican Party of Saline County, Inc. issued a statement as to why the eviction was made. Two main points of issue were noted: 1,) The committee’s vote of “no confidence” in our elected members of the U.S. Congress – Sen. Tom Cotton, Sen. John Boozman and Rep. French Hill and their subsequent press release to advertise this vote. As such, this committee actively worked against the stated purpose of the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc. 2.) The committee endangered the investment in our property at 125 N. Market by its failure to pay the property insurance by the due date, which rendered the building uninsured.

The group also stated, “Over the past year, the current committee has begun to take a strange turn, for example conducting “meetings before the meetings” behind closed and locked doors, where the decisions of the county Republican committee were orchestrated. It was additionally troublesome that meetings were conducted with no regard to decorum or a sense of “fair play.”

A complete report of the statement can be found on MySaline.com by clicking here.

To seek clarification, a set of questions was sent to the Saline County Republican Committee and the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc. Each set was primarily the same, with few exceptions of wording specific to one organization or the other. In part one, the list of questions and responses were reported verbatim. The same standard will be followed here.

In the case of the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc., a statement was issued in response. It is as follows verbatim:

“As a group, we were not able to sit down with these questions to answer. We do not have an official communication person. My answers are written to assist your attempt to address your questions.  

Part of problem with answering these questions, is that the group that decided to evict the county committee is the Republican Party of Saline County, Inc., the collective owners of the building. We are distinct from the Republican Party of Saline County PAC, which is primarily a fund-raising entity. It is fairly safe to say these groups are sympathetic to each other but are not one and the same. 

The RPSC, Inc. is a group of former and current elected officials who have collectively spent decades supporting Republican candidates and Republican causes, preceding most of the Republican victories in our state, certainly preceding the overwhelming majority the party currently holds in our state.“

In the interest of transparency and fairness, it seems reasonable to list the questions sent to the Establishment group. As mentioned, the questions are basically identical with the exception of ones that required answers specific to the group.

Questions

Background

What is your name and occupation? In which Saline County city do you live? What is your role with the Saline County Republican Party, and how long have you been in it? How long have you been a member of the local party?

Have you run for political office in the past? If so, which office and what was the outcome?

Have you always been a Republican and for how long?

Patriot versus Establishment

The Republican Party of Saline County has described the differences between your group and theirs as Patriots versus Establishment. Is this nomenclature that you see as accurate? What makes the Patriots group different from yours? 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?

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?

The recent eviction

When did you first decide to serve the vacate notice to the occupants of the headquarters at 125 North Market in Downtown Benton? How long had the action been contemplated? How and when was the notice served? Do you have a copy of the notice that you could share for this story?

Who served the notice and when? What was the reaction?

In the statement regarding the notice to vacate, your group noted, “Over the past year, the current committee has taken a strange turn.” It goes 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? How long had this been going on? Who attended these meetings?

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? Can you give examples that back up the claim?

The statement continues 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? When did it first come to your attention? What action did you take as a result? Did you notify the responsible party of the failure? Were they given more than one notice? When was the payment made, when and by whom? What other comments/details can you provide to clarify each of the two allegations?

Will your group meet separately from the other? Have you had meetings since the eviction? What has attendance been like? Same? More? Less?

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 so, can you give a description of the meeting and how it went? If so, please elaborate with specifics.

I understand that all meetings are recorded with video and audio. Do you have custody of the video? If so, would you be willing to share a copy of that meeting for this story?

Ideology/Position

What is your opinion about what spurred the committee’s decision to issue “no-confidence” designations for Sen. Cotton, Sen. Boozman and Rep. Hill? Do you know if the resolution pass unanimously or by majority? What was the vote tally?

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?

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?

What specific issues do you see as primary for the national election this fall?

What are your 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?

What role does religion play in the development of policy and direction of the party?

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?

What is the official committee stance on paper ballots?

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?

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

What is the committee’s stance on school vouchers?

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