I have to admit I did not figure that the end would come THIS soon for the Kristina Karamo-led Republican party but much like the Biden-led White House, incompetency has a way of moving fast like #$%^ rolling down a hill. 

First, let me digress a moment and set up why I saw trouble from nearly the moment when Karamo was elected to lead the Michigan GOP. The day after the convention this past February to elect Karamo wrapped I wrote this:

 Michigan GOP Blows up With Chairman Choice and Democrats Rejoice and Laugh  

Here is an excerpt:

Kristina Karamo, a Republican who has made unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election and has still not conceded her 14-point loss in the 2022 Michigan election for secretary of state, was elected chair of the Michigan Republican Party Saturday, after three ballots at a state convention.

Karamo defeated unsuccessful GOP attorney general candidate Matt DePerno of Kalamazoo, a fellow election denier who was endorsed in the party chair race by Trump. Karamo had 58% of the vote on the final ballot. DePerno had 42%.

“We will not betray you; we will not lie to you,” Karamo said in a brief victory speech as convention delegates were hustled out of the Lansing Center. The cash-strapped state party had only paid to rent the hall until late afternoon. Officials extended the arrangement until 8 p.m. but told delegates they had to leave quickly after the third ballot.

I also noted:

I’m going to leave aside for the moment the absolute s*** show that the convention was and all that was reported on by delegates who were there supporting their preferred candidate. What I’m going to focus on is the new GOP chair herself and some of the reactions from her supporters that defy common sense.

As mentioned above in the article from the Freep, Karamo ran for Secretary of State and the results of that back in November were a clear-cut disaster. Did Weiser and Maddock fully support any of the candidates running for statewide office last year? No. That was obvious from before the nominating convention in August but a lot of the people at the convention yesterday probably didn’t realize that or they just didn’t care.

Karamo ran the least effective campaign of anyone statewide and was soundly defeated by 14 points.

Let me be really clear here there is no evidence of any fraud in her election because if there were then why has Karamo herself not shown it?

I understand, particularly in Michigan where Trump won by 11,000 votes in 2016 that anytime a Republican loses now it is fraud but when you lose by 14 points that is more than a loss it is a landside @$$kicking. You need to take your lumps and go home. 

So that was my first clue but there were many more to come.

A month later in March I came across this information and wrote about it. 

Michigan GOP Leader Admits They Are Half Million in Debt and That Is the Good News

From that article:

I know I told some people that I would give the Michigan GOP new leadership about 6 months to find out where the bathrooms were at the GOP HQ in Lansing. However, in my article yesterday where I talk about the GOP head honcho Kristina Karamo deciding to abandon the HQ (Did the Michigan GOP Just Concede the 2024 POTUS Race With Its Latest Move?) I feel it is safe to move on from waiting any longer and declare how to prepare for 2025.

The party is on fire and no one knows where the fire hose is or even if calling 9-1-1 is an option because there may be some sort of fraud involved in making the call.

Everything is about fraud.

As I mentioned yesterday in my article about the disastrous decision of abandoning the GOP headquarters, the reason behind this is simple: Lack of money.

Now I know some who have reached out to me want to make this seem that this is a brilliant stroke of genius and that abandoning a building that cost just over $100,000 a year to rent is just good, sound economics… Except for that whole thing about you needing a base of operations in the state to coordinate all statewide activities particularly when you’re about 18 months away from a presidential election.

Thankfully they got that post office box in Grand Rapids cheap, am I right!?!?!!?

I was begged by some of the party faithful to hold off judgment because I was not there, I had not talked with her to listen to her plans blah blah blah.

This is what I continued with in said article above.

“The party is in debt. $460,000,” Karamo said during the Muskegon County event.

“So that is something we’re working through,” she added. “But we do have funding to get started and get our initial operations going. Hopefully, the former chair will be gracious enough to pay that off.”

The former chairman, Ron Weiser, a wealthy real estate businessman from Ann Arbor, decided not to seek another term this year.

The party’s overall debt can be hard to nail down because it has multiple accounts, some that have to be reported publicly and others that don’t.

Asked about the $460,000 in alleged debt, Weiser didn’t refute the number in a Friday statement. But he also gave no indication he would step in to resolve it.

Weiser said he had given more than $5 million to help Republicans win elections for the 2022 cycle. Like other party organizations, there was “a relatively small amount of debt left over that represents less than 4% of total revenues,” Weiser said.

“Given the small percentage involved, I am confident the new administration will be able to utilize the fundraising plan she campaigned on to raise the funds to pay down the line of credit and make Michigan Republicans competitive in 2024,” he added.

So you start off being a half million dollars in debt and you decide to not use the State headquarters and move the mailing address to a P.O. Box in Grand Rapids. Are you catching the drift that maybe she had no plans to raise money other than it would just magically appear?

This little nugget back in July should have been the nail in the coffin, but not quite yet.

Michigan GOP Is Functionally Bankrupt, According to Audio Recording of a Closed Meeting

“The party is in debt. $460,000,” Karamo said during the Muskegon County event.

“So that is something we’re working through,” she added. “But we do have funding to get started and get our initial operations going. Hopefully, the former chair will be gracious enough to pay that off.”

The former chairman, Ron Weiser, a wealthy real estate businessman from Ann Arbor, decided not to seek another term this year.

The party’s overall debt can be hard to nail down because it has multiple accounts, some that have to be reported publicly and others that don’t.

Asked about the $460,000 in alleged debt, Weiser didn’t refute the number in a Friday statement. But he also gave no indication he would step in to resolve it.

Weiser said he had given more than $5 million to help Republicans win elections for the 2022 cycle. Like other party organizations, there was “a relatively small amount of debt left over that represents less than 4% of total revenues,” Weiser said.

“Given the small percentage involved, I am confident the new administration will be able to utilize the fundraising plan she campaigned on to raise the funds to pay down the line of credit and make Michigan Republicans competitive in 2024,” he added.

Yeah, I'm sure Weiser picked up the phone ASAP and was willing to help after the fight to replace him and call him every name in the book. 

Don't get me wrong, Weiser and Maddock are a large part of why the Michigan GOP is dysfunctional but if you are running for THE leadership position in the state you have to watch what you say to get access to $$.

Try calling Donald Trump a bunch of names and see how much he throws at you.

Then just YESTERDAY it was written here at RedState that the annual conference the GOP has at Mackinac Island was called a historic flop.

Bree Moeggenberg, a member of the Michigan Republican Party's state committee, carried petitions inside the Grand Hotel, requesting removal of the Michigan Republican Party's general counsel, Dan Hartman.

In an email to other Republicans on Saturday, Moeggenberg described the conference as a "historic flop."

That was followed up with this classic retort.

During one of her speeches on Saturday, Karamo said rumors that she was going to resign weren't true. But she acknowledged some people were "angry" that she had become chairwoman.

"Pound sand," Karamo then said. "That's what I have to say about that."

Jeff Fuss, a Republican from Ottawa County, called on Karamo, a former podcast host and educator, to resign. Fuss contended the state party was functionally bankrupt.

Simply amazing.

Now that I have fully informed you to let you know I have an idea of how screwed up this situation is so that you have an idea, I bring you the creme de la creme of the cherry on top of this crap sundae.

From an article, I read today that should seal the deal for Karamo to take her own advice and pound sand.

A listing of Michigan Republican Party account balances from West Michigan Community Bank showed $35,051 across seven accounts, with expenses for many of the scheduled speakers at the Sept. 22-24 conference on Mackinac Island not yet paid, including author Dinesh D'Souza and unsuccessful former Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake.

At this point, 13 months before a presidential election, the Michigan Republican Party should have about $10 million in its accounts, said Tom Leonard, a former Michigan House speaker and former finance chairman for the state GOP.

The party had less than 1% of the $10 million target.

You should have 10 million dollars this far out from a PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION and you have less than 1%? Sign me up for this leadership team to lead the state GOP to victory. Hell at this rate the Get Out The Vote strategy and money raising is going,  Trump could lose this state by even more than he did in 2020.

Karamo went on in the article listed above to say this.

During a closed-door state committee meeting on Sunday, the final day of the Mackinac conference, Karamo spoke about the health of the Michigan Republican Party's finances, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The News.

"The party is not going bankrupt," Karamo told state committee members.

She is technically right I suppose.

The party is not GOING bankrupt it IS.

This is going to make me do something I do not want to do but I guess I might have to. I might to have to join the Michigan GOP to at least be able to watch this circus personally and not from others' reporting.

Kristina Karamo needs to resign and take her own advice on going and pounding sand and do it today. That way she will no longer be pounding the Michigan Republican Party into the ground and maybe it can be rebuilt in time for the 2026 Governors race.

BONUS FEATURE

I go a little more in-depth right here with this 10-minute quick hit podcast explaining why I left the GOP eons ago and may be forced to rejoin.

 

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