Colorado Republican Party Chair Steve House has booted Republican activist and blogger Kathryn Porter from the group of Colorado Republicans who are going to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland July 18 because House thinks her blogging poses a "risk" to the Colorado delegation.
Porter, whose work appears on the Politichicks blog and was among the first to report details on efforts to oust House as GOP chair, was slated to attend the RNC as a guest of delegate Mike McAlpine, Porter said, under rules which allow each delegate to take a guest.
But in an email to Porter, House wrote it's his "job to protect the delegation" and Porter's "actions as a media representative in the past year and especially the past month and a half clearly represent risk to this delegation that we do not need to take at this critical convention in Cleveland."
In a subsequent statement, Colorado GOP Executive Director Shana Banberger said, "Mrs. Porter has explicitly declared herself to be a member of the media and has been acting in that capacity for more than a year. After consulting state party and RNC rules we determined that should Mrs. Porter wish to attend the convention as a reporter she is required to be credentialed as press by the RNC."
Porter had told House in an email that she wanted to attend the convention "so I can support our delegation and offer email updates on the presidential nominee, platform items, proposed rules changes, etc."
And Porter cites RNC rule 28, which she believes allows RNC delegates to bring any guest they want, with no veto power allowed by Republican officials or conditions on who the quest is. Porter also points out that she was credentialed as a "guest" for a summer, 2015, RNC meeting. Her credential identified her as associated with Politichicks.
Porter says it's likely that guests of other delegates have media ties. In fact, KVOR radio host Jeff Crank, is a guest of another Colorado delegate.
Asked via twitter if he plans to do "any radio work or blogging or tweeting from the RNC in Cleveland, Crank replied, "No. I am just going as the father of a delegate."
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In a May 24 email, Porter told House that she, too, would not be representing Politichicks at the convention. House replied, "As far as I am concerned you can't turn media on and off. You are either with the media or you are not and you have demonstrated and claimed specifically over the past year that you are with the media."
In a post on her GoFundMe page, where Porter is raising money for her trip to the RNC in Cleveland, Porter wrote:
The real risk is a chairman who behaves like a dictator, usurping authority that does not belong to him....
As an elected member of the Colorado GOP State Central Committee, I voted for Steve House. I have been critical of House, but at times I have also defended him.
I will defend the GOP when they are right, but I will not hesitate to call out my party when they are wrong. Integrity matters. Because of this, our chairman is using me as an example in order to silence others who dare speak up.
I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will not be marginalized.
I will be in Cleveland.
Among Porter's Politichicks blogging is a piece, picked up by Drudge, which included a quote from Steve House in which he appeared to oppose Donald Trump. Another piece by Porter contained an interview with a woman who claimed to have had an affair with House."