On a campaign promise to return power to the neighborhood duly elected Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs), not even Ben Edtl is aware of the paradigm shift that would bring to the party.
Accurate Ben is concerning the unholy alliance between the ORP and the Republican Caucus. Ben instinctively put his finger on the core issue even as Ben has not reviewed the ORS 248 law and comparing it to the ORP by-laws. Once Ben has done that, and perhaps before the Saturday statewide meeting in Portland, Ben will see the proper and easy fix to the by-laws is for ORP to include all of ORS 248 into their by-laws.
Once ORP opted out of 20 subsections of ORS 248 chaos was launched by at least 2005, then each succeeding year it went more and more out of control with weeping, gnashing of teeth, wailing and cowering in fear on one hand. On the other hand spewing out vindictive anger, the banning of free speech and assembly, with Proud Boys patrolling meetings and venue. These behavior patterns became the normative cultural characteristics into such counties as the Multnomah Republican County Party (MCRP) and the Clackamas County Republican Party (CCRP).
The only ORS 248 for legally recalling any elected person in the party is for only duly elected PCPs. And those PCPs can only be recalled by the voters in the precinct where they were elected.
With that opting out of ORS 248 came the Palace Intrigue Soap Opera years of changing the by-laws to be flexible in who they might not like and might like to attack to get those they determined were "not Real Republicans), to shut them up, to ban them, to kicked out of the party. The most recent was the Recall Coup on MCRP Chair Stephen Lloyd on May 6, 2021 where they added The Proud Boys to the Soap Opera to stop supporters of Lloyd's from even going into the meeting. Not a flicker seemed to cross the minds of ORP, MCRP or CCRP that their actions and behaviors were violations of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Ben Edtl's rollicking roller coaster ride actions come from a man who seemingly gets up each day and goes, "Hey, let's give this a shot." Ben's Town Hall 2025 interview shows a man who is just going to keep going with no hard feelings towards anyone if he isn't elected on February 22nd at the statewide ORP meeting in Portland, Oregon. Those liking interviews with a refreshing punch might like to view this Town Hall. Ben Edtl - Candidate for
Oregon Republican Party Chair
Ben's verbal grenades have been landing on such Oregon State senators as David Brock Smith one of the state senators who walked back in to allow HB 2002, the Mengele/Gosnell bill to pass into law giving doctors who kill babies and mutilate children immunity. The law even invited convicted felons from other states to apply for those jobs. Law and Order Republicans allowed this bill to pass into law in 2023?
The caucus Republican Leadership of David Brock Smith, Dan Bonham, Jeff Helfrich (a 25 year Portland Police officer) and Rep. Ed Diehl told Republican women in 2024 to hush about those babies and children, that the winning GOP strategy was to just get some more of those 4000 homeless addicts in downtown Portland into prison. Well, they didn't win.
Ben goes Full Metal Jacket on the Republican Caucus Leadership in the Town Hall interview.
Where did this pattern and history in Oregon of not protecting babies and children start? Looks like it first started when two Republicans allowed abortion to become legal in Oregon in 1969. And as happens with crazy, it just gets crazier as time moves on, thus in Oregon in 2022 tampons went into boys' restrooms in the public schools.
Ben Edtl is enthusiastically fully onboard with Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team.
The MCRP and Clackamas County Republican Party (CCRP) websites continued to show from 2020 onward they were not Donald J. Trump supporters. CCRP uses the term "MAGA" to sell merchandise. None of their merchandise, except for a pair of earrings, shows any images of Trump.
In 2020 ORP didn't want the MCRP girls manning the Recall Kate Brown tables all summer on Burnside in Portland, Oregon to wear Trump gear. But they did anyway.
True Trump supporters were not afraid and they were friendly to everyone driving by even to those who were angry.
This core group sold $14,000.00 of Trump merchandise that summer, all credit going to the leadership skills of Cheryl Bowen, vice-chair of MCRP at that time. She worked full-time and was out in the county and other counties as well helping them do their recall tables.
Ben Edtl having grown up in a liberal Democrat family in Southeast Portland has as unafraid and pleasant engagement in all areas of Portland, Oregon. Ben is being Trump and Musk friendly towards all.
The ORP in pulling together this statewide meeting for Saturday, the ORP leadership was selective in who they invited. All PCPs were not invited. As more heard about it and signed up to come, they were told no that the venue was full. But it is not full.
ORP leadership is so out of touch through having opted out of ORS 248 perhaps 20 years ago they have no problem putting together a statewide meeting and simply telling PCPs that they may not attend. ORP wrote to a PCP that the venue was "full" at 180 registered. The venue has a capacity of 275. ORP could easily add a few more.Having devolved down to a private club party they only see themselves and delegates as the elite PCPs in the ORP. The MCRP and CCRP mimicks their behaviors and attitudes.
Let the other duly elected PCPs eat cake, but not at their functions.
Watch all the interviews at Town Hall website to evaluate all the candidates running for ORP offices.
Ben Edtl - Candidate for Oregon Republican Party Chair
Gabriel Buehler was the first interview in the series:
Gabriel Buehler Candidate for Oregon Republican Party Chair
February 20, 2025