The GRA Accountability Rule
There has been a substantial amount of “cyber ink” dedicated to the Frostipus scandal here at the Peach Pundit. However, I do believe it’s raised a substantial issue that may go unnoticed due to the magnitude of the story. In response to calls to return tens of thousands of dollars donated to the Georgia Republican Assembly (GRA) PAC, GRA leadership has made a couple of stunning admissions. They claim:
- The GRA PAC was controlled entirely by the Frost family the entire time.
- Accusations tying the GRA’s funding to the Frosts are false.
I think a lot of people find the second point hard to believe, which is understandable. However, I’m more interested in the first point. That’s a stunning lack of accountability from the father of the Accountability Rule. Independent of the Ponzi Scheme, this PAC arrangement reveals a stunning failure of leadership. The PAC stole the GRA name, marketed itself to the GRA membership under that name, and GRA leadership let them do it.
The GRA may have exercised no control over the PAC, but it was hardly the work of a family gone rogue with the GRA name. It operated for 8 years without so much as a peep from leadership publicly denouncing it. If you’ve been around for more than 2 seconds, you understand that this PAC arrangement received the tacit blessing of the GRA leadership. Many of us saw it firsthand.
I first got involved in Georgia politics in 2016, partly because of Nathan Deal’s veto of the religious liberty legislation. At the time, I was a youth minister in a baptist church and more focussed on ministry than politics, especially state politics. I couldn’t understand how a Republican Governor could side with Hollywood and big business over everyday Georgians, and I felt convicted to do something about it. Elected officials should be accountable to the people, and that includes elected leadership of political organizations. I’m writing today to shed light on a lack of accountability within the Georgia Republican Assembly.
In 2017 I met at the Golden Corral in Gainesville with a group of conservatives to help start the Lanier Republican Assembly, a now defunct chapter of the Georgia Republican Assembly. At that meeting the President of the GRA addressed the room before an officer of the GRA PAC gave a brief presentation. The PAC–allegedly–was setup for GRA members to give money that can be spent supporting GRA candidates. This seemed interesting, although I was a bit concerned when the PAC representative professed to be close friends and political allies with Governor Deal.
The truth here is simple: GRA leadership knew that Brant Frost V was operating a PAC under the GRA name. They could’ve told him to stop. They could’ve refused to endorse or support the PAC until he changed the name. They knew the PAC was not accountable to the membership of the GRA, and they did nothing to stop it. All of this transpired while they railed against the GOP for a lack of accountability.
I understand that the Lanier Republican Assembly may be rechartering soon. If so, I think I will join and propose the GRA Accountability Rule. If a member of leadership supported the GRA Unaccountability PAC, they’re not allowed to serve in leadership ever again. Elected leaders should be accountable for their actions.
