On Saturday, with no warning, Iowa’s Republican Party chairman announced his resignation. A.J. Spiker, a supporter of Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns, had benefited from the “liberty movement’s” organizing—an effort that won Paul most of Iowa’s delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention.
In power, Spiker had been under attack, regularly, from the other factions of the party. Most of the time they criticized him for failing to raise enough money; the subtext was that the “mainstream” wanted the reins back from the Paul family. They got ‘em. As Jennifer Jacobs reported, Spiker resigned after more moderate Republicans “showed up in large numbers to at-times tedious and lengthy county conventions typically frequented by only the most diehard activists.”
The counter-revolution had been a long time coming. So was the upside. Ever since Spiker took over the party, and promised not to lead it through 2016, it was assumed he would return to the Paul fold. And now he has. RANDPAC, Sen. Rand Paul’s political organization, has announced that Spiker will come aboard as a “political advisor.”
“There is no better champion for liberty lovers then Senator Rand Paul,” said Spiker in a statement. “I look forward to working with the team, together we can make a difference. I am eager to hit the ground running.”
