Comrade Cooper’s Dog-And-Pony Show: How Miami-Dade REC Is Being Run To Prevent Debate, Ballots, And Reform – JP

Miami-Dade’s Republican Executive Committee recently met, laying bare a pattern critics have warned about for months — irregular scheduling, speeches that run out the clock, and procedural maneuvers that smother member motions, ballots, and debate.  According to attendees, Chairman Kevin Cooper presided over yet another meeting structured to avoid votes—calling voice outcomes in his favor, letting quorum slip as members drifted out, and moving to adjourn amid rising verbal opposition on the floor. The result: no new business, no grassroots reforms, and no accountability.  Strategies perfected by Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Josef Stalin.

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What Cooper Says He’s Building—and What He’s Blocking

Publicly, Cooper casts himself as the leader who will build a war chest, expand outreach, and ride Miami-Dade’s red shift into 2026, highlighting the county’s recent GOP gains and the first time since 1988 that a GOP presidential nominee carried the county.  1   He is listed as the newly elected county chair and front-facing leader on the Miami-Dade GOP’s site.  3   The RPOF’S own guidelines page asserts that notices go out at least 10 days in advance “pursuant to the Constitution of the REC,” implying regular, orderly meetings and proper notice.  6  Yet the lived experience inside the room tells a different story — meetings called with inadequate lead time at unpredictable dates; a program stacked with state and local officeholders praising Republican dominance in Florida; and a tightly managed agenda that leaves no time for motions, ballots, or committee-driven reform.  These practices directly undermine the REC’s stated commitment to regular meetings and timely notice—and they flout the spirit of RPOF guidelines and Robert’s Rules as members report it.  7  One attendee was quoted as saying, “They came for speeches.  We came for votes.  Only one of us got what we wanted.”

The Trump Coattails vs. the RINO Class

Speaker after speaker celebrated Republican gains in Miami-Dade and Florida’s status as a GOP bastion, crediting the Trump-era realignment and energized base.  Cooper himself has branded his leadership around Miami-Dade’s red shift and pro-Trump momentum.  1 3  But beneath that rhetoric, many of the same officials ride Trump’s popularity while pushing establishment priorities that leave core voters cold. The critique from the floor: a growing RINO bloc—careerists, consultants, and donor-driven politicians—capitalizing on Trump’s coalition while slow-walking grassroots reforms and tightening control over local party machinery.

Developers, Taxes, and the Donor Class

High-end real estate interests are increasingly shaping local policy and party dynamics, whether by winning office or influencing those who do.  The property-tax fight illustrates the divide — Gov. Ron DeSantis has mused about eliminating property taxes entirely as a way to relieve homeowners battered by rising costs.  At the same time, legislators such as JC Porras propose partial relief, framed as a means to preserve funding for law enforcement and first responders.  To skeptical activists, that “support services” rationale looks like a smokescreen for scaling back promised relief and maintaining the revenue streams that developers and insiders prefer.

Cooper’s professional ties to the development world—reflected in a career connected to major real estate players—only reinforce suspicions that donor-class priorities are steering REC strategy and squelching member-driven reforms.  The pattern feels familiar to veterans of Florida politics. 

The Bush-Model Playbook—Updated

There is a long Florida precedent of using county party chairs as springboards to higher office –Jeb Bush chaired Miami-Dade’s REC in the 1980s, and George H.W. Bush chaired in Houston before national ascent.  Cooper’s consolidation tactics—ballot avoidance, aggressive voice-vote calls, agenda control, and running out the clock—mirror the old model’s instinct to keep the grassroots at bay while building personal power and donor networks.  That’s why the resistance is growing.  Members opposed to Cooper’s approach point to last night’s chorus against adjournment as a sign that the rank-and-file are done with theatrical meetings that preclude motions, votes, and accountability.

Procedural Violations: A Pattern, Not a One-Off

Alleged violations include:

Scheduling meetings without proper 10-day notice and at irregular dates, defying REC/RPOF norms, and frustrating member participation.  By itself, this is a minor issue; however, combined with an irregular pattern of meetings, this has the effect of ensuring only REC members who are given a heads-up will attend.   6  Avoiding secret ballots; substituting quick voice votes and calling results in the Chair’s favor without division or counted vote when challenged.  Engineering a loss of quorum by allowing speeches to run long until members exit, then ruling motions out of order due to no quorum, blocking new business and debate by packing agendas with dignitary remarks—what attendees described as a “dog-and-pony show”—then moving to adjourn over audible objection.  Each of these tactics, taken alone, might be brushed off as meeting management.  In combination—and repeated—they constitute a strategy to suffocate member motions, shield leadership from accountability, and prevent rule-based reform.  We overheard one Committeewoman say, “If you can’t win the ballot, you manage the clock.”

What the Grassroots Want—and How to Win It Back

A precinct-captain strategy to expand the base and re-engage disaffected voters, Trump brought into the fold.  Regular, predictable meetings with proper notice and time-certain windows for motions, new business, and recorded votes.  Restoring membership intake to the Secretary rather than a chair-controlled gatekeeper.  A rules-compliant process that guarantees ballot votes on leadership and contested questions, not ambiguous voice-vote calls.  A Rules-Procedure Committee empowered to publish clear guidance and enforce compliance with Robert’s Rules and RPOF bylaws.  A standing agenda order: call to order, credentials and quorum report, approval of minutes, officer reports, committee reports, unfinished business, new business, scheduled speakers only after business, and adjournment—so member action comes before speeches—membership approval of expenditures over a certain large amount; $500 to $1000—additionally, a full audit of REC finances and procedures.

The Stakes

Trump identified and mobilized voters long ignored by both parties.  Those voters expect transparency, fair process, and results.  Suppose county parties become stage sets for donor-class priorities—especially in real estate and land use—while grassroots reforms are bottled up.  In that case, the movement risks hollowing out from the inside.  The most recent REC’s meeting push back against adjournment suggests the dam is cracking.  If members insist on rules-first meetings, demand counted votes when voice results are disputed, and refuse to leave before business is done, the balance of power can shift back to the membership where it belongs.  Alternatively, Miami-Dade County REC risks reverting to its former status as a social club, which could lead to the malaise that cost Republicans seats in the 2022 mid-term elections.  This could also make President Trump an ineffective lame duck, struggling against a Democratic-controlled Congress.

1 Florida Politics

2 Florida Press

3 Miami Dade GOP

4 Miami-Dade GOP

5 Cooper Interview

6 RPOF Guidelines

7 Roberts Rules