name of party unity, National Committeemen and Committeewomen were free to

support the prospective nominee of their choice and could withhold clearance for a

personal appearance or visit from a field worker in their state to stifle their opponents.

Ultimately, the decentralized structure of the RNC created numerous pitfalls for an

aspiring national candidate.

 The RNC occupied the most public position in the Republican hierarchy, but

contemporary observers and scholars regarded it as the weakest organization in the

party structure. The major sources of policy-making and party direction were publicly

elected officials, whether the President, the members of the Congressional and Senate

Policy Committees, or the state parties. Power either flowed downward from the

White House, or upward from the several states, into the national committees, which

were generally prevented from taking a clear stand on an issue or moving in a certain

direction due to their diverse and self-interested memberships. The lack of a clear

authority, the need to keep the party broad and inclusive, and the competition among

potential presidential candidates routinely prevented RNC chairmen from emerging as

the most prominent voice of the party.32

 When the Republicans were out of power, as was the case from 1932 through

1952, the RNC took on more institutional importance. As the formal head of the

party's most public governing body, the chairman had regular access to the national

press. Since he did not hold elective office, his relationship with the opposition party

did not impact his political future. Because the position was national in scope, large

interest groups that generally supported the party worked through the national

committees to advance their own agendas. An out-party chairman who utilized these

advantages and took an active role in molding the party to fit the programmatic goals


32 Cotter and Hennessy, Politics without Power, 94-103.