It seems they need a puppet more than a director...  

Via Slow Facts: 

Choice of personnel indicate your policy. You are who you hire..and fire.

The Republican Party of Texas terminated their director of operations, Rachel Malone. Ms Malone was a grassroots activist before she was hired by the Republican Party of Texas. She was a passionate second-amendment supporter. She thought the existing gun lobbying groups in Texas fell short in their promised results.

Malone started her own, one-person gun rights lobbying organization. She monitored bills and asked others to speak up when she testified. She learned how the Texas Senate conducts business and passes legislation. She also learned how the Texas Republican Party sets the party’s agenda. Therein lies the problem...

Rachel Malone showed conservative republicans how to press the Party’s grassroots-driven agenda from the ground up. What happens when the Party’s stated principles differ from the personal priorities of elected officials? That is when the phone calls start.

Our elected officials will follow the agenda set by the citizens..at least in theory. In practice, these entrenched officials follow their self-interests. They want to promote legislation that matches their personal beliefs and the interests of their large donors.

It all comes down to money and power. These elected officials spoke and Texas state party officials listened. They wanted to keep their job after all. Rachel Malone was terminated the next day.

Malone wasn’t released because she was ineffective or abrasive. She was fired because democracy is inconvenient for elected officials.

Read more here.