HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – It's not as if the Republican Party has been the bastion of stability and unity in recent years.

Then came some recent "my God, did he really say that?" statements and questionable actions from the old guard among the Madison County establishment.

Enter Republican Refresh.

It could be perceived either as a simple movement to provide some new blood to a group with no shortage of elder statesmen or a drastic attempt to clean up some broken china left shattered by some boisterous bulls.

"Our goal was to refresh the (Madison County) Executive Committee, to make people proud to be Republicans and to become an Executive Committee that people are proud of," said Brent Beal, the president of the Madison County Young Republicans.

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The new campaign that enjoyed considerable success in last week's Republican primary.

It recruited several new faces to run for Executive Committee positions. It endorsed other candidates. Of 18 of the Madison County Executive Committee seats, 11 were won by candidates endorsed by Republican Refresh. For local slots on the state committee, the success rate wasn't as good, losing five of eight.

"We made some changes where they were needed and we're going to infuse the local Republican Executive Committee," Beal said.

It's an easy perception to make this a Generation Gap situation. The "get-off-my-lawn, kid" bunch vs. the whippersnappers with a sense of entitlement.

"I don't know that it's a generational thing. It's more a rationality thing," Beal said.

He noted that the Republican Refresh roster had a "wide array of ages." There were even a couple of grandmothers in the bunch.

"They're folks who are good, rational folks that really represent our community," Beal said.

But, sure enough, Beal has sensed that Generation Gap, served with a side order of condescension.

The party establishment was "OK with us doing the door-to-door things, throwing the events, doing a lot of legwork that really promoted the Republican brand in Madison County," Beal said. "But when it came to making decisions and having input, it was 'leave that to us. We know what's best for us ... We should be telling you and the community what their value system should be."

Beal and his Refresh supporters were particularly irked by the attempted censure of Bill Holtzclaw and the censure of Mary Scott Hunter for their support of Common Core standards.

There is no questioning the Republican Party success and dominance in this state and this region. But it is a party with a broad umbrella, from centrists to the Tea Party.

Whether the creation of this Republican Refresh campaign might serve to be even more divisive was something with which Beal wrestled.

"In doing this group, am I causing an even bigger rift?" he said. "But sometimes to make things better, there has to be this struggle and this kind of change. Sometimes with growth, there comes growing pains. And some folks don't want to grow."

Whether Republican Refresh becomes an instrument of change or simply a nuisance, growled at like pesky kids on somebody's front yard, won't make much difference in a general election where the Democrats are basically like a homecoming opponent headed into a Southeastern Conference stadium.

This movement isn't offering revolution. It's offering rationality. There can't be enough of that, no matter the side of the aisle.