FSP-Rebel
Mr. Republitarian
- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 11,528
Via the RLCNH email list:
I attended the convention as a Ron Paul delegate. I cast my vote for Ron Paul and I communicated quite a bit with many of Maine's RP delegates about their situation concerning the seating of Maine delegation. I also spoke with with many RP delegates from Nevada, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas and other states about the Maine problem. After a fractious second and third day, on Thursday, RP delegates more or less came together and resolved that the wisest approach would be to not walk out of the convention but to instead remain a force within the Republican Party, to work for further reform of the Party and to work for the defeat of President Obama.
As a Goldwater Republican who has been a minority in my Party through most of the intervening years since the 60's, what I now see is a Republican Party that has, in very large way, come to embrace my 1964 champion's ideas. Ron Paul's recent and and past campaigns have been very positive in this regard. Today, our new Republican Party Platform is simultaneously more socially conservative as well as more liberty and freedom oriented than ever before (see, among other sections for example, new Platform sections dealing with declarations of war and the Federal Reserve). From here out, our first job as liberty and freedom activists will be to hold our gains and to hold our elected Republican officials accountable to the new National Platform just as we presently hold our NH Republican office holders to our own NHGOP Platform.
Party insiders and Party hacks will always try to control whatever they touch and so it's the grassroots members of the Party's job to both prevent and remedy upper echelon ham handed behavior. Having been deeply offended by tin eared RNC convention managers, grassroots delegate/organizers for all minority candidates will, over the course of the next two years, be working to correct amended Rule 12 in order to restore the ability for all prospective candidates to have a voice and to promote candidates of their choosing. We have lots of work to do internally.
Regardless of how any of us may feel about the current higher-ups in the RNC, we have a strong and dedicated cadre of liberty activists throughout the Party to draw strength from and from which to effect further reform. Since Ron Paul will not be running again, and since there is not another candidate out there at the moment in whom we can have 100% confidence, last Thursday, RP convention delegates were working together to organize a national freedom coalition to carry our ideas and message forward.
Finally, we have to recognize and build upon our successes. Responding petulantly when offended in politics wastes effort and energy and loses accrued good will. We can't allow ourselves to fall backward just because we've experienced certain (momentary) setbacks within the Republican Party hierarchy. Betrayal is common in politics. Political warfare is not a place for emotional decision making. What's most important now, assuming that we all want to hold on to our hard fought gains, is to now do whatever we can to insure that Barack Obama is not elected to a second term. We must be constructive and we must stifle any inclination we may have to act in any way that could or would enhance Obama's potential to win a second term. Given the magnitude of the threat, destructive behavior on anyone's part at this point in our history would constitute irresponsible - bordering upon politically criminal behavior.
Paul Mirski
I attended the convention as a Ron Paul delegate. I cast my vote for Ron Paul and I communicated quite a bit with many of Maine's RP delegates about their situation concerning the seating of Maine delegation. I also spoke with with many RP delegates from Nevada, Minnesota, Louisiana, Texas and other states about the Maine problem. After a fractious second and third day, on Thursday, RP delegates more or less came together and resolved that the wisest approach would be to not walk out of the convention but to instead remain a force within the Republican Party, to work for further reform of the Party and to work for the defeat of President Obama.
As a Goldwater Republican who has been a minority in my Party through most of the intervening years since the 60's, what I now see is a Republican Party that has, in very large way, come to embrace my 1964 champion's ideas. Ron Paul's recent and and past campaigns have been very positive in this regard. Today, our new Republican Party Platform is simultaneously more socially conservative as well as more liberty and freedom oriented than ever before (see, among other sections for example, new Platform sections dealing with declarations of war and the Federal Reserve). From here out, our first job as liberty and freedom activists will be to hold our gains and to hold our elected Republican officials accountable to the new National Platform just as we presently hold our NH Republican office holders to our own NHGOP Platform.
Party insiders and Party hacks will always try to control whatever they touch and so it's the grassroots members of the Party's job to both prevent and remedy upper echelon ham handed behavior. Having been deeply offended by tin eared RNC convention managers, grassroots delegate/organizers for all minority candidates will, over the course of the next two years, be working to correct amended Rule 12 in order to restore the ability for all prospective candidates to have a voice and to promote candidates of their choosing. We have lots of work to do internally.
Regardless of how any of us may feel about the current higher-ups in the RNC, we have a strong and dedicated cadre of liberty activists throughout the Party to draw strength from and from which to effect further reform. Since Ron Paul will not be running again, and since there is not another candidate out there at the moment in whom we can have 100% confidence, last Thursday, RP convention delegates were working together to organize a national freedom coalition to carry our ideas and message forward.
Finally, we have to recognize and build upon our successes. Responding petulantly when offended in politics wastes effort and energy and loses accrued good will. We can't allow ourselves to fall backward just because we've experienced certain (momentary) setbacks within the Republican Party hierarchy. Betrayal is common in politics. Political warfare is not a place for emotional decision making. What's most important now, assuming that we all want to hold on to our hard fought gains, is to now do whatever we can to insure that Barack Obama is not elected to a second term. We must be constructive and we must stifle any inclination we may have to act in any way that could or would enhance Obama's potential to win a second term. Given the magnitude of the threat, destructive behavior on anyone's part at this point in our history would constitute irresponsible - bordering upon politically criminal behavior.
Paul Mirski