Ron Paul to have six pledged NC delegates at RNC

[musicmax]

Here's a message from Sharon Ward, the NC grassroots coordinator. Note that the "Chairman's Slate" she mentions ONLY refers to the 13 "at-large" delegates. 39 pledged delegates (including 5 pledged Ron Paul delegates) were chosen at the 13 congressional district conventions. The state chairman, national committeeman and national committeewoman are unpledged delegates. So there are 13 "at-large" delegates in the "Chairman's Slate".

By adding Glen Bradley as a pledged Ron Paul delegate, the NC delegation to the national convention will have six pledged Paul delegates, which is how many are required to be allocated to Paul based on the NC Republican Primary result. The breakdown is: Romney 36, Paul 6, Santorum 6, Gingrich 4, unpledged party officials 3, for a total of 55.

Note that a Ron Paul supporter (Ken Nelson) will attend as one of Santorum's 6 pledged delegates, but will bring a Ron Paul voice to other party business (and hopefully to a second round of voting if Romney doesn't hit 1144 on the first round).

Recall that in 2008 the "Chairman's Slate" put McCain supporters into the pledged Paul spots, so it is great news that the party is apparently playing fair this time around. I agree with Sharon that assuming that the slate that includes Bradley, Nelson, Dalton and Lyda is put up for nomination, that there is no point in putting up an "alternate" slate.

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Dear NC Ron Paul Leaders,

This is to formally announce that our negotiations with the NCGOP this morning went very well, better than expected. My representatives, Jeff Palmer and Stephanie Ciaramitaro and her husband Steven, met with Chairman Robin Hayes, his assistant, Scott Laster and their legal counsel at the convention site in Greensboro just before noon.

The NCGOP has promised to put in writing that they will vote according to the results of the NC Primary at the RNC, and they have assigned us 4 delegates to the Chairman's slate - 2 Delegates and 2 Alternates. One delegate and one alternate will be pledged to Santorum. The Ron Paul Delegate is Rep. Glen Bradley, the Ron Paul Alternate is Reid Dalton. The Santorum Delegate is Ken Nelson, the Santorum Alternate is Mike Lyda. All are exceptional Ron Paul representatives.

The meeting went very well and my representatives said that they have built a strong bond of trust with the NCGOP leadership and are very pleased with the results. We are asking that the Ron Paul supporters in all the districts respect the trust that has been formed and stand down from any suggestion of an Alternate slate or any disruptions at the convention. This is what Dr. Paul is showing us - to work within the system to change hearts and minds based on how we conduct ourselves - as knowing, educated champions of Liberty and the Constitution.

We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Jeff Palmer who diligently, through many weeks of phone calls & meetings, has attained this victory for our Ron Paul campaign.

Much gratitude is also due to Stephanie Ciaramitaro who stepped in at the last minute and attended the negotiations in my stead. She played a key role and helped to garner the trust of the NCGOP leadership.

Oh oh, I'm gonna cry now. You all have been so awesome and inspiring to me over the past months as we have worked for Ron Paul here in North Carolina. I'm sure that there are many of you that could have done this job better than me and I am grateful to you for hanging in there and for the respect you have shown me.

Many years ago a wise man once said "If its not for love, its for nothing." I'm doing this because I love Ron Paul and all that he stands for, I love this Country and all that it stands for, and I love the spirit of Liberty that is within all of your hearts.

See you tomorrow afternoon!

With respect and gratitude,
Sharon Ward
NC Grassroots Coordinator, Ron Paul 2012

 

[slacker921]

I talked to several of the "old guard" establishment types who I'm friends with and they were really surprised that Hayes included Paul supporters on his slate. It's typically reserved for elected officials and party insiders who earned special recognition (often by raising large amounts of money for the NCGOP). So to have real Paul supporters on it (who haven't really done that much for the party YET) is a big deal.

It was a real show of trust from Hayes, and the Paul campaign (Sharon, Jeff, and others) did the very difficult task of "whipping" all the Paul supporters into line to not run alternate slates. That showed the NCGOP that when it's an important vote we can all come together... and that shows some strong organization and maturity. It was a very, very good move for both sides for the long run.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Nevertheless, a bunch of the newer guys are screaming about how awful we are and threatening to go rogue. I don't understand what part of "we only had 300 delegates out of a 1200 member convention" folks don't get. You want to crush the establishment you have to bring the numbers. If you don't bring the numbers don't be upset when we use Sun Tsu tactics to get everything we can get and more from the bad situation we are dealt. We had a pair of 5's vs the Establishment's four of a kind, and we bluffed for a pretty big share of the pot. You want the whole thing dammit you better come with a royal flush.

 

[aclove]

Nevertheless, a bunch of the newer guys are screaming about how awful we are and threatening to go rogue. I don't understand what part of "we only had 300 delegates out of a 1200 member convention" folks don't get. You want to crush the establishment you have to bring the numbers. If you don't bring the numbers don't be upset when we use Sun Tsu tactics to get everything we can get and more from the bad situation we are dealt. We had a pair of 5's vs the Establishment's four of a kind, and we bluffed for a pretty big share of the pot. You want the whole thing dammit you better come with a royal flush.

As always, +rep.

 

[MozoVote]

It's worth remembering as well, that even the takeover states were pitched battles. And the party elders took the attitude "we raised all the existing money in the bank accounts, so we're moving it to other GOP chapters. Good luck with your new toy." Expect the computers to be removed, the leases canceled, the phones unplugged. Taking over means *rebuilding* the party.

 

[aclove]

Good point. While we sometimes get accused of wanting to "destroy" the party, it's definitely the establishment that will blow it all up the moment the realize they've truly lost control.

 

[slacker921]

I hope I'm not proven wrong, but it seems like most of the "old guard" that I know recognize that we are rapidly growing in numbers and we will eventually gain control whether they want it to happen or not. I've talked to county and district chairs who said essentially that they know it's inevitable just as they knew that the the Goldwater, Reagan, Bush groups would gain control. It's a rising tide and they recognize that they will either ride it or drown. Also, despite what some people claim, most of them really don't hate us and are happy to see people with enthusiasm coming into the party.

The fact that we walked in and took over an entire steak house with 123 people for the RLC lunch when only 40 or so were expected spoke volumes to them. The level of enthusiasm and energy in the Paul ranks is great and they recognize that if they're going to win then they need us on their team. The win by Steve Royal is a great example of what we can accomplish.

I hope those other states (where Paul supporters now control the state GOP) had already done some fundraising projects and learned how to raise big money fast. It's something we here in NC might give some thought to. I think if we had raised some money quick and gotten the room that the "tea party" group was using (which was mostly empty every time I went by) then it would have been PACKED the whole convention... something to think about for next time.

 

[rancher89]

OK, update here...and hi to all the folks I haven't spoken to in a very very long time. Are you going to Porcfest? I'll be there!

We not only got the delegate we deserved and the alternate to go with it, we also got RP people selected as the 'token' Santorum' RNC delegate/alternate. So we got MORE than we were legally supposed to get. Now we have to see if those votes are announced....not holding my breath, but if the 'playing by the rules continues, we should be able to help at least a little. 8^)

There were lots of rumors and rumors of rumors, 99% were false. Many were quick to blame RP folks for anything that slowed the convention down, but IMHO we didn't, we actually moved things along pretty good until we got to that nasty unity resolution.

The story behind it: The chair of the resolution committee, Martha Jenkins, slipped it in at the very last minute. The Chair of the party tried to get it removed. The Central committee tried to get it removed....to no avail. Kudos to them for understanding how divisive a 'unity' resolution or rule for that matter can be. Long story short, the Chair tried to change the language to read "presumptive nominee" instead of calling mitts the nominee before the RNC dog and pony show. It failed, much emotion and debate happened. Several people walked out but we kept quorum. Many regular gop folks did not like the resolution at all but it was voted on finally and was passed. While the next resolution was being heard, conferences were held off to the side, I gave the Chair a note asking him to reintroduce the resolution for the sole purpose of adding his original amended wording (another person's idea but I agreed.) None of the people I spoke to had ever heard of this happening before, but it was worth a shot. The Chair did reintroduce it, but he didn't reintroduce it for the 'sole' purpose and immediately someone offered an amendment. I thought the walls were going to fall down from the groans in the room. Shortly after that the guy offered to drop his amendment and the resolution went to a vote. Not a single person voted against it. Not one.


It may not mean much to those who were not there in 08 and watched our efforts go up in smoke. We had District and County chairs supporting us, we had people that did not like RP supporting us, we had the state chair pleading with people to play fair. We didn't have enough support to drop the resolution completely, but we did manage to demote mitt to the presumptive nominee. I hate taking bones as much as the next person, but in NC it's what we could get. Crap, we have teachers telling kids they can't 'dis' the bama.....

we HAVE to get people to change their registration in Nov or Dec, not on Jan 31st. If there is a problem with the system, you need time to fix it. We had around 200 people there thanks to the hard work of several new folks, in Meck county alone our numbers jumped from around 20 to over 60 (according to the straw poll.) We could have probably had 100 more if registrations had happened just a little earlier..........

We need to grab whatever county and district positions we can possibly get next spring......including the state chair position, but these jobs take time and commitment and money---most positions are not paid....Lunch is over, back to work, later!

I feel like a newbie with all the changes, I realize some of what I just posted is duplicated above, but I don't have the time to edit again...

 

[torchbearer]

Nevertheless, a bunch of the newer guys are screaming about how awful we are and threatening to go rogue. I don't understand what part of "we only had 300 delegates out of a 1200 member convention" folks don't get. You want to crush the establishment you have to bring the numbers. If you don't bring the numbers don't be upset when we use Sun Tsu tactics to get everything we can get and more from the bad situation we are dealt. We had a pair of 5's vs the Establishment's four of a kind, and we bluffed for a pretty big share of the pot. You want the whole thing dammit you better come with a royal flush.

we had a similar division here, thankfully- cooler heads prevailed.

 

[MozoVote]

We probably can wait before comitting to a state chair battle. I was skeptical of Hayes, as most of you were, since Fetzer's cabal promoted him to the position. However he does seem to be a shrewd enough "party boss" to analyze the factions beneath him, and keep things in balance. Focusing on other committees and the county and district chairs next year may be more productive.

 

[jacque]

We probably can wait before comitting to a state chair battle. I was skeptical of Hayes, as most of you were, since Fetzer's cabal promoted him to the position. However he does seem to be a shrewd enough "party boss" to analyze the factions beneath him, and keep things in balance. Focusing on other committees and the county and district chairs next year may be more productive.

I think Robin Hates will step down. Wayne King was given the chairman position and the platform position for the NC Delegates.


Freedom Mom

 

[jacque]

To do some follow-up on Rancher89's post.

Total delegates at the convention on Saturday were 1268 after they moved the alternates to delegates. The quorum number was 635.

 

[slacker921]

Just a reminder .... this is a public forum.. The NCGOP is watching it.

Reread what you've written and consider whether it provides information that you don't want them to know.

 

[lib3rtarian]

Just a reminder .... this is a public forum.. The NCGOP is watching it.

Reread what you've written and consider whether it provides information that you don't want them to know.

Agreed. We have a better channel to discuss sensitive stuff. Let's take it there.

 

[Jeremy D Adams]

We not only got the delegate we deserved and the alternate to go with it, we also got RP people selected as the 'token' Santorum' RNC delegate/alternate. So we got MORE than we were legally supposed to get.

I am not invited to the secret squirrel meeting, so I will just post this here. That statement above is actually not true. If you go by the 2008 rules with the rounding and apportionment, we should have got both slots AS Ron Paul slots. Though we did make good headway by getting the NCGOP to actually obey the law this year as opposed to 2008, it was the bare minimum, nothing extra.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

We probably can wait before comitting to a state chair battle. I was skeptical of Hayes, as most of you were, since Fetzer's cabal promoted him to the position. However he does seem to be a shrewd enough "party boss" to analyze the factions beneath him, and keep things in balance. Focusing on other committees and the county and district chairs next year may be more productive.

I can work with Hayes. I was a bit...disappointed...at the lockdown of the RNC committees which was obviously planned in advance, but we keep showing real growth and that sort of lockdown will lift. If Hayes comes back for 2013, I think we'll content ourselves with counties and districts to start filling out the excomm, central committee, and work the platform. If it's King in 2013, it's going to be a Battle Royale, and the brass already knows it. Nothing secret there. Running King up the flagpole will send a signal that they want to kick the Paulers out of the Party, as King has already been plenty public about his feelings in that regard.

 

[MozoVote]

Yeah that Fetzer/Adams race for Chairman 2009 was exhausting. Adams joked that he spent more time tavelling the state just to campaign for state chair than McCrory did running for governor.

State chair races bring out the nastiest instincts in people. It is, after all, some folks livelihood - to suck up to the chair and get business. Or promote someone to become chair who will wash some hands in return.