Specter of Ron Paul invasion haunts Texas Republicans
This email was circulated by a longtime Republican activist:
If you are in Travis County proper, we desperately need you to come the the Republican county convention this Saturday because all hell is breaking loose with the street scum the RP people are recruiting to help them overturn the rules and then the leadership of the county convention and same on to state convention to elect delegates to the national convention. It’s not really about their favorite candidate any more but more about disruption and anarchy.
They are able to do this because our primaries have been pushed off so late the conventions are being held before the primaries, and all someone has to do is swear allegiance to the R Party and they get a little yellow card and are allowed in to the County convention, (which is divided into State Senate Districts as soon as it begins–but that’s not important to understand right now) as if they had voted in the primary. We have no way of knowing for sure who they are. The libertarian party is required to file its list of attendees with the County Clerk, but they have not done so, and they will not give us their list. If people attend both, they will be prosecuted, but we would rather not have to do it after the fact that way.
Most of these people, however, are not libertarians, but just warm bodies or even Democrats who have been recruited to come. I am sure many of them have never voted in any election. Some have a reason–such as hating Bush, wanting drugs legalized or our military dismantled–and others, I honestly don’t know what their incentive is because they are apolitical and know nothing about anything. Some are 9-11 “truthers.”
I am on nominations committee for SD 14, and we interviewed hordes of people last night, most of them imposters with yellow cards, and we will have to do the same tonite. We don’t have to vote them in as delegates to the state convention but we do need to meet with them if they have their card and will wait hours to meet with us. They want to be delegates to state convention and lie about who recruited them and why. Many of them do not know there is a Senate race in Texas and have little speeches prepared about themselves and their “concern for our country” and the constitution.
They will have even more people this Saturday, and, being revolutionaries, they will have the numbers to take over if normal Republicans don’t show up.
Please pass along to your like-minded friends. I know it’s inconvenient, but it is as important as your vote in the primary and in November.
If it weren’t for the redistricting fiasco, this would not be happening.
The county convention will be at Hyde Park Baptist Church because we couldn’t find any other suitable facility for a group this large.
* * * *
This is the third time I have written about a possible “takeover” by the Ron Paul forces. I suspect that the fears are exaggerated, but there is clearly a lot of angst in Republican circles about the Paulbots. The church is in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood, but it won’t be quiet tomorrow. Parking will be next to impossible. There is also a question of whether the Paul forces will be invading county conventions across the state. We’ll know soon enough.
Tagged: ron paul
Robert Morrow says:
This nasty hag has been kicked off the SD 14 Nominations Committee already.
I am expecting a PEACEFUL although politically contested convention tomorrow here in Travis County.
The “Crockerdiles” are making a move to REMOVE precinct caucusing to directly elect delegates and alternates to the state convention. In a pathetic attempt to wipe out the Ron Paulers, by running everything through a “Crockerdile” appointed Nominations Committee, they have alienated much of the Travis County Republican party who favor the way we selected delegates in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Precinct caucusing to elect delegates to the state convention has worked for ALL FACTIONS IN THE GOP in the past and their is much support for this rather than being grilled by a little claque of Crockerdiles who send out nasty emails.
I predict because of the greedy power move by the Crockerdiles that the Rules report will be voted down right out of the gate. From that point on, anything can happen.
I just wish we would use the system that has served us well for so many years and which almost all the factions and the grassroots have benefited from.
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anon-p Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
RMorrow> I just wish we would use the system that has served us well for so many years and which almost all the factions and the grassroots have benefited from.
If I understand history correctly, the Travis County Republican Party used delegate selection by nominations committee for decades prior to 2006.
Isn’t precinct caucusing for delegates the exception rather than the norm?
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 10:22 pm
Many of the major metropolitian areas have gone to precinct caucusing to pick a good chunk of the delegates to the state convention. A lot of the smaller counties still use the Nominations Committee.
The reason precinct caucusing to select delegates/alternates to state is that it diffuses power and sends it down to the very grassroots: the precinct level.
How many times have you seen a Nominations committee controlled by one faction that proceeded to wipe out out the other factions in sending delegates to state. Or they bury the losing faction as alternate delegate #160, which means you will probably never be seated as a voting delegate at state.
And that is what the Crockerdiles are attempting to do – be little piggies and completely control the ENTIRE process. One little man – Bill Crocker – appoints his little clique to Nominations – and then tries to almost completely wipe out the Ron Paulers as state delegates … and not only that a truckload off other Republicans of many stripes…
The SD 14 Rules report is ripe for being voted down. Anyone who votes for it is slitting their own throats as far as picking delegates.
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Robert Morrow says:
Park in the parking garage at Hyde Park Baptist, there should be plenty of room there for almost everyone.
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Just tired.... says:
Well, I guess those primaries shouldn’t have been put off so late. I can’t imagine why that happened…..oh, wait a minute. Something about Rs cutthroat redistricting?
Karma’s a bitch.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
like Burka says, Bulls make money, Bears make money … Pigs get slaughtered …
GOP writ large.
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Bette Napier Pritchett Reply:
April 26th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Well, the Republicans are in power in the statehouse and they did NOTHING different than the Democrats did when THEY were in the majority. Both parties take advantage of their positions of power to stack the deck in their favor, vis a vis redistricting, so I hope you Dems quit being such crybabies when the Republicans do EXACTLY what YOU did when YOUR party was in the majority!!!
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Robert Morrow says:
And just for the record: 1) I can’t stand Bush – I voted for him in 2000 and 2004. I gave him $1,000. What kind of an idiot is pro-Bush in 2012?? 2) I can’t stand that hypocritical fraud Rick Perry either 3)I would love to legalize all drugs 4) Unlike this hag I would actually cut government 5) Being against a whole medley of stupid, unconstitutional, endless, bankrupting wars does not mean one is “anti-military.” Why do you think Ron Paul has more military donors than anyone else? They don’t want to get killed fighting wars for Bushes, Clintons, Obama and Israel. 6) I would like to lower the age of sexual consent to age 16. Works for the majority of the world, why not Texas. Mother Nature makes girls so hot and sexy when they hit 16; you should not be thrown in jail for that. Works for most of the world of 7 billion people 7) Of course, I am pro pornography, strip clubs, and legalized prostitution.
If Mike Toomey can lobby, why can’t a girl sell her body? (Or one of Rick’s little gay boyfriends…) Just wondering …
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paulburka Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Control yourself, Robert
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centexliberal says:
I think it is time for Mr. Morrow to find another site for his rants.
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Mr. Deez Reply:
April 20th, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Come on, he is entertaining.
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Anonymous says:
Wow. And I thought the Rs just used paranoia to scare the sheep. They really ARE paranoid….
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Eyeswideopen says:
If you had Robert showing up at your party with expectations of him dropping turds in your punch bowl, would you be a bit apprehensive?
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Spiro Eagleton Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 9:33 am
Yeah, and don’t forget that Morrow is about 6’8″ and looks and acts like Leerch from The Addam’s Family. He may hate LBJ, but he shares the same habit of invading personal space when he talks to someone.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 11:31 pm
That is a bunch of bull.
I look like Anthony Robbins and I don’t enter a person’s personal private space, unless she asks me to.
Thank-you.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
Fortunately Robert isn’t a republican just another nut. Austin does seem to have more than its share.
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Simon Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Completely right, JBB. There ARE far too many Republicans in Austin.
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 6:35 pm
only when the lege is in session…any idea why?
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Anonymous says:
All of this makes me want to go to the Harris County convention tomorrow just for sh!ts and giggles.
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Robert Morrow says:
Just to show you how pathetic these “Crockerdiles” are, they made a rule forbidding material or fliers from being handed out at the SD 14 convention.
Now how pathetic is that? A POLITICAL CONVENTION and you can’t hand out political materials? I have been to many state, county conventions, straw polls and at every single one of them fliers and campaign materials are dumped everywhere.
Kind of like its the First Amendment, which is most valuable in political activities.
So it really shows up what a bunch of chumps those poor, pathetic excuses for political hacks are.
Any Republican delegate who votes for the SD 14 Rules report is slitting their own throats when it comes to selecting delegates. The old way was the precinct delegates pretty much selected themselves. The Rules report will be *attempting* to abolish precinct caucusing to select delegates and run everything through the bizarro world of the Crockerdile hacks on the Nominations.
In an attempt to wipe out the Ron Paulers – a significant chunck of the convention, the “Crockerdiles” are cutting off the noses of many establishment and grassroot conservative Republicans and they are not happy about it.
If you vote for the Rules report you would have to be a complete idiot – no matter what political faction you belong to. I don’t think it will pass. Too many experienced delegates like the power of picking themselves as state delegages/alternates.
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Almost Hilarious Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 12:07 am
Hyde Park Baptist is a CHURCH. If you hand out political material, the church could lose its 501(c)3 tax status. Because while the Dems may get away with it here, Republicans can’t, and you KNOW they’re looking for a reason to keep us from congregating anywhere. Deal with it. You won’t convince anyone to vote for Paul who isn’t already voting for him, anyway.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 12:16 am
Hilarious, you are quite Hilarious. THEN WHY IS HYDE PARK BAPTIST HOSTING MULTIPLE REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL DISTRICT CONVENTIONS?
If that does not endanger a church’s tax status then nothing will. It is quite obvious that someone is letting their inner totalitarian come out by banning the the distribution of political pamphlets and campaign materials … just so they can *try* to keep a lid on the SD convention.
By the way that IRS rule is unconstitutional. It was put in by LBJ because so many preachers were railing against him.
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Robert Morrow says:
Isn’t that just pathetic that at the SD 14 political convention it is against the Rules to HAND OUT FLIERS? Some of you readers have been going to conventions for 30-40 years; ever heard of something as pathetic as that.
All because the Crockerdiles want to squelch free speech, education, political discourse and any opposition to their petty little agenda. This is the same group that loves prayers, wars, pledging allegiance to both the Texas and the American flag.
Just not the First Amendment. Here is what showed up in my email box tonight re: SD 14.
“Rules posted last night WILL NOT allow political pamphlets or campaign materials to be distributed at our poltical convention. We know this sounds a little contradictory, but it is what it is until amended.
There will also be “security” with orange arm bands to police security problems.
Current rules have been set up to allow committees appointed by one man to appoint all the delegates. The nominations committee elected to amend the 2010 state delegate list.
If you prefer to have the 2012 county convention delegates select the state delegates, then you will need to lobby to amend the rules to allow PRECINCT CAUCUSING. To be properly informed, please download the file entitled “Precinct Caucusing Amendment” at: http://www.meetup.com/centraltexasrlc/files.
Print out pages 1-4 for information on the amendment to show to or discuss with other convention delegates.
The remainder of the document contains forms that can be used to record the elected delegate slate for ALL the different precincts. Print out the page for your own precinct so its slate can be tabulated if the current rules are amended.
You can show these materials to others, but we recommend that you do not hand them out to avoid being charged as a “security problem”.”
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Pecker says:
Hahaha. Looks like the Austin yuppies are shaking. It gonna be an RP revolution either way. Either from the POTUS dissolving over reaching and overspending federal branches and let the states have some of their say, or we keep barreling towards inevitable economic collapse, and we’ll see the classes merge.
RON PAUL or no one at all.
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Almost Hilarious says:
I think you should have to be an actual Republican to get to attend a convention.
Guess that leaves Robert Morrow and his groupies out.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 12:18 am
I have voted in Texas Republican primaries 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and soon to be 2012.
Not only that, but I have been a delegate to 3 consecutive state GOP conventions 2006, 2008, 2010 and hopefully 2012 if elected.
Granted the Texas Republican party is big steaming pile off doo doo sitting in summer pasture at noontime, but I am doing my best to *reform* it.
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Actual Republican Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 9:02 am
I have voted in every Republican primary since 1986. You assume too much about Ron Paul supporters. If an actual Republican is a blind follower of the likes of Goldman-Sachs mouthpiece Mitt Romney (or Barack Obama, take your pick — same guy), I don’t want to be one. If Romney wins the nomination, THIS actual Republican will write Ron Paul in. Either way, neither face of Wall Street and Globalist Restructuring of the world will get my vote.
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Almost Hilarious Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 9:49 pm
I said nothing about Ron Paul supporters. You assume too much by the word “cronies”.
I’m glad you’re planning to vote against Obama one way or the other.
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Pecker says:
An actual Republican? It all seems pretty much like the same continuation of agenda through the parties to me. Try stepping back and taking a look at the course of recent history and be an actual individual capable of critical thought, instead of falling for the same old shell game?
Follow the money. Ever hear of banks that fund both sides while they leverage debt and and consolidate wealth both ways? Suckers.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 6:26 am
Yep.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
lemme see…the republicans are at the Omni Hotel and the democrats are at the Super 8?
Doncha worry dems they’ll leave a light on.
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longleaf says:
” … if normal Republicans don’t show up.”
I don’t even know what this is. I’ve never seen one in this part of the state.
I am guessing it is a reference to the archetypal Country Club Republicans of the 1960s in places such as Highland Park and River Oaks. They DO seem almost normal, in retrospect.
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Actual Republican Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 9:03 am
“normal Republicans” is code for “Members of the good-old boys’ club.”
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John Johnson says:
Paul..in one thread you state that the Repub’s are worried about the liberals invading their party; in this one, the Paul supporters. Is the Repub Party of Texas defining them aa one and the same? Surely, not. A true liberal would not get anywhere close to a moniker starting with the letter “R”, and demanding that we not spend more than we take in is certainly not liberal thinking.
The two are polar opposites.
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Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 9:40 am
So what are you saying Mr. dickless, that GWB was a liberal???
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Anonymous Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 11:44 am
Gotta love the civility that Col. Kirby displays.
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Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 11:56 am
Bite me. How’s that?
John Johnson Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Sorry, light bird. I don’t have time to slow down and decipher everything for you. Why don’t you take a break from posting here until you can get up to speed and contribute something from a knowledgable perspective? The crass retorts and name calling grow old.
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Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I love how you whine about name calling as you call people names. I guess do as I say, not as I do is a hidden commandment of your religion.
Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 3:45 pm
Speaking of do as I say, not as I do..the biggest drivers of our deficit are the bush tax cuts and the 2 unpaid for wars started by bush and his chickenhawk friends. Add in the unpaid for Medicare part D handout to corporate america and that sounds like a lot of spending more than we have taken in. It wasn’t liberals that were pushing for any of that.
Just once when a wingnut is called out on their BS I’d love to see them try to present some actual data to support their position. Instead they run away with the “I’m too busy” excuse. Pantload.
paulburka Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 2:54 pm
The author of the memo referred to liberals. I just used it in the headline, as irony,
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John Johnson Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Come on, light bird…if you were up to speed you would know that the Paul supporters are the ones carrying the conservative “cut spending/ don’t buy it if you cannot pay cash for it ” message to the Repub’s. Not sure what position you are chirping from. You want to pound on Bush for past spending sins while Obama is making Bush look like a rank amateur when it comes to getting us deeper in debt. This is why Indie numbers are growing. Both major parties serve the same masters…Wall Street and Big Money…and they call the shots. Take your blinders off.
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Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 8:54 pm
Yes, because the main drivers of the deficit magically disappeared on 1/20/2009. Oh wait, they didn’t. But you just can’t admit that, can you?
And this has what to do with the fact that you, like your brother JBB, just like to make shit up??
Gen. Patton says:
If you used your real name instead of one borrowed from a John Wayne movie, you might get more respect. On second thought – no you wouldn’t.
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Col. Mike Kirby Reply:
April 21st, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Wow, what a stinging rebuke Gen. Patton.
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anita says:
So what happened at today’s R conventions?
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Robert Morrow says:
Well, we just go through with the SD 14 convention about 10:30 PM at night (a guess). The Ron Paulers made some allegiances with Republican grassroots activists to preserve precinct caucusing for delegate selection.
The net effect is a size-able amount of Ron Paulers were elected as full delegates than would have been under the Crockerdile “plan” to castrate the Ron Paulers.
The Crockerdiles got revenge in the selection of alternate delegates. SD 14 is going to massively under-represent its alternate delegation by perhaps 78 alternate delegates … when there were about 15 Ron Paulers milling about in the Hyde Park Baptist garage at 9PM at night, wanting to just be alternate delegates.
So the Crockerdiles, led by Davida Stike, decided to spite them by not making them alternate delegates although there were dozens and dozens of alternate delegate spots left.
I estimate that SD 14 had 78 alternate delegate spots that they decided not to fill out of sour grapes spite.
If I would have had just ONE more Ron Pauler in my precinct delegation I would be a full fledged delegate to the Texas state GOP convention.
The Nominations committee decided not to name me as an alternate delegate; why I have no idea …
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Texian Politico Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 7:50 am
You really have no idea?
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anita says:
What’s it like to be a libertarian and having to pander to the moralists who want to involve government in every personal matter? Who literally want to declare this to be a “Christian” nation, despite our history as a beacon for those escaping religious persecution? Seems like you embrace opposing ideologies, how to you square this?
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 22nd, 2012 at 8:07 am
Have you ever had sex with a sandpaper lubricant?
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 22nd, 2012 at 8:47 am
I don’t pander. Nobody has ever accused me of that.
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Lisa Mallory says:
This has been a hysterical read. Thanks for the laughs. I do hope everyone keeps their sense of humor. It sure helps when attending political events. The convention was lively, and if there were empty alternate delegate seats, I do hope those people will attend as guests to continue to learn about our political process. Lord knows the GOP needs every vote it can get – especially here in Travis County. Thanks Mr. Morrow, for helping keep Austin weird. I’m happy to be a groupie, especially when that person comes up and sits beside me and makes hundreds of phone calls to get me elected. God bless you, crazy as you may sometimes appear, you do know how to get votes when crunch time arrives. It’s absolutely AMAZING how well your groupies did when some of them didn’t even know you before the convention and we did no planning ahead of time. Perhaps there’s some credit to be given to having a common mindset, but I wouldn’t want that to steal any of your glory, Mr. Morrow.
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Texian Politico Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 7:52 am
Looks like Lisa Mallory and Robert Morrow should start dating. Way to go Robert! Everyone on this blog will pitch in to buy you a nice wedding gift.
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anonymous says:
I spent all day at the convention yesterday. I am saddened and frustrated by what happened there. From what I could tell from behind the scenes, Bill Crocker’s nominations committee did a very balanced job of selecting delegates by choosing a wide range of view points to be nominated, representative of the TCRP grassroots activists. Don Zimmerman’s amendment to allow precinct caucusing at the convention caused zealots, who have not taken the time or effort to become part of the process, to take the places of people who care enough to become legitimately involved.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 22nd, 2012 at 9:56 pm
If the Ron Paulers have done anyting it is be a part of the political process. Perhaps not your process, but definitely the liberty, anti-war process.
The results yesterday were quite fair. Every faction of the Travis County GOP is represented among the state delegates.
Except that their are very few Ron Paulers selected as alternate delegates thanks to the spite of the Nominations committee which refused to put 20 Ron Paulers on there, who were standing in a parking garage for 3 hours, after spending all day at the convention, starting at 7PM.
Despite the fact there were dozens and dozens and dozens of available alternate delegate slots. They would gladly have taken low ranked alt del slots.
Some of Ron Paulers stood in line for the Nominations Committee on Monday for 2 1/2 hours … only to be NOT interviewed and NOT called when they turned in their cards.
Sorry that your team’s cheap little power move did not work. That is why we take VOTES.
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texun says:
And the Travis County Republican Party survived yet another insidious attempt by the government of North Korea to take it over. A near thing, always. You can never be too paranoid when those North Koreans are after you.
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anonymous says:
Robert, I think that you are missing the point. There are Ron Paul supporters who are trying to help get him delegates to the state convention through the proper channels and in cooperation with other conservatives. Thrashing around and talking trash like you have on the posts on this blog is unbecoming and ineffective. In fact, it alienates potential supporters. If you think that your methods are in any way helpful to the cause you claim to promote, you are mistaken.
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grassroots says:
The real losers on Saturday were the people like myself and the many others I talked to who were at the SD 14 convention to make a difference and got pulled into the long standing fight between the extremist factions in the party. SD 25 worked out a compromise ahead of time and satisfied both coalitions. How do we ask regular people to participate in a process that ends with fighting it out in the 3rd floor parking garage of a church. I hope this was a lesson to everyone, please put your agenda aside and be respectful to those of us who just want to beat Obama!
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 1:21 pm
amen!
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joe's confused says:
I hated to see this end. It was more fun to watch than a combination wet t-shirt contest and NasCar race with an open bar
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Buck says:
What was the charge for reading this page? Well worth it
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Blue Dogs says:
Burka, can we ban Ron Paul from holding or seeking political office again ?
I mean he’s too darn old and needs to go away.
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Steve Heath says:
Crocker excluded attendees as alternates, even though there were open alternate slots? My son Steven was one of those who waited in the parking lot until 10:30 pm. I’ve been a delegate to the RPT convention every year for the least 20 years. My son gave up going to a very important wedding party for his best friend to try to get on as a first time delegate/alternate. He was denied that because of a bunch of morons on the Nominations Committee. I’ve served on Nominations committees 5 times in the last 20 years – we’ve had some contentious battles, including the 1994 race of my good friend Tom Pauken -who may son works for right now. Crocker and his band of Neocons ought to be ashamed of themselves. I can’t wait to see your fate in 2014 -what goes around comes around.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 6:47 pm
I estimate Davida Stike and the Crockerdiles left open possibly 80 – yes EIGHTY alternate delegate slots rather than put on the 20 Ron Paulers who were in the parking garage until 10:30PM at night.
Pure spite.
And that was after they – the Crockerdiles – had unsuccessfully tried to almost completely castrate the Ron Paul delegation to the state convention. Their original plan was to put maybe 5 Ron Paulers as delegates and the rest as low ranked alternates.
Davida Stike was literally and actually throwing Ron Paul delegate applications into the trash can – as reported by Pierre de Rochement who watched her do it …
The Ron Paulers were little angels this convention; purely responding to cheap little tactics.
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MikeO says:
I love reading these Paulites as if they’re the first ever to ‘fight the entrenched establishment’. They’re the FIFTH group to do so, since I started this business. Goldwater supporters, Reagan supporters, Social conservative voters, and the Tea Parties just last session. There are effective ways to do it, then there are the ways that tick off possible allies along with everyone else. The Paulites aren’t the first to try that route; the social cons were- and ended up sitting on the back benches for a time because of it.
Anyone who thinks in terms of democracy and fairness in a convention process is just so darn cute! Blazingly ignorant, but cute!
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Yep – but it does not always have to be that way. Williamson County in both 2008 and 2012 did a super job of integrating the Ron Paulers in a very “peaceful” fashion.
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Steve Heath says:
MikeO -what are you talking about? My son never expected Democracy and fairness from these morons. It was stupid to deny him an alternate slot. Idiots like Crocker and Stike make it highly likely we will see 4 more years of Obama. Do you find that “so darn cute”?
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Robert Morrow says:
Don Zimmerman “Notes on Saturday SD-14 Convention”
“First, let me congratulate everyone who showed up at the Convention on Saturday, and helped us win an improbable battle to restore the SD-14 Precinct Caucus Rule. I want to assure you all that a very competent and productive team contributed to this remarkable outcome, and many of us worked very hard on it. We faced the most skilled, experienced, well liked, and arguably, powerful team of Bill Crocker and Kirk Overbey, who are recognized as the most trusted experts in GOP political Convention Rules and questions and procedures in Texas, and beyond. We must admit that you do NOT win such a contest without help from the Hand of Providence, and we acknowledge that. We also acknowledge the courage and integrity of Dr. Ron Paul, who has endured decades of attacks from unscrupulous power brokers – Dr. Paul’s example inspired enough people to make the difference in winning this important battle, but in fact we must recognize that many non-Ron Paul supporters also supported our victory.
Second, I want it publicly acknowledged that the reason I was kept off the Rules Committee by the leadership was so that I would NOT have the opportunity to present a “minority report” rationale for keeping Precinct Caucusing, from a position of credibility as a Rules Committee member, speaking from the podium as my opposition did. This is important, because I did not have proper time or recognition to present the argument which could well have earned a 2/3rds vote in favor on the FIRST vote, saving us valuable time, and avoiding so much divisiveness and confrontation which spilled into the night. Leadership pounded away with an argument of “complexity” and “uncertainty” of the 2010 data, and the new configuration of 4 Senate Districts and 5 Congressional District. In fact, Harris County had 7 SDs, and 9 CDs, and made no such excuses for “complexity”; they held Precinct Caucuses on Saturday, as they have for nearly 20 years. I had many other such rational arguments in favor of keeping our Caucuses that I had no opportunity to make.
Third, the strong arming to stop our side from distributing copies of our proposed Precinct Caucusing was unseemly, but completely ineffective. We asserted our Constitutional right to distribute pertinent political information at a political convention; however, the misguided efforts to suppress our right to be heard really deserves an apology. There was some irony in the fact that our opposition refused to release their Temporary Rules, even when asked to do so many days in advance; at the same time, our opposition attempted to suppress our right to distribute our rule. Such attempts to keep delegates uninformed should be corrected in future conventions.
Fourth, we should not appreciate the Robert’s Rules manipulation which attempted to impose a 2/3rds vote on initial Rule adoption which the people intuitive knew should have been simple majority. The sophistry of that 2/3rds argument hurt the credibility of our leadership, in my opinion, and I’m very grateful that nearly 2/3rds of the Delegates — far greater than the percentage of just “Ron Paul” people, contributed to that vote which restored our voting rights for Precinct Caucusing.
Fifth, it appears that leadership was so confident of regaining exclusive power to nominate all Delegates that they had no plan for quickly merging the at-large list with the Precinct Caucus list. Consequently, while the Precinct Caucuses finished in under 30 minutes, the Nominations Committee was still not finished when they read their list at about 10:30 PM in the garage, after 5 hours or so. We passed the Delegate list so we could see the Delegate list (namely, which slots had not been filled at all); but after passing the list we still couldn’t get the list. This must not happen again, and we must continue to work for more transparent and more competent technical solutions for the Nominations process.
I want to thank all the 2010 SD-14 Delegates who voted for me to serve as your SREC Committeeman for the past two years, and I ask for your vote again at the June Convention. Let us press on the restore the Constitution, and the Texas GOP platform, and better local control of our political process.”
Don Zimmerman
SREC SD-14 Committeeman
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Steve Heath says:
Zimmerman is too generous in his assessment – - these Neocon morons who are destroying this Republic–and assuring we get another 4 years of Obama -can go to hell.
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 8:40 pm
The Republicans have really discredited themselves with their constant war mongering. I would vote for Obama over Romney in a 2 man race.
As it is, I will go with Libertarian Gary Johnson.
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Johnny Genlock says:
Folks, . . . could not participate this time around. But this entertaining post needs my comment. I am a founding member of a Republican Party Pachyderm Club. Innocently, I believed I would be helping restore America. What I found was the constant demand that we Pachyderms hold our noses and elect / re-elect absolute power-grabbing garbage. WHAT IN GOD’S NAME DO YOU ESTABLISHMENT REPUBS THINK YOU ARE DOING? Could you really elect Romney if you studied him? Don’t dare look too close! You’re re-defining conservatism LIKE A DEMOCRAT just so you can have your leader. YOU are the problem. We ain’t in Kansas anymore and you got us there just as surely as the worst Trotskyite socialist. J’accuse!
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Robert Morrow Reply:
April 24th, 2012 at 2:02 am
I would like to hit the “like” button.
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Johnny Genlock says:
Y’know, I just went back to my Inbox and found this YouTube, Major Christopher Miller Speaks Out. All you NeoCons need to go to YouTube and hear what this combat Marine has to say about your lousy warmongering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtwQeCyqm5U&feature=player_embedded#!
I don’t know if there’s any better way to say it.
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Robert Morrow says:
Just to show you how pathetic the Crockerdiles were (aside from trying to gut the Ron Paulers as delegates), they literally were trying to stop the distribution of fliers on a public sidewalk outside Hyde Park Baptist on Saturday.
**So much for freedom of speech.** These are the same folks that always make a big production of the benediction and pledges to the American flag AND the Texas flag.
And I will tell you something else, there was highly placed “Crockerdile” — someone whose name many of you would know of – who described Mitt Romney as a “Luciferian cultist.” These are the ones who hammer the Ron Paulers because they are not loyal to a party that nominates a “Luciferian cultist.” Would you be loyal to a party that nominates “Luciferian cultists?”
Here is an email I got recently:
Hi Robert,
I’m very sorry to hear that. Yes, I did see Don at the event getting into a fight with several people about the distribution of the precinct voting flyers outside the church!
Regards,
xxxxx
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Robert Morrow says:
Here is Dave Nalle’s analysis of the SD 14 convention. Nalle was on the Nominations’ Committee.
I must agree in his assessment of Chairman Crocker’s incompetence. It did not have to happen this way. Really, it was worse than sloppy incompetence, it was ill will and dirty pool. Surprising for a man of his stature and position.
Joe Pojman has been highly competent in the past.
http://www.fontcraft.com/images/conreport.pdf
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