McCain organization passing tests in state and local GOP conventions
By Soren Dayton Posted in 2008 | GOP | John McCain | RNC Delegates | Ron Paul — Comments (13) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
This weekend, there were Republican conventions in 8 states. According to Jonathan Martin, Ron Paul supporters are "blitz"ing these conventions:
There are quite a few state GOP conventions this weekend, and reading through the coverage online one finds a recurring theme: the Paul presence.
The libertarian Republican's hardy band of supporters are showing up at conventions in an effort to win a delegate slot in the Twin Cities in September.
Paul backers have achieved some small success in becoming delegates, but their larger impact has been to offer an element of news at what are largely newsless and ceremonial state party confabs.
My sources indicate that of the 430 delegate or alternate spots available this weekend, Paul supporters won 11. (Read the Washington State account here) Martin, like many other analysts, suggests that this whole phenomenon is bad news for John McCain. I disagree. Read on.
Winning a convention takes significant work. You have to mobilize and coordinate a lot of people. In a number of states like Maine, Missouri, Virginia, or Washington, the McCain campaign did not develop a strong organization before winning the nomination. I have spoken to local and district party officials who had not had contact with the McCain campaign until after their state's primary or caucus. And in many states, the McCain campaign and Victory have not yet staffed out fully their victory programs. Simply put, there's been no organization to work with.
But when it comes to convention time, the game is on. Earlier this month, I attended the VA-08 convention. Ron Paul supporters were running for Chairman of VA-08, delegate to the Republican National Convention, and alternate to the Republican National Convention. They were blanked. The elected delegates were Orson Swindle and Tom Brooke, who were McCain-slated delegates, and Helen Blackwell, the wife of long-time Virginia GOP National Committeeman and a former Arlington County GOP Chairwoman.
To win this convention, the McCain campaign had to turn out at least 100 supporters. They succeeded. These are people who in early May were willing to turn out for a good chunk of a gorgeous spring day for John McCain. Anyone who tells you that McCain doesn't have grassroots and is not present on the ground has to wrestle with these kinds of facts. The McCain campaign is actively developing a grassroots and deploying them successfully in conventions.
In some places, the McCain campaign is probably cooperating with local party leaders to make sure that Ron Paul supporters are not elected. Again, they are working with party leaders to build the trust that you need to effectively run the grassroots component of a national campaign. In most cases, grassroots leaders are even more worried about Ron Paul delegates than the McCain campaign. Those are people who could lose their positions in the party. So the McCain campaign is helping keep these people in power, something that is most important to them. Remember, politics is about mutual addition and benefit. And these conventions are providing the McCain campaign to accumulate good will that it might not have had.
The upshot of all of this is that right now the McCain campaign needs to be building an organization. These conventions are field tests of the quality of organization being built. And the McCain campaign is passing with flying colors. Simplistic analyses like Martin's, "It's difficult to see many of these — largely young and anti-war — Paul supporters getting behind McCain," completely miss the point. Right now the campaign shouldn't be swaying Ron Paul supporters.
And just to make one thing clear. I don't hate the Paul supporters. On Tuesday, it is very possible that I will be voting for the Ron Paul endorsed Amit Singh for the Republican nomination in VA-08. We need to figure out how to incorporate Paul supporters into the GOP and McCain organizations and learn from some of their significant organizational successes.
More broadly, I'd really love to hear from some Ron Paul supporters about how we could do that. (constructive conversation only please)
This was crossposted from The Next Right. If you enjoyed it, please continue to read Redstate, but join us over at The Next Right.
At least, the progressive ones - which is an assumption apparently unsupported by the electoral results of California, Kentucky, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas*.
Hell, Obamagirl couldn't even manage to go vote in her primary.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
*"Apparently" added for fairness: the results - including that of the turnout - will be permanently called into question, pretty much thanks to the efforts of one guy with a national radio show (and his listeners).
Hell, Obamagirl couldn't even manage to go vote in her primary.
ok, now I can't stop laughing.
At a time when the Republican Party is attempting to reassemble it's brand, diversity is not helpful. It was the "big tent" that brought quasi-Republicans to positions of power and confused our message. The public responded by sending us back to the kitchens to brew up a palatable and consistent identity.
The Paulites came into the primaries, not as teammates, but as pirate boarders. Is their goal to help elect a consensus candidate or to impose a stranglehold ideology?
The fact that we need to re-impose a kind of conformity isn't proof that just any conformity will do. Republicans held sway with a forward looking, small government, and internationalist platform for many years. A sect of Libertarians that gained 10% of the primary vote hardly sounds like the ticket back to public trust. And this hardly seems the time to carry on a debate within the Party over the Iraq war.
Watch Ron Paul smack down an audience member on a respected talk show back in the 80s: (one minute clip)
The point he made about personal responsibility and the government mandating that the guy lose weight.
Now we have some in the government trying to force us to give up fast food.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
Ask me anytime and I am all for party unity. However, I will be the first one to throw Ron Paul and his bloody supporters to the curb given half the chance. They're hard-core paleoconservatives and would take the Republican Party on a backward trend when it comes international trade (they favor a protectionist policy) and foreign policy (they are isolationists).
No, Ron Paul and his ilk need to go.
and first, I'm not a Paul supporter. McCain did carry the day and may have even without the state party going out of it's way to selectively enforce the convention rules. The net result was that many left the convention (not just Paul folks) wondering whether the plea was for unity or conformity.
First, what rules were selectively enforced. Other than the Governor, who is the effective head of the state party, not meeting in person with the nominating committee to be on the ballot as national delegate, what rule was selectively enforced?
Second, you are a HWSNBN supporter and it is fairly obvious.
Third, it was VERY obvious that the HWSNBN people were there to disrupt and destroy, and gaining anything was incidental. These guys went to the microphone and continuously violated parlamentary rules. Examples -
1. Calling Point of Information and then rattling on about whatever issue they had rather than asking a question.
2. Calling Point of Order and then trying to put forward a motion repeatedly(10-20 times per vote) that had nothing to do with the current agenda item.
3. They(the HWSNBN people) had several people wearing John McCain hats walking up and down the aisles with signs that said YES or NO, and then made a big deal out of how much they were offended by "the McCain Campaign" influencing the vote.
4. Impugning the Christianity of the Party Chairman because they didn't win on their votes. Calling the assembled group fascists when they didn't win their votes(because nothing says dictatorial oppression like a majority vote).
5. Heckling the convention chair continuously.
6. Doing their best to prevent any real business from being done by interrupting every single item of business with motions to revote on the delegates.
Lastly, the chair went outa of its way to accomodate HWSNBN supporters. When votes were even close, he ruled in favor of the HWSNBN supporters several times - once when it was obvious to me that they had lost that vote.
Volunteer
Folks, the fat is in the fire. The GOP, apparently, at the grass root level, is struggling to "define, organize, gather troops, include Ron Paul, or not". If this is not enough to scare the wits out of the Electorate that is just now coming to grips with the Obama Truth IE, the Leftist are running his show, then what will.
As I get this, The Dems have or are about to, throw the Clintons under the bus. The Dems and Obamas' handlers are openly discussing the Oval Office and their Sofa Positions. The GOP nominee is seeking "Middle of the Road voters" with who knows whom in charge of the troops.
This election year is half over. Decide which cross road turning we want, go down the path and help....
I for one, am turning right, and helping locally, as well as Net Voices.
end
Let's face niether McCain nor Obama can win without voters from outside their party . Ron Paul is a fiscal conservative. I think Paul will support McCain at or after the convention. And possibly encourage his supporters to do the same.
Knowing a Ron Paul supporter personally, I'll give them a fat chance at uniting with the rest of the party even with Ron Paul's endorsement.
They are the anti-thesis to party unity. I have always thought that Moderates and Conservatives should be working together on a common message. However they think they are a grass-roots effort in trying to change the Republican Party and have no intention of working with the rest of the Republican Party.
I agree with Soren. I think that there are Ron Paul supporters who were a part of the GOP before the election. They're out there, and they're probably pretty upset with what the Republicans in power did with spending and growth of government. I've met several of them. They really do exist. They're not all truthers or wackos.
Fiscal conservatives are essential to a McCain victory and Ron Paul attracted quite a few of them. If anything, I hope this keeps McCain from obfuscating on any economic issues realizing he'd be much worse off leaving conservative economic principles.
If Ron Paul supporters are going into local GOP meetings and are acting like jerks, my recommendation for dealing with them from experience is to not meet their gaze and look slightly up and to the right of their eyes. It'll likely freak them out, and they'll leave you alone.
"If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism." - Ronald Regan
Yes, of course it can, which in a way is what concerns me about the Dems' neverending struggle, and why I hope RS won't have to replace the "Best Primary EVAR *popcorn*" graphic with a "why didn't we keep pace *FAIL*?" piece come November 5th.
They're registering voters by the tens of thousands, who will then vote against McCain in a kneejerk reaction to Bush's shortcomings. Actual policy positions are an afterthought to fairweather voters.
It's June and McCain is just now "actively developing a grassroots" organization. Paulbots are nothing compared to the legions of Obama faithful. McCain needs to get his ass in gear, in no uncertain terms.