Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
From Operation Cat Herder
GET PAULITICAL – CONTRIBUTE!
You must be logged in to submit material: Login or Register
To contribute material to this page, click here: Post My Stuff!
Contributed material is approved and imported into public pages several times daily.
Contents |
Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
We don't want to let the GOP get away with their shenanigans at state conventions.
Use this site to record all transgressions, documentation, actions taken, etc. Limit recording to those with first hand knowledge (you were present during the incident) of these offenses. Should it become necessary to file anything with the National Republican party or in a federal court, we will be a step ahead.
URGENT ACTION NEEDED
A Revolution Defense fund has been set up and here's a chip-in to help Missouri delegates file suit against the Missouri GOP. This is very time-sensitive. As you probably know, 300 delegates to the Missouri Republican State Convention have been challenged unfairly. An attorney has been contacted. This action will open up the possibility to fight these challenges fair and square.
I personally know the person who set up the chip-in. She is absolutely the most honest person I've ever met.
PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERY FREEDOM-LOVING, LIBERTY-MINDED FAIR PERSON YOU KNOW IN THIS WHOLE CRAZY WORLD! Post it, blog it, and help make it happen.
Your friends in Missouri thank you. :-)
Lawyers wanted
Ideally, we are looking for pro-bono lawyers to file civil suits against state GOPs that have violated their own rules with law suits for election tampering, violating our civil rights, and related issues.
We are also looking for someone familiar with the legal profession, the GOP, and Robert's Rules of Order to run this project.
Let's make them personally responsible.
Documentation
People with audio or video tape or other documentation that can help build a case are encouraged to contact us.
Alaska
Alaska Rules "ReInterpretted"
In Alaska, the GOP rules stated that the delegates for any presidential candidate who "dropped out" of the race were to be divided evenly among the remaining candidates. Going by that, and given that by the time of our March 13-15 convention both Romney and Huckebee had stopped campaigning, and further that Romney had already released his delegates in certain states, and that Romney had publicly thrown his support behind McCain, it seemed clear to us that we should get those delegates.
Had Alaska chosen to follow it's rules without playing games with semantics, we would have had 14 delegates for Ron Paul and 12 for McCain, giving Paul the state.
However, in the Rules Committee meetings, the majority of the delegates decided that since Romney has "suspended" his campaign he had not actually "dropped out." By the end of the day, they produced faxed documents allegedly from the Romney and Huckebee campaigns saying that they were both still in the race and intended to keep their delegates.
The Ron Paul supporters were in the minority in that Rules Committee meeting, and it became clear that we would go nowhere with getting the state to follow its own rules. It was clear to me that the Romney supporters were more interested in maintaining control of their delegates by playing semantic games, than in honoring the spirit and intention of the rule. Further, the Alaska GOP rules state that when a candidate is no longer "actively campaigning" for president, their delegates are to be reassigned to the remaining candidates.
How they can consider Romney to be actively campaigning for president when he is throwing his support behind McCain is confusing.
We stopped fighting this interpretation in the spirit of compromise and reality--we couldn't win the point given we only had around 110 of 373 delegates to the state convention, but we could lose favor if we got angry. Instead we settled for a Resolution requesting the RNC to allow time for Dr. Paul to speak at the convention. Alaska passed this resolution on the main Convention floor with overwhelming support!
Colorado
Hello,
On Saturday morning, May 10, 2008, I attended the District 1 Annual meeting of the Colorado Federation of Republican Women. Unbeknownst to me, the 2-hour meeting would end up being an atrocious display of anti-Republican behavior.
In this letter, I will give the details from the meeting that were repugnant. Before I begin, I feel compelled to state that I could not believe I was in the presence of Liberty-loving people who stood by and were involved in this complicity. As the Republican National Committee Party Rules state (in the first paragraph), "BE IT RESOLVED, That the Republican Party is the party of the open door. Ours is the party of liberty, the party of equality of opportunity for all and favoritism for none."
The headlining speaker was Michael Eddy from the McCain campaign. I knew something was fishy about this person, as the card attached to each of the 30-some roses he had delivered to the meeting on behalf of the McCain campaign had, on one side, a personal endorsement to support him as a delegate to the State or CD Assembly/Convention.
Mike spent the last quarter of his speech discussing his knowledge about the "large contingency" of Ron Paul supporters in Colorado. He said he was fine with electing people who were Romney supporters to be National delegates, but not Ron Paul supporters. He said delegates should be "loyal" Republicans and Ron Paul supporters are not. He said we should not elect people as delegates who will get to the National Convention and "light their hair on fire". He said Ron Paul supporters would be a disgrace to the Republican Party.
He went on to state that they know that there are about 50 delegates for Ron Paul who will be at the CD 1 Assembly. He brought up what occurred with another state's convention and said that the National organization (RNC) is working closely with the remaining states' organizations to ensure Ron Paul delegates do not get elected. He said the National Committee will be having a conference call with the Colorado State Republican Party Committee on Monday (5/12) to discuss this. He further explained that they would accomplish this by changing the Rules prior to the convention and additionally coming up with their own slate.
After Mike spoke, other members in attendance echoed his inflammatory statements about Ron Paul supporters. Ruth Dolan, president, spoke in agreement with Mike Eddy's statements, as well as other officers. One officer warned everyone to be very "prudent" because there are people among us whom are "wolves in sheep's clothing".
I recognized other Ron Paul supporters in the room, so I know I was not the only one who left the meeting in complete disgust that Republicans could conspire against other Republicans in such a way. This is energy that should be directed towards Democrats, not fellow Republicans!
-- Ron Paul supporter incensed by CFRW District 1 Speaker and Officers
Georgia
I recently attended the Georgia GOP Convention in Columbus, Georgia. For starters, on the opening day of the convention, I was there early to sign in. I had to wait and wait and wait to pick up my credentials even though I had registered earlier online and paid my fees! I kept being told there was a problem with the printer.
Everything was terribly unorganized with registration taking place upstairs, and then the bags full of whatever was located in a different place! No one was helpful. I was told that I was an alternate delegate, but that I could go on to the floor and sit because that is what my credentials indicated....walk down many steps again! Then, I was told that I could not sit on the floor that I had to go upstairs! Well, I was raising all kinds of hell. Then this guy, don't know his name came up to me and told me that it had been decided that since delegates were not present (I hardly saw anyone from Bibb County,Georgia), that alternates had been made delegates and could move to the floor! So, once again I walk down all of these steps to the floor! And then the Parliamentarian tells me to get off the floor! I sit down in the chair and say well you move me! I said, "I am not moving out of this chair, go get the police!" Well, he does not come back.
There was a move to pass all of these rules without discussion because less than 10% of delegates seemed to even be present! Then the next day of the Convention was a total sham! There were no Ron Paul delegates selected to go to the National Convention. CORRUPTION!!!! CORRUPTION!!!! CORRUPTION!!!! Trust me it was filled with CORRUPTION, THE CONVENTION THAT IS THAT WAS HELD IN COLUMBUS!!!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT WAS CORRUPT???????
Georgia Gal
Hawaii GOP convention script (not transcript)
http://files.meetup.com/567112/GOP%20script.pdf
Illinois
Below is a synopsis of what took place at the IL Republican Convention this past weekend. I am not the author of it, but one of the ladies in our group is.
Basically my take on it is, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE NO VOICE, the ELITES have everything sewed up and if you ask anything or try to change anything or want to debate something you are OUT OF ORDER. In spite of it being disgusting, we met a lot of people who are Ron Paul supporters, and even those who are hard core Republicans and will follow party lines regardless are not happy with having to support John McCain but they believe in order to beat Obama, they have to vote for McCain. I knew politics was corrupt but now I have first hand experience and don't just repeat something I've heard from someone else.
We had plans to have a blimp across the street from the convention center, and the guy who was running the 'show' got wind of it and went to the motel owner and told him that we were not a part of their group. He threatened to not use their motel if he let us put up the Who Is Ron Paul blimp. So........a friend met me the night before the convention and we visited the motel owner, we gave him 3 dvds to watch, America: From Freedom to Fascism, Meet Ron Paul by the Ron Paul Reveres, The Real John McCain. We told him to share the dvds after he watched them himself, and he thanked us for them and said he would.
It was thrilling to see so many young people taking part and wanting to do what they could to take their country back, everyone needs to pray for out country, pray for those in leadership who are working to destroy America, and pray for our young people that as they work to bring change that is real and meaningful, they will have success. Future generations are depending on it.
_______________________________________________
Jo-
Following is a slight variation of what I posted at the campaign's Daily Dose blog. I'm writing up someone longer, but here's an overall summary:
Regarding the Illinois GOP Convention, it was locked up tight. We had a mere 40-50 of 857 convention delegates, due to an arbitrary selection process. (Co. chairman choose their delegations, end of story.) Needless to say, the word was out to minimize the RP presence there. Convention rules prohibited ALL motions from the floor and virtually all signage, which ticked off more than just RP supporters. 57 of our 70 national convention delegates had been directly elected in the Super Tuesday primary election. Three of the remaining 13 slots automatically went to party officials; 10 were selected this weekend. Almost all were high-level party leaders or elected officials.
Our goal going in as a small minority was to represent the campaign and its principles (we had an awesome booth!); observe, learn, network and generally take the pulse of those in attendance; AND to disprove the insulting characterizations of RP supporters perpetuated by the IL GOP elite. I have to say, ours were among the MOST informed delegates in attendance. Most others just showed up the second day for brunch (the first day with the committee meetings was the critical one to attend) and to attend the general session totally ignorant of the stringent rules that had been layed out. Of course, MANY were confused and appalled when NO ONE was allowed to interject to debate. They didn't know it was going to be the "IL GOP Show." For some reason, they thought they'd have actual input in the decision-making process! One of our delegates was escorted from the floor by the sergeant-at-arms for asking to see the rules. Signs were confiscated and one entire county delegation of at least 40 people walked out when their pitch to be heard was totally ignored. And, many of these poor people were attending on empty stomachs, as the illustrious IL GOP RAN OUT OF FOOD during brunch. We're told they planned for 400 people when at least 1,500 (delegates, alternates and guests) were in attendance. Very smooth.
Our delegates took the bull by the horns to advance an initiative that would have reinstated direct elections for state central committeemen. They teamed with Doug Ibendahl of www.championnews.net/, who is working for increased transparency in the IL GOP. The resolution did not pass, but as an observer with a bird's eye view in the back of the room, I can attest that many delegates had no idea what they were voting for as the initiative was stated once and not repeated after a call for a floor vote.
Particularly repulsive for us was being subjected to endless speeches re. the failures of Gov. Rob Blagojevich, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Barak Obama and other IL Dems, and how that will set the stage for a Republican victory in the fall. Of about 10 speakers, only Rep. Aaron Schock suggested that it is Republican Party PRINCIPLES that will produce a win anytime soon.
One RP supporter, Chicago attorney Ryan Scott Higgins, was a candidate for national committeeman. He didn't prevail, however he made quite an impression on several observers in attendance who are unaffiliated with our campaign. He's about 25 years old.
Bottom line, the IL GOP (central committee) reaffirmed itself as a dictatorial, closed group. I believe their fear of the unknown RP contingent, in part, prompted them to swell their numbers at the convention, making it the best attended in the the party's history, with all 102 counties represented. How well that worked out - more witnesses to their shenanigans.
WE HAD A GREAT TIME! Lisa W
On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 2:21 PM, Jo <liberty4all@> wrote:
Chad said that 3 guys passed out all the bags (about 300?) to people as they left the Convention. He said we had just about the right amount of bags as they ran out when there were just a few people coming out the doors!
In the beginning, a few asked what was in them and Chad told them information on Ron Paul. No one refused it!
A little later, a few asked and he changed it to: "Liberty."
He said most just took it as they walked by and Chad mostly said, "Good-bye and have a great day!" Basically just put them in the people's hands!!
Does anyone want to write a synopsis of your experiences at the Convention? I'd like to have 2 or 3 different perspectives and then combine them all in one email to send to friends everywhere. If you have thoughts, opinion, etc., please send to me.
Indiana
The Conservative Republican Statesmen Caucus
Your Right to Represent Indiana has been HIJACKED
Those of you who have read the flyer for the Conservative Republican Statesmen Caucus have seen the list for the National Delegates we recommend. We know these people to be true conservatives who believe in the criteria listed that, in our opinion, makes one a true conservative. These are good people who care about this nation and where we are headed unless we correct our present course. They believe the Republican Party is the vehicle to accomplish the task of reversing this course. However, from the actions of our State Republican Party, it appears they do not share the beliefs of the true conservatives and will do anything, including breaking their own rules, to stop this true conservative agenda. Our caucus has candidates for National Delegates with true conservative ideals. Our intention has always been and will always be to follow the rules. We will vote as the rules say and we will conduct ourselves as the rules say. If we think a rule is wrong we will attempt to get it changed and do so in the proper manner. We are not asking for special privileges, we are only asking to have the chance to make a difference. If we run and lose then so be it. The following is what the State Republican Party has done to try and stop us. You decide if you think this is how you want your party to conduct itself. Several months ago we inquired about the proper procedure to follow to become a National Delegate and were told several times by the Secretary of the State Party that we had to file with her by May 19, 2008 if we wished to be a National Delegate Candidate. Nowhere in the rules could we find the rule that stated this fact. Nothing was said that implied in any way that once a person filed, the party would determine if you would be on the ballot. There was also no rule found that stated that fact. As we got closer to the filing deadline we begin to feel uneasy about not finding a rule so we began to search for anything we could find. We found the following:
Republican National Committee Rules:
RULE NO. 14 Participation (a) The Republican National Committee shall assist the states in their efforts to inform all citizens as to how they may participate in delegate selection procedures. The states, in cooperation with the Republican National Committee, shall prepare instructive material on delegate selection methods and make it available for distribution. RULE NO. 15 Election of Delegates and Alternate Delegates (c) General. In all elections of delegates or alternate delegates to the national convention, the following rules shall apply: 11) No delegates or alternate delegates shall be selected pursuant to any Republican Party rule of a state or state law which materially changes the manner of selecting delegates or alternate delegates or the date upon which such state party holds a presidential primary, caucus, convention, or meeting for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and/or selecting delegates to the national convention if such changes were adopted or made effective after the first Tuesday in September of the year before the year in which the national convention is to be held. Where it is not possible for a state party to certify the manner and the date upon which it holds a presidential primary, caucus, convention, or meeting for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and/or selecting delegates to the national convention in effect in that state on the date and in the manner provided in paragraph (e) of this rule, the process for holding the presidential primary, caucus, convention, or meeting for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and/or selecting delegates to the national convention shall be conducted in the same manner and held upon the same date as was used for the immediately preceding national convention. If it is not possible to hold a presidential primary, caucus, convention, or meeting for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and/or selecting delegates to the national convention upon the same date as was used for the immediately preceding national convention, then delegates or alternate delegates shall be selected by congressional district or state conventions pursuant to paragraph (d) of this rule.
(e) Certification and filing by state committees. (1) On or before the first Tuesday in September of the year before the year in which the national convention is to be held, each Republican state committee shall adopt rules, procedures, policies, and instructive materials (prepared pursuant to Rule No. 14(a)) governing the selection of delegates and alternate delegates to the national convention to convene during the following year and shall certify and file with the secretary of the Republican National Committee true copies of the same and of all statutes governing the selection of such delegates and alternate delegates. The Call for the 2008 Republican National Convention shows Indiana complied with the above and listed the filing date to be 14 days before the State Convention. The Indiana 2008 Congress of the Counties Calendar States on May 19, 2008, "Deadline for State Candidates and National Delegates to file." Rule 9-9 of the State Republican Party Rules specifies delegates must be certified and a list given to the Secretary of the State Committee by 5:00 PM on May 20, 2008. Although this appears to related to State Convention Delegates, the filing date is similar.
From the above information we decided there must be a form to file and it must be readily available. Repeated calls to District Chairmen and the Secretary of the Republican Party were either not returned or we were told the slate was full. We had no choice but to file our own Declaration of Candidacy, which all the candidates listed on the sheet succeeded in accomplishing. These declarations were notarized and sent to the Secretary of the State Republican Party by overnight mail return receipt requested. All declarations were received on or before May 19, 2008. These people should be on the slate at the convention. Rule 9-31 and 9-32 of the State Republican Party Rules state that National Delegates will be elected at the State Convention and before May 30, 2008 that is all that it said. It said nothing about how the slate was determined. The amended rules as of May, 30, 2008 state: (a) The Indiana Republican State Committee shall present to the general session recommendations for delegates at-large and corresponding alternate delegates at-large to the Republican National Convention. Following the presentation of the Delegate and Alternate Delegate Report, an undebatable and unamendable motion to accept the report and elect the individuals named in the report shall be in order. If the motion is defeated, nominations from the floor for delegate and alternate delegate shall be in order. (b) a) The District Congressional Committee shall present to its respective congressional district caucus recommendations for district delegates and corresponding alternate district delegates to the Republican National Convention. Following the presentation of the District Delegate and Alternate District Delegate Report, an undebatable and unamendable motion to accept the report and elect the individuals named in the report shall be in order. If the motion is defeated, nominations from the floor for district delegate and alternate district delegate shall be in order.
We suspect we will not be on the slate even though we followed all the rules. We also suspect these rules were put in specifically to keep us from running for National Delegate because the State Party believes we are a minority and will never garner enough votes to overturn the motion. Even worse the rule should have no effect since it was enacted after the filing deadline and therefore , if used, will be used retroactively even though no statute or party rules allows them to do so. We feel this reflects very poorly on our party and if we want to attract new members, this type of activity is very counterproductive to that end. If our party is willing to do this to our caucus then what will keep it from doing something similar to some other group of Republicans? We would ask that everyone who truly believes Rule 1-5 of the Indiana Republican Party would vote down the slate as included in the report so all duly elected delegates can have an equal opportunity to represent the great state of Indiana at the National Convention. Rule 1-5. The right of all individual Republicans to participate in all party activities shall be sacred and inviolable.
Minnesota
I just got back from the Minnesota State Convention and I've never experienced a bigger screw over.
First, they made Ron Paul speak outside the convention in a Park. They wouldn't let him inside even though he came all the way from Texas.
Secondly, going into the convention, there were 14 delegates and 14 alternate slots up for grabs. Anyone who wanted to run for the positions were required to meet with a nominee committee the day before. Hundreds of people met with the committee spending 3+ hours in line to be interviewed. Many people traveled to Rochester Minnesota from hundreds of miles away. The Ron Paul forces had their slate of 14 delegates and 14 alternates to vote for.
Now, when it came time to vote for the 14 delegates and alternate slots, The committee filtered the names on the ballot to mostly John McCain supporters. Only 3 names on the ballot were Ron Paul supporters. Nobody knew that the committee was going to filter names and prevent people for voting for them. So basically the Ron Paul slate was 95% ineligible.
To make it worse, in the rules that were stealthy adopted prior, one rule did not allow nominations from the floor. This mean't we could not write in names on the ballot. Also our ballots were ineligible if we did not vote for exactly 14 people. So in essence, we were forced to vote McCain delegates to the convention.
There was an uproar by the Paul forces when this occured. The convention at one point was getting out of hand when there were 50+ people waiting at the microphones to speak wondering why we couldn't write people in. Everyone was clearly anger at this bullshit. This was clearly not democratic, but more like Iran where their Supreme Council cherry picks candidates for their national elections.
I am dumb founded they would not allow us to even write names in for the delegate slots. They were clearly trying to prevent Paul from winning any delegates.
Ron Carey, the Minnesota GOP Chairman, obviously cherry picked his slate of McCain supporters that would be elected. The chairman is not impartial to the campaigns, but is actively working against Ron Paul.
We will need your support up here in Minnesota this September. This action by the GOP must be countered with our demonstrations during the national convention.
Missouri
Legal Actions Against Missouri GOP Begin The battle to regain the conservative heart and soul of the Republican Party continues. Today, the FBI was mailed the first of many letters to come, requesting a formal investigation into the unethical and illegal practices of a faction of the Missouri Republican Party that have disenfranchised so many properly elected delegates by challenging them without basis. The letter was written by a former private investigator. Additional letters will be sent by conservative Republican voters to various State and Federal agencies requesting an investigation into the matter. Jared Craighead, Executive Director of the Missouri GOP will also receive his letter tomorrow, alerting him to the formal investigation.
The letter is from a conservative voter who supported a Republican presidential candidate that is no longer in the presidential race, a stark indication that anyone who supported a Republican presidential candidate other than John McCain before the primary is at risk of being unseated at the Republican State Convention in Branson, Missouri on May 31. A full recording of one credentials hearing in Jefferson City on May 5, can be found here, where Craighead confirms this in his own words: (begin at 3:35).
Chillingly, this means that any Republican who voted for Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Fred Thompson, or any other presidential candidate besides McCain in the February 5 preferential primary may be literally under the microscope, that is, except for Party leaders. Case in point: Doug Russell, Chairman of the Missouri GOP was in the hearing room when challenged delegates and alternates were being interrogated and did not stop the process, although according to FEC records, Russell donated $2,300 to Mitt Romney's campaign and remains unchallenged.
Conservative and Christian Conservative leaders are outraged at the apparent 'takeover' of the Republican Party by its current leadership: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0516/p09s02-coop.html
Additional libel, slander and civil rights lawsuits will soon be filed.
Chip In here: http://revolutiondefense.chipin.com/revolution-defense Thank you from your friends in Missouri
Nebraska
The Nebraska State Convention is in July but currently the County Conventions are being held through June 10. Already some problems have come up. The State Party website still states that you are a delegate if you filed with your election official by March 3. However the State Party has sent a letter to County Chairman stating that delegates can be seated at the County Convention.
In Brown County the County Chairman decided to not file the appropriate paperwork with the County Clerk stating the location, date and time of the County Convention. They will not be having a County Convention since the Chairman did not file the paperwork. In this County all of the delegates are Ron Paul supporters. The State Party will not step in to correct this problem.
In Boone County they do not have a Republican Party which means they don't have a Chairman. Since they don't have a County Republican Chairman the State Chairman sits in this capacity. One delegate filed for the convention and since the Republican Party did not have a Chairman he appointed himself Chairman and filed the with his County Clerk the date, time, and location of the County Convention. He notified the State Party that he was now the acting Chairman and the details of the upcoming Convention. The State Party finally sent a reply many months later to him stating that they would not recognize there convention or delegates or him as Chairman. This happened after the statutory deadline for filing with the County Clerk the details of the convention.
When a County does not have a Chairman it is up to the State Chairman to set up the County Conventions and appoint someone as Chairman to run them. The current State Chairman has failed to do this.
The State Party has recently been calling the County Election officials to find out if the County Chairman had filed the convention paperwork on time and accurately. They are looking for any excuse to stop County Conventions from happening especially in the rural 3rd Congressional District of Nebraska which is more freedom oriented than Omaha or Lincoln.
The State Central Committee met over a month ago to decide on delegate allocation per County. They will not release the numbers to the public because it may be "controversial". We have obtained a copy from a County Chair that is a Ron Paul supporter.
More updates will follow as we find out how each County Convention is handled.
Nevada
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT Republican Convention Reconvene Date Set
The press release below was sent out earlier today...
Also see here for more info: http://nevada4ronpaul.com/reno/reconvene.html
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nevada Republicans to Reconvene Nevada State Republican Convention on June 28th.
RENO, NV, 5/30/08--- Nevada Republicans have decided to reconvene the Nevada State Convention at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno on June 28th. The Nevada Republicans say that the State Party has made no move to reconvene and has refused a turn-key convention offer from a local donor.
“The State Party has really left us with no other option,” said Wayne Terhune, a local Republican activist who made the turn-key convention offer to the Party. “We feel the Nevada delegates deserve the chance to have their voices heard and finish this Convention process. The State Party has not followed through with their promises to reconvene, and it has been over five weeks. The Party kept telling us they would reconvene, first in a week, then in two weeks, then in June, and then maybe July. But there doesn’t appear to be any real plans to reconvene, and the delegates have a right to get together and complete the Convention.”
The Nevada State Republican Convention was abruptly recessed on the evening of April 26th. National delegates had been selected from Congressional Districts 1 and 3, and votes were still being counted from Congressional District 2. National at-large delegates had not been selected when the Convention was recessed. The Nevada State GOP has indicated they are working on a venue but have yet to schedule the Convention, despite having five weeks to do so.
In order for the Convention to reconvene, a quorum (a simple majority) of credentialed delegates must be present. If the quorum is present, all business can be conducted, including the selection of national delegates and passing resolutions.
“This isn’t about one candidate versus another,” said Pat Kerby, a Nevada State delegate from Nye County. “This is about credentialed Nevada State delegates getting together to form a quorum and finish the business of the State Convention.”
The Republican activists reconvening the State Convention are all credentialed state delegates from the State Convention on April 26th, and are inviting every credentialed state delegate to come and have their voice heard on June 28th. “We intend to do this right,” said Wayne Terhune. “Everyone will have a fair chance at this reconvening. We think our chances of getting a quorum are excellent, because so many Republicans want to get this process completed. This is our chance to get this done right.”
Latest Update - help re-open this convention!
http://www.nevadahomeowners.org/convention.html
Nevada Republican State Delegates File Suit Against State Party
RENO, NV, July 18, 2008—Nevada State Republican delegates have filed a complaint in Nevada's Second Judicial District Court late this evening, contending that the Nevada Republican Executive Committee’s decision to appoint national delegates is in violation of State law. The complaint alleges that the GOP’s decision to appoint delegates to the Republican National Convention violates NRS 293 because state delegates have been deprived of their ability to select national delegates at a convention.
“The State Executive Committee announced yesterday that they won’t bring the Nevada State Republican Convention out of recess,” said Wayne Terhune, a Republican activist in Washoe County. “They shut down the Convention in April, and now they aren’t giving delegates a chance to have their voices heard. This is a violation of the law.”
The complaint alleges that the State Executive Committee’s decision is in violation of NRS 293, which states: “In addition to such powers granted it, the state convention shall select the necessary delegates and alternates to the national convention of the party”. The complaint has been filed by local attorney Mark Goodman on behalf of several Nevada State Republican delegates.
Mike Weber, a local Republican who has served on the National Republican Rules Committee, announced early today that he is shifting the focus of his State Assembly race to make sure that the state delegates have their voices heard. “Most Republicans are getting fed up with party leaders because of underhanded tactics instead of principled leadership,” he said in a press release. “The announcement that national delegates will be appointed by a small group behind closed doors only reinforces this distrust.”
“The actions of the State Party are taking away the voice of every state delegate,” said Terhune. “Over a thousand delegates attended the convention in April, and the State Executive party officials are attempting to silence all of them. This is completely against the traditions of the Republican Party and the United States of America.”
Texas
Some of you have read my previous blogs (emails, etc.) about the atrocities that occurred in Nueces County earlier this year. You know that what happened was not only against the law, but morally and ethically wrong.
For those of you who aren’t in the know, I will highlight some of the major details for you.
When some of the people had their Precinct Conventions in Nueces County, they learned that the Precinct Chairman were going home and adding names to a list of people that were to attend the County Convention. This is against the law.
The only people allowed to attend and vote at the County Convention are the people on the list that is VOTED on at the Precinct Convention. You may add people to that list that are not present, and then vote on them, but you can’t take the list home and fill it out at your leisure. Doing this violates the voice and vote of the people who were present at the Precinct Convention and voted.
Delegates to the County Convention in Nueces soon found that this was happening all over the county, and decided to ask the Nueces County Chairman if they could acquire the original minutes of all of the Precinct Conventions. After they had the minutes, they could gather information on exactly how many people were illegally added to the precinct delegate lists.
According the Republican Party of Texas’ Rules (14b), precinct minutes are public record.
The County Chairman refused to hand over the original minutes. It was then discovered that one of the people who did not attend their Precinct Convention, and was not added to be voted on as a County Convention delegate was none other than the Republican County Chairman, Mike Bertuzzi himself.
The delegates were persistent in their endeavors, but it was to no avail. Not only would Mr. Bertuzzi not hand over the precinct minutes, he claimed that Tina Benkiser, the Republican Party of Texas’ Chairman told him he did not have to obey their party’s rules.
The delegates that were pursing this matter were left with no choice but to file a lawsuit.
Their lawsuit was deemed frivolous by Mrs. Benkiser. Apparently, following the rules of the Republican Party of Texas are not something that Republicans actually have to do, and if you want to force someone to follow them, you are called a troublemaker.
Here is the video of Benkiser’s remarks on the lawsuit (that she had full knowledge of, emails in the lawsuit documents prove this, even though she denies it)
The court eventually ruled that Bertuzzi had to hand the original precinct minutes over to the delegates asking for them.
Upon reviewing the minutes, the delegates found that over 150 people (of 230) were added to the precinct minutes illegally. The SREC Committeeman for SD20, Robert (Bob) Jones, was among some of the violators. The Nueces County judge, and former Corpus Christi mayor, Lloyd Neal was also an added delegate. Someone from nearly every temporary committee (the temporary committees decide things before the County Convention) was illegally added as were numerous people running for office that included: 2 running for Constable, 2 running for State Representative, 1 running for County Commissioner, and one running for Nueces County Tax Assessor. A former state representative rounded out the long list of offenders.
This was brought to the attention of Mr. Bertuzzi (who was illegally added himself) and numerous people in the Republican Party leadership in Texas. All of the information was also provided in a challenge for the State Convention. Nothing was done. Benkiser ignored it and called it “frivolous.”
At the Nueces County Convention the delegates rose in opposition, only to be gaveled down and ignored by a Chairman who broke the rules and a Parliamentarian who refused to follow them.
At the State Convention, the challenge was dismissed because a paper wasn’t filed right, and 232 delegates from the Nueces County Convention were seated and acknowledged – WITHOUT having ever gone through proper credentialing.
When the State Convention was over, and the delegates from Nueces County decided to pursue legal action against their Chairman for blatantly ignoring the rules laid out by the Republicans of Texas, they found even more disturbing facts.
They purchased the public roll of all voters in Nueces County and began to sift through the illegally added delegates to see if they voted in the Republican Primary and if they voted in the proper Precinct. This is the “credential” process that was supposed to have been done before the County Convention.
Upon reviewing the roll and the original minutes, they found that SEVEN of the people who were illegally added and attended the County Convention, VOTED IN THE DEMOCRAT PRIMARY. Anyone who knows the law knows that if you vote in the Democrat Primary, you cannot participate as a delegate or alternate or hold a Republican office for one year.
They also found that 6 of the illegally added people were not even registered to vote – AT ALL. These revelations show that people actually lied about voting, which breaks a whole new set of laws.
At this point, you are probably wondering what has happened since June and these facts have been uncovered. I am here to tell you that the Republican Party has not rectified or even TRIED to rectify this situation in any way, shape, or form.
The Republican Party of Texas’ Chairman, Tina Benkiser, knows these facts, along with most all of the leadership in the Republican Party. She has chosen to do nothing. She has chosen to allow the Nueces County Chairman to break Republican rules and the law. The SD20 SREC committeeman and the County Judge are fully aware of their own illegalities and have said and done nothing. They of all people should know the law.
The others who broke the law and rules have done the same. They got away with it, and they will no doubt do it again.
Why do we have laws and rules? What are they for?
These people MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
We MUST hold them accountable.
The delegates in Nueces County who have uncovered this and filed the initial lawsuit are Vanessa Cahill and Kay Fisher. They are attempting to retain Gary Polland of Houston. He is a grassroots activist, former Harris County Chairman, and a McCain supporter. He knows the law and Republican Party rules like the back of his hand. This makes for the perfect lawyer.
FairConvention.org
From: Debra Medina
Subject: Legal action
Despite three weeks of negotiating with the Texas Republican Party, they are refusing to sign an agreement to follow the law at the state convention. Specifically to hold the election of the permanent convention chair and seating of the permanent roll before conducting any official convention business. This is simple and basic protocol, is followed at both precinct and county conventions and is laid out in the Texas Election Code.
Gary Polland has requested a media campaign as well as an additional $4000 to take the case to court. I am emailing others around the state to attempt to raise these additional funds. Please let me know if you are able/willing to contribute specifically for this purpose and/or if you have any questions or concerns. Mail checks to Wharton Co. Republican Party PO Box 831 Wharton Tx 77488 (memo legal fees)
I expect that we will begin to see information in the state and perhaps national media on Tuesday.
Incidentally, one of the first state convention actions is a meeting by the "officials" committee (a sub-committee of the SREC staffed by the state party chair, vice chair, treasurer, national committeewoman, national committeeman, and three SREC members). The purpose of this meeting, held Tuesday night in Austin, is to review all challenges submitted to the state convention, specifically, according to rule 27b2, "without attempting to assess merit or lack of merit, conduct a preliminary review of each challenge in order to establish whether the basis for the challenge is valid under the rules". Rule 14, of course, stipulates that all meetings of any convention are to be open to delegates and alternates.
Despite sending a written professional parliamentary opinion and giving advance notice that guests planned to attend this meeting in Austin, delegates from Travis, Tarrant, Dallas, Nueces, Hays, San Patricio, Brazos and Robertson Counties were not allowed to attend the meeting. The committee met behind closed doors, and behind closed doors apparently voted to meet in Executive Session (and sent the state party legal counsel outside to so advise the waiting delegates). They waited patiently in the RPT lobby for the duration of the meeting. Most members of the committee entered and exited the offices through a back door so the delegates are unaware as to even which committee members were actually in attendance at the meeting and no official results have yet been received. This too will result in the filing of another challenge to be resolved by the delegates at the state convention.
I shared with one embattled delegate today that we are to encourage one another as we are toiling sweat, tears, emotion, time and energy but failing to protect these fundamental rights to free speech, to the freedom of assembly will result in our children shedding blood to regain a government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Your prayers, support (and any financial contribution) are greatly appreciated.
RE: Legal Fees
FairConvention.org will provide a good overview of what has been happening and why. See the first link under "Achieving a Fair Convention" Timeline and Current Status for a quick overview of where we are.
I'm about $1000 shy of the $4000 fundraising needed in order to proceed with the legal action. It would be greatly appreciated if you can assist with this. Further, sending me an email to let me know how much is being sent will help as well. Mail check to Wharton Co. Republican Party P O Box 831 Wharton, Tx 77488 and indicate "for legal fees".
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
June 3, 2008
Debra Medina 979-253-0220
WHO: Republican activists coordinated by Wharton County GOP Chair Debra Medina and attorney Gary Polland
WHAT: Press conference to discuss just-filed legal action requesting enforcement action to ensure Republican Party of Texas compliance with State Law
WHEN: Wednesday, June 4th 2008, 11:00 am
WHERE: Harris County Civil Court, 201 Caroline, Houston, Texas. Courthouse steps
WHY: Veteran GOP activists and GOP County Chair Medina and the parties attorney, Gary Polland will be joined by others to explain their legal action and potential ramifications on the upcoming Texas State Convention. The convention will be held on June 12-14 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
The 13th Court of Appeals issued an opinion today giving Nueces County Chair Mike Bertuzzi until 5pm tomorrow (Wednesday, June 4) to grant Vanessa Cahill unlimited access to the Nueces County Precinct Convention Minutes or a writ of mandamus WILL BE ISSUED.
This is great news for the side of law and order. If you are as excited about this as we are please help us get the word out about what we are all about and chipin
Washington
BATTLE AT SPOKANE, WASHINGTON PART I-III
Stuart Grant, who was on the floor, estimated that forty to forty-two percent of the state delegates supported Ron Paul
Ron Paul supporter Doug Parris said the convention was the biggest cheat-fest he'd ever seen, and that he was kicked in the groin by another delegate while photographing McCain's delegation. His interview starts forty two seconds into this video
A Ron Paul delegate was kicked out of the convention
PART III (PLEASE IF
YOU ONLY WATCH ONE VIDEO WATCH THIS ONE TO THE END!!!)
Neither he or this reporter are aware of any McCain delegate being kicked out. Jayson
Reimer criticized McCain delegates, and said he wanted to give Mr. Esser
an "atomic wedgie", which is where someone is restrained by pulling the
waistband of his underwear up over his head.
This reporter drew tears from Ron Paul supporters when he
observed that, one year, two years or five years from now, if they
happen to meet an inconsolable mother who has lost a child in a stupid
Middle Eastern war, they'll be able to offer sympathy, and say that,
back in 2008, they tried to stop it in Spokane.
Kingsley G. Morse Jr.
Whatcom County delegate
June 2nd, 2008
Ron Paul Supporters in Washington State Win Delegates and Repudiate War, Despite GOP Chicanery Supporters Win Four National Delegates, Four to Six Alternates, and Pass Anti-War Resolution
Underdog presidential candidate Ron Paul overcame GOP chicanery
to win four national delegates, and four to six alternates at Washington
State's republican convention here in Spokane on Friday.
Ron Paul's supporters say the GOP rail-roaded the convention to
favor John McCain.
Ron Paul delegates sitting in the left, right and center of the
convention hall said they doubted that Washington State GOP chairman
Luke Esser could discern whether a majority had voted for or against
several questions. Nonetheless, Mr. Esser uniformly ruled in favor of
McCain, and even reversed himself once after accidentally ruling for Ron
Paul.
John McCain has said he's OK with staying in Iraq for a hundred
years, and bombing Iran. Ron Paul wants to bring the troops home
immediately, and takes a peaceful approach to Iran.
Bruce Morton, from Lake Stevens, said he was euphoric and
teary-eyed after passing an anti-war resolution. Some delegates said his
success made the whole weekend worthwhile.
Ron Paul delegate John Spiers, said he was told by security that
the GOP instructed them to kick out anyone videotaping the convention
without press credentials. Mr. Spiers repeatedly asked to see which rule
they were enforcing, but was never shown one. Mr. Spiers said he
suspected the republican party was trying to hide something.
A reporter who supports Ron Paul said the GOP refused to give
him press credentials for the convention. Fred James said when he told
the GOP he was from Bellingham, where Ron Paul enjoys strong support,
there was a long, pregnant pause at the other end of the phone. Mr.
James is reporting for Nolan Chart and the Whatcom Independent.
The election of delegates for the second congressional district was
chaired by McCain supporter Joe Elenbaas, who was recently sentenced to a year in jail.
Mr. Elenbaas said the rules wouldn't allow a hand count of the ballots
to double check the computerized tally, but was unable to cite the exact
rule. Washington state GOP chair Luke Esser was called in to answer
questions, but said he couldn't remember who makes the voting machines
that the party uses.
Justin McKay, from Ferndale, said he came away with one
question: "Who makes the electronic machines that are used to count the
votes? Does anyone out there know? We're waiting with baited breath."
Don Harkin, who runs the Idaho Observer, said people were shocked to find ballots in a garbage can.
What to Sue For
Sue the party Chairs for lost expenses and damages. The GOP organizations make their own rules and they also need to follow them. If they do not, this is false advertising and a breach of contract. The rules say you can't change the rules without following a process. Delegates are dues paying members of the organization (they've given consideration), and if they are being deceived out of their expenses by a false promise of services (the supposed return for the consideration), they have a case for reimbursement and putative damages.
The Chair should be held personally liable for the expenses of registration fees, travel expenses, hotel expenses, lost time at work or spent vacation time, the duress of giving up that time for no just cause, stress, pain, and suffering, and other losses associated with the reaction to being cheated. All registration fees and related expense should be refunded, with a multiplier for damages, just as a guilty landlord must repay a security deposit plus double or triple damages in small claims court. At a minimum, our jilted delegates are entitled to a refund for services not rendered. I believe this is called Tort Law, though I am unsure.
Multiply that in the case of Nevada State GOP Convention, for instance, times several hundred people and you have a lawsuit against the chair, his parliamentarian, and all other officers of the club, for a few hundred thousand dollars for breach of contract.
File such suits and GOP chairs in other states will stop breaking the rules, or risk their own personal fortunes.
We have been too polite. There is a time to demand payment for fraudulently extracted monies. We, as delegates, are consumers of a service. We often pay hundreds to thousands of dollars merely to attend a convention. If we are not given the services promised for that exchange, then we have a case to exact damages, in my opinion.
-Evan
Direction to go
People around the country need to start suing party chairs and other party officials who don't follow the rules. Because of the political nature of parties, they must file the bylaws with each state and also election codes often mirror many bylaws. One can also try to reclaim lost registration, travel, hotel, and time from work expenses. Go after these folks both as party position holders and personally if possible in a court of law. The Nueces County, TX citizens have done just that and are causing the county chairperson to do some serious back-pedaling. Filing real actions against rule breakers will scare other chairs into following their GOP rules and the law.
Anyone attending ongoing conventions, caucuses, or meetings is strongly encouraged to document all proceedings with a video or audio recording. If incidents have occurred for which you have no such documentation, consider gathering written, signed, and notarized documentation from a large number of participants to use as evidence.
You might also consider asking the press to attend events like the last minute meeting 300 Missouri delegates were forced to attend. They received certified letters they all had to attend a meeting of the certifications committee at the state capitol to determine whether they would receive delegate certification. None of the letters contained specific charges and they were given no names of people lodging complaints (see bylaws of the national GOP and your state-required). The press was interested in why the state party spent over $1,000.00 sending out certified letters contesting an issue for which no charges were lodged.
