Sept. 8, 2008
GOP CONVENTION: A WV Alternate Delegate's Perspective
By Kevin Patrick
I was pleased and honored when I ran in Monongalia county as a Delegate to the WVGOP State Convention in February, and was elected by the Citizens of that county. So you can imagine how I felt when I found out I would be attending the National Convention as an Alternate Delegate, part of the West Virginia Delegation.
I remembered reading about Conventions in the past, where several candidates would attend, the crowd was a riot of politics, philosophy, and good will to our Nation; and hope, we must not forget hope. I wanted to be a part of something similar, sharing my love for Liberty with other Delegates.
I went to the RNC with a few simple goals. 1.) To further the cause of Liberty, 2.) To represent those people in Monongalia county who voted me to the State Convention, 3.) To spread the message of freedom, responsibility, humble foreign policy, and peace, 4.) To make a good showing for Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.
I was proud to be a West Virginian there, as I am everywhere. I was proud to meet so many other lovers of Liberty, especially those from Alaska and Texas. In few other places had I felt such a feeling of camaraderie, brotherhood, and the sharing of a common cause.
The WVGOP treated us incredibly fairly, even up until the announcing of votes at the RNC where our party chair, Dr. Doug McKinney and gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks announced, "2 votes: Ron Paul, and 28 votes: John McCain." I was proud to be one of the two. I was also dismayed to hear the chair repeat, "30 votes, John McCain," as she did not recognize our votes.
However, this was the end of the issues we faced at the RNC, but it was not the beginning.
Many Ron Paul Delegates were followed by McCain 'staffers' who wore ear pieces and wrist mics. When we entered the Convention we heard things like, "They're back..." as they spoke into the their sleeves. Before you write this off as paranoid conspiracy theory nonsense, you might ask yourself, what did we do to deserve such treatment?
I would like to share a selection:
Ironic, as four years ago McCain supporters were trying to sneak signs and banners into the Convention, while above we were simply posing for a photo outside. The RNC was more of a coronation ceremony, with little to no interaction on the Delegates' part worth mentioning. Without serving on Committees, the average Delegate has little to do with the goings on at the Convention. Unless you live in one of the handful of States, like West Virginia, who had Delegates who spoke out in favor of those whom they represented.
I would like to see the RNC return to the old style of Convention, where the Nominee was not known beforehand, where the Delegates debated, and shared thoughts, and did more than cheer lead for the presumptive nominee. I would like to see campaigns, who even though on private property and have the accompanying rights, respected the rights of free speech of those in attendance; the right to hold a flag of Liberty, for example.
More so, I would like to see the Republican Party returned to the ideas of small government, low taxes, individual liberty, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. With so many Liberty-loving people in this country, and in this State I am proud to call home: we will surely do that.
But we will not stop there, we will see our message of Liberty emblazoned across party lines, it will hang on the hearts of all Americans, like it once did. We will once again have a government subservient to its people, and not the other way around; a government, in both Charleston and Washington, of which West Virginians can be proud.
Montani Semper Liberi
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GOP CONVENTION: A WV Alternate Delegate's Perspective
By Kevin Patrick
I was pleased and honored when I ran in Monongalia county as a Delegate to the WVGOP State Convention in February, and was elected by the Citizens of that county. So you can imagine how I felt when I found out I would be attending the National Convention as an Alternate Delegate, part of the West Virginia Delegation.
I remembered reading about Conventions in the past, where several candidates would attend, the crowd was a riot of politics, philosophy, and good will to our Nation; and hope, we must not forget hope. I wanted to be a part of something similar, sharing my love for Liberty with other Delegates.
I went to the RNC with a few simple goals. 1.) To further the cause of Liberty, 2.) To represent those people in Monongalia county who voted me to the State Convention, 3.) To spread the message of freedom, responsibility, humble foreign policy, and peace, 4.) To make a good showing for Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.
I was proud to be a West Virginian there, as I am everywhere. I was proud to meet so many other lovers of Liberty, especially those from Alaska and Texas. In few other places had I felt such a feeling of camaraderie, brotherhood, and the sharing of a common cause.
The WVGOP treated us incredibly fairly, even up until the announcing of votes at the RNC where our party chair, Dr. Doug McKinney and gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks announced, "2 votes: Ron Paul, and 28 votes: John McCain." I was proud to be one of the two. I was also dismayed to hear the chair repeat, "30 votes, John McCain," as she did not recognize our votes.
However, this was the end of the issues we faced at the RNC, but it was not the beginning.
Many Ron Paul Delegates were followed by McCain 'staffers' who wore ear pieces and wrist mics. When we entered the Convention we heard things like, "They're back..." as they spoke into the their sleeves. Before you write this off as paranoid conspiracy theory nonsense, you might ask yourself, what did we do to deserve such treatment?
I would like to share a selection:
"The McCain campaign and the RNC were unnecessarily nervous about the presence of Ron Paul delegates at the XCel Energy Center, and sometimes that fact was reflected in unwarranted actions, such as someone yanking away a banner proclaiming the word "Liberty" being held by a handful of Paul delegates outside the building. In fact, while the Paul delegates demonstrated little, if any, support for McCain throughout the convention -- mostly sitting quietly on their hands while the rest of the crowd erupted around them -- they caused no problems and were respectful and polite, including the Paul delegates from West Virginia. The Ron Paul movement has brought thousands of young people into the political process -- shouldn't the GOP find ways to welcome them rather than alienate them?"
| (http://www.getelephantwars.com/republicangazette.html) |
Ironic, as four years ago McCain supporters were trying to sneak signs and banners into the Convention, while above we were simply posing for a photo outside. The RNC was more of a coronation ceremony, with little to no interaction on the Delegates' part worth mentioning. Without serving on Committees, the average Delegate has little to do with the goings on at the Convention. Unless you live in one of the handful of States, like West Virginia, who had Delegates who spoke out in favor of those whom they represented.
I would like to see the RNC return to the old style of Convention, where the Nominee was not known beforehand, where the Delegates debated, and shared thoughts, and did more than cheer lead for the presumptive nominee. I would like to see campaigns, who even though on private property and have the accompanying rights, respected the rights of free speech of those in attendance; the right to hold a flag of Liberty, for example.
More so, I would like to see the Republican Party returned to the ideas of small government, low taxes, individual liberty, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. With so many Liberty-loving people in this country, and in this State I am proud to call home: we will surely do that.
But we will not stop there, we will see our message of Liberty emblazoned across party lines, it will hang on the hearts of all Americans, like it once did. We will once again have a government subservient to its people, and not the other way around; a government, in both Charleston and Washington, of which West Virginians can be proud.
Montani Semper Liberi
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