RPT Makes Nueces County "Problem" Go Away

As I mentioned in my last post, this year's Nueces County Convention was a flagrant abuse of rules and delegates, and the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) has supported the chairman who perpetrated it. The delegates who unsuccessfully opposed the chairman held their own convention, and it is the job of the RPT's Credentials Committee to review the evidence and decide which delegation to allow to participate in the State Convention.

Various committees have been meeting since Monday, but Credentials didn't meet until today at 11am, planning to spend only 2 hours reviewing 78 credentials challenges (the most since 1976, when Reagan conservatives new to the GOP scene were being accused of trying to "destroy the party"). Although each of Texas' Senatorial Districts sends a delegate to make up this committee, the chairman of the Credentials Committee (appointed by RPT State Chairman Tina Benkiser) didn't even bother to take votes from his committee; he simply pronounced his judgment on each case.

As for Nueces County, he rejected the rump convention and seated the County Chairman's delegation on a highly dubious technicality, claiming that the rump convention didn't officially notify the other delegation that they would be challenging them. However, it is clear that the RPT learned something from this situation: the Credentials Committee passed a rule for the meeting excluding all recording equipment.

In other news, the Nueces County rump convention delegates have finally been able to review the records from the convention they left (thanks to a court order), and they have more information about the delegates who outvoted them:

"We believe at least 36 delegates failed to vote in the Republican Primary, which would make them ineligible to serve in the capacity of delegate," said Vanessa Cahill. "Another 36 of the delegates appear to have been added at the Nueces County Convention, by members of the Credential Committee. The Credentials Committee Chairman actually appears to be among the names added."

There will probably be an effort tomorrow during the first general session to change the order of the convention from the floor and elect a convention chairman who would allow this issue to be revisited, but it has little chance of succeeding. I think it's fair to say that justice was not served here.

Texas GOP Convention: Republicans Mix It Up

The Republican Party of Texas holds its 2008 Convention this week. (If you're new to all of this, you may want to check out my posts on Republican party officials and on the Republican convention process.) In contrast to most State Conventions over the past 20 years or so, this one may feature some major battles. I'm sifting through email, websites and blogs to get to the bottom of it, and here's what I'm finding.

There are allegations of illegal actions in several counties around Texas, where County Chairmen attempted to pack their County/Senatorial District (SD) conventions with ineligible delegates or prevent duly elected delegates from attending, and several who were accused of wrongdoing indicated that they had the support of the State Chairman. The most egregious of the violations (Nueces County) was captured on audio:

(Speaking as a delegate to many conventions, that is by far the most flagrant abuse of rules that I have ever heard.) A rump convention was held, where the delegates who believed that the rules were not followed held their own convention and elected their own group of delegates to the State Convention. Because there were two conventions held in Nueces County, a committee of the State Convention must choose which convention to accept--especially, which group of delegates to State will be seated.

The Nueces County situation highlights a huge problem at the State Convention. Since 1998, the State Convention has not finished organizing the convention (electing the permanent officers of the convention and finalizing the delegates who will be seated) until later in the convention. This allows more time at the podium for the State Chairman (who, by law, serves as Temporary Chairman and is often running for reelection) while allowing the Chairman to have another person serve as Permanent Chairman of the Convention during the often contentious debate that occurs later in the convention. Unfortunately, according to the Texas Election Code (TEC), this is also illegal. It also disenfranchises all of the delegates of Nueces County, as former Texas RNC Committeeman Tim Lambert notes in this blog entry:

Why does it matter? RPT rules (27d) require that delegations that have been challenged are not seated until their challenge is resolved. When the Credentials Committee report is not presented until after the vote for SREC members and nominations of Chair and Vice Chair of the party, those delegates' right to vote will be violated, because by the time they are seated, their opportunity to vote for SREC, State Chair and Vice Chair will have already passed.

A restraining order has been granted, been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and is being refiled to force the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) to order its convention according to the TEC. Amazingly, the RPT under the direction of current Chairman Tina Benkiser, is vigorously fighting these legal challenges. The TEC is very clear that the convention must be organized before business is conducted. Even though each SD will have elected their SREC members and nominated a Chair and Vice Chair before the convention is officially organized, RPT lawyers are arguing, apparently with straight faces, that no convention business will have been conducted. The fact that the RPT's case is so weak, coupled with the fact that Chairman Benkiser is apparently dragging her feet, seems to indicate that the party is simply trying to delay the conclusion of the legal actions past Thursday, when the point becomes moot.

Perhaps even more disturbing than the situation with the order of the convention is the fact the the RPT is supporting the Nueces County Chairman, who refused to disclose the precinct convention minutes that would have made it clear that he added 100 unelected delegates. As Tim Lambert notes:

The RPT, under the direction of the current chairman, went to court to defend the illegal actions of the rogue county chairman and sought to punish the delegate seeking relief. The current state chair advised this county chairman and others that they were not required to release convention minutes, contrary to RPT rule 22b and the TEC.

There is one thing that many of the delegates who have been excluded and mistreated have in common: they were supporters of Ron Paul's presidential bid. While I didn't vote for Paul, I find this behavior despicable. To attempt to illegally silence someone because of their support for a candidate is completely insupportable. Benkiser is now being opposed by Paul Perry in her reelection bid, and I will wholeheartedly support his bid.

Texas GOP Conventions: An Overview

The Republican Party holds its 2008 Convention this week, so it's a great time to give an overview of how the GOP works in Texas. I've already covered the Republican party officials who represent Republican voters in their areas. Now we'll look at the Republican conventions, where Republican voters attend conventions and represent themselves.

During even-numbered years, Texas Republicans hold a series of conventions at several levels: Precinct (neighborhoods), County/Senatorial District (depending on your area--some Counties are too big to hold a single convention), State, and finally the National Convention. The participants are always Republican voters who voted in the most recent GOP primary.

At each level, the convention is considered to be the Republican Party of the area (Precinct, County, etc.) they represent--their decisions establish the will and focus of Republican Party voters. Each convention does at least two things:

1. Elect delegates to represent the area at the next highest convention
2. Establish a "platform" that represents the views of the Party in that area

The larger the convention, the more work must be accomplished by committees before the majority of the delegates arrive. At Precinct Conventions, everything is handled at the convention, since there are usually just a handful of voters who show up, elect each other and a few neighbors to the County/Senatorial District Convention and sometimes present a resolution or two. By the State Convention, committees work up to 18 hours/day for 3 or 4 days before the majority of the delegates even arrive, sorting out the thousands of delegates to take part and reviewing hundreds of resolutions that will be whittled down to compose the Texas Republican Party Platform--among other things.

At the State Convention, an addition to electing delegates to the National Convention and adopting a platform, party officials on the Senatorial District, State, and National levels are elected as well--see this post for more on that.

At many State and National Conventions (as well as some County/Senatorial Conventions), there is a tension between two groups: Republican delegates and Republican officeholders. This is because the delegates often want to make their voices heard on a variety of subjects, some of which may be difficult or even embarrassing for officeholders from those districts. Conversely, State Representatives, Governors and Senators would all prefer that the coverage of this gathering of Republican activists from their districts be glowing in praise for those officeholders.

The focus of this tension is often on the Chairman. At State Conventions when a chairman is being elected, there will usually be a "grassroots" candidate who pledges allegiance to the average voter/delegates, running against an "establishment" candidate supported by the Governor or Presidential nominee, whose unspoken agenda will be to avoid embarrassment for those high elected officials from the State Conventions or SREC. For the past 15-20 years at the Texas State Convention, there have been very few differences of opinion between candidates on issues like fiscal conservatism, foreign policy or abortion--the choice is always about "management style".

Historically, there was a great amount of actual business transacted at party Conventions; party insiders at National Conventions actually chose nominees for President and Vice-President in "smoke-filled back rooms." In today's TV era, where sound bites reign supreme, parties want their conventions to be devoid of controversy and conflict, instead serving as rallies for the faithful and as a coronation for their nominees for high office. This also exacerbates the tension between the average delegates, who wish to speak their mind, and the Chairman, who would prefer a smooth, camera-friendly event without any infighting.

Next up: a preview of the 2008 Convention.

Texas Republican Party Officials: An Overview

In conjunction with this week's 2008 Republican Party Convention, I'm doing some overviews of how the GOP works in Texas.

At every level, from neighborhoods to the entire nation, Republicans elect individuals to represent their areas in the time between the elections which are held every two years. Those representatives then serve as part of a body headed by an elected chairman, in much the same way a company's board works with its CEO. The body represents Republican voters in various capacities, often including public relations, fundraising, lobbying of officials, and in some cases even filling Republican ballot vacancies left by death or withdrawal. While their functions differ, the bodies on various levels are very similar. Here is an overview, from the lowest level to the highest:

• Republican voters, in their biennial primaries, elect Precinct Chairmen from each neighborhood and a County Chairman for the entire county. The Precinct Chairs form a countywide Executive Committee headed by the County Chairman and together represent the Republicans of their County.
• Republican voters, in Senatorial District caucuses held at the biennial State Convention, elect a Committeeman and a Committeewoman to represent them on the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC).
• Republican voters, at the State Convention, elect a State Chairman to chair the SREC (and also run the state party, which has a staff and headquarters).
  
• Republican voters, at the State Convention, also elect a National Committeeman and Committeewoman to represent the state (along with the State Chairman) on the Republican National Committee (RNC)
• RNC members elect a Chairman to chair the RNC and lead the national party.

As you can see, the State Convention is a very important part of the process; many party officials are chosen there that will remain in office for at least two years (until the next State Convention), and in some cases for four-year terms. Next up: an overview of the GOP Convention process.

Stealth Bomber Crash

Earlier this year a US B-2 Spirit stealth bomber crashed on takeoff in Guam due to water damage on some of its sensors. This video shows a successful takeoff, followed by the doomed plane's liftoff, pilot ejections and crash/burn sequence. (More info here) These planes cost between 1.2 and 2.4 billion dollars each, and due to their range, size (their wingspan is longer than the first flight at Kitty Hawk) and stealth capabilities, they are to the US air fleet what the aircraft carrier is to American sea power--not only a dominant force capable of striking decisively almost anywhere on the planet, but a "big stick" in US diplomacy that affects the way our enemies deal with us politically. This plane was one of only 21, so now we're down to 20.

Bonus: Here's an interesting article on the people who fly this baby.

Wildlife Battle

You may have seen this, but if you haven't it's worth the time. It's a video shot by some tourists on a safari. It starts with some lions stalking some buffalo, and then they attack and catch a baby buffalo. But that's where things get interesting. Let's just say that by the time the video is over another predator makes an appearance, a lion flies through the air like a house cat, and we see some surprising herd behavior.