MozoVote
06-06-2008, 09:00 PM
I'll keep things brief since it's late, but here are the highlights:
The Paulite vote was definately making waves in convention today. There were no "big" wins, but here is what happened:
Before the platform vote, there was an internal party organization debate about how the powers of the central and executive committees are structured. This wasn't all that big a deal to us, it was something the party OG cared about... and the debate on it lasted for half an hour or more. In the end, we voted "no" in a bloc, and it failed by a margin approximately the size of the Paul contingent. Uh-oh!
Then the platform was brought up. 3 small amendments were proposed by Paulites. Expanding the rights of concealed carry, emphasizing the sovereignty of the U.S. before any world body, and emphasizing that private property cannot be condemned for any for-profit or foreign entity. These were debated and passed.
Then things got interesting. The party longtimers had begun to sniff out that "something was up". :)
A motion was made to "call the question" on the platform and pass the rest of it as-is. Admittedly, it was getting near the end of the advertised time for debate. People were getting antsy. Some had reservations for the $75 a plate banquet to follow.
The vote to close debate failed ... by one vote! :D We had to keep going!
GunnyFreedom then stepped in and threw a firecracker motion out there... clearly we were close to losing the floor, so why not "go for it". Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment!!!
OMG it was a hoot! The party leaders were *cringing* on the stage, as delegates began openly (gasp) DEBATING how our bloated Federal government functions, and why have Republicans not cut the size of government while they held the Congress?
This was just *too much* to handle. Lay on the Table was attempted... Nope. The chairman (a very fair guy that was not willing to let Roberts Rules be usurped) said NO. You can't Lay on the Table unless there is "urgent business".
Call for Quorum was attempted... twice! Nope. We had quorum.
Finally the convention Chair has to put a time limit on debate, so many people were getting "in to it" and lining up at the microphones.
The vote was held and ... well, we lost. Then it was adjournment time, we were all getting tired.
Still, I'd call it a success, in terms of "waking people up" and getting them to take charge of the party. Some of the Paul camp that had been to prior conventions were saying it was the most fun we'd seen in years. Even the chairman and state chair Linda Daves congratulated the entire convention for working so spiritedly, and with such interest in party proceedings.
Tomorrow is the voting for delegates. Will be interesting to see how this goes, now that the NCGOP knows the Paul faction is "for real" and influencing the votes. :)
The Paulite vote was definately making waves in convention today. There were no "big" wins, but here is what happened:
Before the platform vote, there was an internal party organization debate about how the powers of the central and executive committees are structured. This wasn't all that big a deal to us, it was something the party OG cared about... and the debate on it lasted for half an hour or more. In the end, we voted "no" in a bloc, and it failed by a margin approximately the size of the Paul contingent. Uh-oh!
Then the platform was brought up. 3 small amendments were proposed by Paulites. Expanding the rights of concealed carry, emphasizing the sovereignty of the U.S. before any world body, and emphasizing that private property cannot be condemned for any for-profit or foreign entity. These were debated and passed.
Then things got interesting. The party longtimers had begun to sniff out that "something was up". :)
A motion was made to "call the question" on the platform and pass the rest of it as-is. Admittedly, it was getting near the end of the advertised time for debate. People were getting antsy. Some had reservations for the $75 a plate banquet to follow.
The vote to close debate failed ... by one vote! :D We had to keep going!
GunnyFreedom then stepped in and threw a firecracker motion out there... clearly we were close to losing the floor, so why not "go for it". Repeal the Sixteenth Amendment!!!
OMG it was a hoot! The party leaders were *cringing* on the stage, as delegates began openly (gasp) DEBATING how our bloated Federal government functions, and why have Republicans not cut the size of government while they held the Congress?
This was just *too much* to handle. Lay on the Table was attempted... Nope. The chairman (a very fair guy that was not willing to let Roberts Rules be usurped) said NO. You can't Lay on the Table unless there is "urgent business".
Call for Quorum was attempted... twice! Nope. We had quorum.
Finally the convention Chair has to put a time limit on debate, so many people were getting "in to it" and lining up at the microphones.
The vote was held and ... well, we lost. Then it was adjournment time, we were all getting tired.
Still, I'd call it a success, in terms of "waking people up" and getting them to take charge of the party. Some of the Paul camp that had been to prior conventions were saying it was the most fun we'd seen in years. Even the chairman and state chair Linda Daves congratulated the entire convention for working so spiritedly, and with such interest in party proceedings.
Tomorrow is the voting for delegates. Will be interesting to see how this goes, now that the NCGOP knows the Paul faction is "for real" and influencing the votes. :)