AJ Antimony
08-02-2008, 12:02 PM
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/122197
Commentary: Paul supporter slips through McCain phalanx
Once Sen. John McCain became the "presumptive" Republican nominee for president, the phalanx of McCain staffers swung into action to make sure that all our Arizona delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention would be properly indoctrinated McCain supporters. However, even though I was Arizona co-chairman for the Ron Paul campaign, I managed to slip through the phalanx and get elected.
I am a lifelong activist registered Republican and I certainly understand the "loyalty" issue and I will be voting for McCain at the convention. But there are some significant philosophical issues that Rep. Ron Paul raised during his campaign and I am hoping to have an opportunity to move the Republican Party back in the direction of these Barry Goldwater/Ronald Reagan principles.
McCain and Paul are both outstanding Americans whom I have the privilege to know since the early 1980s. I met McCain shortly after he came to Arizona and I was very impressed. I worked on his first campaign and have admired many of his strong convictions. However, there are some issues that are very important to our country and our party where we have drifted away from the strong limited government/pro-individual freedom philosophical principles that were set forth by our Founding Fathers and best exemplified in more recent years by Goldwater and Reagan. These principles need to be addressed by the Republican Party and I am hoping that my involvement at our national convention will provide such an opportunity.
One of the ways that I hope to accomplish this is to be involved in the Platform Committee. There is an interactive Web site that is very easy to use for any interested Republican and I have already posted several suggestions that I hope to see considered by our Platform Committee members. These have to do with the role of the Federal Reserve, the IRS, the Department of Education, our foreign policy, our War on Drugs, and other related issues. Since I am a native Minnesotan, I am looking forward to the excitement of discussing these important issues in my home state. I certainly hope that the convention will not just be a coronation but rather will involve a meaningful debate of fundamental philosophy.
We will see if "one who slipped through" can have any impact.
Commentary: Paul supporter slips through McCain phalanx
Once Sen. John McCain became the "presumptive" Republican nominee for president, the phalanx of McCain staffers swung into action to make sure that all our Arizona delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention would be properly indoctrinated McCain supporters. However, even though I was Arizona co-chairman for the Ron Paul campaign, I managed to slip through the phalanx and get elected.
I am a lifelong activist registered Republican and I certainly understand the "loyalty" issue and I will be voting for McCain at the convention. But there are some significant philosophical issues that Rep. Ron Paul raised during his campaign and I am hoping to have an opportunity to move the Republican Party back in the direction of these Barry Goldwater/Ronald Reagan principles.
McCain and Paul are both outstanding Americans whom I have the privilege to know since the early 1980s. I met McCain shortly after he came to Arizona and I was very impressed. I worked on his first campaign and have admired many of his strong convictions. However, there are some issues that are very important to our country and our party where we have drifted away from the strong limited government/pro-individual freedom philosophical principles that were set forth by our Founding Fathers and best exemplified in more recent years by Goldwater and Reagan. These principles need to be addressed by the Republican Party and I am hoping that my involvement at our national convention will provide such an opportunity.
One of the ways that I hope to accomplish this is to be involved in the Platform Committee. There is an interactive Web site that is very easy to use for any interested Republican and I have already posted several suggestions that I hope to see considered by our Platform Committee members. These have to do with the role of the Federal Reserve, the IRS, the Department of Education, our foreign policy, our War on Drugs, and other related issues. Since I am a native Minnesotan, I am looking forward to the excitement of discussing these important issues in my home state. I certainly hope that the convention will not just be a coronation but rather will involve a meaningful debate of fundamental philosophy.
We will see if "one who slipped through" can have any impact.