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View Full Version : GOP Establishment Shuts Down Missouri Caucus to Avoid Paul Victory




sailingaway
03-18-2012, 05:29 PM
http://www.thenewamerican.com/images/stories2012/10aMarch/brent_stafford.001.jpg

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/11237-gop-establishment-shuts-down-missouri-caucus-to-avoid-paul-victory

Mini-Me
03-18-2012, 05:30 PM
If only Fox News would run with this headline, haha

kathy88
03-18-2012, 05:33 PM
GREAT GREAT GREAT Tweet far and wide.

FrankRep
03-18-2012, 05:37 PM
The shot heard around the world!

wgadget
03-18-2012, 05:38 PM
Hey, Hey, HEY...You realize these thread titles are Tweeted, don't you? :p

kathy88
03-18-2012, 05:42 PM
Hey, Hey, HEY...You realize these thread titles are Tweeted, don't you? :p

HAHAHAHHAHAHA

FrankRep
03-18-2012, 05:50 PM
Youtube!

Arrest of Brent Strafford, St. Charles County Caucus


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRVi1m9BnXI

St. Charles County caucus blasted with police sirens


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw5cRa6-ff8

nobody's_hero
03-18-2012, 05:51 PM
Heh, it wasn't just Paul's victory. Romney supporters were pissed off too, and by the time they had moved the group to a nearby park, folks in both the Paul camp and Romney camp were calling the St. Peters police department to try to get the two guys released from jail.

Romney supporters were getting their first lesson from the Paul supporters in how to stand up for freedom.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug60vGTCmtI

To set the mood, listen to this one at the same time with the volume turned down a bit:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kNeGtqP7zw

rockerrockstar
03-18-2012, 05:53 PM
Great article.

Vet_from_cali
03-18-2012, 05:53 PM
Cliffs on what happened?

Not watching all those videos, on cell.

wgadget
03-18-2012, 06:06 PM
Tweeted out to talk show hosts. LOL

nobody's_hero
03-18-2012, 06:09 PM
Cliffs on what happened?

Not watching all those videos, on cell.

If I were you, I'd throw your cell phone away, find a computer and watch all of those videos. it's well worth it. It'll bring you all sorts of emotion from anger, to sadness, to pride, to frustration, happiness etc.

Tyler_Durden
03-18-2012, 06:11 PM
Drudge?

(not holding my breath)

Fort Lauderdale
03-18-2012, 06:16 PM
I don't understand. Did people get arrested for tampering with votes? Is Ron Paul actually going to be called the winner in Missouri?

Fort Lauderdale
03-18-2012, 06:18 PM
Establishment GOP leaders in St. Charles County, Missouri, shut down a caucus and had Ron Paul supporters arrested in order to avoid enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters from taking over the caucus March 17.

"It definitely got wild," Eugene Dokes, the county Republican chairman, told the Associated Press after the aborted caucus, claiming that: "I had to tell a number of people not to approach me, not to come from behind me and not to scream at me. I think there was the possibility of someone trying to inflict personal injury or harm to me." There's no evidence Dokes was threatened in the more than dozen videos of the caucus that appeared on YouTube after the caucus.

The posted video recordings were banned at the caucus and provided the nominal reason for one arrest and the loud protests. The videos showed the crowd remaining in their seats and orderly while shouting extremely loudly at perceived rule violations by Dokes through Matt Ehlen, whom Dokes had elected caucus chairman after a controversial vote where Ehlen was the only candidate. Local television stations reported that Paul supporters had become “verbally aggressive,” a characterization imperceptibly different from a crowd enthusiastically supporting their candidates.

GOP officials nominally shut down Missouri's ongoing presidential caucuses in St. Charles County after Ron Paul and Mitt Romney supporters protested enforcement of an outdated caucus rule that bans videotaping of caucus proceedings. The futility of enforcing such an antiquated rule in the 21st century became apparent within hours of the close of the convention, as dozens of surreptitious mobile phone recordings of the caucus proceedings appeared on YouTube.com. In an era when virtually all mobile phones also double as high definition video recorders, such a rule has become impossible to enforce.

Missouri Republican Party Chairman David Cole issued a statement calling for transparency in the caucus process, a statement that seemed to imply the video-recording rule should be eased: “We understand that emotions run high, but it is important that these caucuses are conducted in a fair, open, and honest manner. Today’s events in St. Charles were unfortunate — and the meeting was adjourned to protect the safety of all participants. Moving forward, the State Party plans to reach out to all parties involved. We will come to an agreement to ensure that St Charles County is fully represented throughout the nominating process.”

The Associated Press reported that Doakes and Ehlen called police when Paul and Romney supporters loudly booed after the putative caucus chairman declared several resolutions passed by voice votes that did not appear to win by a majority of the 2,500 caucus attendees: “Two off-duty St. Peters police officers, who had been hired for the event by Republicans, called in for support from five law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A police helicopter arrived at the scene.”

Two Ron Paul supporters were arrested by municipal police on “trespassing” charges, one during the caucus for openly refusing to stop video-recording. After the caucus was shut down, Paul campaign coordinator Brent Safford was also arrested for "trespassing," when he tried to reconvene the caucus outside the high school where the abortive caucus had taken place. Romney and Paul supporters in attendance charged that county GOP leadership was in the pocket of the Santorum campaign in posts on local media and various social media, alongside the more than a dozen YouTube videos posted overnight.

Brent Safford had been backed by both the Paul and Romney campaigns to become caucus chairman, but Stafford claimed in a post on DailyPaul.com that Dokes refused to recognize any nominations for caucus chairman other than Ehler. The crowd angrily chanted “Brent Safford, Brent Safford” when Dokes and Ehlen refused to recognize Safford. Dokes and Ehler resolved to adjourn the caucus after Paul and Romney supporters continued an unbroken series of crowd booing, but Safford pointed out that the rules of the convention required a two-thirds vote to adjourn and tried to continue the caucus in the front lawn outside of the high school where it had first convened. Police arrested Safford on the front lawn of the high school, but left unmolested 300-400 other caucus-goers who were listening to Safford — unmolested. (To see a YouTube video showing Stafford's arrest, click here.) Safford wrote on the DailyPaul.com “When I asked what I was being arrested for, or if I was being arrested, I was told they would tell me later. Eventually I was booked for trespassing and released.”

Ehlen insisted during the caucus that Paul supporters vigorously follow state rules on video recordings, but Ehlen himself ignored several rules that were also on the state caucus rulebook, such as following Robert's Rules of Order, ignoring points of order, and adjourning without a two-thirds vote.

neverseen
03-18-2012, 06:24 PM
Please retweet me! https://twitter.com/#!/LibertyTakeover

nobody's_hero
03-18-2012, 06:24 PM
Ah, don't read the media reports. They've only been getting one side of the story.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basically, a Santorum supporter who is running for state office happened to be the temporary chairman/dictator at the caucus, and found out that he was outnumbered by Paul and Romney supporters. Oh and he didn't like cameras, so before he started anything he made folks turn off their cameras, which meant smart people just stuck their phones in their pocket to get the audio (lol, evil plan FAIL). Paul and Romney supporters, realizing that they would probably end up in a stalemate, negotiated a plan to split the delegates and elect a Paul supporter for Chairman, and a Romney supporter for secretary, so on and so on. Then the little temporary chairman/dictator named Eugene Dokes decided that he was just gonna adjourn the caucus and forfeit all 140+ delegates. Nobody gets anything. So they go outside, the cops (hired for off-duty security, by the midget dictator and his accomplices) called for backup. They arrested the (would-be) Paul chairman, Mr. Strafford, in addition to a guy arrested earlier for not turning off his camera. So now everyone is pissed off. But the two arrested for no good reason were released later yesterday.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(you see why I don't write for newspapers)

Tyler_Durden
03-18-2012, 06:39 PM
One of the things that really bothers me and shows the corruption:

When the meeting was being adjourned, the caucus leader explained to people that they needed to leave or they would be subject to arrest. The problem with that is that he didn't have the authority to threaten arrest. It would be a police officer who should issue a lawful order via mic or bullhorn for the crowd to disperse or face arrest. To me, that shows how the police were used by Party Leaders for their own agenda.

wgadget
03-18-2012, 06:42 PM
Isn't that illegal?

Lawsuit.

row333au
03-18-2012, 06:42 PM
Ron Paul Supporters in Oklahoma Fight Back Against Fraud and Corruption


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEM3f4x4yzM&feature=share

wgadget
03-18-2012, 06:43 PM
Please retweet me! https://twitter.com/#!/LibertyTakeover

I dun it.

wgadget
03-18-2012, 06:43 PM
Dang. A person could make a documentary with all this footage...

nobody's_hero
03-18-2012, 07:12 PM
One of the things that really bothers me and shows the corruption:

When the meeting was being adjourned, the caucus leader explained to people that they needed to leave or they would be subject to arrest. The problem with that is that he didn't have the authority to threaten arrest. It would be a police officer who should issue a lawful order via mic or bullhorn for the crowd to disperse or face arrest. To me, that shows how the police were used by Party Leaders for their own agenda.

Yeah I really have a problem with officers using their badges and guns off-duty as 'hired help'. Seems like they'd be representing their department, while getting paid on the side.

Just hire some unarmed bouncers to stand at the door, at most. And if someone attacks a bouncer or something, then you can call the cops.

Bosco Warden
03-18-2012, 07:56 PM
:eek::mad:


Establishment GOP leaders in St. Charles County, Missouri, shut down a caucus and had Ron Paul supporters arrested in order to avoid enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters from taking over the caucus March 17.

"It definitely got wild," Eugene Dokes, the county Republican chairman, told the Associated Press after the aborted caucus, claiming that: "I had to tell a number of people not to approach me, not to come from behind me and not to scream at me. I think there was the possibility of someone trying to inflict personal injury or harm to me." There's no evidence Dokes was threatened in the more than dozen videos of the caucus that appeared on YouTube after the caucus.

The posted video recordings were banned at the caucus and provided the nominal reason for one arrest and the loud protests. The videos showed the crowd remaining in their seats and orderly while shouting extremely loudly at perceived rule violations by Dokes through Matt Ehlen, whom Dokes had elected caucus chairman after a controversial vote where Ehlen was the only candidate. Local television stations reported that Paul supporters had become “verbally aggressive,” a characterization imperceptibly different from a crowd enthusiastically supporting their candidates.

GOP officials nominally shut down Missouri's ongoing presidential caucuses in St. Charles County after Ron Paul and Mitt Romney supporters protested enforcement of an outdated caucus rule that bans videotaping of caucus proceedings. The futility of enforcing such an antiquated rule in the 21st century became apparent within hours of the close of the convention, as dozens of surreptitious mobile phone recordings of the caucus proceedings appeared on YouTube.com. In an era when virtually all mobile phones also double as high definition video recorders, such a rule has become impossible to enforce.

Missouri Republican Party Chairman David Cole issued a statement calling for transparency in the caucus process, a statement that seemed to imply the video-recording rule should be eased: “We understand that emotions run high, but it is important that these caucuses are conducted in a fair, open, and honest manner. Today’s events in St. Charles were unfortunate — and the meeting was adjourned to protect the safety of all participants. Moving forward, the State Party plans to reach out to all parties involved. We will come to an agreement to ensure that St Charles County is fully represented throughout the nominating process.”

The Associated Press reported that Doakes and Ehlen called police when Paul and Romney supporters loudly booed after the putative caucus chairman declared several resolutions passed by voice votes that did not appear to win by a majority of the 2,500 caucus attendees: “Two off-duty St. Peters police officers, who had been hired for the event by Republicans, called in for support from five law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol. A police helicopter arrived at the scene.”

Two Ron Paul supporters were arrested by municipal police on “trespassing” charges, one during the caucus for openly refusing to stop video-recording. After the caucus was shut down, Paul campaign coordinator Brent Safford was also arrested for "trespassing," when he tried to reconvene the caucus outside the high school where the abortive caucus had taken place. Romney and Paul supporters in attendance charged that county GOP leadership was in the pocket of the Santorum campaign in posts on local media and various social media, alongside the more than a dozen YouTube videos posted overnight.

Brent Safford had been backed by both the Paul and Romney campaigns to become caucus chairman, but Stafford claimed in a post on DailyPaul.com that Dokes refused to recognize any nominations for caucus chairman other than Ehler. The crowd angrily chanted “Brent Safford, Brent Safford” when Dokes and Ehlen refused to recognize Safford. Dokes and Ehler resolved to adjourn the caucus after Paul and Romney supporters continued an unbroken series of crowd booing, but Safford pointed out that the rules of the convention required a two-thirds vote to adjourn and tried to continue the caucus in the front lawn outside of the high school where it had first convened. Police arrested Safford on the front lawn of the high school, but left unmolested 300-400 other caucus-goers who were listening to Safford — unmolested. (To see a YouTube video showing Stafford's arrest, click here.) Safford wrote on the DailyPaul.com “When I asked what I was being arrested for, or if I was being arrested, I was told they would tell me later. Eventually I was booked for trespassing and released.”

Ehlen insisted during the caucus that Paul supporters vigorously follow state rules on video recordings, but Ehlen himself ignored several rules that were also on the state caucus rulebook, such as following Robert's Rules of Order, ignoring points of order, and adjourning without a two-thirds vote.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/11237-gop-establishment-shuts-down-missouri-caucus-to-avoid-paul-victory

J_White
03-18-2012, 09:36 PM
Russians, Iraqis and many other countries would be laughing if they watched all these shenanigans !!

Anti Federalist
03-18-2012, 09:39 PM
Well, color me unsurprised.

Completely unsurprised.

And if you try that delegate plan on the floor of the convention, they'll call a halt, call in the cops and arrest every one of you.

That's how Amerika rolls these days.

And what the hell are you gonna do about, Mundane?

Anti Federalist
03-18-2012, 09:41 PM
Vigorous exercising of your First Amendment rights will get you arrested.

FrankRep
03-18-2012, 09:58 PM
Russians, Iraqis and many other countries would be laughing if they watched all these shenanigans !!

http://thenewamerican.com/images/stories2012/10aMarch/putin_election_ap.001.jpg


Russia also has massive Voter Fraud.

07 March 2012

Russia - "Open and Honest" Election? (http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world)



Charges of rampant voter fraud in the March 4 presidential voting have come not only from various Russian political parties but also from Russian and international election monitoring organizations. GOLOS, the election-monitoring group, said in a March 5 press statement (http://www.golos.org/news/5207) that it had received approximately 5,000 calls from its observers throughout the country concerning irregularities and abuses at polling stations. Many reports have charged that “carousel” (merry-go-round) voting was widespread, with voters — especially young voters, it appears — being taken by car, bus, or van to vote multiple times for Putin.

Reuters reported (http://news.yahoo.com/voting-fraud-allegations-mar-putins-presidential-win-213146006.html) on journalist Sergei Smirnov who joined a group of carousel voters that had agreed to vote four times for Putin, in exchange for 2,000 rubles ($70).
....



Full Story:
http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world

sailingaway
03-18-2012, 10:06 PM
http://thenewamerican.com/images/stories2012/10aMarch/putin_election_ap.001.jpg


Russia also has massive Voter Fraud.

07 March 2012

Russia - "Open and Honest" Election? (http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world)



Charges of rampant voter fraud in the March 4 presidential voting have come not only from various Russian political parties but also from Russian and international election monitoring organizations. GOLOS, the election-monitoring group, said in a March 5 press statement (http://www.golos.org/news/5207) that it had received approximately 5,000 calls from its observers throughout the country concerning irregularities and abuses at polling stations. Many reports have charged that “carousel” (merry-go-round) voting was widespread, with voters — especially young voters, it appears — being taken by car, bus, or van to vote multiple times for Putin.

Reuters reported (http://news.yahoo.com/voting-fraud-allegations-mar-putins-presidential-win-213146006.html) on journalist Sergei Smirnov who joined a group of carousel voters that had agreed to vote four times for Putin, in exchange for 2,000 rubles ($70).
....



Full Story:
http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world

Doesn't it make you feel closer to them, that we have so much in common?

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0pohbpNnH1rrtufjo1_250.gif

Gumba of Liberty
03-18-2012, 10:08 PM
http://thenewamerican.com/images/stories2012/10aMarch/putin_election_ap.001.jpg


Russia also has massive Voter Fraud.

07 March 2012

Russia - "Open and Honest" Election? (http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world)



Charges of rampant voter fraud in the March 4 presidential voting have come not only from various Russian political parties but also from Russian and international election monitoring organizations. GOLOS, the election-monitoring group, said in a March 5 press statement (http://www.golos.org/news/5207) that it had received approximately 5,000 calls from its observers throughout the country concerning irregularities and abuses at polling stations. Many reports have charged that “carousel” (merry-go-round) voting was widespread, with voters — especially young voters, it appears — being taken by car, bus, or van to vote multiple times for Putin.

Reuters reported (http://news.yahoo.com/voting-fraud-allegations-mar-putins-presidential-win-213146006.html) on journalist Sergei Smirnov who joined a group of carousel voters that had agreed to vote four times for Putin, in exchange for 2,000 rubles ($70).
....



Full Story:
http://thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/11113-putin-recharged-what-now-for-russia-and-the-world

Who won the Cold War again?

PolicyReader
03-18-2012, 10:51 PM
Vigorous exercising of your First Amendment rights will get you arrested.
Sadly doesn't even have to be all that vigorous anymore :(

neverseen
03-18-2012, 10:58 PM
Who won the Cold War again?

It never ended, and the russians are winning. They are about to throw the US into civil war and will collapse the entire american empire world wide. touche russians. touche.