Lenawee County Covention

[Th3 Maelstr0m]

Got back from the Lenawee convention a few hours ago. I just found out about this whole delegate shindig recently, so I went to see if I could do my part. I got there at 6:30 & found about a dozen Ron Paul supporters there. Most of us were in our twenties, with a few older gentleman. None of us were current precinct delegates, & one of the women in charge seated us off to the side & put a sign by us that said "Visitors."

None of us advertised we were Ron Paul supports, but it looked like they guessed it because we were young. The lady told us we would not be able to go to the state convention under any circumstances. One of the more even-tempered of us asked her to clarify, & told her we were under the impression that if the current precinct delegates did not show up, we would be eligible to take their place. She told us this was incorrect.
We tried to get clarification from multiple individuals in charge, all of which gave conflicting explanations. One lady said only current precinct delegates were allowed to go to the state convention because we might be liberals trying to thwart the GOP (we stayed respectful despite the insult).

It ended up that 22 delegates were nominated, but only 11 alternates were elected. They then essentially put people who were not even there on the list as alternates. They said their were current precinct delegates, but from the conversations I heard it seemed like they were just volunteering friends. Is this allowed? All of us were under the impression that if a delegate did not show up & there were seats still open, we would have a chance at filling the spot.

Throughout the night people glared at us, no doubt suspecting we were Ron Paul supporters. I met an older lady I use to go to church with there and talked to her. She asked who I supported & I (discreetly) told her, since I'm not going to lie. She was surprised, as if being a Ron Paul supporter and a Christian were incompatible. She said "well, I support Santorum because I'm a Christian." By divine providence I remained respectful & explained why I supported Ron Paul. Afterwards, she asked me to attend her 9.12 Tea Party meeting next Thursday, and even asked to invite my "Ron Paul friends."

So all in all it was a frustrating night, but hopefully I planted some seeds that will grow into something. I plan on attending the Tea Party meeting, though I'm not to sure how it will go. In my experience, the least receptive people to discuss Dr. Paul & liberty with are my fellow Christians. Regardless, I always look forward to discussing/respectfully debating others, especially for liberty.

Anyhoo, if there are any Ron Paul supporters reading this whom attending the Lenawee convention, thanks for showing up & it was an honor to meet you.

Respectfully,


The guy with the Marine Corps hat

[UtahApocalypse]

Contact Adam from the MI Campaign office

[Th3 Maelstr0m]

Already done good sir!

[EBounding]

While the lady is wrong in saying you couldn't go to the convention, I do believe that precinct delegates can nominate other precinct delegates who were not present.

The guy leading our caucus wanted to get precinct delegates who weren't present nominated. But the other precinct delegates present wanted to get us "young people" nominated as alternates instead.

[WilliamC]

Sounds like ya'll have it harder than we do here in Mississippi.

The Republican Party is not so strong here, it's essentially non-existent in many counties and in my County it has little power.

We now have 5 of 11 Executive Committee members and 2 of 4 delegates from our County, and while some of the old guard might be called a bit wary none are openly hostile or even unwelcoming.

Wish I could give you some good advice but I'm new at this myself. Ya'll keep track of each other and go to your Republican meetings and soon there will be more of you than them, it's simple demographics. But here's a little speech I'm working on, borrowed from an anonymous person, posted here on RPF and edited by me. I'm not quite done with it but I think it states pretty clear how to get through to any intellectually and morally competent Republicans you encounter. I don't know about the rest though.

Thanks for trying and a big + rep


THE RON PAUL SUPPORTERS CREED

Hello fellow Republicans, here is where I stand.
I am a Ron Paul supporter.
This election season, no candidate will get my vote for the
Office of President of the United States of America except for Ron Paul.
There will be no exceptions. If he does not win the nomination,
I will write his name on the ballot.

No amount of bargining, slick talking, flip-flopping, wooing, cajoling, threatening,
or condescension will persuade me to vote for any other contender for that office.
In this decision, I am resolute.

You may not want to admit it, but you know that the Republican Party
cannot beat Obama without me. I come from the ranks of Republicans,
Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Independents and even Democrats.
But beyond all those lables I am an first and foremost an American.
I can expand the Republican base. I can take votes away from Obama.
No other candidate has supporters who can do this. It is long past time you admit it.

While we both support a Republican candidate to win the White House,
you and I may have conflicting goals. I will only cast a vote for liberty, for peace,
for small government, for fiscal sanity and respect for the Constitution of the
United States and adherence to the Oath of Office of the Presidency.
You may be content merely to vote for whomever the GOP leadership and the
media approve of. I am not.

I support the Constitution of The United States over the Republican Party.
I will not budge. I cannot be persuaded. You cannot win without me.
I am not here to convince you that Ron Paul's positions are superior.
I am not here to convince you that his foreign policy is in line with
traditional conservatism. I am not here to convince you that his understanding
of economics put everyone else in Washington to shame. I am not even here
to convince you that the positions of the other candidates are not materially
different than those of Obamas, or that they are supported by the same big money donors.

No, I don't need to do any of that. I only need to tell you that without me, you have lost.
If you do not vote for Ron Paul in your Primary or Caucus, you are already defeated.
If you fail to nominate Ron Paul to be the Republican candidate for President, then
Barack Hussein Obama will serve a second term. Not because of my actions, but because of yours.

I do not want this. I do not support Obama. I abhor his policies and his politics.
But the Republican House of Representatives and Republicans in the Senate have
seen fit to work with him instead of opposing him at every turn. Republicans control the House.
They control the spending. They could stop Obama if they so desired.
Yet even with the election of so-called Tea Party Patriots nothing has changed.
They are now taking money from the same bankers that they ran against.
They have betrayed their principles and their constiuients. I am different.
As the Cadets at West Point pledge so do I. "I will not lie, cheat or steal nor will I tolerate those that do."

This is not blackmail. This is not a threat. This is a simple statement of fact.
I stand firm. I will accept nothing less than victory for Republicans in November. My goal is the
restoration of The United States of America to the principles embodied in our Constitution and our
Declaration of Independence. These documents founded our Country and define the limited powers
of our Federal Government, which has grown so much it now threatens the very freedoms
it is charged with protecting. I will only support candidates who share this goal. Ron Paul has championed
the Constitution for 35 years, even his enemies do not question this. Ron Paul supports the Constitution,
therefore I support Ron Paul for President of The United States.

Ron Paul 2012

[psi2941]

dude she is was lying. You have to be PRESENT to go to Detroit.

if this is how they treated you. my area they were so friendly to me. i even said bluntly when i got there i was a ron paul supporter. they still gave me the agenda and were talking to me told me about the rules and etc before like 20 people showed up at the same time.

maybe its just i live in a very small town, and every vote counts and they want a future republican vote.