The Scott County Platform Committee issued one of the most pathetic, meatless, unspecific, coalition collapsing platforms I have ever seen.
The real fight at the convention was over a rule change to allow for the incorporation of the most recently passed platform along with the Platform Committee’s proposed ridiculous generalities. Republicans should not have to parse words to find out if high-profile issues of the day are covered. We were willing to use their soft words to introduce previous planks with meaning.
Here is what passes for support of gun rights in Scott County: “We support the Iowa Constitution and the U.S. Constitution with all of its amendments being our law” (which Constitution’s amendments the world wants to know). That’s it! What profundity! What educational value! I am serious. Nothing in it about reciprocity, nothing about stand your ground.
They gutted the traditions, of the process. It was entirely unannounced that there would be a major rewrite (pathetic Scott County precinct people are incapable of offering such encompassing profundity of their own at the precinct caucuses). They just did it. A regrettable unprecedented power play was used to deny any amendments delivered on time to the HQ with more than the minimum number of required signatures. Mailing them would have supposedly been OK except the the Platform Chairman was not even available to receive the mail. He was on vacation!
Confusion, inattention, the cumbersomeness of the process, misinformation, sore butts controlled. Branstad devotees were the most susceptible. Anybody could have been up there on the dais and they would have followed.
Ronald Reagan had words for such platforms — “it was tainted with pastel colors.” In this case pastel would have been vibrant. This was like waving the gin cork over the vermouth glass and calling it a martini.
More on this in coming days. Nursing a hell of a cold. Will have quick posts as energy permits.
R Mall
To all who participated in the Republican County Convention:
We spent several hours from the time we discovered the hidden agenda of a “Give me ambiguity, or give me nothing at all” platform in order to accomplish the following list:
-Find out where the source of this losing strategy of ambiguity originated and expose it.
-Seek an open dialogue with the person or group.
-Introduce the removed content of the extremely important planks.
-See if we could deal with these issues prior to the Republican County Convention.
-Inform as many people as humanly possible once we did our homework and verified our facts. Given the “February Surprise” we only had a couple of days to update everyone.
-Expose all of the above on the floor at the County Convention as a last resort.
It is my belief that many people heard the truth as well as we could deliver it. I believe everyone saw the fumbling and deception between the cast of clowns on the stage regarding the properly submitted signatures and planks from our grass roots efforts. Mr. Ortega, lying does not become you! Ms. Chair, there is no RR in Bettendorf! Mr. Purcel, shame on you for not standing up for integrity, decency and honor. All of you saw the forms as evidence that shouts “Duly and properly filed!”
We were the first responders to this hidden cancer now exposed. It is only the beginning and there will be several more battles in order to restore the integrity that was traded for expediency, pomp and window dressing. God help our party to come to terms with the identity crisis of “how do we look” on the street corner to “What is our clear stand and who will join us in the fight for the restoration of this great Party of Republicans that have always stood for TRUTH!
Looking forward to the District Convention, if anyone will give me thier delegate seat, I am a alternate at this point, I will gladly represent.
Gary Fincher
“The Platform Chairman was not even available to pick up the mail. He was on vacation!”
Sort of reminds me of Iowa Caucus night back in 2012 when our Chairwoman was on vacation for some reason.