In a big victory for conservatives the platform adopted by delegates to the Second Congressional District Convention repudiated the ridiculous Don’t “Scare,” Don’t Inform, Don’t Challenge, Don’t Focus, Don’t Be Relevant, Don’t Do Anything Platform passed in Scott County with the urging of Scott County Chairman Chairwoman Chairperson Chair Judy Davidson.
It is not as if “platitude only platforms” have not been advocated periodically in counties throughout the district. But the Second District overwhelmingly rejected that approach, indeed adding some planks on matters of concern. Platitude only proponents just don’t want grass roots Republicans advocating action items, creating a discernible score card, or collectively speaking to politicians encouraging and prioritizing on matters that have risen to a level of concern.
We did not attend the convention in person as we felt it extremely unlikely that we would be seated and have any voice. We are told that only alternates with assigned numbers less than the mid thirties were seated. That does not mean that that same number of delegates did not show. Assuredly not all alternates show up either. Alternates are seated by their assigned number in sequential order of those present. It could be that the actual number of alternates seated was only in the twenties or so. By the way the selection of delegate alternates and then the assigning of numbers to alternates is entirely manipulable. Yours truly was alternate #101. It made no sense to waste the gas for the four plus hour transit time.
So the Scott County Judy Davidson election committee did a good job of getting delegates they hand picked to Ottumwa. Congratulations on getting family and friends out. We are told many left immediately after the vote, indicating their devotion to the panoply of what they were seated to do. We are curious as to the costs involved for the expensive full color card stock mailer and the other activities. We suspect it would be a reportable amount if it were a ballot office. It definitely was not pocket change . . . or maybe it was.
The Second District Convention congregation essentially chastised two incumbent members of the State Central Committee who were running for reelection by not returning them to office. Their alleged offenses included that they dishonored the integrity of the precinct to convention system in Iowa by manipulating events to the advantage of their ideological compatriots in the district, state and national conventions. The charge was repeated endlessly that their 2012 activities and beyond were out of proportion to their numbers and their tactics dis-unifying.
The narrative was promulgated as well that they gave ammunition to the many other states that criticize Iowa’s standing in the presidential selection process because Iowa’s system is so easily manipulated by willful people. In the absence of proportional rules the system requires integrity and honor.
It is ironic that the delegates elected Judy Davidson to the State Central Committee in spite of being a perpetrator of dishonoring the integrity of the caucus to convention process in Scott County by not honoring proportional results at the caucuses. No one did more to demonstrate that the system can be manipulated in the absence of those qualities then what was perpetrated under the leadership of Scott County Chair Davidson. The post county convention system is largely manipulable by a willful chair. It is indefensible fodder for Iowa’s critics, personified as much in Chair Davidson as in any of those turned out.
If the others elected are of the same elitist mindset, such that proportionality need not be observed as long as they are the ones disregarding it, then the Second District did not clean house, they just moved furniture around. Certainly they did not clean up thoroughly.
In 2014 Chair Davidson delivered another blow to the unique grassroots nature of the caucus system in Scott County. By either setting up, encouraging, allowing, failing to speak out, preventing correction or all of the above, the grass roots integrity of the platform process was gutted. Those machinations have been recently chronicled in these pages.
Regrettably we were able to make e-mail contact with only thirty percent or so of the supposedly good e-mail addresses available for alternates and delegates. That represented probably less than a quarter of the authorized delegates and alternates and of course that included many of the alternates who were not seated and able to vote anyway. We wish we could have been more effective at getting important information to the delegates.
Understanding her devotion to transparent communications and with all her claimed efficiency, we fully expect that Member Davidson will see to straightening up the e-mail list reliability and of course finish up the electronic mail boxes promised for Scott County Central Committee members last May. R Mall
