Minneapolis-St. Paul has done a wonderful job in rolling out the welcome wagon for the delegates. I am impressed by the number of volunteers. It seem wherever you go, there is a volunteer to greet you and make certain you know where you are going.
To welcome the delegates, they hosted a welcome reception tonight. This was held in conjunction with their Civic Fest.
At the Civic Fest they have a number of exhibits devoted to the history of the Presidency and the history of Minnesota. Highlights included a replica of Air Force One, Presidential China and Presidential Limousines. One interesting fact was that Reagan had his limousine made taller than regular limousines so that he could wear his cowboy hat.
Also as part of the exhibit they had an exhibit of Lincoln’s life. One of the more sobering aspects of the exhibit was on the Civil War. On a day by day basis, it showed how the war was going for each side. In the lower right hand corner it had a ticker on the number of causalities on both sides of the war. It boggles the mind how many were killed and injured on each side.
After the Civic Fest, I attended a delegate reception for those in the party who want to promote freedom and more personal responsibility in the party. It was refreshing to see so many first time delegates in attendance (out of the approximately 300 in attendance only one had previously been a national delegate).
While many in the group have not been John McCain fans, his selection of Sarah Palin for the vice presidency has a chance to energize this group. If McCain and his campaign are smart (and thus far they have run a very good general election campaign) they will use Palin to reach out to this group of voters.
In critical battleground states they could represent the swing votes the party needs to win. Thus far the party has largely ignored this group. In my discussions with conservatives, Palin’s nomination has gotten many to reexamine the Republican ticket.
If Republicans are smart they will use this time to reach out to them.
On Monday, delegates will listen to Governor Mitt Romney and visit History Fort Snelling prior to the start of the convention. Due to Hurricane Gustav, Monday night’s session which was to feature President Bush has been cancelled. The Utah Republican Leadership has planned a humanitarian project for the delegates.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
The VP Pick
On the surface, McCain's pick of Sarah Palin appears to be a good move. She is right on several issues:
1) She is pro-life.
2) She is a life long member of the NRA
3) She believes in traditional marriage
4) She is for utilizing the nation's resources to solve the energy crisis
5) She stand for ethics reform
6) She has a record of decreasing taxes
The devil is always in the details, but I can say I agree with her on these six issues. Most of these are core Republican issues.
I admit I was nervous that McCain would pick a Lieberman or Ridge, but his choice of Palin has energized the base and stole Obama's thunder after his speech. Thus far McCain's camp has made the right moves.
1) She is pro-life.
2) She is a life long member of the NRA
3) She believes in traditional marriage
4) She is for utilizing the nation's resources to solve the energy crisis
5) She stand for ethics reform
6) She has a record of decreasing taxes
The devil is always in the details, but I can say I agree with her on these six issues. Most of these are core Republican issues.
I admit I was nervous that McCain would pick a Lieberman or Ridge, but his choice of Palin has energized the base and stole Obama's thunder after his speech. Thus far McCain's camp has made the right moves.
Monday, August 25, 2008
What to Do With Utah Delegates
As we prepare for the national convention, prominent John McCain supporters pushed for Utah's delegation to be unbound to Mitt Romney so they would have to vote for John McCain.
In the February primary Utah voters gave Mitt Romney over 90% of their vote. An attempt to unbind the delegates to Romney at the state convention was defeated. Then at the last possible second (after the deadline for filing convention challenges had passed) the Utah Republican State Central Committee decided to give the bylaw which had awarded all of the delegates to Romney a new meaning. One that effectively would bind the delegates to McCain. This interpetation was sent to central committee hours at approximately 5 p.m. before a state central committee meeting the next morning. Just as Clinton attempted to redefine what the meaning of the word "is" is, Utah Republican leaders decided to change the definition of what a candidate is.
As a candidate for national committeeman and national delegate at the state convention, the state delegates knew the definition and they wanted their votes to go to Romney.
Now as a national delegate I must decide if I should follow the interpetation of the rule as understood by Utah voters or the tortured interpetation that was thrown at central commitee members at the last possible second when the issue had been before us for over six months.
Here is an oped piece that I authored which appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on the subject.
Follow the link:
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10223675
In the February primary Utah voters gave Mitt Romney over 90% of their vote. An attempt to unbind the delegates to Romney at the state convention was defeated. Then at the last possible second (after the deadline for filing convention challenges had passed) the Utah Republican State Central Committee decided to give the bylaw which had awarded all of the delegates to Romney a new meaning. One that effectively would bind the delegates to McCain. This interpetation was sent to central committee hours at approximately 5 p.m. before a state central committee meeting the next morning. Just as Clinton attempted to redefine what the meaning of the word "is" is, Utah Republican leaders decided to change the definition of what a candidate is.
As a candidate for national committeeman and national delegate at the state convention, the state delegates knew the definition and they wanted their votes to go to Romney.
Now as a national delegate I must decide if I should follow the interpetation of the rule as understood by Utah voters or the tortured interpetation that was thrown at central commitee members at the last possible second when the issue had been before us for over six months.
Here is an oped piece that I authored which appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on the subject.
Follow the link:
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10223675
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