Power corrupts Ron Paul backers at Maine Republican Convention
In a weekend full of strong-armed tactics where any dissenting voices were silenced, you might think the so-called “establishment” was still in charge at the 2012 Maine Republican Convention. But that was not so- this time it was the motley crew of Ron Paul supporters- who infiltrated and took over the Maine GOP. What I witnessed over those 2 days was anything but “liberty”, and Ron Paul himself would likely be ashamed. One thing was proven true this weekend and it was the old saying “power corrupts”, because once the Ron Paul backers took the Chair’s microphone by a mere 4 vote margin (of over 2,000 cast) nothing short of what I’ll call “liberty-driven tyranny” took over.
However, initially when the Pro-Paul state delegate Brent Tweed took the microphone as Convention Chair I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, a 4 vote victory is hardly a landslide and I was looking to support delegate candidates from both camps. The party leadership even endorsed and distributed a “Unity ticket” that included supporters of both Romney and Paul in order to present a united front going to Tampa. Considering the Maine Caucus vote from February showed at best a tie for Ron Paul in the final vote tally, one would expect that if the Paul supporters had come to the Augusta Civic Center will the expectation of playing fair then that’s what would happen. It soon became clear, though, the only “unity” the Paulbots had in mind was one unified with Ron Paul delegates.
As the two days dragged on, any delegate who came to the microphone who was not in the Ron Paul camp was silence by Chairman Tweed and his co-horts running the microphone controls in the sound booth. A movement built on the principles of “Liberty” had quickly and sadly turned to the exact tyrannical rule they have been dead set against for the last however many years.
One point that was humorous and even ironic to me was the clear fact that Ron Paul backers could not think for themselves, and needed to rely on numerous people holding “YAY” or “NAY” placards on the floor of the convention hall to be told how to vote on each motion and nominated candidate. Furthermore, all Ron Paul delegates attending the convention arrived with yellow folders telling them step by step what they needed to do. Some may say this is good preparation by the Paul campaign. Maybe so, but I call it an example of being spoon-fed how to think and vote almost in a cultish manner. Isn’t “liberty” and being a “libertarian” usually synonymous with thinking for oneself, rather than following lock-and-step the wishes of a leader as if he’s an idol? They even had a sticker with the names of all 15 Paul-endorsed national delegates to use when voting- something that caused controversy when opponents attempted to distribute a “false sticker” of incorrect delegates.
As the NON-Paul voters were disenfranchised time and time again, they slowly left the Convention over the two days and headed for home- leaving the Paulbots in an ever-growing majority to vote like zombies and silence any dissenting motions. There was no integrity in the balloting or voting. The things I witnessed were stunning compared to past conventions I attended. The amount of “down time” waiting for ballots was unacceptable, and very few announcements were made from the podium to keep things on track. Why not let the other business occur while waiting? Even the 6 U.S. Senate candidates vying for Olympia Snowe’s vacated seat were disenfranchised and not allowed to speak because of all the delays. People were leaving in frustration and by late Sunday afternoon there was no quorum- meaning nothing from this Convention can be accepted as official.
The Convention plodded on after 6:00pm- adjourning some time after 8:00pm- costing the Maine GOP an additional $20,000 in fees from the Augusta Civic Center. Let’s hope the Maine GOP hands that bill to the Ron Paul campaign.
Regardless of all the shenanigans this weekend, it will almost surely be a wasted one for the Maine Republican Party. The Ron Paulians are claiming victory, but once August and the National Convention in Tampa rolls around they will most likely be crying foul. It is my opinion, and that of many others, that virtually none of the results from the State Convention will stand. Based on the lack of a quorum by Sunday afternoon, as well as the numerous broken procedures and rules, the RNC will have none of it. It is likely those Paul delegates will only be protesters once they arrive in Tampa because they will not be officially seated and counted. Maine will get a big fat 0 when the official delegate tally is announced, and that’s fine with me.
This weekend was not a totally wasted one as we were able to witness how disastrous our party will become if the Paulians get their way and take it over. Let’s hope the events of this convention serve as a wakeup call, and party leadership regrows their spine and begins to fight back. The Tea Party is NOT Ron Paul. Tea party principles and leaders have been incorporated and accepted into the Maine GOP, and nationwide. The Ron Paul people are simply out to create chaos and follow a leader that has become a wordly idol for them.
UPDATE 4:11pm 5/7/2012: Upon reflection, I suppose I should take solace in the fact that despite the turmoil in Maine- Romney will undoubtedly be our nominee and a large portion of the Ron Paul crowd that was there yesterday will disappear. Despite the fact that many Paulians took over the State Committee posts in Maine at the County caucus votes during the convention, in the coming year the Maine GOP will likely have a hard time getting a quorum at those State Committee meetings. As a result, new people will be elected to the posts, and everything will shake itself out. One can hope that’s how it will go down anyway…
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