What Difference Does a Vote for President Make

In its latest magazine, World magazine, a national Christian news weekly publication, posted the first story in a series on the presidential race. Not surprisingly it focused on the issue of abortion and the stark difference between the Republican and Democrat nominees.

I talked to an attorney friend last week who is a very conservative Republican activist, and he told me that he would no longer "vote for the lesser of two evils" in regard to the presidential race.

So I had another of my discussions on the consequences of voting for a third party candidate. Congressman Ron Paul, once a Libertarian nominee for President himself, wrote an article that appeared in the same World magazine in about 2000 on why he decided to move away from the Libertarian Party and stay with the Republican Party. His reasoning was sound. Third party candidates help folks who want to make a statement or push an issue that the major parties have refused to deal with, but they rarely ever elect anyone. If we want to impact public policy decisions, we have to work through one of the two major parties and elect the people to office who make those public policy decisions. That is still true, in my opinion.

I remember hearing recently a caller to Rush Limbaugh discussing that in 1992 she voted for Ross Perot out of frustration with President Bush, Sr., and what she and the other voters who did likewise got in return was eight years of Bill Clinton. I believe just as World magazine articulates the differences between the Republicatns and Democrats on the issue of abortion, and I would add to that the issue of Supreme Court Justices and Second Amendment rights issues. John McCain is the better choice over Barack Obama on all of these issues, and it's not even close. So if you want to see the political reincarnation of Jimmy Carter (or worse), vote for Barack Obama or a third party candidate. McCain will not please conservatives on every issue, but he will be far, far better than Brark Husain Obama.

Where Do We Go From Here

Will Lutz got it right recently in a blog post when he said,

"For the past ten years or so, the GOP leadership has succumbed to the natural human temptation to crush one’s opponents because one can. That approach may be legal, but it’s not always wise. Eventually, being too heavy-handed can backfire.

"A perfect example of the party’s heavy-handedness occurred at several of the convention’s committee hearings, most notably the rules committee. The committee passed a rule banning any audio or video recordings of the meetings. This rule accomplished absolutely nothing positive for the party and made the leadership look like it had something to hide."

Some of my friends have suggested that we should not focus on the "divisive" issues raised at the RPT state convention because it will discourage people from working for Republican candidates. This has always been the manner in which party leaders have called for "unity," asking that we simply disregard past violations. In the 1980s it was the divisive issue of abortion that party leaders did not want us to discuss.

In 1998, I carried a resolution on the RNC that called for the Republican Party at the national level to refuse funding to any Republican candidate or nominee who opposed efforts to end partial birth abortion. While this was very unpopular with party officers, it was strongly supported by the rank and file.

That same year the chairman of the RPT appointed an attorney and elected official to chair the RPT Platform Committee. When the committee tried to add language to the platform supporting the non-funding of Republican candidates who opposed efforts to end partial birth abortion, the chairman ruled it out of order and refused to allow the committee to vote on the measure. I declined to challenge this effort on the floor of the convention "for the sake of unity" since the chairman was "one of us." In retrospect I believe that was a mistake, as we have again seen the same tactic used in the rules committee in 2002 and now the credentials committee in 2008.

To simply ignore the issues for the sake of electing Republicans, as we have seen, will only lead to more of the same. Gary Polland also comments on the RPT Convention and the lawsuit filed against the party which will be refiled in Harris County.

So where do we go from here? First of all we should work diligently to elect Republicans this fall. Regardless of the problems with party leadership, Republican candidates in general are far superior on the issues of limited government, lower taxes and family values. (Dr. James Dobson today talked about Barak Obama, and it was not positive.) That is not to say that we should not seek to change some Republicans in the primary.

We must also follow the activities of the RPT and educate ourselves as to what is happening and how and why. (We will make information available here as it becomes available.) Communicate with your member of the SREC. Read the RPT rules, learn from past mistakes, and be prepared not to make the same mistakes - or let others - next time. Finally, bring more of your like-minded friends with you in two years as you go to your precinct convention, county/senatorial convention and the state convention and be prepared to participate.

Just When You Thought it Couldn't Get Any Worse

The postmortem for the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) State Convention continues to be written and analyzed. One thing that appears to be different this year is that people are not just going home and writing off the experience but seem to be saying that we are not going to take it anymore.

Twenty years ago the disagreements in our conventions centered around our platform and what the party would stand for. The arguments between the moderate and conservative elements of our party were over the social issues - primarily abortion - and whether or not the party should even take a position on such issues. That struggle is over. I noted with interest that reporter Will Lutz referred to the RPT platform adopted on a voice vote as "...probably the most socially conservative in a long time, which is saying a lot for the GOP."

Lutz also, however, comments on the supplemental rules adopted by the rules committee prohibiting the recording of the meetings. Interestingly, there were no comments in his article regarding the platform and 15 comments regarding the gag rule, which was also used in the credentials committee.

In the ongoing saga from Nueces County, Vanessa Cayhill (vanessafratila@gmail.com), who headed the rump delegation that was not allowed to make their case at the state convention, has just completed a review of the voting records of the the County Chairman's delegation (the one that was seated at the RPT State Convention). Her research shows that one delegate and one alternate in that delegation voted in the Democratic Primary and one alternate was not even registered to vote. In addition to that, of the delegates seated by the County Chairman at the Nueces County Convention (those not elected at precinct conventions but added to the delegate list at the county convention), seven had voted in the Democratic Primary and six were not registered to vote. I guess it is worse than we thought!

In an e-mail, a former state convention delegate who now resides in Tarrant County shared her story of local abuse of power which has some familiar strains:

"I have recently moved to Tarrant County from Dallas County and now I am part of SD10. One of the biggest Senatorial Districts. I showed up on Convention day, and found out that my credentials were challenged. I was shocked! I have attended 5 State Conventions in a row as either a delegate or alternate, and here I was not able to attend my Senatorial Convention. I was told however, that they did not need to go before the credentials committee and that once the credentials committee has their report, I could be seated. I however, wanted to go before the state delegation committee. I was denied. Denied because my credentials were not confirmed, and therefore they saw me as not part of the convention. I asked if I could come after I was seated, and was told no since their meeting would be over. I found this to be very odd and I was very disappointed. I hated knowing I was going to miss out on being a delegate, when I have been such a faithful supporter for the last 10 years. (since I was 21 years old)."
"I was seated at my convention and found out that my whole precinct was challenged. My precinct chairman told me that she had called a few weeks before to make sure our packet was received and that everything was correct. She was told that our packet was "lost". She then contacted a Jeremy (i do not remember his last name) , who called the temp chairman of the senatorial convention, and asked under the open records law, to see all precinct packets. Low and behold, ours was found among them with notes next to each of our names as 'Ron Paul'. I was told this was probably because we were all new first time voters in our precinct. I was shocked and hurt when I read this.

"For them to assume that was wrong. They don't know who I am or who I voted for. (I voted for Huckabee). And who cares. That is not what the convention should have been about. This was going to be my first state convention that I was not a delegate. I got shafted and there was nothing I could about it. It was too late and they were not going to give the delegates who were challenged a chance to be seated at the State Convention.
I was angry, hurt and disappointed in my district and its leaders. I still am."

This would appear to be evidence of a coordinated effort across the state of Texas to systematically exclude new participants in the RPT convention process.

Another great tragedy of this convention was the total lack of recognition of one of our most honorable and conservative party officers - National Committeewoman Denise McNamara. Denise has been a role model of grace and a staunch conservative representation of the grassroots of our party. Last year in the heat of the debate over the illegal immigration issue, Denise co-sponsored an RNC resolution with the National Committeeman from Arizona that reflected the viewpoint of the grassroots of our party. The National Committeeman for Texas, Bill Crocker, took a phone call from Karl Rove at the Whitehouse and offered a competing resolution that reflected the President's view, instead of that of the grassroots. I guess it should come as no surprise that under the current RPT leadership Ms. McNamara would not be recognized and lauded for her 8 years of service to our party as the National Committeewoman for Texas. Nevertheless, she is a lady of grace, courage and character who deserved far, far better. She, too, has posted her comments on the RPT State Convention, and I hope you will read them and give her the words of praise and appreciation that she richly deserves.

Abuse of Power - RPT Style

The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) 2008 Convention was a study in the abuse of power by the chairman of our party. Unfortunately, this is a pattern.

The tendency first became apparent when she was the Rules Committee Chairman in 2002. A controversial rule was proposed by delegates who argued that the RPT had authority to, by rule, move the party to a closed primary. The delegates were frustrated with Democrats who were voting in our primary to influence the choice of our nominees. (Many will recognize this tactic with the tables turned as “Operation Chaos” promoted by Rush Limbaugh this year in the Democratic Primaries.) In spite of legal opinions supporting the right of political parties to take this action and two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Chairman Benkiser, after hours of discussion, ruled that the committee would not be allowed to vote on this issue. Her stated reason was that the proposal would be a violation of the Texas Election Code (TEC). When a motion to appeal the ruling of the chair was offered and seconded, the chair ruled that motion dilatory and refused to allow the will of the committee to be expressed by a vote.

Benkiser was later heard saying that she had just accomplished the “dirty work of the chairman.” Many believe the reason that a vote was not allowed to be taken was that there would have been at least twenty percent of the committee who supported the proposal - which would have resulted in a minority report to the convention floor for debate and final decision by the convention delegates. The Chairman of the RPT at that time did not want that to happen and therefore directed the committee chairman (Benkiser) along with the legal counsel and parlimentarian not to allow it.

Fast-forward to 2008. RPT Chairman Benkiser had Judge Rene Diaz do her “dirty work” in the credentials committee. Regarding the Nueces County debacle (See blog entries, Thrown Under the Bus and The Inconvenience of the Rule of Law.), RPT Chairman Benkiser defended the Nueces County Chairman (NCC) before the Thirteenth Court of Appeals in his bid to illegally withhold the minutes of the precinct conventions from those who held a rump convention.

Also, Diaz’ Credentials Committee (actually Diaz himself) ruled that the minority report of the committee concerning the Nueces County delegation was not really a minority report. Thus Chairman Benkiser, as the temporary chairman of the convention, ruled it out of order in the general sessions. Repeated attempts to allow the convention delegates to hear the issue from the temporary credentials committee and make the final determination were rejected on Thursday and again on Friday. Just as in 2002, although the delegates at the RPT State Convention are supposed to be the final authority for the establishing the rules, positions and officers of the party, Benkiser denied the delegates an opportunity to hear and make the decision for themselves. Judge Diaz, therefore, also did not present the Nueces County issue to the SREC. It had been “resolved,” he told them. In the end, the delegates of the Convention were neither allowed to hear the facts of that case nor to voice their opinion by voting on it.

Paul Perry lost his last minute bid to unseat Benkiser but gained a third of the vote (in spite of attempts by Benkiser forces to paint him as a liberal because of his support for Ron Paul in the Republican Primary, in spite of his 20 years as a conservative Republican party activist). There appeared to be a clear understanding by most of the delegates that an abuse of power had taken place with regard to the Nueces County delegation at the hands of the credentials committee, but perhaps many did not perceive this to be the “dirty work” of Benkiser that it was.

The Gatekeeper

The focus of controversy in the RPT State Convention has been and continues to be the Credentials Committee, with more challenges at any time since 1976 when the Reagan conservatives came into the party and asserted their right to participate. In spite of that record number of challenges, the committee did not convene until Wednesday while other substantive committees began on Monday.

The focus of the committee continued to be the egregious actions of Nueces County Party. The Credentials Committee chairman, Judge Diaz, offered his committee's report during the general session of the Convention on Thursday afternoon after the convention was called to order about 4pm. When members of the Credentials Committee presented a minority report to the chairman, seeking to bring the issue of the rump convention and the challenge regarding Nueces County Chairman to the full convention under RPT Rule 24, he decreed it not a valid minority report and thus the convention was not allowed to hear the issue.

The Permanent Credentials Committee, of which I was a member, asked the chairman for an explanation. He said that a minority report must be presented before the end of the committee meeting, which is not supported by the text of Rule 24. He also stated that it could not be valid because the report included the rump convention of Nueces County, which the Credentials Committee had no authority to address. How is it the Credentials Committee had no authority to even hear the case of the delegates who had determined that the original Nueces County Convention was illegal because of rules violations and thus held their own convention? It was, the chairman explained, because he had determined that the Credentials Committee had no "jurisdiction" to hear the case. The Credentials Committee had no jurisdiction to hear the case of a rump convention and determine if their reasons for doing so were legitimate?

The Chairman explained that he was "a gatekeeper" and he listened to the preliminary testimony of the rump convention delegates and determined that it should not be heard! His reasoning was the delegates of the rump convention had not notified each member of the original delegation that they were being challenged. This, indeed, is the rule for individual challenges, but in the 20 years of my experience in the party, this has never been the case for dealing with a rump convention. Such challenges are usually resolved by hearing the testimony of each group and then making a determination of which group should be seated, based on whether or not the original convention was illegal because of rules violations.

So the challengers were denied an opportunity to even present their case because of what can only be described as a technicality, while the delegation - which, by undisputed testimony, added 35 delegates to their roll illegally, denied the participations repeated requests for points of order and were given minutes of the precinct conventions to prove this only after forced to by the Thirteenth Court of Appeals - were all seated with the exception of the credentials committee chairman of the county convention. In fact, a former county chairman from Nueces County testified to the committee that the party had been operating in this manner for over 20 years.

For the first time in my experience in the RPT, a difference was articulated between a "contest" and a "challenge," which heretofore, in my experience, have been used interchangeably. This artful creation was also used to "resolve" many of these rules violations without the final dispostion being made by the delegates at the convention.

The "gatekeeper" made his final ruling in the Permanent Credentials Committee when he decreed that it was not possible for the permanent committee to address anything other than what the temporary committee had reported based on RPT Rule 34a. In other words, it was out of order to discuss Nueces County rump convention or the credentials of the Nueces County Chairman. Nor was it possible to have a minority report on those issues. A motion to appeal his ruling was offered, and the committee upheld the chairman by a vote of 18-12. In subsequent discussion it was pointed out that other subsections of Rule 34 gave the same direction to the Platform Committee and the Rules Committee, and the long time practice of those committees was not to limit the permanent committees only to the work of temporary committees. When the chairman was asked his opinion of whether those committees were likewise limited, he explained that he did not have an opinion on those committees, and it did not matter. It is the view of many members of the credentails committee that the chairman created interpretations of rules to accomplish what he and the Chairman of the RPT desired from the beginning.

This is more evidence, in my opinion, of the reason we need new RPT leadership.

Convention Process 101

There may be some reading this blog who are new to the convention process and are getting cross-eyed trying to figure out what this battle over the rules is all about. For any of you in that boat, we would like to suggest that you read an article called "Texas Republican Party Officials: An Overview" and a followup article, "GOP Conventions: An Overview."

Maybe that will help clarify things.

Lawsuit clouds state GOP convention

After County Court-at-Law Judge Roberta Lloyd said Monday she had no jurisdiction to try the lawsuit, the group appealed to the all-Republican, Houston-based First Court of Appeals, which refused Wednesday to intervene on an emergency basis. That means the convention will kick off at 1 p.m. free of any court orders.

But the court — justices Tim Taft, Sam Nuchia and Jane Bland — asked lawyers in the case to send written arguments on the case by 5 p.m. today, leaving the possibility of further court action.

From the Houston Chronicle

Battle looming for GOP post?

Steve Hollern will be the focus of attention -- for a little while at least -- at the Republican State Convention starting tomorrow in Houston.

Hollern, former Tarrant County Republican Party chairman, is throwing his hat in the ring to be permanent convention chair.

He said he's up for the post because he wants the rules to be followed and state election laws say the permanent chair should be elected at the beginning of the convention, rather than midway through as is traditionally done.

"It bothers me when I see injustice and things not being done right," Hollern said. "We are concerned that party laws are being violated and there is a concern that this is the tip of the iceberg."

Ron Paul supporters are among those echoing Hollern's beliefs. But Hollern said he supports presumptive presidential nominee John McCain.

The battle for chair could come as soon as noon Thursday, when the convention begins.

-- Anna M. Tinsley

Some predict simmering discontent will surface in Houston.

Debra Medina, chairwoman of the Wharton County Republicans, has spearheaded a legal challenge to the party, contending that the convention leader must be elected before any other action, a claim rebuffed by the party.

Medina discounted speculation among party officials that the Paul faction might peel off from the state convention to hold a separate gathering like one in April in Nueces County. She said, though, that delegates want to make sure their voices are heard. See the full story.

I'm Not Responsible

A couple of incidents yesterday exposed the mentality of many in the RPT leadership. The former County Chairman of Nueces County talked to me and said he had been in the party for almost 60 years, had voted for 17 republican presidents and "how dare they challenge my credentials." It doesn't matter that he and his cronies violated the RPT rules, TEC and common decency he is entitled.

Dr. Robin Armstrong, current Vice Chair of the RPT appeared at the meeting of around 500 people at the Discovery Green where I and others explained our position on seeking fairness for all at this convention. He asked to speak and Debra Medina, now a candidate for Vice Chair allowed him to do so. He talked about how much we had in common regarding our conservative beliefs and urged us to come together and work for Republican candidates this fall. When he finished, Debra graciously asked him if he would be willing to stand up as a party leader when rules were being broken and people were being treated unfairly. His comment was that he was not responsible for what was happening. She replied, "What do you mean? You're the Vice Chairman of the Party!" She also pointed out that Dr. Armstrong's convention was held in violation of party rules by combining two Senatorial District's into one convention. The practice has been going on for years, we have been told, because it is more convenient.

Credentials Committee Injustice

Former Judge Rene Diaz of San Antonio, appointed by RPT Chairman Tina Benkiser, presided over a bizarre Credentials Committee at the RPT State Convention yesterday. Diaz ran his meeting like a courtroom, beginning by asking the committee to adopt a supplemental rule allowing no recording devices and allowing no person who had a challenge before the committee to sit in the room until their "case" was called. In fact, Judge Diaz did not even take votes on most but simply rendered his "decision" after asking questions. He also threatened to have one delegate arrested who raised several points of order if he continued to do so.

I guess at this point it should come as no surprise that Judge Diaz "ruled" that the rump convention from Nueces County should not be seated. You will recall the egregious actions described earlier that resulted in a lawsuit. In these situations where the actions of convention officials violate the rules, delegates withdraw to hold their own convention and then make their case before the credentials committee that they are the rightful delegation. Normally the committee reviews the record from both groups, takes testimony, and decides which group should be seated based on rules violations. Not in Judge Diaz "court." He told me that one of the reasons the rump convention was rejected was that they did not notify each delegate in the other convention of their challenge. This, of course, is required in individual challenges, but not in rump conventions. I guess if the state chairman is going to go to court to defend the illegal actions of a county chairman, it should be no surprise that her appointed Credentials Committee chairman would resort to creative rules to seat his delegation.

In addition to this travesty of justice, Diaz did not present this issue to the SREC since it was "resolved" and says the Convention delegates will not have an opportunity to address the issue. This is just another reason that we need a fair and impartial permanent convention chairman. I support Steve Hollern for that position.

In spite of Tina Benkiser's comments to the SREC yesterday that the court had "thrown out the lawsuit as frivolous," the First Court of Appeals has ordered briefings today on the challenge that the RPT is not following the Texas Election Code in relation to the organizing of the convention before doing business.

QR: Appeals Court Orders Hearing

June 11, 2008 6:01 PM

APPEALS COURT IN MEDINA V BENKISER INSTRUCT ATTORNEYS TO DELIVER BRIEFS ON CASE TOMORROW MORNING

Unhappy Republicans challenging Benkiser gain expedited hearing

In an interesting twist, the First Court of Appeals in Houston this afternoon instructed attorneys on both sides of Medina v Benkiser to deliver briefs on their arguments tomorrow morning.

At issue is whether or not the Chair must be elected before the convention begins doing its business.

Plaintiff Debra Medina and a group of unhappy GOP activists have been arguing that the Texas Election Code requires the convention elect the chairman before doing other business.

Lambert Withdraws Endorsement of Adams

I have known Cathie Adams for almost twenty years, and I know her to be a person of conviction. It is difficult for me to withdraw my support of her candidacy for Republican National Committeewoman, but I too am a person of conviction and I must do so.

I spoke with Cathie yesterday regarding her understanding of the RPT following its own rules and the Texas Election Code with regard to our convention schedule. We had a lengthy discussion regarding the need for delegates to be seated prior to conducting business of the convention and how this is the same procedure we follow, according to our rules and the TEC, in our precinct and county/senatorial conventions. We discussed that the consequences of failing to do so would deny delegations who are being challenged from being able to vote until after the election of permanent convention committees on Thursday evening and SREC elections and the nomination of Chair and Vice Chair on Friday morning. She told me she understood and agreed.

This morning she issued a statement that, in my view, contradicts that conversation. I initially gave my endorsement to Cathie because I believed she would stand for the platform, the grassroots delegates, and for the rule of law. I no longer hold that view.

The Inconvenience of the Rule of Law

RPT Chairman Tina Benkiser insists that she and the RPT follow the law and the rules of the RPT. Unfortunately, the facts indicate otherwise. The Chairman, an attorney, advised county chairmen that minutes of conventions were not public record and that they were not required to make copies of them available after the primary, in direct conflict with RPT Rule 22b. In fact, she went to court to defend the county chairman of Nueces County who had refused to release copies of precinct convention minutes. According to the ruling of the Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals, the RPT argued that the copy of records of the convention were not public record and asked the court to deny the request for those records and assess damages for frivolous pleadings against the delegate who had sought to require the Republican Party of Nueces County to follow the law. The court ruled against the RPT and the county chairman.

Those precinct convention minutes reveal over that 150 delegates apparently participated as delegates in the county convention but had not elected as delegates at precinct conventions. The county chairman violated the RPT rules and Texas Election Code (TEC) and was defended by the RPT in his effort to hide the evidence.

Benkiser has refused to change the order of business for the Republican State Convention to that which was historically used until 10 years ago. In spite of repeated efforts on the floor of the convention and in the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC), the chairman insists that the current practice - that of not seating delegates and not electing officers of the convention until after the election of permanent convention committees in SD caucuses on Thursday evening and the election of SREC members and the nomination of Chair and Vice Chair in SD caucuses on Friday morning - is somehow in compliance with the RPT rules and the TEC, which require no convention business to be done till the convention is "organized." In fact, the chairman continues to fight efforts in the court on this issue.

This morning Ms. Cathie Adams, candidate for National Committeewoman, said this practice was begun "... to allow time for more delegates to arrive in hopes of increasing grassroots participation." She says the delegates may have rejected efforts to change "because the delegates want to hear from the person who is responsible for day-to-day RPT business, including the organization of the convention before electing a Permanent Chairman," or "so that those who must take time away from their jobs can be assured that they will not miss important votes on the second and third days of the convention." Ms. Adams is wrong. The delegates have rejected efforts to change the procedure because party leaders have told them the party is in compliance with the RPT rules and TEC. To reach that conclusion they have to argue that we are not "conducting convention business" by electing convention committees, SREC members and nominating Chair and Vice Chair candidates.

Ms. Adams says, "The main argument from those who want to return to the pre-1998 interpretation is that organization should be completed under a Permanent Chairman, rather than the RPT Chairman who is responsible for the convention organization." She is wrong again. The reason we seek this procedure is the RPT rules and the TEC require it and we are a party of the rule of law.

Ms. Adams suggests that, "The main argument from those who want to retain the tradition of electing a Permanent Chairman on the second day of business is that it allows the newcomers to the Party to meet the RPT Chairman who presides over the meetings and organization until the Permanent Chairman is elected. It also gives opportunity to newcomers to become familiar with the political process and with those running for intra-party offices before casting their votes on the second and third days of the convention." In other words, it is more convenient.

Perhaps it is inconvenient to start the convention on Thursday by hearing credentials challenges, seating delegates and electing officers of the convention. Is it any more inconvenient than holding our precinct conventions and county/senatorial conventions the same way? I suppose the County Chairman of Nueces County considered it inconvenient to follow the RPT rules and the TEC, so he refused to do so.

It is not however, just a matter of following the rules. RPT Rule 27d says that "... delegations that are being challenged may not be seated until their challenge is resolved." This means that the two delegations from Nueces County will be denied their right to vote for convention committees, SREC and nomination of Chair and Vice Chair if the recent practice of not seating delegates until Friday afternoon is continued. It may be inconvenient, but we should follow the rules and the law.

Debra Medina Announces for Vice Chair of RPT

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Debra Medina
June 3, 2008 979-253-0220

HOUSTON, TEXAS - Riding a groundswell of support from grassroots activists from across Texas, Debra Medina has today announced her candidacy for vice-chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

”As vice-chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, it would be my goal to raise the bar – to empower the grassroots and to build up leadership,” Medina said. “If we’re to see our political philosophy implemented in the public square we’ve got to be better ambassadors. We must understand the law, the rules and the issues. And then, we must be strong defenders of those ideals. Years of tacit approval of legislative agendas that undermine the hard work done by the grassroots has placed the Texas Republican Party in jeopardy of losing its hard won majority position.”

Medina, who is a registered nurse and successful businesswoman, has been active in the Republican Party since 1992, when she was energized to support the pro-life efforts in her local party after witnessing pro-life resolutions being defeated at her county convention. A strong belief in Biblical principles and the complementary roles of church, state and family undergirds her civic action. She has remained a strong advocate for full participation in the delegate process and the organizational integrity of the Republican Party. During this political cycle, she has served as a resource to many grassroots activists new to the Republican Party, and has been “grieved to her core” by the reports of new volunteers being denied access to the Party of the Open Door.

“These volunteers have not come from thin air – they are new voters and disillusioned Reagan conservatives who are seeking a party they can believe is relevant again. Whether they stay to help or go away as fast as they came is up to the party as a whole. In many respects it is amazing they've worked to fit in as much as they have given the hostility they have experienced. The Republican Party is both strong enough to encourage frank discussions about the issues facing us and troubled enough that we cannot continue to drive good conservatives away just because we disagree on some issues. Jesus aught us that a house divided cannot stand.” Medina believes as Reagan did that preserving our Republic requires working to build strong coalitions.

Debra is the current Wharton Co. Republican Party chairman and has long been a champion for the rule of law and the ideals expressed in the Republican Party platform. “I’ve come to realize that having a strong platform is not enough – we’ve got to have strong party leadership, leadership that advocates for the grassroots rather than panders to highly placed elected officials and powerful lobbyists.”

Medina lives in Wharton, Texas with her husband of 26 years and has two grown children.

QR on Lambert and Adams

June 10, 2008 4:20 PM

Copyright June 10, 2008 by Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved

LAMBERT SUPPORTS BENKISER OPPONENT AT REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

But Eagle Forum's Cathie Adams sticks with incumbent

For years, Tim Lambert has spoken for one of the most solid core constituencies of the Republican Party of Texas – the home schoolers. As head of the Texas Home School Coalition, he is a key social conservative figure in the Party.

Going into Houston this week for the state party convention, though, Lambert is clearly upset with the current leadership of the state Republican Party. He tells QR that he’s upset by the recent brouhaha over a Ron Paul activist’s lawsuit to force the RPT to install its convention chairman earlier than in recent years as well as the difficulty faced by another Ron Paul activist to obtain the minutes of a precinct convention in Nueces County.

Lambert, though, is saving his most pointed criticism for the leadership style of RPT Chairwoman Tina Benkiser. He said that under her leadership, the Party has become increasingly intolerant of dissent while paying lip service to the grassroots elements of the Party. He added that he thought that the State Republican Executive Committee has become little more than a rubber stamp for Benkiser.

“The current chairman is brutal in her opposition to anyone challenging her on anything,” he said. “There’s no room for disagreement.”

Lambert has endorsed the candidacy of Paul Perry, a former Ellis County justice of the peace. Perry announced his candidacy for chairman’s position last week.

The RPT currently waits until the second day of its state convention during presidential election years to choose a convention chairman. Lambert said that the Party should seat the delegates and elect a convention chair on the convention’s first day. It’s more than a semantic argument, Lambert said, because the Senate district caucuses meet before Friday’s general session. Because those caucuses elect SREC members and make nominations for Party chairman and vice chairman, “you’re doing convention business before you seat delegates.”

It remains to be seen how much momentum Lambert can generate for a movement to turn out Benkiser. Texas Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams said that she doesn’t understand why people are making a fuss this year about what she called a decades-old practice. She said that seating delegates are often a complicated business. This year alone, the credentials committee is sorting through more than 300 credentials challenges. Waiting until Friday to formally seat the delegates allows the convention to hear speeches and generally get organized on Thursday.

“It’s not intended to stifle debate or not allow certain issues to come before the convention,” she said. “It is only designed to get business done.”

Adams faulted others who she said were trying to use the flap between the Paul activists and the Party leadership as way to advance their personal challenges to Benkiser’s leadership.

Lambert had a less benign explanation for the current system. He said that the decision to have the convention chairman named on Friday happened after the fractious 1996 state convention where Tom Pauken withstood a fierce challenge to his chairmanship. The change was designed to help an incumbent Party chairman win re-election since the Party chairman would be more visible in the absence of a convention chairman, Lambert said.

He said that his challenge to the Party leadership is more broadly based than the Party admits. “They are trying to portray this as Ron Paul people trying to sow discord,” he said. Lambert, though, backed Mike Huckabee, he said. Gary Polland, the former Harris County Republican Party chairman who has helped advise the Paul activists in their lawsuit against the RPT, is a John McCain backer, Lambert said.

Lambert is already in Houston for the convention and tells QR that he’s encouraging people who agree with his criticisms to contact their SREC representatives. He’s also writing about the convention on his blog. He reports a good response from grassroots convention delegates. “Lots of e-mails, lots of phone calls,” he said.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit that would force the RPT to seat delegates and elect a convention chairman on Thursday is supposed to be decided soon by the Court of Appeals in Houston. Lambert indicated that a good number of SREC members are watching for the results of the court challenge. The SREC has the option of having the credentials committee report on Thursday. The committee could choose to do so at its meeting tomorrow afternoon, Lambert said.

At press time, Benkiser had not responded to our request for comment.

Copyright June 10, 2008 by Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved

Meet & Greet

The Fair Convention team has secured Discovery Park in front of the George Brown Convention Center Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a meet and greet event. This will be an opportunity to meet delegates, share concerns and answer questions about the important votes coming on Thursday. Join me and invited guests and let's talk about all of these issues and meet RPT candidates.

Steve Hollern Seeks Permanent Convention Chair

Steve Hollern will be my choice for Permanent Chairman of the RPT Convention - Tim Lambert

FT. WORTH – Steve Hollern, long-time Republican activist and Tarrant County Republican Party Chair during the Reagan era, today announced his intention to run for Permanent Chair of the 2008 Republican State Convention being held in Houston this week.

“There are serious allegations of impropriety arising out of this cycle’s convention process that have unfortunately now escalated to legal suits,” Hollern noted. “Preserving the integrity of our party’s electoral process will require that we resolve these issues expeditiously through open deliberation and an honest attempt to seek the will of the majority. As I am not affiliated with any of the parties involved and have no personal agenda I believe I can provide an objective perspective that is fair to all.”

Hollern, once characterized as “The Donkey Slayer : The Man Who Taught Tarrant County to Speak Republican” by Fort Worth Weekly, is well-respected throughout the Texas Republican Party for his strong adherence to Republican principles and support for the grassroots. He is former president of the Texas Republican Assembly and current president of the Tarrant county chapter. He is also known for the many candidate campaign and parliamentarian training sessions he has conducted for Republicans in rural counties around the state.

Although some have continued to assert that the major issues in Houston this year will involve the Presidential nomination, Hollern noted that this is not something for this convention to decide. “I preferred Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney, but the Republicans of Texas have chosen John McCain, and our delegates need to support him at the national convention as our state party rules require. Our primary business is the election of our party leadership and discussion of our platform.”

Can't We All Just Get Along - Denise McNamara

It Depends on what the Definition of “Rule” is…

Republicans in Texas are in a pickle. Our biennial state convention has begun, and we have so many factions fighting each other that I am wondering if it is safe to set foot inside the George Brown Convention Center. But just who are these factions, and what exactly are their goals? And how can we bring the warring factions together?

Some of you out there, the “Really Confused,” don’t spend your spare time reading Roberts’ Rules of Order, the Texas Election Code, and the Republican Party of Texas Rules. You may be puzzled over disagreements which have now erupted into a lawsuit against the party and our chairman. (If you would like to read them, go to www.fairconvention.org.)

The lawsuit, as I understand it, concerns Texas Election Code 174.094, which is entitled “Organizing the Convention.” It reads as follows:
(a) The state chair is the temporary chair of the biennial state convention.
(b) The temporary chair shall call the convention to order.
(c) The temporary chair shall prepare a list of the names and residence addresses of the delegates and any alternate delegates to the convention and shall deliver the list to the convention.
(d) The convention shall select a convention chair and a convention secretary. The convention may select any other officers considered necessary to conduct the convention's business. § 174.095. CONVENTION BUSINESS.
After the convention is organized, the convention shall conduct its business.

We all know that in our precinct conventions and our county/senatorial conventions that we elect a permanent chair as the first order of business after the delegates are seated by the temporary chair. The reason for the current litigation is that for the last several state conventions, the temporary chairman has conducted the convention and sent us into our senate district caucuses without first allowing the delegates to elect a permanent chair. There is a simple remedy for this disagreement: Resolve the credentials challenges, seat all of the delegates, and allow the delegates to elect a permanent chair on Thursday afternoon.

As I see it, we have the following factions, some of whom overlap:

• Ron Paul Republicans; some are new to the convention and some are not, and their goal is to participate and to make their viewpoint heard;
• Rules-Enforcing Republicans; their goal is simply to ensure that the state party complies with the TEC and the party rules;
• Regular Republicans; who include long-time party faithful;
• Rebel Republicans; whose goal is to elect new party leadership;
• Really Confused Republicans; those who do not care that much about technicalities and just want the convention to be run efficiently.

Many delegates are members of more than one group. But members of all the factions should agree that the law and the rules should be followed. And if we want to beat Barack Obama in the fall, we need to give every group a fair shake, and we need to conclude our convention with a common goal for all of the factions.I hope that you will join me in listening to the delegates and trying to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. The future of the Republican Party of Texas is at stake.

A Red Herring vs the Rule of Law

There are numerous e-mails and messages floating around on the Internet, all carrying the same basic message: "A small group of Ron Paul supporters has viciously attacked the Party and is trying to overthrow the rules that our grassroots passed and has been using for years, all because they want to create enough chaos to take over the Party." This is hardly the case. First of all, I voted for Mike Huckabee, as did several of the plaintiffs in the suit against the RPT (Republican Party of Texas). Gary Polland, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, supported John McCain in the Primary.

It is true, however, that the RPT has for several conventions used the same agenda, that of not finishing the business of organizing the convention until after the election of permanent convention committee members, SREC (State Republican Executive Committee) members and nomination of Chairman and Vice Chairman. That practice began in 1998 and has been challenged on the floor of the convention on many occasions, as well as to the SREC itself, all to no avail. So what do Republicans do when party leaders continue to violate party rules and state law? They go before a judge to seek injunctive relief as prescribed by law.

I would submit that we are not the ones "throwing stones and spewing venom." In fact, one writer went so far as to call us "... hyper-libertarians, anarchists, the less responsible and the irresponsible ..." That is name-calling at its worst, rather than a discussion of the issues at hand. The same writer says, "I have found absolutely no truth to the allegations of impropriety, knowingly violating Party rules or any other manner invidiously discriminating against properly elected delegates to the 2008 state convention by Party leadership. I HAVE FOUND THE ACCUSATIONS TO BE IRRESPONSIBLE AND FALSE IN THEIR ENTIRETY."

Let me state again the issue for my friend. The current RPT Chairman has denied that the RPT rules and Texas Election Code (TEC) require the state convention to seat delegates and elect permanent officers (i.e., organize the convention) before delegates elect permanent members of convention committees, elect SREC members, and nominate the Chair and Vice Chair of the RPT. How do they square this with the TEC (sections 174.094 and .095) which requires official business to be done AFTER the convention is organized? They argue that the election of the SREC, convention committees and nomination of Chair and Vice Chair is "not convention business." Those elections are part of THE MAIN business of the convention!

Furthermore, the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, in its ruling that the county chairman of Nueces County was required by RPT rules and the TEC to provide a copy of precinct convention minutes as public record, noted that the RPT had filed a brief with the court calling the suit for relief "frivolous," asking the court to deny the request and make the person who filed the suit pay court costs and legal fees. The court refused to do so and ruled in favor of the delegate seeking those minutes.

The RPT, under the direction of the current chairman, went to court to defend the illegal actions of the rogue county chairman and sought to punish the delegate seeking relief. The current state chair advised this county chairman and others that they were not required to release convention minutes, contrary to RPT rule 22b and the TEC.

The minutes proved that the county chairman had fraudulently added to the list of county convention delegates over 100 delegates who had not been elected at precinct conventions. The audio of that convention makes clear what was taking place at the county convention and that the chairman of the convention refused to recognize all attempts by delegates to challenge this violation of RPT rules and the TEC.

One thing is clear. Name calling against those seeking to require RPT leadership to follow the law and RPT rules is not the solution to the current chaos. Those who believe the RPT should follow the law and RPT rules should contact their SREC representatives and insist that, at their Wednessday 4PM meeting, they amend the agenda of the convention to comply with the rules by handling the seating of delegates and the election of convention officers at the first general session.

The RPT needs new leadership; I have endorsed Paul Perry for that job. Perhaps we will need new SREC members who will function as a board of directors rather than as a rubber stamp.

The Saga Continues

Today a Harris County Court At Law judge ruled that she did not have jurisdiction to decide the issue brought by long time Republican Party activists led by Wharton County Republican Chair Debra Medina. (Go to this link to see a press release that answers the email sent by the RPT today.) I was in the court room as the judge did not allow testimony from the witnesses who were prepared to show that the RPT has followed a practice over the last ten years of doing convention business prior to electing permanent officers of the convention. While the RPT is trumpeting this as vindication of its position, the Court of Appeals will now receive the case for review.

Texas Election Code (174.094) requires the convention to organize (seat delegates and elect a chairman and secretary and other officers) before the business of the convention is done. The judge today opined that she was not sure if the election of SREC (State Republican Executive Committee) members and the nomination of State Chair and Vice Chair was "convention business." This is ludicrous on its face.

The same procedure that is followed in precinct and county/senatorial conventions is required at the state convention by the rules: first seat delegates (which involves making sure individuals are qualified to participate, hearing the credentials committee report, and accepting or amending it). After the delegates are seated, permanent Chair and Secretary are elected, and we move on to our business of adopting platform and electing delegates to the next convention.

Why does it matter? RPT rules (27d) require that delegations that have been challenged are not seated until their challenge is resolved. When the Credentials Committee report is not presented until after the vote for SREC members and nominations of Chair and Vice Chair of the party, those delegates' right to vote will be violated, because by the time they are seated, their opportunity to vote for SREC, State Chair and Vice Chair will have already passed. The Nueces County delegation is being challenged based on the addition of over 100 delegates by the county chair after the precinct conventions and a subsequent rump convention. If the RPT follows its pattern of the last ten years, these delegates will be denied the right to vote in the election of SREC and Chair and Vice Chair nominations.

Thrown Under the Bus

This week the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) will hold its biennial convention in Houston. It seems things are heating up as a result of some actions of the Nueces County Chairman (CC) and the supporting actions of the State Chairman.

According to challenges the CC of Nueces County added over 100 delegates who had not been elected as required by party rule to the list of delegates for the County Convention. In fact, he did this during the county convention and ignored repeated requests to recognize "point of order" inquiries. The "new" delegates thus had a majority and proceeded to exclude others from a list of delegates elected at the county convention to attend the state convention. The County Chairman then refused to make available copies of the minutes of the precinct conventions to thwart efforts to expose his illegal actions. However, the Texas Thirteenth Court of Appeals has required him to do so and rejected the motions by the RPT to dismiss the suit and require damages for frivolous filings against the delegate seeking relief.

A Harris County judge has also issued a temporary restraining order to require the RPT to follow the rules of the party and the Texas Election Code at the State Convention this week because the State Chairman refused to agree to such changes. I issued a press release at the end of last week on these issues and have endorsed Paul Perry for RPT Chairman. Enough people have been thrown under the bus. It's time for new leadership of the RPT who will follow the party rules and the laws of the state of Texas.

The Worm Has Turned

The CPS fiasco in removing all the children from the FLDS sect in Eldorado has been going since early April. The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled CPS violated the law requiring evidence that children are in immediate physical danger before they can be removed from their parents. The Texas Supreme Court agreed. MH/MR workers who had worked with CPS in this case chronicled CPS abuse of the women and children in unsigned reports. Now Texas media outlets are now beginning to chronicle the abuse of these parents by CPS. Today the San Antonio Express News ran an editorial on the issue that was right on target. See the story here.

Finally, I ran across an excellent article on this whole tragedy that gives background on the legal issues and points out this is not the first time this kind of tragedy has occurred. It is vital to balance the concern for the safety of children with the rights of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their own children. Cycle of Abuse: The FLDS Raid.