GOP District 10 update

The convention at the Republicans' Senate District 10 turned into a parliamentary battle as supporters of Ron Paul tried to wrest control of the convention away from the old guard.

Jeremy Blosser, a Paul supporter, challenged longtime Republican organizer Stuart Lane for chairmanship of the convention. Blosser and his supporters backed rules that included polling every precinct in the chairman's election.

Blosser bristled at Lane's characterization of Paul's supporters as "libertarians" or "outsiders bent on taking over the party."

"We are Republicans. I don't know how you take over something you're already part of," he said.
Blosser said the party has strayed from its conservative roots, and shouldn't support John McCain.

Another Paul supporter said: "The establishment Republicans haven't been protecting the unborn; the establishment Republicans haven't been protecting our borders."

Lane's supporters tried to be conciliatory.

"Our worst infighting is ten times better than the Democrats'," said Don Shipe.

The district's results were recorded on a spreadsheet that projected on screens around the auditorium.

Groans went up when the first sheet was filled in an delegates realized they still had two more sheets to go.

-- Mike Lee

Comments

[HateLiars]

Unfortunately, this was a terribly petty and unnecessary effort on the part of Stuart Lane and Kerry Lundelius and their kool-aid drinking followers. When our party gets to the point that we fight tooth and nail to keep new people out, we are in BIG trouble. And when "Christians" are willing to do it by hook or crook, well, that certainly says something. . . It is way past time for Lane to go.

[Jeremy Blosser]

Our goal was not primarily to wrest control from anyone. It was to help bring new people into the process instead of shutting them out, and making sure principles of fair play and open debate were encouraged instead of quashed.

While it is true we supported the rule requiring a roll call vote for chair, we were not alone in this. It is somewhat standard procedure for a convention chair vote; the actual rule adopted came directly from the standard supplemental rules adopted every cycle in SD 12.