Thanks for that. Up voted.
Smoke and Mirrors in Louisiana
Doug Wead: On Saturday I promised an update into the complex world of Louisiana intra-party politics. You will remember that the national press proclaimed an upset win by Ron Paul in the first round of caucuses. But the GOP has worked to take that away.
Here is how events are unfolding. […]
I just figured out that the Republicans aren’t going to let Dr. Paul become the nominee.
They already promised it to Romney back in 08, just like they promised it to McCain for 2008 back in Y2K, just like they promised it to Dole for 96 in 88. Buchanan didn’t get it in 96 though because Dole had been promised the nomination and the former was never guaranteed it for Y2k because Bush 43 was a “favorite son”. Each time the most popular candidate doesn’t get the nomination when they’re the most popular, but they’re guaranteed it for the next time when they’re less popular. It would’ve been nice if the Republican Party didn’t hold phony primaries. I think Dr. Paul is either doing this for his son (he’ll be promised it for 2016 or 2020) or to show how corrupt the system is (or both). Romney was much more popular in 08 than he is now. I’m wondering if the RNC and/or the Dept. of Homeland Security is going to use a lot of force to complete the transition to fascistic rule. I hope that the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t perform a false flag attack at the RNConvention (or the DNConvention) and blame it on Dr. Paul’s supporters, but I’m beginning to worry that it might happen.
I really think that the worst is yet to happen.
I’m waiting for Putin to quote G.W. Bush and preemptively attack the NATO missile defense stuff. That will be interesting. Then Noam Chomsky’s point of international proliferation of the Bush Doctrine will become apt.
I’m sick of social politics anyway. Let’s get some geopolitical confrontation up in here! Putin! Putin! Putin!
That has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve heard in a while. Do you honestly believe that’s how it works?
I don’t really know exactly how it works. I guess I was throwing it out there because the voter fraud has to play some kind of role… I don’t see how Romney is getting close to 50% of the popular vote. I think most primaries and elections are just staged.
I do lean towards believing the RNC will just make up any excuse to give the nomination to Romney. I’m still going to remain hopeful that Dr. Paul will win until the RNconvention is over.
Anyway, I’ll be glad to hear why you think that’s ridiculous, as I’m sure you have a good reason to believe it is:)
Because it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. That’s why. Why in the world would the RNC “promise” it’s nomination to someone 4 years in advance? I mean what exactly is your thinking here? Is the RNC it’s own body or is it all own/controlled by the Bilderberg Group? Doesn’t the TriLateral Commission decide the President in advance? Why would someone spend all that time campaigning (do you realize how grueling a campaign is?) if they were assured the nomination? Why would they put up their own money? And why would this body that underhandedly “promises” it’s nomination to people years in advance, thus rendering the entire primary process (and all of its millions of dollars and literally countless hours in campaigning and voting) completely irrelevant, why would such a body promise it’s nominaiton to a Paul?
If they’re as dasterdly as you claim, why in the world would they use their scheming to hand over the nomination to someone who would no doubt use his position to put them out of power?
And what’s more…you’re actually suggesting not only that all this is actually true…but that Rand and RON PAUL would not only keep quite about it, but participate and go along with it. As in, Ron Paul would not only make a deal with the devil to begin with, but would do so under the assumption that the devil would keep his word.
I could go on and on. Have you seriously thought this through for even 2 seconds?
I can go along with most of what you said, but Dr. Paul would be the first to refuse the deal.
Not according to someone called “No2statism”:
Oh wait. That’s you.
Insane:
Ron Paul Campaign Statement on Louisiana GOP Convention
[…]
“LAGOP officials ignored the vast majority of duly elected delegates and attempted to use illegally adopted rules to deny Ron Paul supporters an opportunity to attend the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Louisiana has 46 delegates. Five were pledged to Mitt Romney based on the March 23rd primary result and Rick Santorum received 10, meaning most delegates were contestable at the state convention.
“Delegates to the state convention were chosen at caucus meetings on April 28th. Ron Paul slates won four of six congressional district contests. Of the approximately 180 delegates attending the state convention, 113 voted to remove the LAGOP chairman when he failed to respond to requests for information and other motions from delegates. Nearly two-thirds of the delegates began physically moving their chairs, literally turning their back on the GOP chair appointed by the party hierarchy.
“In another instance, State Central Committeeman and Ron Paul supporter Henry Herford Jr. of Franklin Parrish was attacked by some security officials who didn’t realize that the body had voted out the previous chairman. Mr. Herford has a prosthetic hip and according to a doctor at the scene it appears as though the prosthetic was dislocated and may require replacement. The injury occurred as he was beginning to call to order the newly re-formed convention.
“In yet another instance, Ron Paul supporter Alex Helwig, Chairman of the Rules Committee who made the motion to remove the chair, was arrested by Shreveport police and released. During his brief detainment, some of his fingers were broken and when he returned to the event he was walking with aid of a cane. […]
Video (not part of Ron Paul campaign release):
This is an email sent out from Ellen Davis, one of the elected delegates to LAGOP. She does a fine job of explaining what went on in Shreveport . (I would have left out the Bible verses and party pandering, but none the less a fine summary)
Ellen Davis
Baton Rouge, LA
edavis@liquidventures.com
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
To: Republican Party of Louisiana Executive Committee
CC: RSCC Members, Louisiana Conservative Delegation, & Ron Paul State Convention
Delegates
From: Ellen Davis, Elected State Delegate to the Louisiana Republican Convention
I write this letter with great sadness and disappointment in the Louisiana Republican Party
leadership. As an ELECTED Delegate to the State Convention, former Executive Director to the
LAGOP, a former State Central Committee member, a political ally to Republican Party leaders,
a friend, a wife, and a mother, I’m appalled at the actions taken by the LAGOP Executive
Committee and other party leadership to use force by police officers to remove peaceful, law
abiding ELECTED members of a body, to enforce illegal rules adopted only days before the
convention.
The Executive Committee cannot continue to hide behind the unsupported claims that you feared
the Ron Paul delegates would behave lawlessly, and perhaps violently. You let your irrational
fear of elected Republican convention delegates, many of whom are long-time friends and
supporters of yours, cause you to lose all moral sense.
You claim that the violence committed against representatives of the majority of convention
delegates was justified because you were simply enforcing the convention rules. Those
supplemental convention rules were adopted in a PRIVATE meeting held two days before the
state convention in Shreveport. They entirely changed the scope of the agreed upon rules
submitted to the Republican National Committee in October of last year.
Those “supplemental rules” were not valid, they were untimely promulgated, not consistent with
prior rules and violated not just the LAGOP Bylaws but also rule 1(b) of the actual Caucus and
Convention rules.
Furthermore, they were so ridiculous and unnecessarily restrictive that they violate the rules of
the Republican National Committee and potentially so damaging as to RISK our eventual
nominee’s name not appearing on the ballot under state election laws.
It was wrong of you to try, through those supplemental rules, to deprive the majority of
delegates the rights they had been elected to exercise. It was even more wrong to try to silence
civil, non-violent questioning and criticism of the last-minute rules change by means of physical
violence and assault on our members, and fear and intimidation by several of the elected
delegates loyal to you.
You claim that the rule changes were necessary because there was “fear” amongst your minority
delegation and the executive committee that the Ron Paul delegates would “steal” delegates and
behave unlawfully and violently.
The only thing that was “stolen” was the right of duly elected state convention delegates to elect
delegates to the Republican National Convention. It is impossible to “steal” delegates because
the rules clearly state that ten delegates are BOUND to Rick Santorum and five delegates are
BOUND to Mitt Romney.
Since the convention, you have provided no evidence to support your claims. Videos of the
convention prove that, whatever your fears may have been, the only violence carried out was by
you, and police officers acting on your orders.
Tell me, just who in the majority delegation were you afraid of? Our delegates included longtime
party members, people who have been your friends and supported many of you in past
elections. Which of these Louisiana Republicans put you in such fear of violence? Was it:
• Jason Stern- conservative Christian, married 15 years, 9 children, vice president of social
conservative nonprofits for 12 years, past Chairman of the Republican Party of
Livingston Parish, assistant Cubmaster, and your political ally?
• Craig and Sherri Leblanc – homeschool mother and father of 10, small business owners?
• Shawn Wilson – Christian, homeschool father of 3, small business owner, friend?
• Landon Mills – son of Louisiana Family Forum’s President Gene Mills?
• Colleen Byers Crane – registered nurse, mother?
• Beth Croslow Billings – RSCC member (Dist 56B), a member of the St. Charles parish
RPEC, mother to three daughters, married 27 years?
• Connie Bernard – RSCC Member, East Baton Rouge School Board Member, East Baton
Rouge PEC Vice Chairman, political ally, mother, wife?
• Wallace Lucas – RSCC Member, small business owner, husband?
• John Roberts – former RSCC Member, former state senate candidate recruited by you,
political ally, small business owner, husband, father to 3 boys?
• Hunter Simmons – a mechanical engineer?
• Charlie Davis – my husband, RSCC Member, former Deputy Chairman of the
Republican Party of Louisiana, your political ally and friend, contributor, father of 3?
Should I continue? I have a lot more to list, I didn’t even include the several members of our
delegation that are medical doctors, retired and active duty military, teachers, retirees.
These people were not strangers to you, not “outside agitators.” They are your friends,
neighbors, and supporters. No matter what you thought was happening across the country, you
applied a very biased and broad brush to allies and friends. Why did you lack that trust in God
that you so heavily proclaim in all of your works?
“So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals
do to me?” Hebrews 13:6
What justified your fears? Do you realize that at other conventions around the country NOT a
single party leader or Paul supporter were arrested or hurt? Not until this Saturday, June 2nd, was
there any violence. Your irrational fear ordered that violence, putting Louisiana on the map as
the first convention where police force was used. The Republican Party of Louisiana hired
police officers to carry out your orders at only your discretion. Being in a disagreement and
discussing that disagreement on the floor is NOT grounds for arrest or for cops to force an
individual to the ground, then dragged out like a criminal.
After our first delegate was put to the ground, with fingers broken in the process, the only people
to fear were the LAGOP Executive Committee and the hired off-duty police acting on your
orders. Only members of our delegation were actually harmed and brutalized. None of your
delegation was harmed or threatened in any way, and the videos prove that.
You claim there was an atmosphere of fear and intimidation at the convention. The video
footage shows that it was your delegation members who created this atmosphere:
• Not once did your cops tell Henry Herford to leave or he was going to be arrested - they
just immediately took him down and attempted to drag him out.
• Not once did your cops read Alex Helwig his Miranda rights or tell him what he was
being arrested for.
• Your cops proceeded to confiscate cameras and phones without any type of warrant. I
guess you wanted no evidence of your unlawful actions.
• Your cops also smiled and gloated for taking down civilians, one of whom was obviously
physically handicapped and warned the cops as they approached him that he had a
prosthetic hip.
• It was delegates loyal to you standing on chairs, videotaping, showing complete glee
while watching men being manhandled by cops.
• Two male delegates loyal to you stood in front of our elected Chairwoman, Connie
Bernard, creating human barriers to prevent our delegates to move and pass through,
trying to intimidate a woman.
• Men loyal to you stood firmly in the way of one of our women delegates trying to move
to the back of the room to talk to our Chairwoman Connie Bernard.
• Men and women loyal to you blocked entrances and exits not allowing our elected
members to move freely.
• Your hired cops shoved our woman delegate, an ER nurse, as she was trying to tend to
Henry Herford after he was taken down by your cops.
• Your hired cops pushed medical Doctor Aaron Klepper out of the way and demanded
credentials as Dr. Klepper attempted to come to Henry Herford’s aid.
• It was the Executive Committee who continued to conduct business after repeated calls
from the floor saying we needed a doctor and to call 911. The Executive Committee had
the microphone, so why didn’t you echo the calls for a doctor? Was there really no
concern for anyone’s safety? Or do you just believe that because we are Ron Paul
delegates we don’t deserve assistance in a medical crisis? Why did you let your irrational
fear cause you to forget basic human dignity?
• You controlled the microphone and at any time could have said enough is enough. You
could have called off the cops. Never once did anyone on the Executive Committee or the
minority of delegates loyal to you stand up and say this has gone too far. Aren’t we
fellow Republicans, fellow citizens, fellow Christians first before we are political
adversaries?
I know that if the tables were turned, my husband, Charlie Davis, would have been by your side
assisting you and stopping the violence. I am also certain that our Ron Paul delegates would
have defended you from being attacked by anyone, because no matter what side of the political
aisle you are on, tyranny and violence is never acceptable. I stand firmly with the Ron Paul
delegates and applaud them for being men and women whom my kids can emulate. I am raising
leaders in my household, leaders who always stand up for what is right and always exercise
personnel choice in extreme situations.
There is nothing wrong with debate and disagreement. That is what our country is founded on.
You should have allowed the debate, you should have allowed Henry Herford to continue and
allowed the majority to follow the rules adopted by the Republican State Central Committee
without using the police to tend to a simple matter of competing voices.
Ron Paul delegates peacefully and calmly exercised their 1st Amendment Rights and shared their
concerns about an unruly, out of line Executive Committee, and your attempt to seize power
with the illegal, last minute effort to change the rules. You didn’t even allow discussion. I don’t
know of any other business, political, or government meetings where you can completely shut
off all communication from the floor, and declare that anybody who even questions the rulings
of the chair will be physically removed by the police.
With all this said, let’s go back to the reasons you’ve given for your illegal rules. You claim you
wanted to “tighten the rules” so that Ron Paul Delegates could not wrongfully “steal” delegates
from the competing national campaigns. But what happened in fact? Our delegation ELECTED
to Tampa, the five delegates the Romney campaign requested (one of which you REFUSED to
put on your own national delegation list), and many other high-profile Romney and Santorum
supporters.
This was not your first attempt to write the rules to ensure that party insiders could control the
delegate selection process. The RSCC wrote the rules last year to have the winners of the caucus
chose the delegates, making the state Republican primary only allocate delegates in very specific
circumstances. There would be ZERO reason to have the caucus if caucus delegates were not
going to choose the national delegates. The LAGOP and the RSCC did not care back in October
about “stealing” delegates; you assumed you would win the caucuses and wanted to make sure
you could install personal friends and others that you owed “political favors” to as delegates.
A large majority of the RSCC and LAGOP Executive Committee were Santorum, Gingrich,
Cain, Perry, and Bachman supporters. You knew in the Summer of 2011 that in order to beat
Romney, you would need to be in control of the delegate selection, and you had a fairly accurate
assessment that Romney would not be able to carry the state of Louisiana when matched against
more conservative candidates.
Thus you created the “Caucus/Primary” system. You planned to pick all the delegates in a
victorious caucus. But when the Ron Paul voters were better organized than yours and simply
out-voted you in the caucuses to win the majority of the convention delegates, you started backpedaling
to find ways to make sure the caucus voters and the delegates they elected were
disenfranchised.
Your first intention was to write the rules so you could control the delegates and make sure
Romney could gain only a few delegates. When that didn’t work you changed the rules again, to
insure that Ron Paul delegates could not get to the Republican National Convention in Tampa,
claiming that you were just “protecting Romney delegates”.
Your words and actions are the height of fraud, irony, and hypocrisy. It also remains as a
perfect example of why this caucus/primary system was a failure to begin with.
Conservatives are in the majority in this state. We spent years building the party to where it is
now. Why did you feel it was necessary to keep changing the rules? Why did you feel it was
necessary to have the Executive Committee try to undo the results of the caucus elections? We
have the majority, we are the good guys, we supported you! Why didn’t you just get out your
vote instead of making backroom deals and last-minute rule changes?
Can you not admit, in light of these facts, that your fears were misplaced, at best? It was your
misjudged fear that deprived you of your basic moral sense. This will be your downfall, and if
you continue to refuse to acknowledge that your fears were, in fact, irrational and misplaced, and
led you to do wrong things, that will only exacerbate the division you have created within the
state party by your actions on Saturday.
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and selfdiscipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7
The Executive Committee and the delegates loyal to you now have the opportunity to apologize
and right the wrongs committed Saturday. I appeal to you, as your sister in Christ, to admit your
wrong doings so that we can begin healing and reconciliation. This is the Lord’s commandment
to us as brethren in Christ. Your actions in the coming weeks will be a historic record and
telling story of the men and women you portray yourselves to be. Your generations will bear the
load of your wrong decisions.
I urge you to denounce these attacks on peacefully organized civilians and ask you to apologize
for your abuse of power. As your friend, as your former employee, as contributor to your
campaigns and as someone who has ALWAYS defended you, I beg you to make amends and
allow a healing process to begin for the good of this state.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
We are Liberty Lovers, Republicans, Americans, and Louisianans, and we deserve an apology.
With Concern,
Ellen
Ellen Davis
Elected State Delegate to the
Louisiana Republican Convention
I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that other Republicans see Ron Paul supporters as little better than traitors. That’s the only way I can make sense of such behavior by them.
I read today that the Ron Paul camp says it’s sending over 200 delegates that can vote openly for Paul to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and a total of 500 whom support Paul (so, 300 more whom are bound to vote for Romney at least on the first ballot). The Paul camp says this is roughly 20% of the delegate total.
Not bad. Not enough to change anything, but still.
This is an immense achievement and if repeated with each contest could turn into a sea-change, as delegates have an uncommon amount of influence both in who gets elected and in the eventual party platform. They’ve got the RINOs running scared, that’s for sure.
Too bad it can only be done once every four years and that Ron Paul is too old to carry on any movement into very many future contests. He probably wouldn’t be able to run in the next one, as he’d be 80 by that point, and we could only hope he’d make it to the one after that, but who knows.
Really the only hope for the US is for libertarians to take over the Republican party much as the socialists / fascists took over the Democrat party back in the 60’s :\
I ain’t holding my breath.
Can you provide links?
Not all of the conventions have awarded delegates yet, the number can really only grow. If they think that, are they guessing the total for the whole thing? 500 is roughly half of what you need to win, which is a quarter of the total. It would seem to me that at the end of June, we might have 600?
I think this observation has been made before. Without a charismatic leader that truly inspires creative thinking the iron law of oligarchy will drag any movement to take a political apparatus (such as a Party) over down to attacking the classes of society they do not like when the wrest power. I do not have confidence that if any of us were given true power that we would not abuse it for our own pleasure. If anything, when/if a (L)libertarian party does start to get power there will inevitably be ‘non libertarians’ (cointel) will take over and do their statist thing…not being actual libertarians and all (Coughs and glares at Gary Johnson).
Oh, so you’re not willing to sacrifice like the rest of us!?!??!
Ron Paul has been the only person without the baggage, who knows the system, knows the stakes, etc. that has come along and gained popularity. How many Presidential candidates are gonna say, if begrudingly, when the Bilderberg group gets together that they are “probably planning the use of their energy and resources.”? Seriously, how many will respond to you if you ask them about the Bilderberg Group? Or the Council FR? They can’t give people a reason to actually ‘look into’ what they do there or the jig is up, capiche?
Until we find our new Jesus figure, (virtually) free of original sin, we will be traitors, seditors. Ron Paul can discern what is relevant about what groups and place them in proper context for analysis in politically correct pragmatic democratic election politics. All the while earning a reputation for integrity and principle. This is a feat many are incapable of. He is old now and was much more of a firebrand in the 80’s. The kind of image that we need in order to push "extreme’ ideas is far more powerful than simple Hollywood charisma. It is a whole different kind of charisma. It is the kind of charisma that people do not notice until you are old and inoffensive, sexually non threatening, etc.
Aside from politics:
What is ironic is that we are the ones that promote the most naked form of material economy. We’re the ones that say people shouldn’t be constrained with their consumption. Meanwhile, it is the majority of people who fuel the consumption mentality and the more well known fad of environmentalism and conscious consumption are parroted so loud as to divide the body politic over it. Look at the spectacle of what is on TV and passes for entertainment. I don’t even need to say more on that subject. You know what I mean
The entirety of pop culture in this country is currently set against us.
I’ll reproduce the text of the email their campaign sent me for you to peruse:
Mebbe, but many of these must vote for Romney on the first ballot, and he’s quite likely to take it on the first ballot. So Paul’s chances are still slim to none.
For every thousand hacking at the leaves of tyranny, there is one hacking at the root.
I intend to start my own country and provide an alternative to the current system, offering what I call an essentialist state, organized along libertarian principles. I beleive I’ve discovered a way to create a political order predicated on individualism in contrast to the world’s political system which are predicated on the socialist ethic. It would be a contractual society incorporating the ideas of voluntarism and the NAP. To facilitate this, I created a new political right as a corollary to the right of free association which is the right of secession, or political secession, or micro-secession, take your pick 
It allows you to separate yourself politically and legally from those whom you don’t want to have an influence on you, and prevents anyone from forcing you to live under a law you have not chosen.
There’s obviously a great deal more to it than that, where it is is important; and I’m not ready to formally unveil it quite yet (though you’ll find me discussing it on these forums in various places in more detail).
I think the chances of turning around the US before a catastrophe caused by these policies occurs are slim to none. Much rather use my energy to build something from the ground up in the way it should be in the first place. That way I’m fighting no one.
Paul was also short-sighted. Had he wanted to have influence he should have sought it. He should have become a governor. Then he would’ve had a shot at the nomination. He should’ve played ball until he had real power.
But of course, that would’ve relied on him being sneaky, and we people who believe in being ethical have trouble with that. We don’t think we should have to lie and sneak to achieve what’s right. And we shouldn’t. It’s the structure of the current system that makes it a necessity. And, predictably, those who have no qualms about lying for power have the most power in the US.
What would be revolutionary is a system where lying for power would achieve nothing, and that’s what I aim to create.
They control the organs of mass communication because they know that for every one of us who knows what we’re talking about there are ten more political neophyts who don’t know the first thing about politics and that two of those 10 will vote the way they want, thus outvoting us easily.
What’s needed is a way to separate ourselves from them utterly, thus the right of political secession and free association.
And the shocking conclusion.
From Ron Paul’s Facebook:
My supporters in Louisiana worked out a good compromise. Thanks to all of them for their hard work!