Republican National Convention Rules Changes and Dirty Tricks

Call on the 168 Republican National Committee members to rescind Rule 12 at their “winter meeting” in January Jan. 23-26 at the Westin in Charlotte, NC. 

TEA Party members and supporters are the “Conservative base” of the Republican Party.  The Republican Party need the TEA Party as the TEA Party needs the Republican Party. – Oscar Y. Harward 

“The change to Rule #12 is designed to allow the RNC in Washington the power to enact new rules between National Conventions without an actual vote of the Party delegates. This change in the Rules was adopted!” 

“I totally support Mitt Romney 100% as the Party's nominee and I also call on Reince Priebus and Mitt Romney to reverse or rescind the changes to Rule #12 that were passed on the first day of the National Convention which make it much more difficult for all grass roots activists including Tea Party activists all over America to have any influence inside of the Republican Party… The real villains here are Karl Rove, Reince Priebus, and unfortunately Mitt Romney! I can support Mitt Romney and also support fair and decent Party Rules at the same time. I can do both!” - Morton Blackwell Letter

 

 http://lessgovisthebestgov.com/Republican-National-Convention-rules-changes.html

 

“The Rules Changes at the Republican Nation Convention were probably designed to block more than just Ron Paul peeps.” – Scott Rohter

 

Re: Rules Changes involving the way in which new Rules will be adopted in the future and also the way in which Republican delegates to the National Convention will be selected.

There was a slightly less harmful version of the proposed Rules Changes that was passed Tuesday August 28th while a paid bus driver working for the Republican Establishment was driving senior delegate Morton Blackwell and the entire Virginia delegation around in circles instead of driving them to the Convention Center so they would be present when the new Rules were being considered! That is the type of Republican Party that we still have!!! The Republican Dirty Tricks Party!!! This is reminiscent of Watergate. It is the anything to win Republican Party! In almost forty years since Richard Nixon left office has this Party learned anything yet? The real villains in this drama are Republican Establishment lawyer Ben Ginsberg, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, Republican Establishment strategist Karl Rove, and unfortunately the Republican Party’s nominee Mitt Romney.

It’s a tad complicated but there were several changes to the Rules that were being considered on the very first day of the Convention while the chief organizer of the opposition to these rules changes, the senior delegate from Virginia and longtime Republican conservative activist Morton Blackwell, and the entire Virginia delegation were being driven around in circles by a bus at the very same time that the vote was being taken on the floor. Finally when delegates on the bus noticed that they were passing the same scenery over and over again they demanded that the bus driver stop the bus and let them off. Then they walked to the Convention Center! Unfortunately for them however they arrived late and the Rules Changes had already been adopted.

The general gist of the idea as it was portrayed by the people who were behind the proposed rules changes was to prevent a hostile takeover of the Republican Party and the National Convention by members of the Ron Paul contingent, the Ron Paul Revolution and the Campaign for Liberty. And without Mr. Blackwell present who is by no means a Ron Paul supporter and the members of the Virginia delegation present, the resistance to the proposed rules changes just faded away.

So what are the rules that were at issue and how were they changed? The two rules that were at stake were Rule #12 and Rule #15. Generally the changes in the rules shift power from the State and County Republican Parties to the National Party and the RNC, and to the Party’s Presidential nominee. That would be Mitt Romney. The changes in the rules are already being referred to as “The Romney Rules.” They effectively disenfranchise conservative activists of all kinds all across America. They disenfranchise TEA Party Activists, and not just Ron Paul supporters! Both the TEA Party Movement and the Ron Paul supporters sprung up as a result of the intransigence of the old school, old paradigm politicians, but instead of listening to the growing cries from the grassroots, the Establishment essentially muted the volume and turned them flat down!

Morton Blackwell is not just a typical delegate. He is a long time member of the RNC. His singular voice in support of grass roots activists was picked up by Freedom Works who then wrote an excellent article in real time about this important subject. Blackwell’s voice was also echoed by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, pundit Michele Malkin, talk show host Mark Levin, and others, but because Establishment insiders like John Boehner and John Sununu, controlled the gavel and had a better knowledge of the procedures, they won the first skirmish. However they have not won the bigger war! Conspicuously missing from the cries of foul was Establishment figurehead Newt Gingrich…Who would have guessed that? … Well, ME!

Not only were the new rules designed to muzzle the Ron Paul Revolutionaries during the Convention at Tampa, but they are also designed to squelch any conservative opposition to a second term for Mitt Romney in 2016, if he wins in 2012. They are specifically designed to prevent the conservatives in the TEA Party from gathering enough support in the ensuing four years to coalesce around another authentic conservative candidate in 2016. Perhaps it will be Michele Bachmann. Perhaps it will be Alan West. Perhaps it will be Scott walker. But whoever it is, these rules changes are designed to make it harder for conservative activists in the TEA Party to be heard from on a par equal to the Establishment.

What Rules were affected?

The change to Rule #12 is designed to allow the RNC in Washington the power to enact new rules between National Conventions without an actual vote of the Party delegates. This change in the Rules was adopted!

The proposed change to Rule #15 was defeated! This change was designed to give the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee (Mitt Romney) the right to replace any delegate to the convention that he didn’t like. There was also hidden inside of this proposal a new method of re-allocating delegates in order to stack the deck for the Establishment’s favorite candidate. These changes were defeated, however a variation of these changes was passed and retitled Rule #16 which essentially binds a delegate to vote for the winner of their State’s Primary. Most people have no objection to this.

Mr. Blackwell opposed the entire compromise because of the change made to Rule #12. His logic is impeccable! He said that as long as Rule #12 remained changed and the RNC can make up new rules between National Conventions which occur every four years, there is no guarantee that the RNC will not re-write any rule that it doesn’t like at a later date! The RNC usually goes along with its Chairman. That is Reince Priebus. The Chairman usually follows the lead of his President, or the Party’s presumptive nominee. That would be Mitt Romney. So in effect Romney’s Rules have squashed conservative activists like the bugs that he really thinks we are!

I totally support Mitt Romney 100% as the Party's nominee and I also call on Reince Priebus and Mitt Romney to reverse or rescind the changes to Rule #12 that were passed on the first day of the National Convention which make it much more difficult for all grass roots activists including Tea Party activists all over America to have any influence inside of the Republican Party… The real villains here are Karl Rove, Reince Priebus, and unfortunately Mitt Romney! I can support Mitt Romney and also support fair and decent Party Rules at the same time. I can do both!

For whatever well intentioned purpose this Rules Change was originally proposed IT WILL HURT ALL REPUBLICAN GRASS ROOTS ACTIVISTS, NOT JUST THE RON PAUL PEOPLE…. IT MUST BE RESCINDED, AND THAT SHOULD BE THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR MITT ROMNEY AFTER HE OFFICIALLY ACCEPTS THE PARTY’S NOMINATION, NOT SOME CAMPAIGN SPEECH IN OHIO! SHOW US MR. ROMNEY THAT YOU REALLY DO BELIEVE IN CONSERVATIVE VALUES.

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Outside Sources

Morton Blackwell Letter
http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/dean-clancy/romneys-rnc-power-grab-what-happened