5views.com

Liberals are attacking the platform adopted by the WA GOP Convention in Spokane over the weekend. Some of their attack is based on misrepresentations and some is based on values that differ greatly from the people who actually adopted the platform, the WA GOP grassroots voters.

The WA GOP Convention

I’ve been trying to get a better feel for all that went on over the weekend. I wasn’t there since I didn’t even submit my name for consideration as a delegate in the Pierce County convention. I figured I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything there so it would be a waste of my time and money. From all reports, as I expected, it was politics as usual, something that usually turns the grassroots off and drives them away from the party (like it’s doing to me).

Ron Paul supporters showed up en mass and, by all accounts, were clearly motivated and energized. Critics claim that many of these were ‘Libertarians’ who have their own party, while others, more honestly, referred to them as ‘libertarians, which is a philosophy rather than a party. However, many Libertarians are former Republicans, so I don’t see why Ron Paul support is such a bad thing if it brings people back to the party. Isn’t that what party leadership is supposed to be doing?

Most of the ‘Ron Paul’ delegates that I’ve spoken with didn’t start out that way. They were Tancredo, Thompson, Romney, etc. supporters that refused to get behind McCain. In a sense, you could think of many of the Paul votes as protest votes, though that isn’t what those delegates had in mind. Their intent is to advance a philosophy that opposes the status quo which is exemplified by McCain and many of his current supporters within the state party.

Probably the most childish display of petty politics was when McCain supporters, lead by some in the party’s leadership, walked out of the convention hall in an effort to get the numbers below a quorum (the number of voters required to be present for a binding vote). It got even worse when they wouldn’t return their badges so that alternates could take their place, which is a requirement if a delegate leaves the convention. To put it another way, “if you won’t play by my rules, I’m taking my badge and going home”. Like I said, it’s childish and petty. It’s closer to thuggery than democracy.

Many other complaints have surfaced and will likely be lost in the cacophony of election year politics. I’m sure the party bosses will be back again in the next election to do it all over again. It’s the WSRP way.

For more on the convention, you can go here for debate in the comments section (includes links to other forums).

The Adoption of the Platform

A state GOP platform is supposed to be far more than just a ‘corporate mission statement’ that doesn’t mean anything to anyone. It should be regarded as a contract between voters and candidates. Few voters have the time (or take the time) to review every candidate’s positions or voting records to see if they agree. That is supposed to be what a party’s leadership does and it’s supposed to be based on the platform adopted by delegates elected starting at the precinct, then the congressional district (at the county convention) and on to the state convention.

Simply put, a platform is the marching orders given by the members of the party to the party leadership in finding and supporting candidates and ballot measures. But in reality, it is anything but. It ends up being a worthless piece of paper that is only important to the voters concerned enough to get involved but is ignored by the candidates and party leadership. A statement that should be heralded as the common ground of all members of the party is nothing more than a gimmick employed by party leaders where they pretend to give the voters some say in what they do. In short, it’s a farce.

That being said, it does represent the views of the grassroots voters in the party. When electing delegates at our precinct caucus in February, most of the candidates didn’t even mention their presidential candidate first, they talked about the issues that are important to the people that are listening, the precinct voters. Most of the delegate candidates, in their short speeches before the vote, talked about their principles, not their candidate. This was especially important because at that time McCain was already considered the ‘presumptive nominee’, which left the platform as the most important issue to be decided.

This was also the apparent focus of the Ron Paul supporters this last weekend in Spokane (by the accounts of Paul supporters).

The Platform

One of the apparent sticking points on immigration that liberals like to misrepresent about conservatives is the ‘anchor baby’ problem. This is where the 14th Amendment is used to give a baby born to illegals immediate U.S. citizenship just for being born on American soil. They misrepresent it in many ways, but the most common is that it would take another amendment to reverse the problem. This is not the case.

The 14th Amendment was to assure former slaves the same protections under the law as other citizens after the Civil War (1868) granting them citizenship. These were people who, although they were brought here against their will, they did not violate immigration law in coming here.

Everyone was expected to come to this country legally, so the amendment didn’t specifically state that it applied only to those who were in this country legally. The 14th Amendment wasn’t applied to illegals until a later Supreme Court ruling. It was also added as a footnote in a ruling rather than in the body of the decision. However, it was never the intent of the Amendment.

Consequently, it is possible that a state could pass a law revoking citizenship rights to these ‘anchor babies’ that would face another Supreme Court challenge which could overturn the earlier ruling. Another amendment may not be needed to put a stop to this practice.

In an article in the Seattle Times WSRP Chairman Luke Esser is quoted on the subject:

Esser noted that prohibiting citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants could “require a change in the U.S. Supreme Court interpretation of the 14th Amendment, so, obviously, if that’s the case it will be difficult to ever accomplish.”

As a side note the same article quoted WA Attorney General Rob McKenna (R) on the issue:

McKenna said he doubts the citizenship provision of the party platform will have much impact.

“I think the attention span of the public on party platforms is very brief. I don’t think platforms help you or hurt you very much,” he said. “Voters look at the candidates.”

Since he would be the one who would be responsible for defending such a law if it were passed in Washington, he has basically thumbed his nose at the grassroots of the party who care about the issue. It’s as if he said he’ll gladly reject the will of the people who elected him and will reelect him in November. The state party’s platform obviously doesn’t mean much to him. It also appears that his opinion of voters is that they’re distracted by bright shiny objects. Something that’s good to know about a candidate.

A couple of other issues that came up and seem to have been voted on and included in the platform call for opposition to abortion and repeal or review of the state’s Growth Management Act.

Crosscut had it’s own misrepresentations on the convention which can probably be best seen in it’s final comment:

Why is the state GOP adopting such an aggressively conservative stance — one that’s significantly more aggressive than the presumed Republican presidential nominee — in a year when all signs indicate a possible liberal landslide?

First of all there’s no evidence of a liberal landslide. Polls have McCain and either Democrat nominee basically neck-and-neck, and thebattle really hasn’t even begun. Congressional and Senate races have also barely begun.

Second, the platform is both a message to the presumptive nominee and the basis for debating and adopting the national platform. The rest of the article is equally inaccurate.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 8:02 pm and is filed under 'Mainstream Republicans', BlogNetNews.com, Campaign 2008, KCGOP, National Issues, PCGOP, WSRP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.