31 January '16
Special to the Chronicles
A Write-up from Fred Wheeler of the Patriot's Table political group
*ed. note: I've known Mr. Fred for over 15 years now and have been fighting the good fight with him on the political front for the last four years. We were the original anti-estab forces in Newton back in the 2012 POTUS delegate precinct reset and have been members of a mutual admiration society ever since. Mr. Fred has been doing organized politics since the 60's and knows more about Real Politik in one finger than most folks know in their entire body. The Chronicles are proud to have gotten his specific, express permission to run this piece, and we hope to have more of his stuff down the road. As always, we appreciate your reading us. 'Til next time. Thx & Bye!
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Hi,
From time to time this election season we have heard various people warn against a "brokered" convention. This fear mostly has been voiced by Trump supporters, but hardly anybody wants to see the party plutocrats thwart the people's choice for president.
Next month on Saturday (2/20) you will have a chance to ensure that -at least in Newton County--the people's choice will prevail. On that date the Georgia GOP will begin a state-wide series of caucuses and conventions to elect 76 total delegates and a like number of alternates to attend the national convention in Cleveland
Georgia apportions its delegates thusly: three per congressional district (42) with the balance (34) being elected at the state convention. In order for a candidate to win all three of the congressional district's delegates he must win at least a majority (50+%) of that district's popular vote. If he wins only by a plurality the votes are proportioned in a manner that would make your eyes glaze over.
But, the delegates which the candidate wins are supposed to support that candidate for at least two ballots. Candidly, if there is a brokered convention it won't come on the first two ballots--it will be the result of a deadlocked convention after ten or twenty ballots. So, it is incumbent upon the candidate's supporters not only to vote for him at the polls but to find loyal delegates who will continue to support him till the cows come home.
This is where you come in. At the precinct mass meetings next month delegates will be selected to the county convention in March. At the county convention delegates will be selected to the Fourth and Tenth Congressional district conventions and to the state convention. It's at these district conventions that the three-per district will be selected.
So, the first step is to attend the precinct caucus and elect like-minded folks to be delegates to the subsequent county convention. Now, Newton's situation is unique in the state because we have an intra-party civil war that has gone on for about five years.
In essence, a small group of elites have held on to power by a series of "illegal" rule changes and a pattern of arbitrarily kicking people out of the party. In the process they have shrunk the party to the point of irrelevance. The party has not helped to select candidates, has not taken any issue positions, or helped nominees campaign in the general election. In the meantime, the chairman appointed himself to every board in sight including the election and library boards.
Some while ago the chairman resigned because he got caught doing something he should not have done. His replacement resigned recently and the remnants of the executive committee elected an interim chairman. Now, the small group who refuses to give up power has declared a "king's X do-over". Well, it's too late. The new executive committee under the interim chairman has begun performing the duties of the party.
So, if you want to attend a precinct caucus on Saturday, February 20, you will have two choices. You can attend the mass meeting at 10:00AM (registration begins at 9:00AM) at 7188 Turner Lake Circle with the rest of us. Or, you can try to figure out among the half-dozen places the other crowd has picked out where your precinct is supposed to meet at 6:00PM.
You see, the elites don't really want you to show up. They and their cohorts at the state level want to name their own to be delegates. If the voice of the people is thwarted, so be it.