My piece at the time, and its precursor, created a bit of a fuss & ruffled a few feathers apparently. Well...what can you say? I am me, after all, and this is TPC, so...
Exempting the whole Sam Hay thing (you can go through the 300+ comments on the infamous Facebook thread to get more on that if you care to, though I wouldn't recommend it), in today's write-up I was wanting to wade through all of the the different perspectives & opinions, mainly from the non-current-leadership side, in order to get that REAL Story that I'm always seeking.
Unfortunately, there isn't as much to report as I'd like. Of the seven people I wanted to discuss this with, only one was willing to talk with me. The others seem to have gone radio silent. Oh well.
With all of that said, here's what I've got for you good folks today.
- Based on what I can gather it seems as if the resistance didn't know what they were doing, that they didn't have even a basic understanding of the Georgia Republican Party (GRP) bylaws, NCRP bylaws, the adopted Standing Rules of the Convention, nor even a casual understanding of Robert's Rules of Order.
- I've posited this to at least five persons, and only one has responded. When asked if any member of the party, and particularly any member of the current Executive Committee, had said that proxy voting could be used at the Convention, the one person I spoke with admitted that no one had. The resistance had just assumed. No, that's not how it works. Now back in February, each precinct - during their caucus - could write in the names of additional delegates who were not in attendance that day but that could attend the convention in March, but they HAD TO ATTEND. That is how it works.
- Another thing mentioned was that the resistance didn't really understand the first important vote of the Convention, and that was the adoption of the rules of the convention, though it was explained & a print-out of said rules were made available to all delegates, alternates & spectators. Well, as I said in last week's piece, that's where you really know what numbers you are dealing with. It gives you a feel for the lay of the land, so to speak. To recap, the vote on that was 40 to 25. Later, the vote for Executive Committee was 39 to 29.
- And to follow up on last week's article - it's all about the numbers. Either you have them, or you don't. 39 is 10 more than 29, and three above a majority. The numbers don't lie; it's all about the numbers.
- And finally, my question as to whether or not anyone in the resistance offered up a compromise slate? The answer on that apparently was no.
For what it's worth, I believe a couple of folks were turned off by the fact that at least one person on the resistance side had said that Karen Brooks, part of the Scott Jay slate, was not running for reelection. Based on my research, that was never the case, so either somebody lied, or somebody was misinformed. Either way, folks don't like stuff like that. Actions have consequences.
Finally, in my in-person interview with the one resistance member, it seemed as if they just felt like it was unfair, and that the party should have done more to help explain things such as rules, procedure & how conventions work.
Well..imagine this. Imagine having the numbers 3-to-1, and imagine knowing the rules like the back of your hand, then imagine the ruling party simply broke the rules, or just made up new ones as they went along. Imagine how bad that would suck. Pretty bad, right? That's exactly what happened in 2015 at the Newton Co. GOP County Convention. 2013 was basically the same.
Nobody said life was fair; however, the big difference was this: the convention 8 days ago was done in accordance with all of the rules. It was all on the level. It's all on video & audio & several folks, this writer included, were taking detailed notes.
As I mentioned to a couple of members of the County Committee the night before the meeting, why not look at a compromise slate? I was then reminded that there were several instances in the forms of messages, social media posts, and other communiques that the goal of the resistance was to "take over" the party. The same party that had quadrupled membership over the past three years & that was comprised of many good folks & many "real" Republicans (not damned "libertarians" like me. BTW & FTR - I've not been a member of the Newton GOP since March of 2017; I haven't been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2012).
And that's the rub, I think. It turned a lot of folks off. Actions - and words - have consequences.
Also, why didn't the resistance offer up a compromise slate? That's a good question. Probably because like everything else - they didn't know! I'm sure it wasn't their fault. Individual responsibility? It's 2019 now, who needs any of that. Hell, they could've called me. I would have told them. But none of them did.
To close, I think the biggest problem the resistance may have had is that two of their members may have overplayed their hand. One, a raging bull in the china shop of sensibility & fair play of the home city for some years now, and the other, a sister of another mister who just can't seem to get out of her own way sometimes.
Creating a Consensus isn't easy; actions have consequences & the numbers don't lie.
Thanks for reading.
- MB McCart
Finally, in my in-person interview with the one resistance member, it seemed as if they just felt like it was unfair, and that the party should have done more to help explain things such as rules, procedure & how conventions work.
Well..imagine this. Imagine having the numbers 3-to-1, and imagine knowing the rules like the back of your hand, then imagine the ruling party simply broke the rules, or just made up new ones as they went along. Imagine how bad that would suck. Pretty bad, right? That's exactly what happened in 2015 at the Newton Co. GOP County Convention. 2013 was basically the same.
Nobody said life was fair; however, the big difference was this: the convention 8 days ago was done in accordance with all of the rules. It was all on the level. It's all on video & audio & several folks, this writer included, were taking detailed notes.
As I mentioned to a couple of members of the County Committee the night before the meeting, why not look at a compromise slate? I was then reminded that there were several instances in the forms of messages, social media posts, and other communiques that the goal of the resistance was to "take over" the party. The same party that had quadrupled membership over the past three years & that was comprised of many good folks & many "real" Republicans (not damned "libertarians" like me. BTW & FTR - I've not been a member of the Newton GOP since March of 2017; I haven't been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2012).
And that's the rub, I think. It turned a lot of folks off. Actions - and words - have consequences.
Also, why didn't the resistance offer up a compromise slate? That's a good question. Probably because like everything else - they didn't know! I'm sure it wasn't their fault. Individual responsibility? It's 2019 now, who needs any of that. Hell, they could've called me. I would have told them. But none of them did.
To close, I think the biggest problem the resistance may have had is that two of their members may have overplayed their hand. One, a raging bull in the china shop of sensibility & fair play of the home city for some years now, and the other, a sister of another mister who just can't seem to get out of her own way sometimes.
Creating a Consensus isn't easy; actions have consequences & the numbers don't lie.
Thanks for reading.
- MB McCart
