I ran into the RightOnline.com booth, which sets up interviews with officials/candidates and bloggers. I participated in the interview with Railroad Commission Chair Michael Williams (this time sporting a black ‘n’ white stripped bowtie). A couple of interesting tidbits (including me getting to ask a question) emerged.
First off, the Railroad Commission is officially a misleading name. The Commission (which mainly deals with energy policy) pushed to transfer their 14 railroad employees to the Texas Department of Transportation, bring in some energy related employees from other departments into the commission, and rename the commission to the Texas Energy Commission during the 2007 legislative session. The legislature approved the employee transfers, but not the name change.
My question asked Williams thoughts on depth vs. breath in science and math curriculum. To be fair, it is not a question that is in his area of expertise, but he answered the spirit of the question fairly well. Williams wants to focus more on inspiring more students going into the math and science fields than the nitty-gritty of curriculum. His summer camps (one of which is in nearby Arlington, Texas) has a really cool sounding program: the kids are going to design video games about energy. The idea is to connect something kids already find cool (video games) to some of the things Williams cares about (energy policy, piquing math and science interest). All in all, a good time.
Other blog postings on today's events when we get around to them.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday Night Ron Paul Ice Cream Social
After dinner at Josephine’s, we sauntered over to the tail end of Ron Paul’s ice cream social. Paul, who officially dropped out of the presidential race earlier that day, announced that he was forming a political action committee. Ron Paul. Ron Paul.
We ran into perennial gubernatorial candidate Larry Kilgore on our way out and he is serious about instituting Biblical law in the Republic of Texas.
We ran into perennial gubernatorial candidate Larry Kilgore on our way out and he is serious about instituting Biblical law in the Republic of Texas.
Notes from Thursday’s Speeches
So, we arrived late to the convention on Thursday. We walked in on the middle of Governor Rick Perry’s address. The only point of substance I caught was Perry’s promise to address gang drug smuggling and violence during next legislation session. Outside of that, Perry got a strange ovation when he declared that Democrats want the change (and dollars) from your pocket and ended with a weird marching band metaphor (featuring actual marching band members, with a few out of tune).
Next up was Comptroller Susan Combs. She declared that she operates under the premise that “it’s your money” and will eschew wasteful spending. She states that the Texas government has cut back 4.3 million dollars under her watch and Texas led the nation in new job creation between April 2007 and 2008, adding 262 thousand jobs to the economy.
The highlight of Thursday’s speeches was Railroad Commission Chair Michael Williams, sporting a shiny bowtie. He has turned down 2 pay raises during his tenure. He declared that the cap-and-trade carbon tax is nothing more than a redistribution scheme; it would suck trillions of dollars from Americans and would not appreciably help the environment because India and China would continue to pollute. He believes that environmental policy and the economy are not mutually exclusive issues; the environment can be improved better though offering incentives to companies that would make environmental innovations. Other major points he made were:
1) Williams thanks Obama for opening up possibilities and appreciated that all one needs to do to succeed in politics is to be “tall, black, and articulate”
2) He declared that our Middle East policy should not appease the left, but serve American interest.
3) He called to a return to our roots to succeed in November
4) Williams wants to encourage more American students to go into math, science, engineering, and technology. He cosponsors a summer camp to help students who are interested in these fields.
Then some guy came up, asking for money. I did not catch his name and, being a poor college graduate, walked the booths instead.
When we returned, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was in the middle of his address. Dewhurst declared his support for a spending cap amendment and a voter identification act. He stated that Texas Department of Transportation needs to start working for Texans and opposes the Trans-Texas Corridor. He called for the border to be secured and pushed for a national identification card. Ronald Reagan Count: 2
Speaker Tom Craddick described his efforts for tort reform and merit based teacher pay. He also wanted to fix the appraisal system so that tax cuts get to the people better.
President Bush sent a short video address.
Then the candidates for Texas Republican Chair and Vice Chair came up in turn. Paul Perry called for America’s need for liberty to perverse faith and family. He declared the Trans-Texas Corridor unconstitutional and demanded that school districts stop building professional football stadiums and focus on the academics. Current Chair Tina Benkiser described her efforts to stop the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” and voter identification. She outlined her plan to protect private property via a constitutional amendment and end Texas property taxes. She supports our moral common foundation. Current Chair Doctor Robin Armstrong wants to remove us from the United Nations. He mentioned Barry Goldwater twice and Ronald Reagan 8 times. Debra Medina, who was involved in the suit against the Texas Republican Party, stated that the pageantry of the day’s events was designed to get us to drink a status quo “Kool-Aid”. She also fought against Gov. Perry’s plan to require the HPV vaccine for all 11-year old girls.
The convention was then officially opened, the events of which will be summed up in another post.
Next up was Comptroller Susan Combs. She declared that she operates under the premise that “it’s your money” and will eschew wasteful spending. She states that the Texas government has cut back 4.3 million dollars under her watch and Texas led the nation in new job creation between April 2007 and 2008, adding 262 thousand jobs to the economy.
The highlight of Thursday’s speeches was Railroad Commission Chair Michael Williams, sporting a shiny bowtie. He has turned down 2 pay raises during his tenure. He declared that the cap-and-trade carbon tax is nothing more than a redistribution scheme; it would suck trillions of dollars from Americans and would not appreciably help the environment because India and China would continue to pollute. He believes that environmental policy and the economy are not mutually exclusive issues; the environment can be improved better though offering incentives to companies that would make environmental innovations. Other major points he made were:
1) Williams thanks Obama for opening up possibilities and appreciated that all one needs to do to succeed in politics is to be “tall, black, and articulate”
2) He declared that our Middle East policy should not appease the left, but serve American interest.
3) He called to a return to our roots to succeed in November
4) Williams wants to encourage more American students to go into math, science, engineering, and technology. He cosponsors a summer camp to help students who are interested in these fields.
Then some guy came up, asking for money. I did not catch his name and, being a poor college graduate, walked the booths instead.
When we returned, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was in the middle of his address. Dewhurst declared his support for a spending cap amendment and a voter identification act. He stated that Texas Department of Transportation needs to start working for Texans and opposes the Trans-Texas Corridor. He called for the border to be secured and pushed for a national identification card. Ronald Reagan Count: 2
Speaker Tom Craddick described his efforts for tort reform and merit based teacher pay. He also wanted to fix the appraisal system so that tax cuts get to the people better.
President Bush sent a short video address.
Then the candidates for Texas Republican Chair and Vice Chair came up in turn. Paul Perry called for America’s need for liberty to perverse faith and family. He declared the Trans-Texas Corridor unconstitutional and demanded that school districts stop building professional football stadiums and focus on the academics. Current Chair Tina Benkiser described her efforts to stop the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” and voter identification. She outlined her plan to protect private property via a constitutional amendment and end Texas property taxes. She supports our moral common foundation. Current Chair Doctor Robin Armstrong wants to remove us from the United Nations. He mentioned Barry Goldwater twice and Ronald Reagan 8 times. Debra Medina, who was involved in the suit against the Texas Republican Party, stated that the pageantry of the day’s events was designed to get us to drink a status quo “Kool-Aid”. She also fought against Gov. Perry’s plan to require the HPV vaccine for all 11-year old girls.
The convention was then officially opened, the events of which will be summed up in another post.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Convention schedule
MONDAY
Monday, June 9, 2008
12:00 p.m. Temporary Rules & Platform Committees
TUESDAY
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
9:00 a.m. Temporary Rules & Platform Committees
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
9:00 a.m. Temporary Rules & Platform Committees
11:00 a.m. Temporary Credentials Committee
5:00 p.m. Grassroots Training
4:00 p.m. Temporary Organization Committee
4:00 p.m. SREC Meeting
THURSDAY
Thursday, June 12, 2008
9:00 a.m. Registration and Tradeshow Open
9:00 a.m. Temporary Credentials Committee
12:00 p.m. First General Session3:00 p.m. First Senatorial District Caucus Meeting - elect caucus chair andpermanent convention committee members.
8:00 p.m. Permanent Committee Meetings
FRIDAY
Friday, June 13, 2008
6:45 a.m. Registration Opens
7:00 a.m. Tradeshow Opens
7:00 a.m. Prayer Rally
9:00 a.m. Second SD Caucus Meetings - elect SREC members and nominate state chair and vice chair
11:00 a.m. State Nominations Committee Meeting
1:00 p.m. Second General Session
4:00 p.m. First CD Caucus Meeting - elect caucus chair and nationaldelegates/alternates and national nominations committee members
5:30 p.m. American Solutions and the Texas Federation of Black Republicans Symposium. (It's on immigration, I understand -- you can RSVP at 1-832-746-1239).
6:00 p.m. National Nominations Committee Meeting
7:00 p.m. RPT Banquet (you have to have a ticket for this one -- MittRomney's speaking)
SATURDAY
Saturday, June 14, 2008
8:00 a.m. Registration and Tradeshow Open
8:00 a.m. Second CD Caucus Meeting - nominate national committeewoman, national committeeman, nominate national presidential elector
10:00 a.m. National Nominations Committee Meeting
1:00 p.m. Third General Session
SREC Meeting (upon adjournment)
National Delegate Meeting (upon adjournment)
Stay tuned for updates.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Renewed interest in delegate process
When I first became a delegate to the Republican convention in 1996, people I told about my selection asked "What's a delegate?" "huh?" or (to my amusement) "Does it pay?"
It was a process of which many were ignorant, perhaps due to the relative political apathy of the 1990s. But today things are starting to change. With heated primary races in both major U.S. parties, much attention has been given to the delegate selection process, and the state parties' role in selecting presidential electors.
Ron Paul supporters in the GOP have brought in scores of new voters to our ranks, and have shaken things up on precinct, county and senatorial district levels. The neck and neck Hillary vs. Obama contest in the other party has resulted in national press attention -- so much that "superdelegate" has become a household word.
(Sidenote: It used to be fun telling Democrats they're with the party that encourages you to "vote early and often," and watching them get offended! But now the joke's not as funny, as everyone knows that the Democrats have a way for voters to vote twice: during the precinct election and at the precinct caucuses!)
With all this added attention, we are most likely going to see a new mix of delegates and alternates that what we've seen in previous years.
Three factors to consider:
Carole Keeton Strayhorn's independent run for governor narrowed down delegate counts in counties across Texas (as the number of delegates allotted is based on the number of voters who voted for the GOP candidate for governor in the last election) and many who signed Strayhorn's petiton to run were surprised to find that they were ineligible to serve.
Ron Paul's run for president has drawn in many delegates who were attracted by his "lower-case l libertarian" views and opposition to the Iraq War. There's certain to be some ideological conflict between anti-war Paul supporters and Iraq War supporters. Many chairmanships were challenged at the precinct and county/senatorial district conventions by Paul supporters.
My opinion: Many would be supporters or Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, Paul or other candidates, left the Republican Party to vote in the Democrat primary to keep Hillary Clinton from getting/not getting the nomination. Conservatives who jumped parties were ineligible to serve as delegates. This also shaved down our numbers a bit.
To review:
Faithful GOP stalwarts + Ron Paul supporters - Republicans who switched parties to keep Hillary out/in - Strayhorn petition signers from the 2006 gubernatorial race = One interesting convention.
We'll keep you informed on how it all pans out.
It was a process of which many were ignorant, perhaps due to the relative political apathy of the 1990s. But today things are starting to change. With heated primary races in both major U.S. parties, much attention has been given to the delegate selection process, and the state parties' role in selecting presidential electors.
Ron Paul supporters in the GOP have brought in scores of new voters to our ranks, and have shaken things up on precinct, county and senatorial district levels. The neck and neck Hillary vs. Obama contest in the other party has resulted in national press attention -- so much that "superdelegate" has become a household word.
(Sidenote: It used to be fun telling Democrats they're with the party that encourages you to "vote early and often," and watching them get offended! But now the joke's not as funny, as everyone knows that the Democrats have a way for voters to vote twice: during the precinct election and at the precinct caucuses!)
With all this added attention, we are most likely going to see a new mix of delegates and alternates that what we've seen in previous years.
Three factors to consider:
Carole Keeton Strayhorn's independent run for governor narrowed down delegate counts in counties across Texas (as the number of delegates allotted is based on the number of voters who voted for the GOP candidate for governor in the last election) and many who signed Strayhorn's petiton to run were surprised to find that they were ineligible to serve.
Ron Paul's run for president has drawn in many delegates who were attracted by his "lower-case l libertarian" views and opposition to the Iraq War. There's certain to be some ideological conflict between anti-war Paul supporters and Iraq War supporters. Many chairmanships were challenged at the precinct and county/senatorial district conventions by Paul supporters.
My opinion: Many would be supporters or Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, Paul or other candidates, left the Republican Party to vote in the Democrat primary to keep Hillary Clinton from getting/not getting the nomination. Conservatives who jumped parties were ineligible to serve as delegates. This also shaved down our numbers a bit.
To review:
Faithful GOP stalwarts + Ron Paul supporters - Republicans who switched parties to keep Hillary out/in - Strayhorn petition signers from the 2006 gubernatorial race = One interesting convention.
We'll keep you informed on how it all pans out.
Houston or bust!
Welcome, delegates, alternates, guests, pages, sergeant-at-arms, journalists, political junkies, armchair analysts, and anyone interested to a blog about what has in previous years been the biggest gathering of Republicans in the U.S!
Feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions, questions and complaints here. The creators of this blog -- delegates from several counties in North Texas -- hope this blog can serve as a valuable tool in the often-complex/usually interesting/always worthwhile convention process. With the advent of laptops and wifi technology, we can provide up-to-the-minute commentary on the issues before the convention that the press may not have the time (or the interest) to report.
We felt an independent, grassroots voice could help in many other ways, too, such as keeping delegates informed on upcoming votes and listing last-minute convention activities. So let's see how this goes.
Note: This blog is in no way meant to favor one particular candidate, support a list of platform issues, nor is it meant to circumvent the leadership of the Republican Party of Texas (who are certain to have their hands full during the convention). It's simply a forum for observers at the convention to comment. If you'd like to help report, please respond to this blog or to the moderator.
The opinions of the blog posters are solely those of the posters, and not that of the Republican Party of Texas or its affiliates.
God bless Texas.
Feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions, questions and complaints here. The creators of this blog -- delegates from several counties in North Texas -- hope this blog can serve as a valuable tool in the often-complex/usually interesting/always worthwhile convention process. With the advent of laptops and wifi technology, we can provide up-to-the-minute commentary on the issues before the convention that the press may not have the time (or the interest) to report.
We felt an independent, grassroots voice could help in many other ways, too, such as keeping delegates informed on upcoming votes and listing last-minute convention activities. So let's see how this goes.
Note: This blog is in no way meant to favor one particular candidate, support a list of platform issues, nor is it meant to circumvent the leadership of the Republican Party of Texas (who are certain to have their hands full during the convention). It's simply a forum for observers at the convention to comment. If you'd like to help report, please respond to this blog or to the moderator.
The opinions of the blog posters are solely those of the posters, and not that of the Republican Party of Texas or its affiliates.
God bless Texas.
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