Convention Corruption

Where to begin? If there is anyone who actually watched the blood curdling drama of the Republican National Convention on C-Span yesterday, then you might have gotten the smallest inkling that this was not a party united. However, I feel that I can confidently say that whatever feeling may have come across through the camera lens is most definitely not even giving even a glimpse of the real feeling there on the floor of the Convention. To begin the day, the Rules Committee was going to meet while the preliminary speakers were keeping the crowd entertained, in an attempt to hammer out any differences with the goal of avoiding a floor fight that might embarrass the GOP on national television. The leader of the opposition is a very well known, highly respected delegate out of the state of Virginia, Morton Blackwell. The Virginia delegation bus arrived at the Convention center, and was routed by security out and away from the Convention center. After driving around for approximately an hour and a half with fully half of the Virginia delegation on board, the bus was finally allowed to return to the Convention center where the Virginia delegation was allowed to then go through the security screening and enter the facility. Needless to say, by the time they arrived, the Rules Committee meeting was over and Mr. Blackwell was unable to speak about any changes to the proposed rules.

Shortly after the Virginia delegation arrived, the RNC finally got around to the first official item of business, approving the credentialing committee report. The RNC knew that this vote would be controversial since they illegally unseated duly elected delegates from many states, especially Maine. When the chairman announced that the results of the voice vote were in favor of the ayes, the floor erupted with a show of support for the displaced delegates. In response to this display of resistance to the illegal activity, the establishment Republicans on the floor acted like good little communists and started chanting “USA” in an attempt to shout down their contemporaries who believe in the rule of law and who were seeking to have their voice heard.

Within a couple of minutes of this “vote” it was time to vote for the controversial rule changes. Once again, the voice vote was incredibly close, and it was clear to the chairman, and all who were paying attention, that even alternates, guests, and the paid Romney staffers who were stationed around the entire forum with each state delegation were voting. At this point in time, the chairman should have called for a roll call vote to ensure that the vote accurately reflected the will of the people. What the chairman did, however, was to continue to read from the script in front of him, whereby he read, directly from the teleprompter, “In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.” It is fascinating to me how the programmer of the teleprompter knows what the results of the vote will be before the vote is actually taken. It is also somewhat unfortunate for the RNC that they placed the Colorado delegation where they could read the teleprompter right along with the speaker.

Ahhh, but the show must go on, and we cannot let minor details such as “rule of law” and “the will of the people” impede progress. Let’s just bring up the next speaker please. What may be the ultimate irony of this entire situation is that the Republican party is the party that is vocal about the need to eliminate voter fraud. They are the party that is seeking to require all voters to provide photo identification before being allowed to cast a vote. How can the Republican party, and any Republican legislator, ever again speak of this with a straight face when they refuse to practice vote integrity within their own party? And how can they hope to win an election when they, through such corrupt practices, disenfranchise fully twenty percent of their base?