AZGOP National Convention

AZGOP Convention

Impressions

Today was my first time at a GOP convention. As an event, it was incredibly disorganized and riddled with traps, preferential treatment, confusion, and voting pitfalls. One comical example, was how Romney delegates were marked with asterisks and markup on the ballots themselves. On top of this, the arena where the group voting and meetings took place was also covered with Romney banners, messages, and endorsed candidates. No mention of the Tea party or Ron Paul on the walls of the Grand Canyon University Arena.

All I can really gather from my first experience is that the Grand Ol Party convention is not a place for party members to exchange and express ideals. Nor is it a place to generate comprise and unite the party through common ideals and concessions. The convention is a a media marketing outlet to brainwash members into support of a non-specified platform that they themselves will have no part or say in developing.

Why is convention and why does it matter this time?

The GOP conventions are intended to allow individuals and districts to best express their desire and wants for the GOP. The intention is that a fractured base can work together to find common ground and to make concessions to appease the base required to win the federal elections. This requires compromise and a free exchange of ideas.

This time around the Republican party is in dire need of a shakeup and the Tea Party and the Ron Paul factions came out in force to speak their minds and to exert their influence over the direction, platform, and representatives of the GOP. The combining of these faction, as a convention is intended to facilitate, means negotiations, concessions, and the definition of a platform. It is about sending people and messages to the national conventions that will work to ensure that the party is not fractured and instead stands together for common goals.

Shifting platform is far from the alien concept the Romney campaign makes it out to be. Countless times the GOP has re-branded, adjusted platform, and even totally shifted in demographic in its incredibly successful lifetime. This is one of those times. I doubt it was ever easy, but I don't doubt the shifts were to better serve a large diverse base. A diverse base with eerily familiar core values.

The real message

Today needed to be about defining the new GOP of 2012. Instead today was a bunch of pressure to forget your own ideas and get behind Romney. I understand being conservative means we don't always promote change in policy and politics, but the Romney unity message was fluff and a complete lack of consideration for the factions. Essentially the message from the Romney folks was 'Don't speak out and put blind faith into the Romney campaign. They know what you need and want. They also have pizza'.

I can only hope that the party can grow out of its single minded ignorance and listen to its constituants to drive the national platform. Otherwise, who is the party representing? How can it expect to win elections as an aging core unthinkingly abides as another new generation of conservatives is ignored and alienated.

I ask every republican to consider that change requires a lot of work and strong ideals. What your fractured elements want is to NOT overthrow, but to influence change in a big, rickety, ready for an oil change, party machine. If your true ideals are in freedom, self responsibility, and strong core values, then why ignore and ridicule those with the same values. Why try with such passion to rid your party of those who share all your primary ideals?

If your true goal is to beat Obama, then you need this fanatical support base, and you need it soon before it gets tired of being ignored and breaks away and begins to throw its support and money into other parties and candidates that would have them.