Frictions among the GOP

It appeared that Idaho’s politics is starting to suffer greatly from the emergence of Ron Paul fanatics. From the Coeur d’Alene Press print edition 29 May 2008—Elephant in the Room:

(Original author: Mark Greene) Coeur d’Alene— Delegates for the Republican state convention were chosen from a slate of candidates over the passionate objections of a about a dozen newly-elected Ron Paul supporters Wednesday. Sparks flew — and so did a paper airplane from one Ron Paul supporter — during a vote at an organizational meeting for the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee that sends 23 delegates to the June convention in Sandpoint.

Of the 71 GOP precincts, an estimated 12 Paul supporters were elected in Tuesday's primaries.

A concern of some longtime GOP central committee members is that Paul supporters would not vote for John McCain as the presidential nominee and would not finish the work of a precinct committee person.

"Certainly we want to welcome new people to the central committee, but we are also concerned because we don't want a party within a party," said Duane Rasmussen, 19^th precinct committee person and president of the Pachyderm Club.

Well now, isn’t that just amazing? From the front page read of the “Press” article I am not certain whether the Ron Paul supporter is simply juvenile who threw the paper airplane or if Idaho’s GOP must insist on a “unified” front of only voting for Senator John McCain and finishing the work of a committee person that ultimately supports Senator McCain. How dare the GOP splinter off and … and … along with other bluster.

The Spokesman-Review blogs featuring Huckleberries on-line or HBO also had a comment about the major brawl between main stream(?) GOP and the Paulites, with two regular commenters such as “cabbage boy” discussing the situation.

Considering that this is a free nation, no one has to vote for Senator McCain by November, no one has to support a we want McCain agenda in the Idaho GOP central committee. It is a matter of choose to. Indeed this Republican has absolutely no use for Senator McCain. When I voted in my district on Tuesday, I probably helped put in at least one Paul supporter. I voted against the incumbents from the federal level on down and voted for Paul over McCain. Wouldn’t I care to be represented in what the GOP once touted as their “big tent?” To have my voice heard as someone who opposes “go along to get along ‘amnesty'” McCain who has become GW’s anointed successor? Even if Paul is seen by many to be a “flake” he does make some sense given the state of the country after 8 years of Bush. And McCain seems to have no clue about the state of the country. To put it bluntly, the GOP don’t have to think alike, nor march in lockstep as to whom they vote for. That’s why its called a “big tent.” Any time the party in Idaho begins fearing diverse voices, and demands some kind of “loyalty pledge” then the GOP are going the way of the sort of politics they once said they opposed — Socialism. And here the Democrats thought they had a problem with the Clinton/Obama squabble. (♥)