What Ron Paul Did For Me
Many of you don’t know that Ron Paul played a part in my rescue when I was in prison. First, let me say that I met Ron Paul a couple of times before I went to the slammer, and he and his wife were gracious and warm. Even though we didn’t get together during the filming of Aaron Russo’s movie America: Freedom To Fascism, both of us were featured in the movie.
When I was ill in late 2009 there was an outcry after people were informed of the severity of my condition. I had written a letter to my U.S. Congressman (Hank Johnson) via prison e-mail, and forwarded it to my husband to deliver to him since the congressman was not on my approved e-mail list. My husband, without editing the letter, sent it out to about 20 supporters after furnishing a copy to the congressman. These supporters were outraged at what I was going through. At least one of these supporters had a large e-mail list and he forwarded the letter to his entire list. That desperate cry for help went viral, and soon I was receiving letters of encouragement and financial support from literally all over the globe.
Someone got in touch with Ron Paul’s office. I don’t live in Texas, but he and his staff took action and contacted the prison with a demand for information about my situation. Shortly after Ron Paul’s inquiry about my treatment I was shipped away to a high security prison. While in solitary confinement there (for the security of the institution, they say) my medical situation was constantly observed, and I was treated with respect by the medical staff.
Along with Congressman Hank Johnson, I believe that Congressman Ron Paul’s eye on the situation got me the care that I needed so that my condition did not go critical. I was in really bad shape as you can see here.
For those that say that Ron Paul is a racist, you would never be able to convince me of that. His actions speak louder than your words. He has delivered thousands of lives into this world, of all races and colors. He has helped people of all races, even when it was not popular and could have put him and his family’s lives in danger.
For those that say that Ron Paul is a nut, a large oak tree is yesterday’s nut that held its ground. For over 30 years Ron Paul has not switched his position on any of the socio-political issues of our day. You can call him a nut if you want, but at least he’s not a flip flopper that changes his position with the ebb and flow of the masses.
For those that say that Ron Paul can’t win, God says nothing is impossible with Him. His sticking to his guns and staying in the race shows me that he cares not only about his own family, for he could have made a fortune and bilked the country, like others. He could have taken bribes, high paying corporate positions or even created policies that would have enriched him and his family for generations to come. Instead, his stick-to-it attitude shows me that he cares about me, about us, about America as a whole, about the rule of law, about justice, about equity. Very few people in power care about you, I hope you understand that fact.
Ron Paul takes the criticism and the flack, the jokes and the insults because he knows who he is and he knows what God has told him to do. He knows that he has the truth on his side, and sooner or later truth will prevail. He has been a beacon in the darkness, one that shows up the evil that is in our country and shows the way to correct it, to the chagrin of the evildoers.
I sent a thank you letter to Ron Paul’s offices in Texas and in DC. I wanted them to know that I appreciate them reaching down to help a lowly prisoner that was afraid for her life. Life, that is important to us as humans, or at least should be. Do the people that you trust and endorse care if you live or die? Selah (pause and think about that).
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When I was ill in late 2009 there was an outcry after people were informed of the severity of my condition. I had written a letter to my U.S. Congressman (Hank Johnson) via prison e-mail, and forwarded it to my husband to deliver to him since the congressman was not on my approved e-mail list. My husband, without editing the letter, sent it out to about 20 supporters after furnishing a copy to the congressman. These supporters were outraged at what I was going through. At least one of these supporters had a large e-mail list and he forwarded the letter to his entire list. That desperate cry for help went viral, and soon I was receiving letters of encouragement and financial support from literally all over the globe.
Someone got in touch with Ron Paul’s office. I don’t live in Texas, but he and his staff took action and contacted the prison with a demand for information about my situation. Shortly after Ron Paul’s inquiry about my treatment I was shipped away to a high security prison. While in solitary confinement there (for the security of the institution, they say) my medical situation was constantly observed, and I was treated with respect by the medical staff.
Along with Congressman Hank Johnson, I believe that Congressman Ron Paul’s eye on the situation got me the care that I needed so that my condition did not go critical. I was in really bad shape as you can see here.
For those that say that Ron Paul is a racist, you would never be able to convince me of that. His actions speak louder than your words. He has delivered thousands of lives into this world, of all races and colors. He has helped people of all races, even when it was not popular and could have put him and his family’s lives in danger.
For those that say that Ron Paul is a nut, a large oak tree is yesterday’s nut that held its ground. For over 30 years Ron Paul has not switched his position on any of the socio-political issues of our day. You can call him a nut if you want, but at least he’s not a flip flopper that changes his position with the ebb and flow of the masses.
For those that say that Ron Paul can’t win, God says nothing is impossible with Him. His sticking to his guns and staying in the race shows me that he cares not only about his own family, for he could have made a fortune and bilked the country, like others. He could have taken bribes, high paying corporate positions or even created policies that would have enriched him and his family for generations to come. Instead, his stick-to-it attitude shows me that he cares about me, about us, about America as a whole, about the rule of law, about justice, about equity. Very few people in power care about you, I hope you understand that fact.
Ron Paul takes the criticism and the flack, the jokes and the insults because he knows who he is and he knows what God has told him to do. He knows that he has the truth on his side, and sooner or later truth will prevail. He has been a beacon in the darkness, one that shows up the evil that is in our country and shows the way to correct it, to the chagrin of the evildoers.
I sent a thank you letter to Ron Paul’s offices in Texas and in DC. I wanted them to know that I appreciate them reaching down to help a lowly prisoner that was afraid for her life. Life, that is important to us as humans, or at least should be. Do the people that you trust and endorse care if you live or die? Selah (pause and think about that).
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Vatican orders crackdown on American nuns
By David Gibson
WASHINGTON – The Vatican has launched a crackdown on the umbrella group that represents most of America's 55,000 Catholic nuns, saying that the group was not speaking out strongly enough against gay marriage, abortion and women's ordination.
Rome also chided the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) for sponsoring conferences that featured "a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith."
The Vatican's disciplinary action against the LCWR was announced on Wednesday, one day before Pope Benedict XVI marked seven years as pontiff.
In many ways, the Vatican's actions against the LCWR encapsulated the kind of hard line that many expected Benedict — the Vatican's former doctrinal czar — to take when he was elected in 2005.
"The current doctrinal and pastoral situation of the LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregations in other parts of the world," said the eight-page statement issued by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Benedict led for a quarter century before his election.
The directive, which follows a two-year investigation by Rome, also comes as the Vatican appeared ready to welcome a controversial right-wing splinter group of Catholic traditionalists back into the fold, possibly by giving the group a special status so that they can continue to espouse their old-line rites and beliefs.
The CDF, now led by American Cardinal William Levada, appointed Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain to lead the process of overhauling LCWR's governance and reviewing its plans and programs and its relationship with certain groups that the Vatican finds suspect.
One of the groups singled out in the criticism is Network, a social justice lobby created by Catholic sisters 40 years ago that continues to play a leading role in pushing progressive causes on Capitol Hill.
The Vatican announcement said that "while there has been a great deal of work on the part of LCWR promoting issues of social justice in harmony with the church's social doctrine, it is silent on the right to life from conception to natural death."
It added that "crucial" issues like "the church's biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes church teaching. Moreover, occasional public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose."
Many bishops were angered when LCWR and Network, along with the Catholic Health Association, endorsed President Obama's health care reform over the bishops' objections. LCWR and Network recently endorsed Obama's compromise with the bishop over a mandate to provide insurance coverage for birth control for employees at religious institutions, even as the bishops continue to fight it.
The Vatican said the LCWR defended itself in part by arguing that the group "does not knowingly invite speakers who take a stand against a teaching of the church'when it has been declared as authoritative teaching.'" The LCWR also said that assertions made by speakers at LCWR conferences are not necessarily their own. The Vatican called that response "inadequate" and unsupported by the facts.
While LCWR did not respond to repeated requests for comment, Sister Simone Campbell, Network's executive director, said she was "stunned" that the Vatican document would single out her group, probably over its support for health care reform.
"It concerns me that political differences in a democratic country would result in such a a censure and investigation," Campbell said.
Campbell also strongly defended LCWR. "I know LCWR has faithfully-served women religious in the United States and worked hard to support the life of women religious and our service to the people of God."
Throughout church history, and in particular in the United States, women in religious communities who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience have directed their work toward charitable and educational ministries — running schools, hospitals, orphanages and a range of social services that have become as much a hallmark of Catholicism as the moral doctrine that the bishops oversee.
Increasingly, however, the hierarchy in Rome and the U.S. is focusing on promoting doctrinal orthodoxy and curbing dissent.
Many women religious (as both sisters in active ministry and cloistered nuns are known) have viewed their ministry as primarily one of service, but some have openly disagreed with church leaders on a number of hot-button issues.
In 2009 the Vatican launched a wide-ranging investigation of all women religious in the U.S., prompted by concern over their commitment to doctrine and tradition as well as the sharp decline in vocations. The number of nuns in America has dropped from 179,954 in 1965 to just 55,000 today.
Some newer, more traditional communities are growing, though they still represent a small minority of the total number of sisters. They are represented by a parallel organization that is considered more Vatican-friendly than the LCWR.
That broader investigation, called a visitation, was seen by critics as a heavy-handed maneuver and prompted widespread resistance among U.S. nuns, which led the Vatican to recalibrate its approach. The final report on that investigation was delivered to the pope in January, and the results are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The LCWR investigation was a separate probe that was begun in 2008 and concluded in 2010. Benedict gave the CDF the go-ahead to take action against the LCWR in January 2011, more than a year ago. There was no explanation for the delay in publicly revealing the crackdown.
Bending rules for Romney? Paul joins Sarah Palin in criticizing AK GOP boss
The Alaska Dispatch reports,
How did Ron Paul lose Alaska?
Paul's ardent supporters here in the 49th state were on Wednesday casting a wide net, including allegations of polling impropriety, disenfranchisement and other shenanigans by Alaska Republican Party officials.
As the only Republican presidential candidate to make the lonely journey to Alaska this election cycle, and with a groundswell of support from the state's libertarian-leaning independents, many national pundits and local political watchers had expected a Ron Paul win here on Super Tuesday.
It did not come to pass. Paul ended up placing third in Alaska's presidential preference poll. Mitt Romney won Alaska by the skin of his nose, taking 32.4 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press. Rick Santorum, in what seemed surprising, came in a strong second here, taking 29.2 percent. Paul received 3,175 votes, or 24 percent of the turnout. That should net Paul about six delegates to the GOP National Convention in August.
It all amounted to some serious, post-Super Tuesday head scratching for the Paul 2012 campaign after their man had lost three states he'd been predicted to win, including Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota. Thousands turned out to see Paul on Sunday in Alaska. Thousands turned out, too, for him in Idaho and North Dakota. Paul went so far to as to predict he'd win at least one or two of them, himself.
Idaho is a Mormon-heavy state so Mitt Romney's domination there seems more understandable. North Dakota has a national reputation for its particular brand of Western social conservatism; Rick Santorum doesn't seem a far-fetched winner there, though Paul came in a respectably close second.
But Alaska? Paul enjoys a deep volunteer base here. His supporters were organized on Tuesday night. It would seem, though, that the campaign simply wasn't able to convert that enthusiasm into victory.
Ron Paul for Alaska campaign chief Evan Cutler said the candidate's supporters and organizers who were out at the polls Tuesday night harbored other suspicions.
"People were turned away at the polls that were registered to vote due to confusion among the poll volunteers. Voter registration databases were outdated," Cutler said his organizers reported, going on to add that, "younger voters, voters of a certain demographic were turned away" and that the campaign had conducted exit polling across the state and that numbers reported by the state party leaders "didn't jibe."
The allegations didn't stop there. Cutler also accused party bosses of levying "poll taxes" of at least $50 for participation in post-vote district conventions. The Paul campaign even accuses Alaska GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich of rigging his own district via teleconference to make sure Mitt Romney -- the state establishment Republican choice -- won a majority.
An email Cutler sent Ruedrich was forwarded to Alaska Dispatch.
"There were some other complaints about the process in your own district," it said. "According to the reports I received, when the District Convention convened there were 7 delegates in your cohort and 7 in the Ron Paul one. Instead of letting people vote then, I was told you instead called supporters from your side one by one until you had enough people on the Romney side on the phone to take all the delegate slots. …"
Did it really happen? "Absolutely not," Ruedrich said in an interview Wednesday night. "It just isn't true, absolutely not true. We did not vote via teleconference even though it would have been fully appropriate."
Ruedrich says that he and another party worker left his district's polling place "to process state data from the preference poll. When we issued an all-data-in report, we returned to the convention because it was still in process. We participated in the vote in person."
Ruedrich went on to refute the poll tax allegations, the disenfranchisement, the other things Paul supporters were whispering. He said complaints were common for a constituency that failed to achieve its objective. But he also said the Paul campaign's accusations were something more than just sour grapes.
"This is a little bit more severe," he said.
While the he-said, she-said continues, one thing is certain: the Alaska Republican Party's rules are labyrinthine. Who knew that people could vote via teleconference in a district convention? Doesn't that seem like a recipe for accusations of preference or vote-weighting?
"It's fully appropriate," Ruedrich said.
The Paul campaign doesn't think so and Cutler said he and other up-and-coming young Republicans weren't pleased with the way Ruedrich was managing the state's GOP.
"Ruedrich and others are bending their own rules for Romney. It's not fair. There's a history of game playing in Alaska's Republican Party. People shouldn't be disenfranchised. They shouldn't have to pay to play. … Ruedrich should probably go," Cutler said.
Alaska's Republican presidential poll is conducted solely by party bosses like Ruedrich and isn't overseen by the state's Division of Elections. Cutler isn't the first conservative to call for Ruedrich's head.
But much mightier politicians (including Sarah Palin) have taken him on, only to be frustrated again and again.
Editor's Note: This article was updated March 8 to clarify that Evan Cutler reported the allegations of Ron Paul for Alaska supporters and organizers.
Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com
Ron Paul for Alaska campaign chief Evan Cutler said the candidate’s supporters and organizers who were out at the polls Tuesday night harbored other suspicions.
“People were turned away at the polls that were registered to vote due to confusion among the poll volunteers. Voter registration databases were outdated,” Cutler said his organizers reported, going on to add that, “younger voters, voters of a certain demographic were turned away” and that the campaign had conducted exit polling across the state and that numbers reported by the state party leaders “didn’t jibe.”
The allegations didn’t stop there. Cutler also accused party bosses of levying “poll taxes” of at least $50 for participation in post-vote district conventions. The Paul campaign even accuses Alaska GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich of rigging his own district via teleconference to make sure Mitt Romney — the state establishment Republican choice — won a majority.
An email Cutler sent Ruedrich was forwarded to Alaska Dispatch.
“There were some other complaints about the process in your own district,” it said. ”According to the reports I received, when the District Convention convened there were 7 delegates in your cohort and 7 in the Ron Paul one. Instead of letting people vote then, I was told you instead called supporters from your side one by one until you had enough people on the Romney side on the phone to take all the delegate slots. …” . . .
“Ruedrich and others are bending their own rules for Romney. It’s not fair. There’s a history of game playing in Alaska’s Republican Party. People shouldn’t be disenfranchised. They shouldn’t have to pay to play. … Ruedrich should probably go,” Cutler said.
Alaska’s Republican presidential poll is conducted solely by party bosses like Ruedrich and isn’t overseen by the state’s Division of Elections. Cutler isn’t the first conservative to call for Ruedrich’s head.
But much mightier politicians (including Sarah Palin) have taken him on, only to be frustrated again and again.
How did Ron Paul lose Alaska?
Paul's ardent supporters here in the 49th state were on Wednesday casting a wide net, including allegations of polling impropriety, disenfranchisement and other shenanigans by Alaska Republican Party officials.
As the only Republican presidential candidate to make the lonely journey to Alaska this election cycle, and with a groundswell of support from the state's libertarian-leaning independents, many national pundits and local political watchers had expected a Ron Paul win here on Super Tuesday.
It did not come to pass. Paul ended up placing third in Alaska's presidential preference poll. Mitt Romney won Alaska by the skin of his nose, taking 32.4 percent of the vote, according to The Associated Press. Rick Santorum, in what seemed surprising, came in a strong second here, taking 29.2 percent. Paul received 3,175 votes, or 24 percent of the turnout. That should net Paul about six delegates to the GOP National Convention in August.
It all amounted to some serious, post-Super Tuesday head scratching for the Paul 2012 campaign after their man had lost three states he'd been predicted to win, including Alaska, Idaho and North Dakota. Thousands turned out to see Paul on Sunday in Alaska. Thousands turned out, too, for him in Idaho and North Dakota. Paul went so far to as to predict he'd win at least one or two of them, himself.
Idaho is a Mormon-heavy state so Mitt Romney's domination there seems more understandable. North Dakota has a national reputation for its particular brand of Western social conservatism; Rick Santorum doesn't seem a far-fetched winner there, though Paul came in a respectably close second.
But Alaska? Paul enjoys a deep volunteer base here. His supporters were organized on Tuesday night. It would seem, though, that the campaign simply wasn't able to convert that enthusiasm into victory.
Ron Paul for Alaska campaign chief Evan Cutler said the candidate's supporters and organizers who were out at the polls Tuesday night harbored other suspicions.
"People were turned away at the polls that were registered to vote due to confusion among the poll volunteers. Voter registration databases were outdated," Cutler said his organizers reported, going on to add that, "younger voters, voters of a certain demographic were turned away" and that the campaign had conducted exit polling across the state and that numbers reported by the state party leaders "didn't jibe."
The allegations didn't stop there. Cutler also accused party bosses of levying "poll taxes" of at least $50 for participation in post-vote district conventions. The Paul campaign even accuses Alaska GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich of rigging his own district via teleconference to make sure Mitt Romney -- the state establishment Republican choice -- won a majority.
An email Cutler sent Ruedrich was forwarded to Alaska Dispatch.
"There were some other complaints about the process in your own district," it said. "According to the reports I received, when the District Convention convened there were 7 delegates in your cohort and 7 in the Ron Paul one. Instead of letting people vote then, I was told you instead called supporters from your side one by one until you had enough people on the Romney side on the phone to take all the delegate slots. …"
Did it really happen? "Absolutely not," Ruedrich said in an interview Wednesday night. "It just isn't true, absolutely not true. We did not vote via teleconference even though it would have been fully appropriate."
Ruedrich says that he and another party worker left his district's polling place "to process state data from the preference poll. When we issued an all-data-in report, we returned to the convention because it was still in process. We participated in the vote in person."
Ruedrich went on to refute the poll tax allegations, the disenfranchisement, the other things Paul supporters were whispering. He said complaints were common for a constituency that failed to achieve its objective. But he also said the Paul campaign's accusations were something more than just sour grapes.
"This is a little bit more severe," he said.
While the he-said, she-said continues, one thing is certain: the Alaska Republican Party's rules are labyrinthine. Who knew that people could vote via teleconference in a district convention? Doesn't that seem like a recipe for accusations of preference or vote-weighting?
"It's fully appropriate," Ruedrich said.
The Paul campaign doesn't think so and Cutler said he and other up-and-coming young Republicans weren't pleased with the way Ruedrich was managing the state's GOP.
"Ruedrich and others are bending their own rules for Romney. It's not fair. There's a history of game playing in Alaska's Republican Party. People shouldn't be disenfranchised. They shouldn't have to pay to play. … Ruedrich should probably go," Cutler said.
Alaska's Republican presidential poll is conducted solely by party bosses like Ruedrich and isn't overseen by the state's Division of Elections. Cutler isn't the first conservative to call for Ruedrich's head.
But much mightier politicians (including Sarah Palin) have taken him on, only to be frustrated again and again.
Editor's Note: This article was updated March 8 to clarify that Evan Cutler reported the allegations of Ron Paul for Alaska supporters and organizers.
Contact Eric Christopher Adams at eric(at)alaskadispatch.com
Santorum campaign speaks from the grave: Romney “frightens me”
by Jennifer Jacobs
A week after he quit the presidential race, fundraising mailers from Rick Santorum arrived in Iowa mailboxes Monday with a strongly-worded warning.
“It truly frightens me to think what’ll happen if Mitt Romney is the nominee,” says the letter signed by Santorum and paid for by his campaign.
The undated letter says there’s still time for conservatives to make sure the GOP doesn’t nominate “a Massachusetts Moderate” and that Republicans would be “crippled” if Romney were to become the nominee.
The blunt message quickly had Republicans here speculating: Did Santorum order up the mailer right before he suspended his campaign on April 10, so its timing was just a simple and understandable mistake? Or, did Santorum, who is still raising money and possibly not quite ready to come to grips with his loss, send this wording out deliberately?
The mailers were paid for and sent before Santorum stepped out of the race, Santorum campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart said tonight.
Read the letter
Earlier in the day, conservative radio talk show host Steve Deace said he thought there were four possible explanations.
“One, this is simple campaign ineptitude. Two, there is conflict between Santorum’s personal convictions and those within his campaign who would like their careers extended by Romney come the general election,” Deace said.
Deace noted that a top Santorum adviser last week insisted he would campaign with Romney, and that major financial backer Foster Friess has already shifted his support to Romney.
But last night, Santorum declined to endorse Romney during a conference call with supporters meant to offer thanks and to ask for money.
“Three, this is simply an attempt to leverage more out of Romney by reminding him his base likes him less than they liked McCain, and four, all of the above,” said Deace, whose show airs on KTIA 99.3 FM in Boone, WHO 1040 AM in Des Moines, KMA 960 AM in Shenandoah, and stations in several other states.
Steve Grubbs, a GOP strategist from Davenport who was Iowa campaign chairman for presidential candidate Herman Cain, said: “I’m sure the Santorum campaign is regretting that mail piece at this point, because as much as they may not have wanted to lose to Romney, I’m sure they don’t want to be seen as hurting the chances for the GOP this fall.”
Grubbs said national direct mail is tricky for campaigns because it can take half a month to be delivered.
“Well after Herman Cain dropped out, we had mail landing telling people we were on the verge of winning the nomination,” Grubbs said.
He added that late mailers are a double mistake for campaigns because they send a negative message after the time for that has come and gone – and they cost thousands of dollars and return almost nothing in contributions.
Santorum expressed fondness for Iowa in his speech withdrawing from the race last week, saying his victory in the Iowa caucuses gave an improbable candidate a big boost. Romney nearly tied him in the caucuses, finishing within a historically close margin of 34 votes.
In the fundraising letter that arrived in Iowa, Santorum said Republicans would be “crippled” if Romney were the one chosen to take on President Barack Obama.
“My friend, Republicans and conservatives will be crippled by a nominee who presents zero contrast with Barack Obama on the major issues of this election,” Santorum wrote. “Any attempt by Mitt Romney to attack President Obama’s positions on health-care, energy policy, social issues, or the economy will be easily neutralized.”
Romney is widely considered the GOP nominee at this point, although that will officially be decided at the Republican national convention in Tampa in late August.
Ron Paul Campaign Condemns Alaska GOP Illegal Exclusion of All non-Romney Delegates to State Convention
“Saying ‘Your money’s no good here’ is an affront to the many Ron Paul and other prolife supporters who labor to support the candidate of their choice and build the Republican Party.” – John Tate
LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign condemned today the efforts of the Alaska Republican Party and its chairman Randy Reudrich to disenfranchise Paul and other non-Romney delegates to the party’s upcoming state convention. In doing so, the Paul campaign also announced that it will utilize all legal tools at its disposal to prevent or reverse the state party’s illegal efforts to omit non-Romney delegates to the convention.The state party-initiated conflict in this regard is especially worrisome and politically sensitive as the Paul campaign believes it won a significant portion of delegates at the Alaska State House district conventions already held. The Paul camp anticipates that its delegate tally at the upcoming state convention will increase as supporters of former candidate Rick Santorum – including fellow prolife supporters – defect to the Paul camp or become non-Romney delegates to the Republican National Convention to be held late August in Tampa, Florida. In light of this, the issue has national party and political implications because it affects the conversation that will occur in Tampa over whether constitutionally-limited government and an authentic commitment to the sanctity of life will prevail over the status quo.
The Alaska Republican Party state convention is set to be held from April 26th-28th, and all previous communications to would-be delegates have stated that a delegate fee of $250 would be accepted up until the convention registration deadline, which is 2:00 p.m. Alaska Time on April 26th. However, on Monday the 16thstate party chairman Randy Reudrich called a state committee meeting at which he stated that delegate fees would be accepted no later than 48 hours from the time of the meeting, which would be Wednesday, April 18th. However, on Tuesday the state party said that delegate fees had to be paid by 6:00 p.m that evening. As individual delegates and campaigns scrambled to pay delegate fees, the state party erected bizarre and allegedly extra-legal obstacles in front of Paul, prolife, and other non-Romney delegates, and communications between self-identifying non-Romney delegates and state party personnel degraded.
One example of the state party trying to frustrate Paul delegates was in exactly when and how delegates could remit their $250 fee. Acceptable methods of payment ranged from online credit card payment on the state party website – although the link to such had been inexplicably removed – to personal checks that were later said to be unacceptable, to money orders that in at least one case were termed unacceptable and returned. The state party, the Ron Paul campaign argues, capriciously moved its payment deadline and modified its acceptable ways of paying the $250 delegate fee expressly to frustrate Paul delegates and in general any delegates outside the tight circle of party-sanctioned non-Romney delegates.
The Alaska GOP also wrongly stated that individual Paul, prolife, or non-Romney supporters were prohibited from sponsoring the $250 delegate fees for surrogate delegates, disbursements used to cover airfare, accommodations, and the like in as large a state as Alaska. In the example, the party told a grassroots Ron Paul supporter that he could not sponsor four surrogate delegates for an amount totaling $1,000 without a waiver yet the party subsequently refused to make the waiver form available for examination or use ostensibly to burn the clock.
The Ron Paul campaign, in its letter, informed the state party organization and its chair that prohibiting sponsorship of delegates has no legal or factual basis.
“Saying ‘Your money’s no good here’ is an affront to the many Ron Paul and other prolife supporters who labor to support the candidate of their choice and build the Republican Party,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Manager John Tate.
“Moving the goal post, setting up hoops for delegates to jump through, establishing arbitrary deadlines, and sending conflicting messages to frustrate Paul supporters is wrong and will fail. Instead, Ron Paul supporters and other prolife supporters will be further energized, and this invented conflict will have the added benefit of shaming the Alaska Republican Party establishment, which obviously is in the tank for Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney,” added Mr. Tate.
To read the Paul campaign letter to Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Reudrich outlining the campaign’s legal stance on the matter, please click here.
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