On April 16, the Constitution Party nominated Darrell Castle for President. Thanks to Charles Deemer for this information. The vice-presidential nominee is Scott Bradley. In 2010, Bradley was the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate from Utah, and he polled 5.67%, the second-best showing ever for the Constitution Party for U.S. Senate in a race with both major parties also running.
Interesting that 12 of the Tennessee delegate votes were cast for outsider Tom Hoefling (America’s Party) compared to only 9 for their native son, Darrell Castle. If someone knows how to create the vote distribution map graphic as done for the past two nominations, please let me know and I’ll forward the state delegation voting breakdown pdf sheet. The vote results of the eight candidates can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Party_National_Convention
They ought to nominate someone from the AIP, if that’s possible, in order to secure a California ballot line.
Outside of Utah, California is the state with the largest actual Mormon population. There are 750,000+ Mormons in the state and they do not like Donald Trump.
For Vice-President, that is.
Austin Cassidy,
The American Independent Party of these United States convention will follow the convention of the Democratic Party, viz., post July 28, 2016. The state party (American Independent Party of California) in California will have a convention in Sacramento County, CA either August 13, 2016 or a week earlier.
I note that Dr. Don Grundmann is from the AIP. He left the AIP circa April, 2015, and became an elector
in the Constitution Party. Dr. Don Grundmann left the State Central Committee of AIP following September
2, 2008.
Dr. Don Grundmann was a member of the State Central Committee of AIP, by at least 2002. By party records Dr. Don Grundmann served on the State Central Committee of the AIP between 2002 through September 2, 2008.
Mr. Charles M. Deemer, is the Chairman of a cabal calling itself, the “Independent Party”. He purports
to be the elected State Chairman of the Independent Party at the same time he purports to be the Treasure and National Committeeman of the “Constitution Party of California”. Gary Odom’s mother who
at the time of formation of the “Independent Party” was a registered elector of the “American Independent Party”. She also claims to be the Secretary – Treasure of the “Independent Party”.
We will see what happens next at a court hearing on May 2, 2016. That will take place in Sacramento, CA.
The big question is why the Constitution Party is play this game in the Federal Court in Sacramento.
William “Bill” Lussenheide of Sun City, CA is suing with the “Independent Party” over that name.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Chairman, American Independent Party of California.
It’s a Castle/Bradley 2016 ticket.
Is the CP ticket DOA for the AIP?
CP NatCom meeting moved up and will begin at 2:30pm.
I was under the impression Castle was not a candidate! oh well !
I was one who voted for Tom Hoefling. I will not get into the reason(s) some of us supported Tom but it was a difficult choice and the result of having done so has been beneficial to the Party in general as well as Darrell Castle’s candidacy in particular. Darrell Castle is our candidate and we support him 100%.
“I was under the impression Castle was not a candidate! oh well !”
He had dropped out, was drafted back in when all the potential “name” candidates fell through.
Out of 8 candidates,
Dr. Cummings was asked by CP leaders to run for POTUS only two weeks ago, by his own words.
Tom Hoefling was courted by certain party leaders in the past month even though he spent the last 8 years trying to build a rival to the CP, and only joined the Iowa CP two weeks ago by his own admission.
Mr. Friedbaum was running a strange campaign saying that if he were nominated, he would give his votes to Castle or another potential big name candidate. In other words, act as a place holder.
Grundmann has alternately claimed to belong to three parties simultaneously, at least until he showed up to the convention. The credentialing of CA was suspect to begin with due to multiple party memberships of both delegates from there. How and when were they elected?
Diamond also only recently made his campaign known.
On the other hand, in stark contrast, Scott Copeland has been running for over a year.
I have been running nearly a year.
Both of us have had active campaigns with multiple interviews, debates and appearances.
I believe that shills, like Dr. Cummings were encouraged to enter the race to fragment any opposition to the insiders choice.
I believe they manipulated the convention in every way they could to prevent a brokered convention. They succeeded.
They have firmly entrenched virtually the same leadership which has presided over the precipitous decline of the CP.
This coupled with the voting irregularities for National Chairman and Western Region Chair & Co-Chair lead me to realize the closed club that calls itself the CP.
They have broken trust with me, and our membership.
Time to re-evaluate.
I won’t even delve into the Joe Miller affair. He was contacted by CP leadership only a couple of weeks ago to try to get him into the race. That blew up in their face.
Phonies won’t get another calorie or penny from me.
And this devious attempt to capture the independent voters of California will certainly fail. This kind of thinking epitomizes the CP leadership. They seem to enjoy subterfuge and deception. I admit, they do a fair job of whitewashing the sepulchers, but the contents remain the same dead things.
One would have to be a necrophiliac to stay joined to the national CP.
I CHOOSE LIFE!
Ouch!
Looks like you have seen the light and the true nature of the CP leadership now, J.R.
That’s alright; it took me awhile too to realize just how rotten and corrupt the individuals are that leading the CP.
It’s ok if you still want to remain constitutionalist; my advice to you would be to maybe hook up with the National IAP, or the American Party; both of these national parties might not be as big as the CP, yet they do have ballot access in a few states and their leadership is not corrupt.
Yep, time to look elsewhere.
If you want to look for other constitutionalist parties out there to get on board with, here are a few national ones-
http://www.independentamericanparty.org/
&
http://www.americanpartyofus.com/
Does any one know if Mr. Charles M. Deemer, who claims he is the [California] State Chairman of a cabal
calling itself the “Independent Party”, showed up at Salt Lake City, and got seated as a delegate from
California to the Constitution Party Convention?
I am informed that Dr. Don Grundemann, who was a registered elector in the American Independent Party until April, 2015, received 6 votes for POTUS at the convention. What states did the five votes for
Dr. Don Grundmann come from?
AIP party records show that by 2002, Dr. Don Grundmann got on the State Central Committee in 2002 and
stayed on that central committee through the date September 2, 2008. Then he was off the AIP state
central committee.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Chairman, American Independent Party of California.
J. R. Myers
I count more parties than just three for Don Grundmann. What parties did he claim at the convention
did Dr. Don Grundmann claim he belong to? Back in 2007 Mrs. Rayna Mike King who was an officer of the
American Independent Party (and the wife of a former State Chairman, viz., Jim King) was removed by
a vote of the AIP State Central for being registered to vote in two political parties and received an
award for being Republican Business Woman of the Year. Even Dr. Don Grundmann voted to remove Rayna
Mike King as an officer and member of the AIP Central Committee, over the objections of Mr. Gary Odom.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Chairman, American Independent Party of California
ies at the same time.
My laconic observations:
(1) The Constitution Party’s nomination process and procedures are filthy…soap is useless on it.
(2) They are every bit as corrupt as what they criticize (e.g. Republicans in Colorado, Priebus)
(3) Lofty words about “principle” were omnipresent in the Constitution Party speeches.
(4) Sadly, James 1:23 comes to mind concerning hypocrisy.
(5) As does Job 27:8
In other news, the Idaho delegation walked out…on principle…a commodity in great want and gotten at a very dear price in Salt Lake. CP-Idaho nevertheless paid that cost, in full.
FWW, CP-Idaho
Erratum:
For textural clarity, Job 27:8 (King James Version)
JR Myers: Oh boo hoo. Everyone is corrupt. It’s everybody’s fault the voters rejected me; everybody except for myself of course. Now I’ll take my ball and go back to my ice box where I exert exactly zero influence.
These men cannot exert any influence in a political party that is run by people whom are entrenched with the power and perpetual authority that make sure no one else can be allowed influence in such, and make sure of it. Therefore to remain in such a party is pointless and futile.
Sometimes the better option is to strike out on your own and be your own master, or join another political party that will allow you to have influence and an equal say in it’s ranks.
Saw that article on the Idaho’s CP website, which I published on ATPR-
https://amthirdpartyreport.com/2016/04/17/idaho-constitution-party-the-trudge-to-salt-lake/
Are you going to do a follow-up, Floyd?
I did not complain about the Idaho race. Even though I came in second. It was fair and open. Scott Copeland won it fair and square. He probably should have won in Salt Lake City too. Yet, Salt Lake City was something else entirely. It was political theater at it’s finest. It was not a level playing field.
Chairman Seidenberg,
Yes, Mr. Deemer was seated as a delegate. I actually sat next to Mr. Deemer, as AK, AZ and CA shared one table.
J.R.
You and Floyd and both your state parties should team up on this serious matter.
J. R. Myers,
Thank you for confirming that you sat next to Charles M. Deemer as a delegate to the Constitution Party
Convention. Therefore, I take it the rules to be a voting delegate to this convention did not include
being registered in the political body Constitution Party of California from the state of affiliation?
Remember that Charles Deemer serves as State Chairman in California of the cabal calling itself the
“Independent Party”. I understand he is not registered in the Constitution Party, but NPP, my guess
he did that so he can vote in the AIP primary.
No you know a reason that the voting in Salt Lake City was unfair. How many of the Delegates seated
are in parties other than the CP.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg
@ Quirk
“Are you going to do a follow-up, Floyd?”
Probably, but I had “my own life” matters to deal with today.
Understood. I’d also be happy to publish it on ATPR and have IPR publish it too.
Scott Bradley 2010 effort might have had a Democrat and a republican however it was the only third party, no libertarian or green party.two parties nationally when in the race more often then not get more votes then the CP. The Libertarian and green party appear far more organized and should have a much more valid ticket going into November. The CP seems completely dismantled and this extremely small (poorly attended) convention seems to be the end of this party. This canned event thinly vailed as a open delegate convention vote will chase away what’s left of the competent faithful, (not one of the dozen or so party controllers). The CP only had 122,000 votes four years ago, they might not reach 80,000 nationally this time. I have supported third party races at many different levels, after this arrogant CP comedy convention I think I will have one less to consider.
I do not know what you people are talking about. I was a delegate to this convention and can speak as a witness. I met J.R. Myers for the first time in Salt Lake City just as did many of the delegates at the convention. He seemed honorable enough and I also thought he was thoughtful and intelligent. I also met some of the people from the Idaho delegation and other states for the first time. I thought it was great to be with so many kindred spirits. If anyone thought the convention was staged or put on they just weren’t behind the scenes volunteering. I was, and we were all far too busy to stage or orchestrate anything and that is the truth. I was so busy I did not know Idaho walked out. I also don’t know how many that was, I thought I met 3 people but it could have been one or ten I was too busy to know.I feel bad that anyone felt strongly enough to leave but passionate people do passionate things.The aim of the convention organizers and the party leadership has always been to uphold the cause of liberty be welcoming and have integrity at all times.
I don’t know what happened across the country but, this is what happened in my neck of the woods; for more than a year on a state level, we have been meeting presidential hopefuls whenever we could figure out who they were and they wanted to talk to us. We did all we could to help them be introduced to Utah people. I along with the Utah State party officers, went to some trouble to let J.R. Myers and any other potential candidate we could get hold of have a free forum by skype or in person, at our State convention a week earlier. At Convention, J.R. and every other Candidate had to follow the same rules to be a nominee at convention and had equal time to speak to the delegation.I thought J.R and many others did themselves pretty proud. That being said, Darrell has openly and for a long time done much for the party and has built a very honorable name in the party. A group of delegates, independently,did a great job of drafting him back into the race after he was given a clean bill of health from his Dr.s. Other delegates openly campaigned for Scott Copeland and all the other hopefuls including J.R.. I myself, personally, as a delegate actually backed Scott Copeland but I totally understand why the body would eventually give the nod to Darrell.
I have been very active in the party since 2004 and know the current leadership much better than alot of people. I have traveled with them, worked along side them, and had many opportunities to see if they have integrity. I will not let the people on this forum or anywhere I can see, say they are corrupt without saying that it is unequivocally not true. All the above whining just makes all of you sound like poor losers. Which is so sad, especially for J.R. because the last words about him Frank Fluckiger said, that I heard were that, “he hoped J.R. would win co-chair of the western region because he thought it was so important to help keep Alaska and you(J.R.) had done a great job up there.” He didn’t know I heard him, but because I respect him I changed my vote. He doesn’t even know this happened unless he reads this post.This is primarily why he says little and lets other people chair the convention so that he will not swing the voting. Hard work and honesty are what gets the vote of Constitution Party Delegates. Many of us honestly wished J.R. well and want him to know that as you work for something as good as this party you will gather a following that will back you in another candidacy, but only if you prove your true loyalty to principles that we all should share and give us a chance to see your integrity. Ben Franklin said,”Treat everyone as a friend until they give true cause to believe that they are not.” Now that convention is over I am waiting to see people’s true spots. Whenever we have something worth fighting for there will always be those who would like to see it die. But truth will win the day. People of honest integrity will hold the standard and continue to invite participation and welcome all to join them in the cause of liberty. Passions will reign at times and storms will come but the standard will continue to stand when it is built on true principles. As Frank has said it is the principles not the people who make the party strong. As a person with a strong parliamentary background I know that it must be this way in any organization if it has a chance to function beyond its original leaders. Now, if anyone wonders if this party has principles all they have to do is either dig in and get really involved or stand back and watch as it moves right past you. We are growing again now thanks to sound management and ballot access efforts. We will gain some momentum now that we can rally around a strong presidential ticket. We will continue to grow as people begin to understand the remarkable truth of the founding documents and the reality that nothing else is going to work. If people don’t share my belief it is ok and I wish them well in their future endeavors.
The next event is Federal Court on May 2, 2016 in Sacramento.
Mark Seidenberg
Cody Quirk
Do you want a meet up after the May 2, 2016 court hearing in Sacramento?
Markham Robinson will all be present. He can not go to Carson City. You would have to go to Sacramento.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg.
Marilee,
I am sure the average delegate was oblivious to the behind the scenes actions leading up to the Castle Coronation. It was obvious when I walked into the Hilton. Darrell’s signs and buttons were strategically placed in the premier location. Although everyone paid the same table fee of $80. Don’t you find it to be a conflict of interest that his wife, Joan, was the conference organizer? Why was the conference held at the pro-Planned Parenthood Hilton? Who benefitted from all the conference Hilton award points? Why was the voting for Western Region Chair & Co-Chaur irregular? Why am I attacked for raising thirst issues? These are just basic questions that need answers.
These issues
@ Marilee
RE: Idaho
“I feel bad that anyone felt strongly enough to leave but passionate people do passionate things.”
With respects, it was not about “feelings”. It was not about “passion”. It was about process. It was about procedure. It was about principle. It was about keeping one’s word.
Idaho did not go to Salt Lake to represent “feelings”. We were bound to the expressed WILL or our Constitution Party registered voters…actual flesh and blood people who went to the primary polls with every expectation that the process and the procedures who be equitable and ethical. But it wasn’t.
We dare to suggest that it is probably that, just in the March 2016 Idaho Primary, we turned out more actual real flesh and blood voters to cast a provable preference ballot than any other state. Each affiliate must, by logical extension, hold a verifiable quorum upon their respective decision. We further submit that no other state can verify that the have actually asked their registered voter base anything.
The process was and it remains exclusionary, one of pretense. To our knowledge, the only other state delegation which held anything even remotely resembling a legitimate decision process (one whereby the registered voter base is included) was the CP-Utah delegation. They employ a direct caucus at the county level. We are uncertain as to how they account for their county numbers, but at least a demonstrable process of inclusion did occur in Utah. Their delegation was present with the will of their statewide registered base. A key word that…statewide.
We suggest that elsewhere, this was more a process of “bosses”. And we say that you cannot possibly pretend to speak for the registered statewide rank and file if you do not ask them directly. At least give them that much respect and honor. We are absolutely positive that in Idaho we can provide such proof. We obtained preference ballots in 39 out of 44 counties in Idaho.
Unless and until the establishment can produce evidence of actual ballots laying with the people, the national nomination procedure shall remain anything but honorable. And in consequence, the Constitution Party shall remain a back-room back-water. It has missed the ferry, and it now wants to blame the river.
The People of this nation are crying a river out over this kind of political finagling and manipulation. they want it to stop. And it deeply saddens me that the Constitution Party continues to embrace it, and excuses it with a flood of hypocritical verbiage. This is a party by the few; it is one of privilege, but it is not one of principle despite the claims.
The questions that ought to be asked are:
(1) What other state affiliates within the Constitution Party ACTUALLY have written standing rules and procedures governing their national delegates before a national convention?
(2) And, were these state affiliate rules produced in advance of seating that delegation at convention?
(3) Can the state delegations (who pretend to cast preference nomination ballots emanating from the base, not the executive) FACTUALLY demonstrate under a parliamentary procedure called “division” that the held a provable statewide preference?
(4) Or, was the process subverted and the rules ignored?
The Constitution Party is upside down. CP-Idaho’s Chairman said that at Albuquerque. All such top-down organizations are inherently unstable.
Regardless, by way of example of corruptions of process, we know for an absolute fact that the National Communications officers refused (until they were dragged out into the public eye called the internet by the Idaho affiliate this past summer) to so much as report upon the existence of other CP presidential candidates were campaigning and competing for the nomination. THAT is clearly biased and corrupt; it was a deliberate redaction and censoring of news, which denied access to the registered base and (had it continued) would have excluded any choice. That is a Soviet-style of party.
It was dishonorable, and furthermore it was insulting to the registered base. Why? Because it presumed that the rank and file was somehow incompetent, that it could not be trusted with knowledge of another campaign. Instead of free and competitive markets (in political ideas and policies) what was demonstrated was a Cold War Pravda publication.
Those same officers were principals in the “Draft the Foregone Conclusion Candidate”. Yet, they did not recuse themselves, as they should have if “principle” were considered. Indeed, as stated (in email evidence, if it need be reproduced), those national party positions were used to forward the “Draft Committee’s” foregone choice. By extension, they sought to void any other opinion. And therefore improprieties (at the least) were indeed committed. That is not fair process; it is an abuse; and, it is only ONE minor example. There are many others.
What happened at Salt Lake (despite their numerous disavowals) was the culmination of a contaminated procedure orchestrated by the clique establishment. It was predetermined; set up; indeed it was admitted to as early as 2013.
All Idaho ever asked (in fact we pleaded repeatedly for a year) that the “Foregone Conclusion” at least stand and compete in the Idaho Primary. The system was gamed…said individual “would” declare we were assured several times, and then wouldn’t declare under any circumstances, was in, was out, hokey pokey…to the point that the gentleman’s word no longer held meaning.
Meanwhile, time and media bandwidth for the Constitution Party as a player might as well be dead under such a “model”. A year was wasted. At least by CP-Idaho continuing to forge ahead throughout 2015 and 2016, we did generate public press versus the silence of the grave that has been the historical modus operandi of the national party throughout this early election year time frame.
However, it is blatantly obvious that political competition was never considered by the “Foregone Conclusion”. Actually, it was deliberately avoided…and it could be avoided, given the assurances that an ace up the sleeve can yield on occasion. Entitlement…that supplanted competition.
Yet that is the precise reason (this presumption of political entitlement) that has nauseated the American Public…from the Kennedy’s to the Rockefeller’s. From the Bush’s to the Clinton’s. To Romney, McCain and Dole. THAT is exactly what happened in Salt Lake…and nothing more.
CP-Idaho does not stand upon personalities. We stand upon principles…and we stand upon process. If you do not have those in your nomination process, you cannot lay claim to a republican or parliamentary form of political governance…e.g. one of laws, not men. Salt Lake ignored the first, and sought the later.
Lastly, it should be noted that CP-Idaho could do nothing more at Salt Lake, given the results of the delegate ballots (versus our state’s direct and verifiable preference ballots). CP-Idaho’s charge was laid out in our rules and procedures.
These, incidentally, rest with the national party; and they have been so since their final amendment on 24 September 2015…once we finally squeezed out of the national executive what the exact balloting procedure is at national convention. Every single state delegation there should have been in possession of their own…and they should have been entered into the records. If you do not have them, to be blunt, you do not have a parliamentary delegation.
We observe too that CP-Idaho’s actions attest for themselves…given the lady admits she was “unaware” of Idaho’s withdrawal.
It was not our intent to “make a show” out of it. We did not seek to draw attention to the fact. That was not our purpose. We simply withdrew…because we could do no more. As to the national party, we wish it well. But the trail we have ridden over together for some distance has definitely parted. Gentlemen may cry: “Principles! Principles!” But as for us, our destination shall not ever be institutionalized hypocrisy. That thumb of the scale.
Explained well Floyd W.: How many states will the CP be actually on the ballot? What proof is demonstrable that previous writer can produce that backs the idea the CP is growing over the last eight/ four years? Number of donors, state ballot access, certainly not convention attendance. Not sure how they can disregard even one state and certainly not one that was on the state wide ballot for a primary, that was was impressive for any third party. How many states are affiliate members that have ballot access that could simply not put the CP team on their state ballot, AIP/USTP ect.? The CP is a skeleton of its 2008 self, that seems to think it would continue to grow no matter how they treated it’s core members. They might do well to realize most members are free thinkers that arrived hear from other parties that took them for sheep to worship at the almighty national party alter. My party loyalty will always go to the leadership that gains my willfull vote/donations not to ordained leadership teams.
Mr. Whitley, it is not at all irregular that third parties not have state public or otherwise primaries. In fact, having them is by far the exception. This is simply the nature of things given current ballot access laws, etc. Given this fact, I’m not sure what your gripe is. Are you suggesting that all states should have primaries? That’s just not realistic. States in convention determining who their delegates to national are going to be, and often in a non-competitive way for lack of numbers, is par for the course in third parties.
I like Mr. Myers, but I think it is over interpreting things to believe that any attempt to recruit new candidates was an effort to dilute opposition to Castle. Castle was long believed to be the likely nominee until he dropped out for health reasons. I think that Copeland did as well as he did primarily on the strength of his strong speech. Without that strong speech, it is likely Castle would have won an even larger percentage on the first vote.
There were no back room deals at the convention – if all the candidates except JR were to withdraw, Castle would have won by a larger margin.
As usual, there are malcontents (Idaho is in fine tradition) – every small third party has them. I go back to there old AIP with Bill Shearer (who must be rolling in his grave over what happened with his AIP) … The breakaway American Party devolved into religious zealots and tin foil hats. Not sure what the future of the CP will bring.
JR – you’re edging toward conspiracy land. I told you Darrell was running multiple times, and I told you he was going to win – multiple times. I urged you to ruin for Senate where you would have impact and grow the party. The official draft booth was in line with Darrell’s position that he had to be nominated by draft – I don’t know how that strategy helped the party, but he’s the nominee. Period.
“the AIP” not “there” –
Floyd, now you know how I felt when the national leadership threw me and others with the CCTUC under the bus back in 2013…
I wonder how & when the CP communicated to others that Darrell was going to come back and seek the CP nomination before the CP convention when in fact he had previously withdrawn for health reasons…
Or maybe because the CP was previously looking for a big-name individual to recruit previously and failed to do so?
@ Gemma
“As usual, there are malcontents (Idaho is in fine tradition)”.
Too rich, that. This “malcontent” you insult is a state party that turned out 21.2% of its registered base to a primary! We have grown CP-Idaho ~nine times in number…from 256 in 2012 to 2,295 this month. Tell me, “Guru,” has the national party (absent Idaho) grown at that rate yet?
The “malcontents” you insult, mister, are in fact 485 Idaho citizens who turned out to the polls–actual real flesh and blood citizens, not some fabrications ginned up by a horseless and spur-less PR middleman (such as yourself) to inflate your self advertised “worth”.
Basically, your post admits to the executive clique of elitists about which I spoke…” I told you he was going to win – multiple times”…when was this. Supposedly he was not running as late as a week prior, and at the the time of the Joe Miller approach. that indicates clearly enough that there was an insider “cabal”…or clique. You unwittingly confirm it.
In contrast, you seem to believe that you can insult actual Constitution Party registered voters. So, you’re so flush with surplus Constitution Party voters that you can afford to disfranchise an entire state’s registered voters, are ye?
Malcontents? As if…Look. The national Constitution Party’s in the red. It’s registered voter membership roles cannot even be located…unless Mr. Winger posts them in a summary table in Ballot Access News for you. You don’t have a clue. As for being in the red, the CP is under a pending FEC RFAI. (Actually, it has been for some time now.) That alone demonstrates your competent “expertise,” sir. And by that, I do mean you, and you personally.
You, sir, were touted back in…what?…late 2012 early 2013?…as being the “guru” we needed. You were again touted (perhaps confidence was getting shaky) from the podium of the National Convention itself just this past weekend at Salt Lake…a “shrewd strategist” I believe was said of you. “Opportunist,” says I. Your political “plan” was to go to a party insider in a brokered nomination instead of to the registered base? That was your astute plan? The Republicans are burning their registrations in Colorado, sir!…and for that exact same reason! Are you that clueless?
You “strategized” this party into a negative $2,500 hole…insult state affiliates and expect what? There is a FEC RFAI on the Constitution Party for what amounts to an undisclosed loan. The CP has already imposed a civil penalty fine upon the CP for breaking federal elections code back in January 2015. And that, despite what “you all” said in the executive, that was covered up…for whatever excuses “you” put forward in Albuquerque.
Worse, it is now likely that “you” will face yet another civil penalty in a matter of days…once the Constitution Party finally accurately reports its Form 3X to the FEC. So, what’s your “shrewd” pitch line, mister? “Please donate so we can pay off our federal civil penalty fines?” Yeah, that ought to work.
Malcontents? For questioning the sterling “shrewdness” of such professional expertise? Hardly.
Idaho turned out more citizens in its State PRIMARY than this party had within its so-called National Convention. And I would dare think that very probably in terms of actual flesh and blood ballots…CP-Idaho alone probably had more citizens casting verifiable ballots than did the entire party’s respective states had in total verifiable citizens’ ballots that were supposedly represented in the national convention. Many state affiliates are nothing more than phantom constructions. They are empty of people. And obviously empty of principles, some of them.
Apparently, you confuse that grownup word (principles) with “pretense”…which bottom line is what you are all about…semblance is not substance. But do go on and buy yer’sef a cowboy hat. I hear it impresses some people, cows or no.
Erratum:
“The FEC has already imposed a civil penalty fine upon the CP”
Mr. Whitely, who won the Idaho CP primary? Is that who Idaho’s delegation backed? If so, what are you asking? That every state affiliate vote for the same candidate Idaho did?
I think the issue that really needs to be addressed is Mr. Castle’s failure (refusal?) to campaign and the lost opportunity for the party by him not doing so. Here are the facts as I understand them:
1) In 2012, Darrell Castle waited until the day before (day of?) the Nashville convention to announce as a candidate. He came in second to Virgil Goode who had joined and become active with the party the year before.
2) At the CP spring 2015 meeting in Pittsburgh, after Scott Copeland announced and gave his speech, Mr. Castle was asked if he planned to run and his response was something along the lines of him not yet deciding.
3) After that meeting (June ’15?), Chairman Frank Fluckiger called me to inform me of the presidential candidate vetting committee and that Darrell had been traveling around speaking with western state affiliates (particularly Utah), discussing the possibility of his campaign. Recall that in ’08, Scott Bradley finished second in the VP convention vote to Darrell.
4) In the summer, one (1) presidential candidate vetting conference call was held with CP Vice Chair Randy Stufflebeam and other national committee members. By this time, many unknown people had expressed their intention to seek the party’s nomination as evidenced by FEC filings, facebook pages, emails, websites, videos, guest speakers, etc. Many good plans for candidate vetting questionnaires, etc were made on this single conference, but no follow-up calls were held.
5) By the fall, I made it known to CP National Committee members via email that I would not support any candidate who had not announced by at least Christmas Day.
6) On or about December 20, Mr. Castle called me on my home land line to inform me of his health problems, that he was recovering/recovered, and expected to announce his formal campaign early in the new year. He asked me for his support at that time.
7) January came and instead of a campaign announcement from Darrell, he announced that he would not be running.
8) Around late February, one of my sources informed me that Darrell was in fact going to enter the race at the last minute and that he had been told that the CP ticket was going to be Castle/Bradley, and that it was A DONE DEAL.
9) A week before the Salt Lake City convention, the “Draft Darrell Castle” facebook page went active again.
10) April 15/16 – As predicted, it happened.
Considering all the attention being paid to the wretched GOP and Democrat candidates, just imagine how much attention could have been given the CP if Mr. Castle and Mr. Bradley had indicated their intentions to run nine months ago. Regarding Darrell’s health, consider that most of the events that Scott Copeland and JR Myers participated in were via conference call/Skype. There were only a few scheduled that required travel. Also note that during this time, Mr. Castle had no problems keeping up with his regular Castle Report podcasts.
Just letting everyone know that I cannot, in good conscience, help Castle/Bradley with ballot access in West Virginia. I did not leave the Constitution Party, the CP left me.
No, Mr. Phillips. I am not asking that.
I am asking for a verifiable process, for legitimacy. I am asking the clique “bosses” to demonstrate that they did in fact directly ask for the opinions of their entire state affiliate’s registered voters…not just some delegates hand chosen by the bosses in a circle…”reasoning”. Demonstrable proof–show me–that the rank and file CP voter was included. Where are the ballots? Show me the state standing rules governing their delegations.
That was not done, of course. The convention’s outcome was already predetermined BECAUSE of the corruption (in just one example) of the national communications and their crude “steering” by report blackout. It took a crowbar to force them to report anything other than the Foregone Conclusion last summer.
The way I see it, the party could have at least been honest. They could have come out admitted that the rank and file voter doesn’t matter to them. Last year, some of them eventually admitted that they considered “newcomers” to be some sort of lower caste, verging on untouchables. Regardless, had they admitted that the nomination process was bogus, that would have saved everybody who attended SLC some considerable money. Why pretend?
The gentleman to whom I replied above admitted that a Forgone Conclusion was indeed running, even though said individual’s words claimed otherwise multiple times. That is deception..it wasted a year’s worth of public recognition, it bred bitterness at the reality of filthy practices, and encouraged questions on honesty and keeping one’s word. Tacticallym it basically shot the Foregone Conclusion’s campaign in the foot.
Mr. Copeland won the Idaho primary. And yes, based on our standing rules published in September last year, our delegates are bound to that winner in the event that some eventual convention nominee ignored CP-Idaho’s voters or was a brokered nominee from some other party using the CP as a matter of egotistical convenience. We learned of the Bradley appointment (by the way) several weeks in front of the convention. Again the nomination process was not ethical. It was back room…the opposite of what we should be. It was…more of the same sheep this party complains about.
Mr. Copeland took 51.5% of the 485 Idaho ballots; he has our bound support. Whereas the Foregone Conclusion refused to compete in Idaho. The national party knew the rules. The national party forfeited their nominee’s consideration on the Idaho ballot line. CP-Oregon did the same thing previously. So it’s nothing new. Heck of a way to build a party, though.
Having just spent over $11,000 to get South Dakota back (after South Dakota’s affiliate lost their own ballot access a couple years ago). That’s three potential electoral votes.But, by the utter hubris and indifference, the national CP has lost Idaho with four electoral votes in 2016. To our math that’s a net loss of one electoral vote…and a net cost of $11,000.
We intend to stand upon principle and upon a clean and honest ballot. We will DO so in Idaho…even if the national party will not. We’re done talking about it in the abstract. Sometimes there are consequences. And this is one of those times.
Ah, Mr. Becker,
Thank you sir for keeping me more or less oriented with your factual outline.
Heads up; if your guy’s state parties are going to hold any state committee meetings to possibly discuss the ‘D’ word on this matter, then expect the National party’s clique to try to pull some strings or send in as many of their allies as they can to derail your efforts and possibly seize control of your state parties and replace you and your officers with their surrogates so that Castle will still get on in your states and they can maintain their control.
But Mr. Whitely, that is not, for better or worse, how third parties act. The Libertarian Party doesn’t do that. The Green Party doesn’t do that. In fact, in the vast majority of states there is no mechanism to do that. Delegates being chosen at state conventions, as I said often not even competitively, and going to the national convention and voting their conscience is absolutely par for the course.
@ Quirk
“still get on in your states and they can maintain their control.”
Yeah, but the problem is that there are some state elections codes involved here…those can’t be ignored, to say nothing of CP-Idaho’s procedures. True, no guarantees.
But if it came to that, they’d better be willing to drive…and hike…and have the capacity to read a topo map. Plenty of meeting places.
I’m not beneath holding a state convention under canvas. Might even be fun. Plenty of outfitters too…and lakes. We’ll make it memorable if nothing else.
So Mr. Becker, is the suggestion that Castle deliberately didn’t campaign? Why? To what end? Was the health issue a ruse? It has long been felt by casual observers of the CP that absent a big name getting in, Castle was the hands down favorite to be the nominee. His nomination should be a surprise to no one. I’m not getting what the issue is here.
“The Libertarian Party doesn’t do that. The Green Party doesn’t do that.”
Yet both of these parties are a lot more transparent, honest, even orderly about how they conduct their internal affairs and select candidates for office then the Constitution Party is.
In fact, for a political party that complains and bashes the corruption and lack of ‘principle’ in the GOP, and yet behaves and conducts it’s business in the same exact manner -the word ‘hypocrisy’ is a understatement here.
@ Phillips
“hat is not, for better or worse, how third parties act”
I don’t care how they act. It is time for so-called third parties to get off their knees and their be-keesters. I say legitimate process. I say honest procedures. I say keeping honor.
And I say it is time to act, not like “third parties” but like first parties…coequals. I hold these truths to be self evident…man was created to be treated equally.
I’m not asking for permission. I’m not in this to beg for cake, and they ain’t Marie Antoinette.
So how is my home state of Georgia, which doesn’t even have registration by party, for example, supposed to have a CP primary?
Understood Floyd. However with the growing animosity between Idaho and the national, you might have to go with the ‘D’ option- since I highly, HIGHLY doubt the national clique will see the error of their ways and try to work things out with you and the others on the issue of how they govern and their pick (Castle) as the national’s candidate for president.
Even if your state party doesn’t want to leave and go at it alone, there are other national constitutionalist parties to join up with out there that don’t have the baggage or corruption that the national CP has. The National Independent American Party is one, and the Oregon CP is a current affiliate of them.
Floyd – looks like it’s time for you to take a walk. Sorry to see you go.
California, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, other Affiliate states either USTP, AIP, and others, if the CP elite like the Peter writer previously simply say go, what is the CP goal? It can not be political, if the above states alligned that party by simple vote count using the last election and (they also seem to be the states growing and working the grass roots) would defeat the CP and might exceed the green party. This election year gets better every day…
Floyd routinely ignored Red, who is making good points. Most states cannot follow this system.
We get it, Floyd, your horse lost. You backed Copeland, he lost. He didn’t lose because of some insider Cabal, but because Castle was preferred by most of the delegates–many of whom have been attending conventions for years because they make up the entirety of their party in that state. If that’s what you’re complaining about, ok, but it doesn’t have much to do with the Presidential nominating contest.
More importantly: Darrell Castle was not a back-room deal. Joe Miller wanted to enter the race in the final week or so and had the backing of many delegates. He backed off because of the suspicion of delegates who found his late entry and GOP registration suspect. That’s fair. But, I think the party leader’s preferred choice likely backed out when Joe Miller did. Instead, most of the delegates settled on Castle–a man who has been active in the party for years, maybe decades. Suggesting he was some SURPRISE or back-room deal is beyond ignorant. Copeland, the recent entry to the party whom no one had ever heard of before, made a good run but ultimately came up short. It’s hilarious that activists who have built their state party are complaining that a long-time party leader, financier, and activist has gotten the presidential slot over a recent-entry who never did anything for the CP prior to running for its highest office. Hilarious.
Trent H. Makes a valid point of the need for members like the Castles, and I must agree no way should a party usurper that comes from a state that has no ballot access nor paid their national dues over the years like Scott C even be considered for the parties highest office. If he loves the platform and the party he should use his time and treasure in Texas over the next four years, run for office in state learn how to gain third party support at the polls and also learn to value the work of others that day in day out keep the party on the ballot. Shelve some pride and ego and support the party now and let the delegates see your state numbers next cycle and see if you put your financial effort toward the party not just self promotion.
A good speech from a minister is nice however it does not alone support a political party or more importantly qualify one for the highest office in the land. Al Sharpton meets that criteria and I not sure he would get my vote. Trent H. Thanks for your words, with that I will add it does seem strange however showing up two presidential cycles in a row and running at the last minute. Mr. Castle is a well know party member and would not need to sneak in (might be a attorney habit).
There has been a lot of discussion implying that the national officers of the Constitution conspired to select Darrel Castle as the party’s nominee. What is missing from the discussion are some pertinent facts that I would like to share.
The national officers of the party meet on a weekly basis on a conference call. The states from which those officers meet are Pennsylvania, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Utah. May I share with you how those states voted in the roll call vote? The party bylaws permit a state to cast all of it’s delegate votes so long as at least one delegate is present at the nominating convention. If a state is not represented, no votes are cast from that state.
Florida had three delegates present and 39 delegate votes
Those votes were cast as follows: Castle 20 Votes and Copeland 19 votes
Pennsylvania had six delegates present and 12 delegate votes
Those votes were cast as follows: Castle 0 and Copeland 12
Missouri had six delegates present and 18 delegate votes
Those votes were cast as follows:Castle 18 votes and Copeland 0
Illinois had three delegates present and 8 delegate votes
Those votes were cast as follows: Castle 3, Copeland 3 and Myers 2
Tennessee had 7 delegates present and 21 delegate votes
Those votes were cast as follows: Castle 9 and Hoefling 12
Utah had 49 delegates present and 16 delegate votes (Each delegate had a fraction of a vote)
Those votes were cast as follows: Castle 9, Copeland 5, Diamond 1 and Friedbaum 1
Total votes cast by those five states is as follows:
Castle 59 votes, Copeland 39, Hoefling 12, Myers 2, Diamond 1 and Friedbaum 1 for a total of 114 votes.
In summary a total of 55 votes were cast for Copeland or some other candidate than for Castle
Had the national officers been conspiring to elect Darrel Castle one would have expected that all five of those states would have given an overwhelming number of their votes to Castle which was not the case, so to accuse them of doing such is clearly not supported by the facts.
The reality of the situation is that the election was really decided by the following states which gave all of their votes to Castle:
Louisiana had one delegate present and had 12 delegate votes
Michigan had five delegates present and had 25 delegate votes
New Jersery had one delegate present and had 20 delegate votes
South Carolina had one delegate present and had 10 delegate votes
Washington had two delegates present and 15 delegate votes
Each state has their own rules for selecting delegates to the convention and if the criteria for seating those delegates has been met, they would of course be seated and their votes honored accordingly. All too often we jump to conclusion without really searching out the details of a situation. If each of did so we would be more careful about making accusations and pointing fingers at others. I think Marilee was pretty accurate in her comments.
Having said all this, I will state that Mr. Floyd Whitley is one of the most talented party leaders the party has. In many ways he is simply brilliant and a dedicated work horse. He has worked tirelessly to build the party in his state and worked hard to hold a very successful primary. I feel badly that feelings between him and some others are so strong. In the CP, selection of party delegates varies from state to state just as we have seen it does with the major parties. It would be unfair for any state that had a primary to insist that one of the candidates in their primary be a candidate that the other states would be required to accept as the parties final nominee. By the same token for a state to insist that all candidates had to declare their candidacy by a certain day to be considered for office is equally unjustified.
The party bylaws state the nominations for president can not be accepted before 90 days before the election and no later than two hours before the nomination convention begins. Each candidate must have the support of the majority of it’s delegates and that must be certified by state chairman of that state. It is true that a goodly number of states beyond the two required states submitted nominations for Castle. Jim Clymer felt it unwise to make mention of that fact since only two stats were needed to be nominated, but it was clear to us officers that there was considerable support for Darrell. Each candidate was given equal time to speak to the convention and were able to use their time as they saw fit. A drawing was held to determine the order in which the candidates were to speak. Jim Clymer, the convention chairman was as professional and fair as anyone could be.
Frank Fluckiger
National Chairman
@ Red Phillips, All:
Just to be clear, I am not in any way insinuating any kind of conspiracy or back room deal. All I am saying is that I firmly believe that Mr. Castle fully intended to run all along. And, while I am concerned for his health and respect his decision in that area, I do not think that should have been a reason for him to delay his entry. He was certainly healthy enough at the spring Pittsburgh meeting a year ago sitting outside smoking a cigar on the patio. He could have announced, introduced Mr. Bradley as his running mate, campaigned, and then suspended his campaign due to his illness, resuming it after his recovery which appears to have been around February. Presidential candidates and their campaigns are what raises awareness of their affiliated parties – via free media. That is something greatly needed by the CP.
FWIW, if the Castle/Bradley ticket is on the West Virginia ballot, I WILL vote for it.
Random comments – A) Mr. Whitley : It is very good that Mr. Copeland won your primary but I receive the impression that you believe that anyone who, for whatever reason, decides to run after your primary should automatically be denied the ability to campaign for the nomination. Just because some states have, due to whatever circumstances, different procedures for choosing their candidates does not invalidate such candidates nor detract from the efforts of Mr. Copeland or anyone else.
B) Cody Quirk is a total nitwit whose smearing of the Constitution Party will never end. His self-proclaimed effort to unify the party was a complete and total joke. He now spends his time as a Chihuahua sniping at the heels of the party. He has, as usual, no constructive actions or words to add to any discussion as he is now simply a Libertarian who is still angry that his blockhead attempts to harm the CP were realized and appropriately denounced.
C) J.R. Myers : I mentioned Chelene Nightengale, the AIP Governor candidate, and the corruption of the AIP in my talk but I did not reference that among the many monstrous aspects of the Robinson/Seidenberg attack against Chelene was their claim, which they spread across the internet, that they had a tape of her having sex with animals. Now do you REALLY think that such actions can be forgotten or forgiven and that is not even mentioning that they deliberately committed the crime of fraud – filing fake documents with the state – to seize control of the party. Maybe a reason people did not vote for you included your brushoff of such fantastic, outrageous, and monstrous criminality and corruption.
@ Frank Fluckiger
RE: “The national officers of the party meet on a weekly basis on a conference call.”
Why are the state state party officers not invited to these calls or not allowed to know the contents of these discussions? Leaving your state affiliates feeling like mushrooms is not the way to build a strong organization.
Mr. Myers – Additionally I was never a member of 3 parties at the same time. If you have been accepting the continual lies of Mark Seidenberg as truthful in the tiniest way this may be the cause of your statement.
I did stay as a registered member of the AIP even after I founded the CP in California as I was one of the people who could use that status to sue the criminals Robinson and Seidenberg and stop their corruption which unfortunately continues to this day.
Mr. Whitley, Mr. Myers, and Mr. Becker: Your actions, or your leading of those with whom you volunteer in your respective states, have been noteworthy to the point that I reference them as tangible progress for the party when I send out various emails. From November of 2014 to November of 2015, the Constitution Party of Idaho grew its membership by 17%. The CP of Alaska went from a few dedicated people to ballot access. The CP of WV went from no ballot access to the point where I don’t look to see IF they had candidates, but how much of a percent did they get! I hope over the course of the next few weeks you each have a steely resolve to focus on the things for which you have more control, and that is reaching people in your state. Grow your respective state parties so that they each can be a great example of how its done. In 30 years, it is my hope and vision that the generation that follows us will be grateful to each of you for building your state party and electing candidates that restored financial stability and the rule of law. The fruit on the tree over the past two years that you have each worked hard to produce has been inspirational to me, and I pass that message onto others.
Don, it’s really sad that a man whom has never had kids, nor has been ever married and still lives with his mother -obsesses over children, young men, and what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, along with political parties that are constantly fighting among their own ranks and will never become more powerful or even as large as the Libertarian Party, ever.
Then again, with your own online behavior and militant hostility to those of the LGBT persuasion, there’s no question of what you are in denial about and trying to keep in the closet.
I don’t even “nip at the heels” of the CP, I just sit back with my bag of popcorn and watch the drama unfold and revel in the scene. However when some sincere and pissed off CP’ers are having serious second thoughts about remaining on a sinking ship- despite my concrete preference for the LP I still offer then sincere advice and a helping hand to join other ships, or constitutionalist political parties that do not have the same trouble or level of corruption as the national CP, and are not sinking.
Keep on hating, because I am not going anywhere.
J.R., Floyd, especially Jeff; I think these guys are trying to sweet talk you simply because your parties are organized and have ballot access and they need Castle on in your state. Yet I bet if your state parties did not have ballot access, then they wouldn’t give a damn and will throw you under the bus and replace your state party with another one. Or even if you did have ballot access yet not much of a organization, then they would simply come in with their people and usurp your positions and power in said party.
Think about it.
We don’t have ballot access in West Virginia and probably aren’t going to get it. The head of the Elections Division at the Secretary of State’s office lied to us. We turned in most of our 2016 signatures with those of our 2014 campaign in July ’14, but the WVSOS set them aside and didn’t count those for almost a year. Voters who signed then but have since moved, died, or been purged from the voter rolls now do not count. One year ago, Elections Division chief Dave Tackett told us that we were within 500 signatures of presidential access. Now we are being told that the number is 2400. Corrupt to the core these bureaucrats are!
Other then the Michigan CP Affiliate USTP-M, did any other state CP party get over 500,000 votes in the 2014 November election?
I’m not going to address the alleged corruption in the party, but here’s what I find really curious and interesting.
Mr. Whitley has made it clearly known to several within the Constitution Party well over 6 months ago that after his term of office is over in August that he is leaving the party to become a free agent (independent). All this “brilliance” and feigned concern over Constitution Party politics means what, just exactly?? If Mr. Whitley and all the rest of you who are all “Sooooo Concerned” about the corruption at the top level, instead of complaining, why don’t you do something about it like try to replace them?? I’m really baffled as to the real impetus behind all the allegations of corruption within a party he has already said it doesn’t matter, he is leaving.
Another thing that I find it completely disingenuous (especially for those complaining about the Castle/Bradley ticket) is those who didn’t even show up to try to influence the process and yet want to decry the situation. SHOW UP, build a coalition, then you might actually have influence.
It’s not rocket science folks. If you don’t like the “Good Ole Boys”, bring more “Bad Ole Boys” to the table and take over. That’s politics.
Another thing I find interesting is all these allegations of corruption, yet, to Mr. Whitley’s point, I have not seen one verifiable shred of proof.
As someone else in this thread used the word hilarious, I find it despicable.
At least Stufflebeam, who doesn’t seem to be one of the “Good Ole Boys,” stood up with a plan and a vision that seemed to actually have meat and merit, and you all let Fluckiger win. That’s on you and Stufflebeam. He didn’t bring enough support to overcome the hometown advantage that Fluckiger had. You can complain all you want about that not being fair, but the bottom line is that you had to know he had the advantage and bring enough support from the outside to overcome it. If you all didn’t realize that, then you deserved to lose. This is politics, and if you don’t have the smarts to win, you deserve to lose. That’s just as simple as it gets.
Lastly, I find two things that Mr. Becker complains about to be exceeding hilarious.
#1 – His complaint about Castle not campaigning, yet winning. Let some that I am running against not campaign while I am and watch me destroy that candidate’s last ditch effort to win the election. Kudos to Mr. Copeland for giving it a shot. But there has been more than adequate explanation (listed in this thread) as to why that happened, and to expect otherwise is just pure stupidity.
#2 – As expressed above in my response regarding Stufflebeam, if you know you have the disadvantage in the race because you are the newbie or don’t have much to show for the period of time you have been in the party; you have to come in with the numbers to support you. Again, if you don’t understand any part of that, you are either seriously naive or stupid, which, in either case you deserve to lose the race for President of these United States of America.
Again, if you don’t like the “Good Ole Boys,” bring more “Bad Ole Boys” and take over. If you can’t figure that out, you really don’t belong in a political organization and should really quit playing.
My suggestion is for you all to quit crying, put on your big boy pants and do what it takes to win. Otherwise, quit whining and just go cower in your little corners. Since Fluckiger has such great accolades for Whitely, maybe he should have run for the chair. According to Fluckiger, Whitley has the brilliance for it, and yet, for some reason Whitley didn’t deem it important enough to try to cure the corruption by replacing the party officers with someone who wasn’t corruptible. Seems to me reason to question the brilliance. But of course, I’d have to question Fluckiger’s brilliance in giving such high accolades to someone who is calling him (Fluckiger) corrupt.
Things that make you go hmmmmmmm….
I also do not know what these men could be unhappy about. It is an inspiring convention. What was unfair? The delegates voted for the candidates of their choice. We should not be angry. I loved meeting all of you, especially JR Myers.
https://amthirdpartyreport.com/2016/04/22/constitution-party-of-idaho-what-they-fail-to-get/
Joyce C.. Do you know what these women could be unhappy about? If so could be the same thing.
Yeah, I don’t think the Idaho CP is going to have Darrell Castle on their ballot at all.
https://amthirdpartyreport.com/2016/04/24/2016-idaho-presidential-primary-certification-for-the-constitution-party/
https://amthirdpartyreport.com/2016/04/28/constitution-party-of-idaho-flatline/
So what happened in Court on May 2nd? Indiana Elector for Darrell L. Castle/Scott N. Bradley 2016.
Interesting thread – thanks folks.
FOLLOW UP- 2018..
I joined the CP 2 years ago.
I have attended every National Committee meeting since.
I am now a National Committdeman
After all the complaining I see in this thread .. I can report that in the past 2 years since this situation occurred… I have not seen ONE SINGLE RESOLUTION nor ONE SINGLE BYLAW PROPOSAL coming from Idaho to address their concerns.
I agree they have some valid concerns, yet I have not seen a single proposal through our established (legal) process that addresses any of their concerns.
I have recently seen a list of demands, posted by J.R. Meyers in his blog.
a) The list comes across more of a list of accusations and innuendo than a sincere request for change.
b) The list of demands makes unsupported vague veiled accusations and demands a conciliatory response from the National Executive Committee.
c) The list of demands requires ‘other states’ to do things that the laws of their respective states do not require.
I could go on…. but I digress from my point…..
For all of the hand wringing.. and bemoaning the outcome of the 2016 National Convention .. I have not seen Idaho take a single legislative step to affect their demanded changes.
Now they will have their National Convention in August and vote to affiliate or disaffiliate with the national party. Having spoken with a member of their party, it is clear that they are still harboring bad feelings (Yes Floyd ‘feelings’) and are angry that National has not taken any steps to resolve the situation.
Idaho… from this National Committee member .. Pot Kettle Black.
My analogy: Missouri Senators refuse to vote on any more bills until Florida sponsors legislation to fund Missouri Highways. It is not the Florida Senators responsibility to do Missouri Senators job.
As a Committeeman from Missouri, it is not my job to sponsor resolutions or bylaw changes on behalf of Idaho. I’m more than happy to have our state consider co-sponsoring and seconding them.
And don’t start with ‘well before 2016 this happened..’ because I don’t care. If someone wants to bring up he said / she said.. then they aren’t really interested in resolution.
So Idaho – make up your mind. Do you want to stay with the National party or not?
If so, then either table your state resolution again – or vote to affiliate – and then attend our Fall meeting with RESOLUTIONS and BYLAW CHANGES in hand (submitted in a timely fashion according to our national rules).
If not, then vote to disassociate. And if you do, I will help start a Constitution party in Idaho and work to gain ballot access for the new party – with my own money if necessary.
*
To Marilee & Frank Fluckiger – I say thanks to you both. Your posts were very illuminating.
To the rest – see you in Dallas this fall .. or not.
-john
correction: Idaho will hold their state convention (not their national convention) ..oops!