Scenes from the Convention, Part 3
Ridgway Unloads
He was denied his spot as a delegate, but he got his time at the microphone. As a candidate for national committeeman, Ridgway was entitled to address the convention, and he used his opportunity to go after party leadership with gusto.
"We have a fundamentally corrupt system," Ridgway said, accusing Lockhart of lying about the party rules, denying him a seat while he and Bramble and Huntsman were allowed to cast votes as ex-officio delegates, similar to superdelegates in the Democratic process. He also took a shot at Bramble for allegedly using his influence to get a college class to build a float for the Utah County Republican Party.
"I think what we're going to do is blow the system up," Ridgway said. "We'll do this again next year."
David Drops Out
The results from the first ballot were surprising in one sense: Leavitt wasn't expected to do THAT badly
One Republican operative astutely pointed out: You know who's breathing easier now? Mike Leavitt.
It's a good point. After the White House weighed in for Cannon, it would be hard to believe that the former governor, now Secretary of Health and Human Services, wouldn't have been called on for a boost.
He survived to the second round of voting, but the writing was on the wall and negotiations were already underway for Leavitt to throw his support to Cannon.
Which brings us to . . .
Signgate
Probably the biggest stink of the convention came after the second round of balloting. With Leavitt eliminated, his young squadron of staffers marched up the aisles of the arena and up the stairs carrying Cannon signs.
The place exploded in a chorus of boos. You can see some the display here, but I don't know that it does justice to the raucous booing that greeted the staffers.
As I interviewed Cannon, he was confronted by an angry Rich Kuchinsky, a delegate and, going way back, a Merrill Cook backer in the days the two congressmen hated each others guts.
"I've seen a lot of crap, but this is the worst," shouted Kuchinsky. Cannon tried to convince Kuchinsky to keep it down, noting that he was talking to a reporter. "I know Bob Gehrke," Kuchinsky shouted. Note: EVERYONE knows Bob Gehrke.
"You have people behind you to do this kind of stuff and you wonder why you're in trouble?" the K-man bellowed.
"That's Leavitt's supporters and he feels very strongly about it," Cannon explained.
But If what Cannon was suggesting was that the Leavitt supporters organized together, got 30 or so signs, gathered at the back of the arena and marched up the aisles all on their own accord, it's a bit tough to swallow. The whole show was orchestrated by Cannon.
So what difference did the endorsement make? It's a little tough to tell. Leavitt had 161 supporters. In the last round of balloting, with Leavitt eliminated, Chaffetz picked up 34 votes, Cannon picked up 35. But it's impossible to exactly how much of that difference was a result of Leavitt delegates and, say, whose supporters just left before the third round.
-- Robert Gehrke
He was denied his spot as a delegate, but he got his time at the microphone. As a candidate for national committeeman, Ridgway was entitled to address the convention, and he used his opportunity to go after party leadership with gusto.
"We have a fundamentally corrupt system," Ridgway said, accusing Lockhart of lying about the party rules, denying him a seat while he and Bramble and Huntsman were allowed to cast votes as ex-officio delegates, similar to superdelegates in the Democratic process. He also took a shot at Bramble for allegedly using his influence to get a college class to build a float for the Utah County Republican Party.
"I think what we're going to do is blow the system up," Ridgway said. "We'll do this again next year."
David Drops Out
The results from the first ballot were surprising in one sense: Leavitt wasn't expected to do THAT badly
One Republican operative astutely pointed out: You know who's breathing easier now? Mike Leavitt.
It's a good point. After the White House weighed in for Cannon, it would be hard to believe that the former governor, now Secretary of Health and Human Services, wouldn't have been called on for a boost.
He survived to the second round of voting, but the writing was on the wall and negotiations were already underway for Leavitt to throw his support to Cannon.
Which brings us to . . .
Signgate
Probably the biggest stink of the convention came after the second round of balloting. With Leavitt eliminated, his young squadron of staffers marched up the aisles of the arena and up the stairs carrying Cannon signs.
The place exploded in a chorus of boos. You can see some the display here, but I don't know that it does justice to the raucous booing that greeted the staffers.
As I interviewed Cannon, he was confronted by an angry Rich Kuchinsky, a delegate and, going way back, a Merrill Cook backer in the days the two congressmen hated each others guts.
"I've seen a lot of crap, but this is the worst," shouted Kuchinsky. Cannon tried to convince Kuchinsky to keep it down, noting that he was talking to a reporter. "I know Bob Gehrke," Kuchinsky shouted. Note: EVERYONE knows Bob Gehrke.
"You have people behind you to do this kind of stuff and you wonder why you're in trouble?" the K-man bellowed.
"That's Leavitt's supporters and he feels very strongly about it," Cannon explained.
But If what Cannon was suggesting was that the Leavitt supporters organized together, got 30 or so signs, gathered at the back of the arena and marched up the aisles all on their own accord, it's a bit tough to swallow. The whole show was orchestrated by Cannon.
So what difference did the endorsement make? It's a little tough to tell. Leavitt had 161 supporters. In the last round of balloting, with Leavitt eliminated, Chaffetz picked up 34 votes, Cannon picked up 35. But it's impossible to exactly how much of that difference was a result of Leavitt delegates and, say, whose supporters just left before the third round.
-- Robert Gehrke
5:04 PM
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4 Comments:
I checked the rules. They did not say that what Cannon did (or didn't do) was disallowed. They did say that attached signs were not allowed, except with permission from the State Party (presumably the Convention Committee). So, what was done wasn't against any rule that I could find - no matter what Stan Lockhart claimed at the time.
Along those lines, there is no law disallowing a fat 42 year old man with a cane (i.e. me) from walking around in a tiny pair of speedo swim trunks. I do, however, have more respect for other people to do that. People would be nauseated for a week.
Thanks for the visual ;-0
I was actually upstairs next to Cannon when the Leavitt supporters and volunteers walked out. Cannon looked and sounded surprised. If you know Cannon you KNOW that he can't act so I don't think that he pulled that trigger.
In my view the real news out of this convention was Jason Chaffetz. He's a breath of fresh air. As a new delegate, I went into this process with an open mind - no bias' and knowing little about the candidates. My main concern was that many Republicans in Washington DC have been losing touch with many of the core conservative values that the Republican Party stands for. As I spent a lot of time studying each candidate closely and fairly, Jason Chaffetz fit the "conservative" bill and more. No one can hold a candle to him. It's refreshing (and novel?) how he "talked the talk" and "walked the walk" - he runs his campaign the way he would serve, a fiscal conservative who offered us delegates no "bribes" and freebies, and his volunteer staff is not paid. He is a Reagan conservative who's done his homework - he has a solution based, common sense grasp of the issues, has the courage to say it like it is, and has the fire to get things done. I like this guy - check him out!
The rules did say that clarification to the rules came from the chair. Since the chair ruled against campaigning on the floor it became "against the rules." I doubt they meant to so "in your face" about it. It was just terrible timing and came across as so disrespectful that they got booed by delegates from districts 1 and 2 as well as Chaffetz supporters from district 3. I felt bad for the youth that were just doing what they were told to do.
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