Rice County Republicans

A Lively Republican Reunion
- Kathy Dodds, BPOU Chair

The last three days of May were set aside by Minnesota Republican activists for their 2008 Convention (reunion) in Rochester.  It was called a reunion by many because it reflected the atmosphere at a family reunion.  That is, many people who hadn’t seen each other for a year were happy to see one another again.  Commiserations were made for those who no longer were there, and new attendees were introduced.  Twenty four delegates were there from the Rice-Scott County delegation. The Thursday night kickoff celebration with speaker Sen. Tom Coburn (OK)  got everyone fired up and invigorated to go forth and spread the word to other “family” members and newcomers.
On Friday morning the real purpose of the event began to unfold. The Credentials report showed that 1700 delegates were in attendance. Rules were adopted after much discussion back and forth to be sure that no one would be excluded because of  their leanings toward one candidate or another. Supporters of both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Ron Paul had some heated exchanges on the floor of the convention, and other than for time constraints, all were allowed to voice their opinion.  The supporters of Sen. Paul wanted to be heard for their views on how this country needs to pull back from excessive taxing and spending, learning to live within our means and get out from under a heavy load of debt. And they were heard.  Sen. Ron Paul himself had appeared at a rally earlier Friday morning to urge on his supporters.  He was not invited to speak at the convention, as he is not considered a viable presidential candidate.

Proposed constitution changes were argued and adopted. Delegates and alternates were chosen for the National Convention in St.Paul in September.  Electors were also chosen, and then Sen. Norm Coleman addressed the crowd to accept their endorsement to run again as their candidate for US Senator. He listed his accomplishments including cutting wasteful spending, supporting our troops at war, voting for Constitutional Supreme Court justices Alito and Roberts, support for the NRA, investigating the United Nations, and reviving St. Paul during his term as Mayor without ever raising taxes.  He received a standing ovation and a strong show of support.

Congressman John Kline also attended and gave a short talk on the importance to conservatives to keep strong conservative office holders in Washington DC.  If we don’t he said, the government will continue to grow larger, as will the programs it oversees, and all will need more tax money from us, the taxpayers.  We must cut back, and bring down the National debt for our sake as well as the sake of our children and grandchildren, the Congressman said.

On Saturday, after committee reports and speeches by candidates for State offices, the body was addressed by Lt. Col. (Ret) Mike Bauman who served in Iraq, and has now written a book “Adjust Fire” on his experiences and patriotic views.  Governor Pawlenty addressed the crowd for 30 minutes to thundering applause.  He touched on issues of accountability, concern for others, hope for a better future, and the need for more balance in the State House and Senate.

The final speaker of the day was Karl Rove, former political strategist for the Bush administration.  For forty five minutes, he regaled the delegates with stories from his White House days, and his views on the contradictions in the Barack Obama campaign.  He told of the months and years it takes to diplomatically open talks with our adversaries so as not to be perceived as weak, and felt that Sen. Obama is naive in his approach to foreign relations.  He also related that Sen. Obama has voted for every tax increase and expansion in government programs that has come before him.  His talk was well received by the convention.

A theme of unity in the party was mentioned and stressed throughout the convention.  And it seemed to resonate with those gathered there.  People who had argued their points during the meetings walked out together at the end still discussing issues, but united as Republicans.