iB::Topic::Who votes !

Unlike in the UK, where you have viable alternatives to the two prevailing parties (I am particularly enamoured with the Monster Raving Loony Party), the Republicans and Democrats in America have created high petition thresholds for ballot access that make it next to impossible for third parties to compete. Until the 1970s, the RP was largely the party of "Peace and Prosperity". It championed individual liberties and freedom from state control. The Evangelical Christian neo-conservative movements came later.

I watched every Republican debate in 2008 and cheered for an unassuming man with strange beliefs about ending the Federal Reserve and bringing our troops home from not only Iraq and Afghanistan, but the roughly 900 other American bases around the world. I cheered while he openly challenged and contradicted eight years of Bush-era missteps, warned of coming economic calamity (which indeed came) and made his rivals on the Republican stage look like stooges by comparison.

I was so inspired by what this man was saying, I decided to get involved in politics. I ran for a delegate spot at my state's Republican Convention so I would have a chance to voice my concerns over the direction of the Party.

The way conventions work has been a source of confusion even for Americans. In short, conventions are a way for a large organisation to conduct business and give all members a say. Each state holds a convention, which is made up of delegates from each county and precinct. The delegates are elected by their Republican neighbours in their precinct. This is a fair process because it supposedly champions activism and ensures the higher ups play by the rules. Ron Paul supporters have used Conventions and rules to their advantage. Through diligent organization we've been able to offset his lack of media exposure by flooding the Conventions in each State.

The Indiana Republican Convention in 2008 was the first time I witnessed how party officials work to stamp out grassroots efforts. On the eve of the convention, against its own rules, a backroom committee made it so delegates could not nominate the people we wanted to become national delegates from the floor. All we could do was vote on their pre-chosen slate of delegates, people hand-picked by the party establishment to carry out their bidding without question. This was done specifically to thwart the Ron Paul grassroots.

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