In politics, 235-185 against the incumbents is considered a landslide victory. That’s exactly what happened Thursday night at the Oakland County Republican (OCRP) Convention of recently elected Precinct Delegates..
The Party base had had enough:
- unfair convention rules to perpetuate the incumbents
- open antagonism towards Liberty and Tea Party Constitutionalists seeking to enforce the Party Platform
- candidates more focused on the wishes of the Chamber of Commerce than adherence to will of the People
District 29 Caucus Leader, David Lonier, commented, “In a 235 to 185 vote, we [Constitutionalists] substituted inequitable convention rules with “fair” rules, and went on to elect a principled permanent convention chairman, who appointed the permanent convention officers and conducted the rest of the Convention in a most fair and orderly fashion. The body voted to appoint 9 principled members-at-large to the OCRP Executive Committee, and the District Caucuses, which were chaired by “elected”, “not appointed” chairs, elected some 39 more members to the 2014-2016 OCRP Executive Committee.”
Lonier continued, “It was an evening not soon to be forgotten by the 420 voting delegates … Feelings of good will and camaraderie have not been so high in an OCRP event within the memory of most who attended. There’s great excitement with the prospect of Oakland County leading the way in a new, clean, transparent and principled direction for politics in Michigan and beyond, as other counties and states join us in our peaceful determination to regain our freedom through the Republican political process.”
The accomplishment of the loyal opposition to unseat the all-powerful OCRP leadership team was “monumental”. Unifying the base and mentoring them to effectively use Robert’s Rules took commitment and practice. Challenging the Temporary Convention Chair, Jim Thienel, on the grounds of an unfair agenda to force the adoption of unfair rules took the courage to withstand multiple threats of ejection from the convention. The unified and vociferous outcry of the assembled delegates demanded an honest vote on the rules. Multiple recesses to find a way to escape the wave of change proved fruitless for Mr. Thienel and his leadership team.
Unanimously-elected Convention Permanent Chairman, Matt Maddock, reveled in the victory of the party base, “Fairness won the night and added dozens of new foot soldiers. This will set the stage for years to come. The days of discouragement and uncomfortable votes that we know are tearing the party apart are behind us. Let’s seize the day and continue this new direction towards transparency and build this party into a Democrat beating powerhouse!!”
Next Monday November 24th, the newly elected OCRP Executive Committee will elect the 2014-2016 ORCP Chairman. Matt Maddock will be challenging the Establishment candidate Theresa Mungioli.
(37)Nuh Uh.
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