| Posted: Friday, June 19th, 2009 | Comments (0)

Enough Division – It's Time for Addition & Multiplication

By: Rick Moore

During the Convention Gala Dinner, Mississippi Governor and former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour told more than 400 attendees of the fund raiser that “politics is a matter of mathematics. We need to add and multiply, not subtract and divide.” Those sobering words could not ring any truer following the raucous treatment given to the CaucusOK group on the convention floor during presentation of the caucus resolution.

Don't misjudge the intent of my article. I don't wish to rehash the caucus debate in this space. My wife has a degree in mathematics, teaches high school math, and as a Southern Baptist deacon I'm quite familiar with division. It's quite obvious that the will of the majority of 1,200 delegates on that day was not to support any type of caucus proposal for one reason or another. My problem is not with the floor's decision. My problem is with the overall tone of the convention tilting in one direction and then our actions flipping a 180 degree once our emotions are heightened and peeked by a few people during debate.

Let me explain. During the dinner we began with an invocation offered by Dr. Richard Tate which sounded more like the beginnings of a revival than a political convention. Our entertainment for the evening was presented by Wings of Harmony. This all African-American choir sang a medley of spiritual songs throughout our dining experience. The master of ceremonies, Rick Brinkley, commented on his seminary education, and made so many additional references to church that it was clear the theme of the evening was centered on social conservatives. If this was not the intent of the convention coordinators, the evening certainly evolved into a theme of social conservatism by extreme coincidence.

As we move to the following day on the convention floor, I think of two of the men who were presenting the caucus proposal to 1,200 delegates in a format where the chair allowed questions from the floor much like an inquisition. Are questions in order? Certainly. But, I guarantee you that if the Party was in support of that motion, only written questions would have been permitted in advance. Who are these men who were stood at the political firing squad?

Greg Hill, who with his wife, Susan Hill, was presented the Skip Healey Party Building Award a few short years ago. Any politician who wants to win in Tulsa will contact these fine individuals. They have worked tirelessly over the years to advance the conservative Republican banner. Greg has chaired the Platform Committee, and is involved in both the Tulsa County GOP, and the Tulsa Area Republican Assembly.

Steve Byas has attended more than 30 state conventions and is a leader in the conservative movement in Oklahoma. In 1996-2000 he even carried the Republican banner all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the only successful political libel case when his Democrat opponent lied about him during the last week of the race to swing a 12-point lead. Byas v. Collins is now a precedent setting case for politics in Oklahoma on how a candidate may campaign against another candidate. Byas has volunteered for the county party, state party, and other candidates over the years. He is the editor of The Oklahoma Constitution for the past 30 years. This is the same newspaper that the Oklahoma Republican Party and numerous other political consultants have used to obtain opposition research to defeat Democrats over the years.

One would think that spending a lifetime of dedicating your time, treasure, and talents to advancing the ideals of the Republican Party would mean something to the most faithful who also give up their precious Saturday to attend a political function. However, once the crowd was worked into a frenzy by an emotional debate, the chair refused to allow the withdrawal of the caucus motion. It was obvious that a pound of flesh was to be extracted.

What happened to civility? President Ronald Reagan would say that somebody who's with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally; not a 20 percent traitor. Governor Barbour also referenced our beloved leader and his former boss regarding this quote. When we lower ourselves to heckling other Republicans while they are on the convention floor, simply because we disagree with them on one issue or a mere 20 percent of the time, we have already lost the battle.

Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. If an elected Republican is not voting conservative we should discuss it with him/her, but not heckle Senator Tom Coburn or Congresswoman Mary Fallin on the convention floor. That type of behavior not only belittles the elected official, but it belittles every delegate, every Republican Party officer, and every registered Republican voter. Furthermore, we should pay respect to fellow Republican activists and not boo them on the convention floor in front of the mainstream press for the world to view our dirty laundry.

Chairman Gary Jones distributed an email to activists following the convention saying, “It will be our goal to get everyone pulling on the same end of the rope at the same time. If we can do this, I don't believe there is a Democratic candidate on the ballot that can beat our Republican nominees in 2010.” I agree with the premise of Chairman Jones' statement. We need to focus on defeating the Democrats and remember that the men and women who have dedicated their time, talents, and treasures to advance the Republican Party are not our enemies even though we may disagree with them 20 percent of the time.

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