Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

By Carlyn Reichel and Cynthia Dizikes

The Republicans at the Minnesota State Republican Convention were in lock step today – almost. Politicians from underdog 4^th Congressional District challenger Ed Matthews through incumbent candidate Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) echoed the Republican Party line on restoring fiscal responsibility, reducing wasteful government spending, making the tax cuts set to expire in 2010 permanent, and ending America’s addiction to foreign oil. Aside from some disagreement over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) – some delegates chanted “ANWR, ANWR” as Senator Coleman, a committed opponent to opening Alaska for drilling, talked about his plans for energy independence –and the veracity of global warming – skeptics pointed to a sudden hail storm mid-afternoon as evidence that Minnesota is, in fact, still very cold, the gathered republicans were in agreement over most of the issues. Except, that is, the Republican nominee for president.

Most delegates and party activists in attendance, even those who originally did not support Senator John McCain, have lined up behind him as the presumptive Republican nominee. Not so for members of the so-called “Ron Paul revolution.” A small but vocal group of Ron Paul supporters, bolstered by a morning appearance by the Texas Congressman, said they were dismayed by the convention proceedings, even threatening legal action to throw out the convention results altogether. The Paul volunteers, almost all of whom were attending the state convention for the first time, claimed the rules were undemocratically stacked to prevent the election of Ron Paul delegates to the national convention. The Congressman has been open about his strategy of securing enough delegates to the GOP national convention in September to secure a speaking slot. He was denied entry to the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester today.

At least some in the establishment were sympathetic to the Ron Paulies’ complaints, however. Rep. Marty Seifert, Minnesota House Minority Leader and himself an officially endorsed candidate for national delegate, said: “If I were here for the first time, I would feel like ‘Gee, the rules are staked against me’…but at the end of the day, if you stay involved, you’re going to be an insider next time, and then you’ll be able to change the rules.”