GET ENGAGED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL!
by Steve Fair
On Saturday March 1st, the 4th District of the Oklahoma Republican Party held their district convention. The district convention is convened each presidential year to elect three National Delegates and three Alternates to represent Oklahoma at the National Republican Convention. We also elect an elector- a person whose name appears on the ballot in November and who casts their ballot in the electorial college. This year’s national convention will be in Saint Paul, Minnesota the first week in September. Over 400 delegates and guests from throughout the district and state attended the 4th district convention and events. Congressman Tom Cole keynoted a fundraising banquet the evening before and Senator Jim Inhofe was the keynote speaker for the convention on Saturday morning.
The fourth district encompasses sixteen counties in central and southern Oklahoma. Fourteen of those counties were represented at the convention. The fourth district is an area where Republican numbers are growing. In the past three months, Republicans out registered Democrats by over 1,000 voters in the district.
To kick off Saturday morning, a prayer breakfast was well planned and executed by Stephens County delegates Betty Smith and Cindy Hale. Rev. Ed Moore, a former Republican State Senator has a prayer ministry called Prayer Force One. He spoke at the breakfast and did an outstanding job. Ed has a bus painted to look like Air Force One and drives it around the country to promote praying for our country. We hope to have it parked at our annual 4th annual Fish Fry on May 10th at the Fairgrounds.
Former Stephens County resident Carissa Darling was the luncheon speaker. Carissa is the coordinator of the 72-hour task force, which is the Republican Party’s “Get out the vote” mechanism. Carissa did an outstanding job presenting to people who primary objective at that point in time was to fill their stomach. She is a talented young lady who is a credit to Stephens County.
There were a number of delegates who were attending a political convention for the first time. Some are skeptical of what they call the “old guard” of the party. They wrongly believed that because someone has been involved in politics for a long period of time, they are prone to compromising and have developed “blind loyalty.” Some commented to me they felt out of place and unwelcome at the convention. Welcome to politics. If you want to stay involved in politics for the long haul and truly make a difference in government, you have to develop a thick skin. You must recognize that anyone who is involved in political activism will at some point feel like a skunk at the family picnic. Politics is that way- there is not a lot of graciousness or tolerance for the other persons view.
Most of those who came to the 4th district convention for the first time were supporters of Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. Paul incites passion in his followers and I applaud him for that. While their numbers at the voting polls are small, those who support him are not just causal voters. They are willing to put signs on their cars, distribute literature, and attend political conventions to espouse his philosophy on government. Paul got less than ten percent of the 4th district vote on February 4th in the Presidential Primary, but 25% of the delegates at the 4th district convention were openly supporting Ron Paul. That’s impressive, but it should shame supporters of Huckabee, Romney and McCain. Where were they on a beautiful Saturday morning? Engaged in the process or sitting this one out? We can learn something from Ron Paul. The issues he brings to the table are real and the medical doctor has a pretty good diagnosis on the problems. I don’t agree with him on the solutions, but to his credit he gets people up and involved in their government. That’s not a bad thing. I would hope Paul would exhort his supporters to be as passionate about their local, county, and state elections as they are for federal issues. At the local level is where you really make a difference in politics.
Oklahoma has forty-one delegates to the National Convention. Fifteen of those are elected at the five district conventions throughout the state and twenty-three are elected at the state convention on May 3rd in Tulsa. The 4th District convention was the first district convention held. Nominated by State Representative Dennis Johnson and seconded by Senator Anthony Sykes, I was the first delegate elected from the 4th district, so technically I was the first National delegate elected from the state of Oklahoma. The two other delegates elected were Carter County GOP Chairperson Marjorie Brown and Oklahoma County GOP Chairperson Pam Pollard. We also elected Bobby Cleveland, a long time party activist from Norman, as Elector.
Since I serve as 4th district Chairman, I had a definite advantage over the other thirteen candidates for delegate, but it took a runoff to decide the race. I look forward to representing the Oklahoma GOP in St. Paul at the Republican National Convention.
The fourth district encompasses sixteen counties in central and southern Oklahoma. Fourteen of those counties were represented at the convention. The fourth district is an area where Republican numbers are growing. In the past three months, Republicans out registered Democrats by over 1,000 voters in the district.
To kick off Saturday morning, a prayer breakfast was well planned and executed by Stephens County delegates Betty Smith and Cindy Hale. Rev. Ed Moore, a former Republican State Senator has a prayer ministry called Prayer Force One. He spoke at the breakfast and did an outstanding job. Ed has a bus painted to look like Air Force One and drives it around the country to promote praying for our country. We hope to have it parked at our annual 4th annual Fish Fry on May 10th at the Fairgrounds.
Former Stephens County resident Carissa Darling was the luncheon speaker. Carissa is the coordinator of the 72-hour task force, which is the Republican Party’s “Get out the vote” mechanism. Carissa did an outstanding job presenting to people who primary objective at that point in time was to fill their stomach. She is a talented young lady who is a credit to Stephens County.
There were a number of delegates who were attending a political convention for the first time. Some are skeptical of what they call the “old guard” of the party. They wrongly believed that because someone has been involved in politics for a long period of time, they are prone to compromising and have developed “blind loyalty.” Some commented to me they felt out of place and unwelcome at the convention. Welcome to politics. If you want to stay involved in politics for the long haul and truly make a difference in government, you have to develop a thick skin. You must recognize that anyone who is involved in political activism will at some point feel like a skunk at the family picnic. Politics is that way- there is not a lot of graciousness or tolerance for the other persons view.
Most of those who came to the 4th district convention for the first time were supporters of Presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. Paul incites passion in his followers and I applaud him for that. While their numbers at the voting polls are small, those who support him are not just causal voters. They are willing to put signs on their cars, distribute literature, and attend political conventions to espouse his philosophy on government. Paul got less than ten percent of the 4th district vote on February 4th in the Presidential Primary, but 25% of the delegates at the 4th district convention were openly supporting Ron Paul. That’s impressive, but it should shame supporters of Huckabee, Romney and McCain. Where were they on a beautiful Saturday morning? Engaged in the process or sitting this one out? We can learn something from Ron Paul. The issues he brings to the table are real and the medical doctor has a pretty good diagnosis on the problems. I don’t agree with him on the solutions, but to his credit he gets people up and involved in their government. That’s not a bad thing. I would hope Paul would exhort his supporters to be as passionate about their local, county, and state elections as they are for federal issues. At the local level is where you really make a difference in politics.
Oklahoma has forty-one delegates to the National Convention. Fifteen of those are elected at the five district conventions throughout the state and twenty-three are elected at the state convention on May 3rd in Tulsa. The 4th District convention was the first district convention held. Nominated by State Representative Dennis Johnson and seconded by Senator Anthony Sykes, I was the first delegate elected from the 4th district, so technically I was the first National delegate elected from the state of Oklahoma. The two other delegates elected were Carter County GOP Chairperson Marjorie Brown and Oklahoma County GOP Chairperson Pam Pollard. We also elected Bobby Cleveland, a long time party activist from Norman, as Elector.
Since I serve as 4th district Chairman, I had a definite advantage over the other thirteen candidates for delegate, but it took a runoff to decide the race. I look forward to representing the Oklahoma GOP in St. Paul at the Republican National Convention.
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