It's Our Party, And We'll Whine If We Want To

When Ron Paul supporters walked out of the Republican National Convention, they were sending a message. It was a message that I, as an elementary school teacher, are very familiar with: "That's not fair." In the months leading up to the big show, Paul's campaign had worked arcane local and state party rules to take over several state delegations, including garnering twenty of Maine’s twenty-four spots. The Republican National Committee decided to replace ten of them, effectively stopping the state from being able to submit Paul’s name for nomination. Ron Who? Wiselot Rouzard, a delegate from Nevada and a Paul supporter, compared the situation to Adolf Hitler taking power in Germany. “There’s nothing American about what just happened,” he said. “This is the death of the Republican Party.”
Mark Twain is dead, but the Republican Party charges on. Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and sideman for Ted Nugent, believes that this is merely a bump in the road. You lost. Get over it. "I don't think they've been disrespected," Huckabee told reporters. "Elections are about—you get numbers. I lost four years ago, and I didn't feel disrespected as much as I felt defeated. You have to accept that the voters make a choice and the voters made a choice." If it makes any difference, I'm happy to let Mike know that I disrespect him.
In the meantime, as hurricanes rage and the inevitable run up to the national election sits just over the rise, the Democrats prepare to get their party on. Leading up to that show, Barack Obama told his fans, "Don't boo. Vote. That's the best response. Vote and get some of your friends to vote." Even if you have to write Ron Paul's name in at the bottom.