Posted on 06/03/2006 9:48:18 PM PDT by anymouse
SAN ANTONIO - The Republican Party of Texas elected a new vice chairman Saturday, choosing Dr. Robin Armstrong, the first black to hold the position since Reconstruction.
Armstrong, an internal medicine doctor from Dickinson, said he grew up in a household of Democrats but became a Republican in 1989 at age 19. His decision was associated with his religious faith, he said, because he became a "born-again believer."
"My philosophy is more conservative," Armstrong said, explaining that his opposition to abortion was a key issue in his party choice.
He said he has been an active Republican at the local level in Galveston County for the past eight years. Armstrong said he hopes to help the Republican Party continue its outreach to minority Texans.
"I believe that minorities are conservative," he said.
Bobby Eberle of Pearland also sought the vice chairmanship. Armstrong succeeds David Barton, who has been vice chairman for nine years.
Party chairman Tina Benkiser faced no major opposition and was easily re-elected chairman.
PLATFORM APPROVED
The party approved a platform Saturday that urges no amnesty for illegal immigrants, stiffer penalties for employers who hire illegal workers and suspension of automatic U.S. citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
The platform, a document drafted and voted on at the state GOP convention every two years, addresses a variety of subjects.
It states that the Texas Republican Party supports "traditional" marriage, which it defines as "a God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman."
The platform also opposes abortion, the sale and use of "the morning after pill" known as emergency contraception and the legalization of sodomy.
Although the platform is a broad statement of what the party supports, not all Republican candidates agree with everything in it.
HAVING A LITTLE FUN
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison began her speech to the state GOP convention Saturday with a joke. She noted that if gunshots are heard in Washington, D.C., it can set off panic.
"In Texas, they would be asking which hunting season had started, or if Vice President Cheney was visiting," she said, referring to Cheney's accidental shooting of a hunting partner in South Texas in February.
The shooting victim, Austin attorney Harry Whittington, was hospitalized but recovered from his birdshot wounds.
And you can prove this? I saw both Robin and Bobbie working very hard a various times and locations during the convention (and I know they both were traveling all over Texas in the months leading up to the convention.)
I had conversations with Robin earlier about whether Chairman Benkiser was backing him or Eberle and he said that she was staying out of it, as she should. I saw no evidence of RPT officers or "flunkies" aiding Robin or dogging Bobbie during the convention - and I was taking a lot of photos of Robin (and an occasional photo of Bobbie) throughout the convention.
If what you claim is true, I'm sure there are some other Texas FReepers that were at the convention that can back up your claim or debunk it. But if you have actual evidence of what you claim, then you should contact your SREC Reps. to bring it before the SREC. Otherwise you are just sinking your own credibility.
Jeff Fisher ran things for Armstrong (and fairly effectively).
I hope you and bellstar are right about Robin, particularly when she said he is no "yes man." I have no doubt Robin is a true-believer conservative, I just wanted a leader with more of a record.
As you know, I strongly supported Bobby, and know he will continue to do great things for our party.
You should also know by now that complaints about Tina have little or nothing to do w/ Gina Parker and the various rpt challengers, and a lot to do with the way she has managed things at RPT. Personal diatribes against anyone who disagrees with you won't change that. You and Anymouse need to learn that politics is about differences and competition, and stop taking it so personally whenever someone on FR dares to disagree with you or bring up a fact you're not familiar with. None of us are all-seeing, and it's really not that ridiculous to suggest taht there might be things going on that you're not aware of or simply don't understand.
I've heard good things about the prospects there. Think I saw Opelia at the convention too, glad he's staying involved. Any idea why Fred Boerner isn't staying as county chair?
YCT is right Mouse. YCT was assisting Bobby and when I spoke to him on Friday I saw the flunkies that were working for Robin trailing Bobby and telling Robin what he was doing. Nothing illegal, but don't tell me Tina didn't care.
Jeff Fisher? Never heard of him. But then again I might not be aware of other folks across the state that were helping Robin. I do know who Robin's political consultant is who was busy running things at the convention for Robin and it wasn't Fisher.
I understand what you are saying. It is time for all of us to roll forward.
You should look at some of the posts that have come forward though. Right now you are analytical but I can garuntee that some of the stuff in the past has been really bad from your side of the fence.
The idea that Tina is doing a bad job is just silly. The idea that certain things (big things) could improve is perfectly fine and valuable. It drives me nuts much money is sucked from local politics to the state party (and individual statewide candidates) and how little comes back.
The idea that she put Robin forward, had Jeff "run" Robins campaign etc. etc. is also silly.
It has not been the Tina supporters who have gone on personal diatribes against simple disagreements. It has been quite the other way around. All the postings are out there, reread some of the things put out. We have cranked it up when the folks who want Tina to do things differently have gotten nasty (often with personal attacks against us for disagreeing).
I am all for disagreement and dissent. I am just not going to be a punching bag and I am not going to sit around quietly and watch people I believe in be made into punching bags.
I wish you and I and some of the dissent group could meet some time and remind ourselves of HOW MUCH we we have in common both party internally and generally.
That maybe so, but the burden of proof is on those who claim that they know what others don't.
Ok, name names then. Or show us a photo of either someone following Bobbie or reporting such activities to Robin.
How could you know what someone was telling Robin anyway, unless you were eavesdropping on their conversation yourself?
As far as I know, the volunteers (and the single paid political consultant) helping Robin were too busy scrambling to hand out stickers and campaign literature to pay attention to where Eberle was or what he was doing or who he was talking to. Eberle had a lot more resources to draw upon including YCT, who might have a biased view of the situation.
If Eberle thinks people were following him, then maybe he has more problems than losing the RPT Vice Chair race.
When, when was anyone "trailing" Bobby? When could they have reported back to Robin?
I was in the same place as Bobby a lot of the time. In the mornings (out in front or just inside the "bridge" outside of ballroom "A") handing out stickers for Robin and recruiting others to do the same. If you were there I am without doubt, you can remember me...
Bobby was often there meeting delegates and encouraging his volunteers. What big secret could anyone have been reporting back to Robin or anyone else???
Jeff, like many others, may have been a valuable supporter of Robin's but as someone intimate with the campaign I can tell you he had almost nothing to do with ANY of the workings (NONE that I know of).
It's really time for all of us to roll forward. We have enough lead weight slowing us down in the Gov's and Leg's performance. If I have gone overboard in reponses or initiating posts at any point, you have my real and sincere apology. I am tired of being in gunfights with my fellow conservatives.
Let's get it in gear and take it too November!!!
I understand you and Breeze are best friends and you got your other best friend elected. Congratulations. Mouse you and I have met several times, you know me, you think I have nothing better to do than make up this crap? Just take my observations as what they are, observations. Encourage your good buddy Robin to do things for the party that put the party back in the business of winning grassroots campaigns through training and organization.
First, you shouldn't assume either bushdude or I are speaking for Eberle.
Second, you also know both of us in real life, perhaps not well, but well enough to know that we're fairly involved (I even do more than take groupie pictures), and are in position to make informed observations. You don't have to agree, but to attack his credibility and make wild accusations about personal gain because we're not on the Galveston bandwagon is simply childish, and says more about your character than his or mine. We've always had a cordial relationship Anymouse, but you're making it difficult.
The photos that I took at the Republican Party of Texas State Convention in San Antonio can be found at the Republican Party of Galveston County web site at:
http://www.GalvestonCountyGOP.com
You can order prints or other merchandise with any of the photos by going to the link below.
http://www.digibug.com/handytech?login=texasgopconvention
You can always download the photos from the Party's web site, but the photos available on Digibug.com are the highest resolution suitable for the best prints.
The really funny thing is the Paulbots were unable to nominate a candidate to run against him. According to the Republican Party of Texas rules, if a senatorial district delegation nominates a female candidate for chairman, that same senatorial district must nominate a male candidate for vice-chaiman or viceversa. Paul Perry only got nominated by 3 out of 32 senatorial districts. My district nominated Tina Benkiser by an overwhelming margin, so the Paulbots didn't have a male candidate they could nominate. Dr. Robin Armstrong was unopposed on the floor of the general session. I joked with one of the members of my county delegation that it would really be difficult if the DemocRATS had a rule like that for nominating their chairman and vicechairman. How many genders would they recognize and how would they determine the gender of the the candidates?
Whoops, I just realized, the Yahoo! search option pulled up a thread about the 2006 Republican Party of Texas Convention not the 2008 convention.
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