Open Letter to the Colorado State Republican
Leadership
To: Mr. Ryan Call, Chairman, Republican Party of
Colorado
cc: Ben Swan, WXIX, Cincinnati, Ohio; John Avlon, Newsweek; Erin Burnett, CNN
From: Mr. Edward True, with Watch The Vote 2012
Re: Rules and Procedures at the Upcoming Colorado State Convention, April 13 &
14, 2012
My name is Edward
True of Appanoose County, Iowa. I am writing on behalf of Watch The Vote 2012.
Let me introduce myself, and why I am writing. On January 3, 2012 I attended one
of the local gatherings of the Iowa Caucus. That night the nation heard the Iowa
GOP announce that Mitt Romney was the winner by 8 votes over Rick Santorum, with
Ron Paul in 3rd place. When I checked the Iowa GOP website, I found that Mitt
Romney had been credited with 22 votes in my local caucus, instead of the 2
votes he actually received. This naturally meant that, all else being equal,
Santorum was the winner of the Iowa Caucus, not Romney.
After appealing for help on the CNN Facebook page, I made contact with Watch The
Vote 2012. This group published my affidavit on its website, and my affidavit
can be read here:
http://www.watchthevote2012.com/AffidavitTrue.htm
While the Iowa GOP tried to minimize this development, Des Moines, Iowa TV
station KCCI, Newsweek Senior Columnist, John Avlon, and Erin Burnett, host of
CNN’s Outfront program, did not.
http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.html#/video/bestoftv/2012/01/18/exp-erin-did-santorum-win-iowa.cnn?iref=allsearch
Then, for the first time in Iowa Caucus history, the winner was changed. On
January 17, 2012, Santorum was declared the winner instead of Romney.
If the Iowa Caucus were the only concern, it might be viewed as an unfortunate
aberration. But then followed the Maine Caucus, where Maine GOP state leaders
rushed to the microphones to declare Romney the winner even though many towns
and counties had not yet even held their caucuses. The Maine state GOP
leadership had colluded with local GOP leaders to postpone several towns and
counties that were known to be favorable to Ron Paul. And Ron Paul himself
raised this issue, among others, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_LWRc5dRM8
And the national newsmedia declared Romney the winner within a few minutes of
the open of that caucus. Later in the day the Nevada GOP to announce that there
were “ mystery ballot boxes” that prevented them from declaring a final count.
In contrast, the only caucus televised (by CNN) showed Ron Paul the winner by a
landslide. As far as I know, the Nevada GOP had still never declared final
results.
And then there were the high handed tactics documented on youtube in the Georgia
caucus, the Missouri caucus, the Washington caucus, and the North Dakota Caucus.
A former leader of the North Dakota state GOP, Gary Emineth, stated immediately
following the convention that the North Dakota GOP state convention was run
improperly, and that the delegates were railroaded to a pre-determined victory
for Romney. That video testimony can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ush7h1nQRbo
And this underscores the reason for this open letter to you, Mr. Call, and the
Colorado state GOP.
Concerns have reached us at WatchTheVote2012.com about how the upcoming Colorado
state convention will be run. Hopefully these concerns are unfounded, but here
they are:
* that despite perhaps as many as several thousand qualified delegates, there
will be no live, easily accessible microphones on the floor for delegates to ask
for points of information or clarification as the convention proceeds; that, at
present, there are only plans for one microphone for the delegates on the
convention floor, and that that microphone will be shut off if a delegate raises
a question or concern that is not approved by the convention Chair;
* that it is unclear at this time how the votes are going to be counted; the
only acceptable way for the votes to counted, or course, is in the open, in
front of everyone, with a representative from each group running a slate of
delegates watching the count at close range; this would mean a representative
from not only each of the Presidential campaigns, but also from the issues
groups which are running slate;
* that video cameras are not to allowed in the Colorado state convention; does
this include the local TV stations? And if these are allowed in with cameras,
then why are not those representing websites, and individual delegates who want
to record the proceedings? Is it even legal to forbid video cameras which merely
record what is happening? This is supposed to be an open convention, governed by
the Sunshine laws, not a secret meeting modeled after the Comintern in the old
Soviet Union; it is most disturbing if you are forbidding video cameras, which
in our day operate silently, and can be held in the palm of one’s hand;
* while we understand that some agenda for the upcoming convention has been
published, the concern is that what has happened elsewhere will happen at the
Colorado GOP state convention: namely, that the convention chair will try to
rush through agenda items so fast that the delegates will not understand exactly
what is happening; naturally, this is completely unacceptable at any convention;
Needless to say, the Chairman running any political convention should be like
the referee at a sporting event. He should make sure that everything is run
fairly, and above board. And he should make sure that the rules are known to all
the delegates in advance. The delegates, who have earned their position to be on
the convention floor as voters, are analogous to the players at a sporting
event. It’s the delegates that should make the decisions. And the Chairman
should be meticulous to make sure that what decisions the delegates make are
enforced – and this is done primarily through an open and honest count of the
ballots.
It would be the insult to the delegates if they are treated as window dressing,
or actors in a pre-scripted play, -- where their only function is to shut up and
rubber stamp the result which has been pre-determined by the State GOP. This is
what happened in North Dakota blatantly, and this is what must not be allowed to
transpire at the upcoming Colorado State Convention.
Thanks to the internet, it appears that millions of people have a very bad taste
in their mouths regarding the GOP primary and caucus process so far in 2012.
They have the impression that the GOP is being run like a private club that does
not want new members. They further have the impression that the party
leaderships do not feel bound by the rule of law – but rather can “make things
up as they go along.” They have the impression that the current GOP state and
national leaders feel that they have some kind of a divine right to stay in
power and be the delegates to the 2012 GOP convention – even if the majority at
any given event want something different.
I am hoping to come to Colorado myself this weekend for the state convention, if
circumstances permit me to do so. In any case, I am issuing this Open letter to
you on behalf of Watch The Vote 2012 in the hope, first of all, that it is
unnecessary. But in the event the above concerns are valid, that this Open
Letter released on the internet will inform and alert hundreds or even thousands
of the delegates to go to Denver this weekend prepared to stand up for their
rights as delegates, and especially to demand a fair, open, and verifiable
process in the counting of the votes.
If the citizens of the United States of America do not ensure that the primary,
caucus, and convention proceedings are fair and honest, then the entire process
is a sham, and the choices the people see on the November ballot for President
will have been predetermined by a Ruling Elite, rather than by the people, as
our Founding Fathers intended when they framed the Constitution and Bill of
Rights.
Contact information follows:
Edward True at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/watchthevote2012/
www.watchthevote2012.com