Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Finally found one report on the Alaska Republican Assembly convention in Wasilla.
As I posted later there was absolutely NO coverage from any of the local press.
Until now.
Yesterday Amanda Coyne, formerly of the Alaska Dispatch, posted this story on her blog.
Here are some of the lowlights:
There’s going to be a time, I predict sooner rather than later, when reasonable Republicans aren’t going to be able to sit through a speech like the one given at the Alaska Republican Assembly convention in Wasilla by Assembly President Sharron Angle, the Nevada politician who ran for Senate in 2010.
“One out of every six bundlers on the Democratic side is homosexual,” she told the 150 or so people at the Wasilla Sports Complex on Saturday. “Are you starting to see the trend? If we want to stop their agenda we have to stop their money,” she said.
One day reasonable Republicans in the room will get up and walk out, in the same way they’d walk out if she substituted “black” or “Hispanic” for “homosexual. “
Coyne then goes on to report that there were apparently none of these "reasonable Republicans" of whom she speaks, because everybody kept their seats and clapped politely.
So who was there? Among the attendees:
Reps. Bill Stoltze, Lynn Gattis, Shelley Hughes, Wes Keller, and Lora Reinbold. Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan worked the room. Sen. Lesil McGuire made an appearance, as did Russ Millette, the former GOP chair who just announced that he was running for governor as a Republican. Bill Walker had a booth, manned by his running mate Craig Fleener. Anand Dubey, who’s running for state House in West Anchorage, and John Cox, a candidate for the U.S. House, were there. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan also had a booth. Mead Treadwell had a presence. Joe Miller was there, getting the most shout-outs from the speakers. (Hmm, no mention of Sarah Palin? How interesting.)
Most of them sat or stood around the edges, chatting with occasional passersby, and occasionally even rolling their eyes at some of the speakers’ more fulsome pronouncements. None of them, however, left. The people in the room represented a slice of the electorate that they’re going to need in in the primary, and they can’t afford to offend them.
In other words these were the nuttiest of the wingnuts, and these politicians realized that in this state in order to win a primary, that is exactly who they needed on their side.
Coyne goes on to report that the other speakers were just as crazed as Angle:
You can say a lot about Sharron Angle, but at least she doesn’t yell. Two of the other keynote speakers did a lot of that. For hours. God. Guns. Socialism. Obama.
Richard Mack, a sheriff from Arizona, yelled about how Alaska should be able to elect sheriffs. Right now!!!
“Are you a David?” he yelled. “Do you have the courage to go against the Goliath?… Did you know that gun control is against the law?… How many God given rights are in the First Amendment?”
“Five!” he yelled.
Ted Cruz’s father Pastor Rafael rounded out the afternoon. Like the sheriff, the senior Cruz’s voice rose. But the sheriff’s shouts seemed aimed at hitting you, individually, in your gut. The senior Cruz’s voice was the voice of stern pastors everywhere, the one that rips right through you, through the walls, into some land beyond that only they envision.
“Nobody is taking my gun or my bible,” he shouted. “Vote according to principle.”
"Nobody is taking my gun or my bible." Wow if that does not sum up the essence of the conservative wing of the Republican party I don't know what does.
Coyne does not report on exactly how many people showed up on Saturday, but if her tweeted photo from the convention is any indication, not very damn many.
Alaska Republican Assembly in Wasilla: Lots of politicos. Most creative? Treadwell's posse in neon shirts. #aksen pic.twitter.com/q4YBvKC5zu
— Amanda Coyne (@Amanda_Coyne) May 24, 2014 Let me just reiterate how glad I am that I did not waste my Saturday at this gathering of mental midgets.Source
0 comments:
Post a Comment