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Kitsap We the People Statement 4/7/2010
The following report was not intended to be an attack on our local Republican Party. This was simply a report to the Kitsap We the People membership created by two of its members who attended the Kitsap Republican Convention.
For over a year now a conservative movement, outside of the Republican Party, has grown, organized and mobilized in the form of 9-12, Tea Party and related Groups. Conservative voters disgusted and put off by the power hungry, hard party lines on both sides of the isle have sought out and engaged themselves with 9-12 Groups and Tea Party Organizations looking for character in the candidates they would support and truth and honor in issues they would stand for. Right now these private, liberty-minded Groups are speaking to conservatives in a way that the Republican Party either can't or won't.
We welcome any official statement or clarification from the Kitsap Republican Party that they would like to submit to Kitsap We the People. We would be more than happy to post any such statement on our website along with a copy of the resolution from the convention that was rejected for everyone to read and draw their own conclusions.
As always, we encourage our members to be actively engaged with whichever political party they are affiliated with. The 9-12 and Tea Party Groups are about principle, not party.
The Kitsap Republican Party has before them, once again, the opportunity to extend the hand of partnership to its fellow conservatives in its own community.
Kitsap We the People Delegate Report on the Kitsap Republican Party Convention. 3/30/10
The Kitsap Republican Party held their County Convention on Saturday, March 27th, 2010. A few members from our 9-12 group were in attendance as voting delegates having been elected to the position at the many precinct caucuses held throughout Kitsap County just last month.
Participating in this process for the first time was a very educational and informative experience. Those of us who attended learned a whole lot about the Republican Party and its platform and we were able to hear directly from many of the candidates running for various State and Local offices. Overall it was a very positive and empowering experience.
There was one major sour note at the end of the day that was almost hurtful. A resolution was verbally presented that officially asked the Republican Party to embrace the conservative momentum going on in our country right now. The Tea Party movement was specifically mentioned. The resolution asked that the party members reach out to assist these conservative activists and help to make the Republican Party a natural home for them to gravitate to for candidate information and the party's position on certain social and economical issues. It also asked that the Republican Party start to focus more on the best candidate and not just blindly supporting the incumbent if they are not conducting themselves in the best interest of the party or their constituents.
The first part of the resolution process was to take a vote on allowing an open discussion/debate on this topic. A 2/3 approval vote was needed to open the floor for discussion. To our dismay, and shock, the result of the vote was an astounding 70% NO and 30% YES to even debate this idea. It was a pivotal moment when the Chair overseeing the vote pointed out that Representative Jan Angel, the only Elected Official in the room at the time, was standing up along with the rest of us to vote YES for the discussion to proceed. Jan is behind us and is indeed, a true representative of the people. 70% of the Kitsap Republican delegates still said NO and then they voted NO again to kill the resolution completely.
Although our values and beliefs so closely align with the Republican Party, there is still apparently a negative stigma attached to groups such as ours. It is doubtful that most of those who voted NO have ever been to a tea party or a 9-12 group event, to see firsthand that the reality is not what it is portrayed as by the media. We are good people with good intentions, just trying to get our voices heard. It is unfortunate, but it is what it is. The Republican Party publically passed on a valuable opportunity in that single moment.
This report was compiled by two Kitsap We the People members, both of whom were elected as delegates to the Washington State Republican Convention in Vancouver, WA to be held June 10-12, 2010.