Were Oklahoma’s Ron Paul delegates disenfranchised?
Out of the delegation’s 41 votes, 39 went to Sen. John McCain, and two should have gone to libertarian Ron Paul. But after U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe announced the 39 votes for McCain, the microphone cut off before he could announce Paul’s votes, writes Michael McNutt of The Oklahoman . Convention organizers said the mistake could not be corrected, and all 41 votes were recorded as going to McCain.
One of the Paul delegates was so frustrated, he ripped the Oklahoma patch off his blue blazer and left the convention center.
If you want to see how poorly Nevada Republicans are faring compared to their Democratic counterparts, look no farther than who paid for their meals at their respective conventions, reports Lisa Mascaro of the Las Vegas Sun . While Dems had a daily breakfast sponsored by some of the state’s leading corporations and political players, Republicans were rebuffed when they asked some companies to do the same for them. That left Republican delegates paying for their own food.
Contrast that to North Carolina’s delegates, for example, who attended one of the convention’s “swankiest events,” according to The News & Observer (Raleigh). Novartis, a health care products company building a $600 million vaccine plant in the state, bused delegates to a country club at Lake Minnetonka outside Minneapolis, where some took boat tours and others downed mimosas, bloody marys, wine and a buffet brunch that included a dessert table.
Texas delegates are on the receiving end of numerous gifts as Gov. Rick Perry and potential 2010 challenger U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison begin jockeying for the affections of delegates, reports Christy Hoppe of The Dallas Morning News . Perry gave each delegate a blue denim shirt with his name stitched on the pocket. Not to be outdone, Hutchison gave red tote bags, also with her name on them, that were filled with goodies.
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