GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > General Chat Topics > News & Politics
Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

» GC Stats
Members: 329,679
Threads: 115,665
Posts: 2,204,898
Welcome to our newest member, zcharestopz1918
» Online Users: 1,581
0 members and 1,581 guests
No Members online
 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #1  
Old 07-13-2003, 02:55 PM
docetboy docetboy is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,549
Send a message via AIM to docetboy Send a message via Yahoo to docetboy
Young Republicans in Boston get Nasty!!

My brother is at the Young Republicans Convention in Boston right now, and called us this morning saying "We made the Drudge Report!!!!!!!!!!!" So I checked it out and here's the story... Quite Hilarious if you ask me!

GO GOP!!! GO REPUBLICANS!!! (Hell ya!)

Tempers Flare at Young Republicans Convention as Delegates Clash over Amendments
By Stephen Dewey
Talon News
July 12, 2003

BOSTON (Talon News) -- The Young Republicans convention broke down into shouting and some physical contact on Friday as delegates for opposing tickets clashed over amendments being considered by the Young Republican National Federation's (YRNF) Constitution and By-Laws Committee.

Such amendments would realign the YRNF's administrative regions to match those of the RNC, easing cooperation between the two organizations. The change would also provide legitimacy to the ticket of Mike Flory and DeAnna Brangers. Currently, Brangers would be ineligible to serve with Flory as his co-chairman under the YRNF's existing regional divisions.

This has created tensions between pro-Flory delegates and the acting Convention Chairman John Birmingham of Ohio, who is also the campaign manager for Michael Mack, Mike Flory's opponent in the race for YRNF chairman.

The conflict became apparent at the first convention business meeting held on Friday morning, during which the chairman oversaw a brief reading of the report of the Committee on Rules and moved quickly to adjourn for lunch. As Birmingham called for adjournment, several delegates shouted concerns that the decision to close the meeting had been made in a manner that was inconsistent with Robert's Rules of Order, the YRNF convention standard. They were told that their comments were out of order, and the meeting was dissolved.

One delegate speaking with Talon News on condition of anonymity claimed that the first meeting had been improperly carried out. This delegate voiced concerns that the convention rules were never voted on, that attempts to debate the rules were struck down in violation of Robert's Rules, and that the "second" for the motion to adjourn came from the portion of the room reserved for non-certified delegates.

The dispute at the second convention meeting held in the afternoon was far more intense. After being quickly halted in their attempt to adopt the regional changes at the first meeting, Flory delegates arrived prepared to fight the convention chairman to a standstill.

As the second meeting began, it quickly became clear that the vast majority of those delegates in the room were Flory supporters. A significant number of Mack supporters were located elsewhere in the hotel, apparently unaware that the meeting would be controversial.

The first order of business was to hear the report of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, which was in charge of hearing the proposal to enact the regional changes. Birmingham immediately suggested that such a committee did not exist because it was never created, and called for delegate Patrick Peters of Washington State to present the report of the Platform and Resolutions Committee, next on the schedule.

Peters, a strong Flory supporter, immediately rejected Birmingham's assertion that the committee does not exist. Peters claimed to have received an email from the YRNF's national staff confirming that the committee had in fact been created, and offered to retrieve the email for inspection by the chairman.

Peters then attempted to require the chairman to obtain the name of the head of the committee as a point of order. Birmingham responded by saying Peters was "out of order on that point of order," and asked the Sergeant at Arms to remove Peters from the room.

This prompted one Flory delegate to call for the removal of the chairman for "lack of parliamentary knowledge."

Faced with the prospect of a vote to remove him from his position, Birmingham agreed to hear from the Chair of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee, and asked such person to come to the front of the room to present the proposed amendments.

The chairman failed to appear, however, leading Birmingham to attempt to declare the committee void and to move on to the next committee.

Peters then introduced a motion to compel YRNF National Chairman Dee Dee Benkie to name the head of the committee she had created. Birmingham initially asserted that the delegates have no control over Benkie since she is the Chairman of the YRNF, but eventually conceded that the delegates could present such motion given that they represent the YRNF's governing body.

Mack supporters then attempted to avoid a vote. Birmingham reminded delegates that the proposed changes could be heard at the board meeting on Sunday, but Flory supporters seemed to oppose this because it would occur after Saturday's election. Another Mack supporter moved to adjourn the meeting, but Birmingham found the motion out of order because other motions were still pending.

Flory supporters quickly passed a motion to close debate on the motion that would have compelled Benkie to release the committee chairman's name, and pressed a new motion to bring the regional changes themselves to an immediate vote. This motion required a suspension of the rules because it eliminated the otherwise-necessary committee report.

Birmingham called for a 15 minute break at this point. Recognizing the extent to which they dominated the delegates on the floor, Flory supporters took the opportunity to map out a new and aggressive strategy to immediately pass the regional changes. Some delegates took out copies of Robert's Rules of Order to ensure that Birmingham was not misleading them, while others discussed the motions they would next propose.

Following the recess, it became clear that Mack supporters had taken advantage of the 15 minute break to alert Mack delegates in other part of the hotel that Flory delegates were in control of the meeting and were passing pro-Flory rule changes. Mack supporters began entering the room, lowering Flory's supportive margin, and Flory supporters immediately moved to remove Birmingham as convention chairman and to seal the doors during the motion's debate.

Birmingham ordered the Sergeant at Arms to seal the doors, and began taking votes on the motion. The Sergeant at Arms was apparently unable or unwilling to carry out his duties, however, and Mack supporters continued to enter the room.

At this point, Flory supporters rushed the door and attempted to physically bar Mack delegates from entering the room. Delegates shouted at each other, and some began pushing each other. The scuffle lasted only momentarily, however, and level-headed delegates soon restored order.

Most delegates stayed in their seats and were upset at the conduct of those on both sides who had been pushing. One delegate sitting near the back row yelled, "Let's not forget we're on the same team here."

Birmingham told credentialed delegates to sit in the row facing the American flag, and then broke out, "Please remember that flag! Good Lord!"

Peters moved to remove Birmingham as chairman. This motion was met with loud cheers and clapping from Flory supporters in the middle of the seating area, and loud boos from Mack supporters situated in the back and the front.

At this point, the Sergeant at Arms again "failed" in his task, and let another sizeable group of Mack supporters into the room. Flory supporters were outraged, and forced Birmingham to call for the Sergeant at Arms to again seal the door.

The motion to remove Birmingham as chairman was quickly seconded by a delegate from Louisiana, and brought to debate. Again the Sergeant at Arms allowed Mack supporters to enter the room. By this point the population of Mack supporters had approximately doubled from its size before the 15 minute break was called.

Flory supporters moved to close debate and go to an immediate vote to remove Birmingham as chairman of the convention. Birmingham required delegates from four regions to second the motion. This time, Flory supporters were able to find enough seconds to bring the motion to a full vote.

Birmingham claimed that a 75% vote was required to remove him as chairman, since such action would be a suspension of the rules. Flory supporters noted that the removal of a chairman does not constitute a suspension of the rules, and thus only requires a 2/3rds vote. Birmingham countered that his removal would be a suspension of rules for this specific convention, since he is Mack's appointed chairman. This issue was not resolved.

Again the Sergeant at Arms allowed Mack supporters to break the "sealed" door and enter the floor.

Birmingham then called for a vote to determine whether or not he would be removed. The vote was carried out by allowing supporters and opponents of the motion to stand in turns, and Birmingham determined that the required 3/4ths vote did not exist.

Flory supporters quickly countered that the failure of the Sergeant at Arms to halt the flow of delegates into the room had "tainted" the vote, and introduced a motion to remove late coming delegates from the floor.

Birmingham was in the process of telling Flory supporters that he would not entertain their motion when YRNF Co-Chairman Michael Mack entered into the room through the door being supervised by the Sergeant at Arms. This led to an immediate and very loud uproar among Flory supporters, and prompted Birmingham to yell at delegates to remain in their seats. Mack then left the convention floor.

At this point, Birmingham announced that the support of 15 state leaders was required in order to change the rules to remove him. Flory supporters began the seconding process, but soon stopped. Realizing that the doors were still not sealed and that Flory supporters had lost their strong majority on the floor over the course of the convention, Peters withdrew his motion. Delegates voted to take up the issue again at ten o'clock Saturday morning.

Following the events, Flory had tough words for Mack.

"The delegates are in revolt over being railroaded by an administration desperate to keep themselves perpetuated in this way that it's gone for so many administrations to administrations without opposition," Flory told Talon News.

"[F]inally we have viable opposition with a majority of the states and [Mack supporters are] doing everything they can with the rules to be able to shut our people out [but] we're standing strong," Flory added.

"John Birmingham is merely a puppet of Michael Mack. Everybody that was appointed in order to administer this convention has been appointed right off the Mack endorsement list. So basically, this is Mack's operation trying to run the convention," Flory said.

Talon News placed a number of calls to YRNF National Chairman Dee Dee Benkie, who made the convention appointments, and Michael Mack, but neither leader was available to comment on the events.

Flory also told Talon News that he believes he has a majority of both the delegates and the states at the convention.

Copyright © 2003 Talon News -- All rights reserved.
__________________

Reply With Quote
 


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:40 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.