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Day 2 is over
Well, here I sit. Back in the hotel room now that Day 2 of the Texas Republican Convention is over.
What an amazing day! Pictures are again up at the County Party’s website.
We started off the day in caucus. I briefly described that earlier today between the caucus and the general session. What I didn’t say was that Arlene Wohlegemuth came and spoke to the caucus. In fact, she spoke about the “Memorial Day Massacre” wherein she used a point of order to kill 52 bills in retaliation for her bill not being brought to the floor of the House. She laid the blame for that squarely at the feet of then-Speaker Pete Laney, who, she said, was faced with the choice of killing those 52 bills or suspending the rules to let them come to the floor and allowing her bill to come to the floor along with them. He chose to let them die.
It sounds plausible, but I’m still not entirely comfortable with that explanation. Even now it comes across not as a parlimentary tactic to get her bill to the floor but as sheer mean-spirited retaliation.
The General Session this afternoon was both interesting and anti-climatic. Gina Parker lost the vote in committee (which I expected, if you remember this morning’s post) by a vote of 21-8 but decided to be gracious and withdraw. She gave a stunningly good speech, especially when compared to how nervous she came across yesterday afternoon. I think it was meant more to tell her supporters in public not to make this a floor fight but it came across as both forceful and gracious. I hope she runs again.
We had one running skirmish instead of a true, knock-down-drag-out floor fight. It started in the Rules Committee report on temporary rules. Two years ago we changed a rule to allow certain things to be done by majority vote instead of 2/3 vote. So, a guy who became known as “Mr. Johnson at Microphone 3″ started his work to get that changed back to the 2/3 rule. He was ruled out of order (which happened to him no fewer than 4 more times by the end of the afternoon). His intent was obviously to set things up to require a 2/3 vote to consider the entire platform as a package. He tried this again, and again, and again. He was booed by the floor after about the 3rd time.
We rejected one change recommended by the Platform committee on term limits. The committee recommended allowing people to hold office for 12 years instead of the current 8 years. That was pretty soundly rejected by the delegates. The common fear expressed was the “slippery slope” argument that if we allow 12 years now then we’ll allow 16 next time and then do away with them altogether.
We also amended one of the planks to better define marriage as being between “a natural man and a natural woman.” I think it was a good change.
I’m also happy to report that a motion was made almost immediately to vote the whole platform up or down at once. That motion carried and the vote to accept was heavily weighted enough that it would have carried even if the 2/3 rule had been in effect.
But, if the actual business wasn’t all that exciting (at least compared to how exciting it could have been), the guest speakers were fantastic. Today was dedicated to the honor of the men and women who wear the uniform in defense of our nation. I got to stand up when they played the Air Force song. I did actually have to enlist for my AFROTC scholarship, so I guess I’m officially a veteran even if I don’t feel like one. However, you were also supposed to stand if a family member was a veteran and both my wife and my dad were also in the Air Force. So, even though I don’t feel like a veteran myself, I got to stand to at least honor them.
The best speaker of the day award goes to SSGT Eric Alva. SSGT Alva (who either has or is about to separate from the Marine Corps) lost a leg to a land mine in Iraq. In fact, he was the first US casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He spoke about how he has carried on since then. Probably the best quote of his was this: “If I can do this then I can do anything!” Those are words to live by.
Rep. Sam Johnson also spoke. While he was good, he really couldn’t hold a light to that 33-year old Marine up there in his Class A’s telling us about what it is like to carry on after losing a leg.
The state politicians were also good. Carole Keeton Strayhorn spoke this afternoon. Every time I hear her, I wish a little harder that our “one tough grandma” would run for governor. Governor Perry gave the keynote yesterday and did a very good job himself. But I have to admit my bias here. I really like Strayhorn. I’m not sure that anything that Perry did would have made me think that he measured up to her.
Well, there’s one more day left. Tomorrow we pick national delegates and electors for the electorial college. Then it’s time to go home. If I blog tomorrow, it will be from home.
MickC @ June 4, 2004