LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign condemned today the efforts of the Alaska Republican Party and its chairman Randy Reudrich to disenfranchise Paul and other non-Romney delegates to the party’s upcoming state convention. In doing so, the Paul campaign also announced that
it will utilize all legal tools at its disposal to prevent or reverse the state party’s illegal efforts to omit non-Romney delegates to the convention.
The state party-initiated conflict in this regard is especially worrisome and politically sensitive as the Paul campaign believes it won a significant portion of delegates at the Alaska State House district conventions already held. The Paul camp anticipates that its delegate tally at the upcoming state convention will increase as supporters of former candidate Rick Santorum – including fellow prolife supporters – defect to the Paul camp or become non-Romney delegates to the Republican National Convention to be held late August in Tampa, Florida. In light of this, the issue has national party and political implications because it affects the conversation that will occur in Tampa over whether constitutionally-limited government and an authentic commitment to the sanctity of life will prevail over the status quo.
The Alaska Republican Party state convention is set to be held from April 26[SUP]th[/SUP]-28[SUP]th[/SUP], and all previous communications to would-be delegates have stated that a delegate fee of $250 would be accepted up until the convention registration deadline, which is 2:00 p.m. Alaska Time on April 26[SUP]th[/SUP]. However, on Monday the 16[SUP]th[/SUP]state party chairman Randy Reudrich called a state committee meeting at which he stated that delegate fees would be accepted no later than 48 hours from the time of the meeting, which would be Wednesday, April 18[SUP]th[/SUP]. However, on Tuesday the state party said that delegate fees had to be paid by 6:00 p.m
that evening. As individual delegates and campaigns scrambled to pay delegate fees, the state party erected bizarre and allegedly extra-legal obstacles in front of Paul, prolife, and other non-Romney delegates, and communications between self-identifying non-Romney delegates and state party personnel degraded.
One example of the state party trying to frustrate Paul delegates was in exactly when and how delegates could remit their $250 fee. Acceptable methods of payment ranged from online credit card payment on the state party website – although the link to such had been inexplicably removed – to personal checks that were later said to be unacceptable, to money orders that in at least one case were termed unacceptable and returned. The state party,
the Ron Paul campaign argues, capriciously moved its payment deadline and modified its acceptable ways of paying the $250 delegate fee expressly to frustrate Paul delegates and in general any delegates outside the tight circle of party-sanctioned non-Romney delegates.
The Alaska GOP also wrongly stated that individual Paul, prolife, or non-Romney supporters were prohibited from sponsoring the $250 delegate fees for surrogate delegates, disbursements used to cover airfare, accommodations, and the like in as large a state as Alaska. In the example, the party told a grassroots Ron Paul supporter that he could not sponsor four surrogate delegates for an amount totaling $1,000 without a waiver yet the party subsequently refused to make the waiver form available for examination or use ostensibly to burn the clock.
The Ron Paul campaign,
in its letter, informed the state party organization and its chair that prohibiting sponsorship of delegates has no legal or factual basis.
“Saying ‘Your money’s no good here’ is an affront to the many Ron Paul and other prolife supporters who labor to support the candidate of their choice and build the Republican Party,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Manager John Tate.
“Moving the goal post, setting up hoops for delegates to jump through, establishing arbitrary deadlines, and sending conflicting messages to frustrate Paul supporters is wrong and will fail. Instead, Ron Paul supporters and other prolife supporters will be further energized, and this invented conflict will have the added benefit of shaming the Alaska Republican Party establishment, which obviously is in the tank for Massachusetts moderate Mitt Romney,” added Mr. Tate.
To read the Paul campaign letter to Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Reudrich outlining the campaign’s legal stance on the matter, please click
here.
