Pounding out a platform
I came to Minneapolis a week before the GOP Convention in St. Paul to assist in forming the Republican platform.
It is very quiet on the south side of Minnesota’s largest city with 369,000 residents. The scenery is like downtown Baltimore, with tall, large office buildings.
Yet it is very quaint. Homey almost. Kinda like Carroll County in the years of old.
Not many cars on the road, very few people are walking around on this sunny afternoon. Almost total silence, as I sit outside the hotel and enjoy a little bite to eat before the first gathering of the Resolutions Committee.
Breaking the quiet after almost two and a half hours into my arrival there is a squealing – a siren in the distance. An ambulance rushes by.
As I enter the revolving door of the hotel, there is a sign “No Guns are Permitted on the Premises.” Revelation: Minnesota is a right-to-carry state. The only policemen I see are in the Minneapolis Convention Center.
I am told there are about 50 murders a year in this city of peacefulness; so unlike Baltimore. I wonder: Does the right to carry a concealed firearm have anything to do with the low crime rate ?
By the third day, everything is on schedule; we worked Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., crafting the platform which articulates the philosophies and positions of the Party of Lincoln.
It was rewritten from top to bottom, going from 40,000 words to about half the size, with the hope that being so concise would convey a clearer understanding of what being a Republican means, and would encourage folks to register and vote Republican.
Our co-chairs, Congressman Kevin McCarthy, (R-CA) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-SC) were very patient in allowing each of the 106 members to debate and amend the document that will be the basis for Senator John S. McCain to accept his nomination as the next president of the United States.
Maryland House Republican Leader Tony O’Donnell and I had front row assignments in the full committee, which was televised live by C-SPAN. It was truly an honor to be a part of this historic process. It is a document that should be read by anyone who is interested in the governing principals of the GOP. I am proud to be a Republican, and an American, where I know I am free to have a voice in the process.
-- Carmen Amedori
Carmen Amedori, 52, is a resident of Westminster and was a state delegate representing Carroll County from 1998 to 2004, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to serve on the Maryland Parole Commission. A native of Baltimore and graduate of Villa Julie College, Amedori worked as a paralegal and journalist while raising two daughters, before entering the world of politics. She was one of the few elected officials in Maryland who supported John McCain when he ran for president in 2000, and was an alternate delegate at that year's convention. Her backing has not wavered, and this year, Amedori is the Western Maryland regional director for McCain. She has also been cleared to be a surrogate — meaning she has the blessing to speak on McCain’s behalf when called upon.
Cheryl Miller, 55, and her husband, Michael, coordinate the Volunteers for Obama office in Anne Arundel County. She is an Annapolis resident and mother of two who runs a home-based event planning business. Despite studying political science at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, Miller was not particularly involved in politics until this year. She was invited to a fund-raiser last fall, and soon found herself immersed in the Obama campaign, working phone banks and traveling to Ohio and Pennsylvania to door-knock. This will be her first convention.
Comments
Yes if we only had the right to carry our firearms, Baltimore would see the crime rate drop!!!
Posted by: sandy uhler | September 1, 2008 9:27 AM
Carmen;
I have a sign with the large pistol with red circle and slash through it, the universal "No" sign with the following text;
All Law Abiding Patrons Of This Establishment
Have Been Disarmed For Your Convenience.
No Weapons Allowed
ATTENTION CRIMINALS
Enjoy,
The Management
This is a Defense Free Crime Zone
USHCI No: DFCZ-7972
Do you think the Hotel would like one? It is a PDF file and I can not attach it to this message.
Cathy and I went to a movie recently with a similar sign. I called them about it and actually got quite high up in the public relations chain until I asked them if they were assuming all liability for those who are attacked on the premises and could not defend themselves.
Re; GOP Platform Planks;
Considering DC Vs. Heller, Sarah Palin, and the modest McCain pro-2AM stance, is there going to be an Individual RKBA support plank?
As I told Sarah Palin; If you want to change the Status Quo and take on a great challenge, try this. Individual firearm ownership must be
supported, both in words and deeds.
Bob
Posted by: Bob | September 2, 2008 5:18 PM