Monday, May 7, 2012

Election Results?

No, I'm not talking about the upset in France over the weekend. Not even the upcoming and much-watched and speculated about recall election of Walker in Wisconsin. This is about an old election that wound up having different results that you thought it did.

Hard as it is, think back, way back, to the first week of February. Minnesota has what many think of as an odd system of caucuses to determine its delegates to the presidential convention, the spot where the final and "real" candidate selection process happens. The very interested are the only ones who turn out, and those only if they happen to be available during a very narrow window of time on a Tuesday evening in early February, when weather and road conditions don't keep them home. Votes are taken and duly reported in the news the next morning. Officially, Santorum won. Even if you didn't care, it was plastered all over the news in Minnesota, even nationally, the next morning.

The process doesn't end there, however. Chosen delegates go on to the district conventions and from there selected delegates go to the state convention. With Santorum dropping out, his delegates are freed from any commitment to vote for him. Those who are organized and dedicated now have a chance to change election results as far as sending delegates to the national convention are concerned.

Did you know Ron Paul won Minnesota? His supporters "won" 21 of the 24 state votes coming out of the state convention, and will go on to the national one to cast their votes for him. They were better organized, more dedicated, a pure case of a minority ruling the majority. Or if you will, a minority hijacking an election. While there are other appointed delegates "at large", folks representing the main stream of the party, earning their right to cast their convention votes by holding elected office or otherwise serving the party, those representing the people from the caucuses now will be voting for Ron Paul.

And your mainstream media told you all about it, didn't they?

What, really?

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