Talk:Prohibition Party holds convention; nominates Jack Fellure for U.S. President
Notes
editStephen Gordon: Regarding an article, did you wish to ask questions or for me to pass my observations on to you? If you want a great general assessment, I’d talk to John Killian. I can provide his contact info if necessary. I only attended a few hours of the convention, just today. I caught my own speech (IMO it stunk, as normal), Ballot Access News Editor Richard Winger, and Eagle Forum of Alabama’s President Eunie Smith.
Regards,
Steve
1) That is the address I have on file for Pastor Killian. a. As an unofficial organizer, he’ll have precise head counts (I heard him counting heads several times in order to ensure the proper amount of food). 2) Brief observations of the day (in chronological order). John Killian informally acted as the MC: a. The Mayor of Cullman spoke briefly. He presented each person at the convention a small Cullman flag. A female delegate from Tennessee (I don’t recall her name) presented Mayor Townson with one of the early American patriotic flags (I think it may have been one used by militia units near Lexington and Concord in the 1770s, but may be mistaken on that. Folks were polite and seemed pleased that he showed up to welcome them to Cullman. b. I spoke regarding new media and my recent related experiences with it in both major party and minor party campaigns. As I had recently served as e-Campaign Director for the Tim James Republican gubernatorial race in Alabama and as e-Campaign Manager for Bob Barr’s recent presidential bid, the information I provided seemed to be of interest to the audience. When I opened up for Q&A, there was no shortage of questions and we ran out of time. c. Richard Winger spoke, mostly regarding ballot access and historical detail about the Prohibition Party. He was well received. d. We broke for lunch. The group I was with went to a local Arby’s where we mostly discussed state politics. e. Eunie Smith (President of the Eagle Forum of Alabama spoke). She covered recent legislation from a conservative perspective, concentrating on education and immigration issues. Mrs. Smith is the widow of former Alabama Congressman Albert Smith. f. I had to leave for the day. 3) Both Richard and I talked about technical or historical issues, so there were no tense ideological moments. While Eunie’s talk was more ideological, it was on issues which everyone seemed to have in common. She was asked by one delegate from Alabama about why the Eagle Forum isn’t more proactive in fighting against alcohol. Eunie responded that they had been very busy for the lately fighting the bigger issues of the day in the state, namely gambling. From my personal observation about the Eagle Forum in Alabama, she was 100 percent accurate. 4) During his introduction of me, John Killian covered more of my local activities (i.e. recent city council race in Birmingham, Tim James gubernatorial race, fighting a major tax increase in 2003) and didn’t bring up that I was a former Alabama LP Chair and other LP biographical data, so I did during my opening. I broke the ice with some comment about the way to pick out the libertarian at a Prohibition Party function is that I’m the one wearing the Jerry Garcia tie. People chuckled and from then on, I only discussed ideological issues in a technical manner, avoiding those uncomfortable moments. This is the same technique I’ve used in the past when dealing with the Green Party, Ralph Nader, or even Constitution Party folks, sometimes.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask any additional questions.
Regards,
Steve
Richard Winger: I talked about the way the United States uses election laws to prop up the two major parties and also to inhibit the formation and growth of other political parties. I also talked about the little-known history of how the Prohibition Party, in its heydey 1884-1920, tipped the outcome of the presidential elections of 1884 and 1916. Both times the presence of the Prohibition Party campaign for president caused the Republicans to lose the election. As a result, the Republicans in Congress in 1917, tired of losing elections because of the prohibition issue and the Prohibition Party, passed the 18th amendment. It had been sitting in Congress since 1875. Neither major party ever endorsed the idea in its national platform. So the Prohibition Party had a much greater role to play in getting the 18th amendment than most historians realize. However, Darcy Richardson, author of "Others" has written about this, and I quoted him.
There were 10 voting delegates and there were at least five other people at one time or another, including the Mayor of Cullman, and me, and Stephen Gordon.
Toby Davis: I would love to.
The new list of speakers is on our website www.prohibitionparty.org. Everything is in place and we begin Monday morning at the Holiday Inn Express in Cullman, Alabama. The convention will last 3 days and will finish with a few of us visiting Governor Sydney Catts grave in Florida Wednesday afternoon.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will update you as to how it all goes.
God Bless, Toby Davis
The Convention has concluded and all in all it was a very congenial affair. Somewhere between 25 to 30 attended with some leaving before the vote for the presidential nominee occurred.
Jack Fellure from West Virginia was chosen as our candidate on a second vote beating out James Hedges of PA. I was put on the ballot as the Vice Presidential choice.
Fellure has run for president a number of times and speaks around the country on many social and governmental issues. We believe that he will represent the party in the same dignified and responsible way that so many have before him, speaking out on issues that the silent majority of this nation want addressed.
You asked how he won the nomination over a long time party activist.
Prior to the convention we began changing some bylaws that will take effect the next time we gather. One of the changes was to an old rule that allowed states that did not have a complete complement of delegates to have people from their state represent them, regardless of party affiliation. This old allowance or rule affected the vote slightly. And in a close election slightly is important.
In the future only members and recognized supporters of the party will be seated as delegates and allowed to vote.
In other news, we will now begin work on ballot access. Our hope is to be on the ballot in 5 to 7 states. (Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, New Jersey, Utah, Colorado and either Tennessee or Arkansas)
And, I have appointed Mr.Hedges as the party's Executive Secretary. It is a position which will give him oversight of all day to day operations for party business.
Feel free to email questions, thoughts or any updates.
God Bless you and your family, Toby Davis Chairman Prohibition Party
June Griffin: Dear William: As Vice Chairman of the Prohibition Party, I can tell you plainly why I chose Jack Fellure over Jim Hedges. While Jim has contributed valuable resources to this Party, yet his positions regarding Environmentalism and passivity toward war forced me to vote for Jack Fellure. As well, his insistence on a moratorium on the building of nuclear plants caused much unrest among the membership. Yet he prevailed to install this plank.
Notes
editCan you forward your notes/emails to scoop@wikinewsie.org? Whenever possible, all notes or emails should be forwarded to that address for other accredited reporters to review and verify. DragonFire1024 (Talk to the Dragon) 13:43, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
- I will do shortly, but I have updates. Mr. Davis was contacted via facebook.--William S. Saturn (talk) 14:09, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
- I've now sent all notes to scoop.--William S. Saturn (talk) 15:15, 23 June 2011 (UTC)
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Review of revision 1249579 [Passed]
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Revision 1249579 of this article has been reviewed by DragonFire1024 (talk · contribs) and has passed its review at 19:21, 23 June 2011 (UTC).
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Revision 1249579 of this article has been reviewed by DragonFire1024 (talk · contribs) and has passed its review at 19:21, 23 June 2011 (UTC).
Comments by reviewer: None added. The reviewed revision should automatically have been edited by removing {{Review}} and adding {{Publish}} at the bottom, and the edit sighted; if this did not happen, it may be done manually by a reviewer. |