Dateline: Duluth

"I suppose this is a bit of a rant. And I am sorry in advance for that."

I am back from the North Country. The convention was still going on when I left. I stayed until the Rubio ballet was taken. Four out of the five I voted for made it, so I felt somewhat actualized. I would have really liked to say for the Cruz and Trump delegates. But this is the purpose of this post. I suppose this is a bit of a rant. And I am sorry in advance for that.

Thing One - When these are planned in advance, do they have to be planned when the session is still going? Especially when the real drama happens? Dave Thompson said it well from the podium. He was looking over at the press area and said, "Many I recognize are down in St. Paul covering the action." And action in St. Paul there was. I so missed many of my friends who were elected officials.

Two years ago in Rochester we had our elected officials with us. This year no. It would have been great to have them with us as we had some questions. Some very, very good (and hard questions). Not having them there caused a whole lot of bitching about stuff that may or may not have been true.

Thing Two - Rules. Please, gag me with a spoon. We spent so much time on crap we should not have. We talked about one subject that all of sudden we discovered should have been moot. If the National GOP decrees something and a state defers, the state's candidates stand the chance of being unbinded. At least, that is what I thought I heard.

After working on flow down clauses for many years with the Federal Government, I know this much - some things are just plain sacrosanct. Flow downs from statutory or regulatory. There was much hot air wasted. Many of these need to be changed at national.

Thing Three - Judicial Endorsements. As Yogi would say - this is deva vu all over again! Please, spare me! This issue was AGAIN all for ONE particular judge. I don't know her, never met her, but it seems she might have some baggage. Here is my take. If we are to endorse someone, give us a choice. If there is only one, can WE PLEASE vet that person before a convention? I did not know this person from Eve, and all I received was anecdotal
evidence.

This was my second time at a state convention. And I will say the same about both. Cut the crip crap and do more advanced planning. Make sure all changes are IAW Robert's Rules so there are no inane questions from the group. Make sure what is off limits is noted as such. It is great to get together, listen to the "Rah-Rah" speeches, and then vote. Until that happens, we will continue to have there will be a whole lot of dead air and then deciding how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin.

POSTSCRIPT: The picture in this post is one I took in 1973 when I was trying to woo my wife!