The only dissenting voice came from David Hart, the Montana coordinator of presidential candidate Ron Paul's campaign, who wasn't happy over some of the tactics used to shut Paul backers out of claiming any delegates to the national convention.
State GOP Chairman Erik Iverson said the convention drew 470 people - 300 more than attended last year's gathering in Helena. The convention's gross proceeds were a record $105,000, more than twice as much as the previous high of $50,000, he said.
That desire for diversity is one reason Paul was invited to address the convention, Iverson said.
“Our diversity in the Montana Republican Party is our strength,” Iverson said in an interview. “The Democrats in Montana seem to be much more monolithic. They all move together and follow the orders of their governor.”
Iverson said Republicans had “a spirited vote” Friday to elect 22 delegates to the national Republican presidential nominating convention in St. Paul, Minn., in early September.
The convention elected all 22 delegates pledged to back the party's presumptive nominee, John McCain. No delegates were elected committed to Paul, the Texas congressman who ended his presidential race earlier this month.
“Everything was respectful and orderly,” Iverson said.
He welcomed the continued participation of Paul's Montana backers. Although some had wondered if Paul supporters would continue to remain active after the Feb. 5 state Republican presidential caucus, “you look around and the Ron Paul people are still here and they're here to stay,” Iverson said.
Paul finished second behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the binding Montana caucus, while McCain placed third. Romney dropped out of the race shortly after Montana's caucus.
In the nonbinding June 3 Montana Republican presidential primary, McCain handily defeated Paul.
Iverson said that Paul, in his speech Friday, thanked Montana Republicans for treating his campaign more fairly than just about any state.
Hart, who headed Paul's campaign here, said he feels welcome to the party “in some respects,” although the delegate election result “was not the result we wanted or expected.”
“But I also felt the process was slanted and skimmed so it was difficult for our people to have a chance to be elected,” Hart said in an interview.
He cited the fact that all five people Iverson appointed to the nominating committee were McCain backers, and the fact that when the vote occurred, the McCain slate of candidates was printed on the front of the ballot, while the Paul slate was printed on the back. What's more, those nominating McCain delegates did so from a microphone on one side of the room, while those nominating Paul delegates went to a microphone on the other side of the room.
“The direction was very clear on what the loyal party member was supposed to do,” Paul said. “They wanted to make sure their process was very controlled.”
Asked if he intended to remain involved in the Montana Republican Party in the future, Hart said, “I'm sure there are a lot of people who wish we'd go away, but that's not going to happen.”
It took nearly five hours Friday night to tally the votes for national convention delegates because of a complex weighted voting system.
Elected as McCain delegates to the Republican presidential nominating convention were: U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg and his wife, Jan Rehberg, Billings; lieutenant governor candidate Steve Daines, Bozeman; former U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns and his wife, Phyllis Burns, Billings; state Sen. Jerry Black of Shelby; Thelma Baker, Missoula; Mark Baker, Helena; Rep. Jesse O'Hara, Great Falls; Sen. Gary Perry, Manhattan; Rep. Janna Taylor, Dayton;
Rose Ann Penwell, Bozeman; Karen Pfaehler, Bozeman; Kathy Barkus, Kalispell; Susan Barbisan, Bozeman; Susan Brooke, Bozeman; Kathleen Roberts, Missoula; Susan Muralt, Missoula; Linda Vaughey, Helena; Shirley Warehime, Helena; Arla Jeanne Murray, Miles City; and Neal Donaldson, Livingston.
Alternates elected were: Jean Allen of Great Falls; Jack Allen of Great Falls; Glenn Wehe of Kalispell; Sen. Greg Barkus of Kalispell; Cindy Daines of Bozeman; Chuck Denowh of Helena; John Milanovich, Bozeman; Julie O'Hara, Great Falls; Nelson Allen, Livingston; Barbara Barrett, Helena; Lisa Perry, Manhattan;
Col. Sam Roberts, Missoula; Tosha Iverson, Missoula; Lori Hamm, Helena; Joanne Blyton, Joliet; James Brown, Dillon; Tricia Burry, Kalispell; Keith Baer, Missoula; Will Brooke, Bozeman; David Barbisan, Bozeman; Martha Aveson, Bozeman; and David Penwell, Bozeman.
Rehberg adds $100,000 to GOP for more state offices
The Montana Republican Party's election war chest grew substantially Saturday when U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg gave the party a $100,000 check from his campaign treasury.
At the state GOP convention in Missoula, Rehberg presented an oversized check to state GOP Chairman Erik Iverson and Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, chairman of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee.
Iverson said the donation would be used to open GOP field offices in Kalispell, Missoula, Helena, Great Falls, Billings, Bozeman and possibly eastern Montana to run grass-roots operations and get-out-the-vote drives before the November election.
In 2006, Republicans attracted national party money to fund similar efforts because then-U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns was up for election in a tight race he eventually lost by a narrow margin to his Democratic successor, Jon Tester. That money wasn't available this year.
Rehberg said he wanted to help the Republican Party because the state Democratic Party has been able to raise plenty of money this year because presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigned in the state. The congressman said he decided to make the donation because “money talks, but big money shouts.”
The four-term Republican congressman was able to donate the $100,000 because he's not expected to face a stiff election challenge in the fall.
Democrats in June nominated former Public Service Commissioner John Driscoll of Helena to run against Rehberg instead of the presumed favorite, Jim Hunt. Driscoll has said he won't raise or spend any campaign money, nor would he hit the road to campaign unless it coincides with his personal travels.
As of the last report on May 14, Rehberg had more than $626,000 in his campaign bank account, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Driscoll hasn't reported raising any money yet.
“Denny definitely has the luxury of spending more time and energy on other races,” said Iverson, who also works as Rehberg's congressional chief of staff. “We're still mindful of our own race. The field staff will help him and the party.”
In his speech to the convention, Rehberg said the Republican Party, both in Montana and nationally, is “in a building phase.”
Although there's “an angry electorate out there,” the congressman said Republicans are on the right side.
To those who say Republicans have “lost our brand” and are “big spenders,” Rehberg said: “There are bigger spenders. They're Democrats. You can't outspend a Democrat.”
One of the beneficiaries of the party-building that Rehberg's donation will fund is expected to be Roy Brown, the Republican nominee for governor, who also spoke on the final day of the convention.
When he announced for governor last fall, Brown said some skeptics suggested he would have been better off to wait four years until there was an open seat for governor. They were suggesting that Democratic incumbent Gov. Brian Schweitzer would be hard to beat in 2008.
Brown said he ignored that advice because “Montana cannot afford four more years of Brian Schweitzer.”
The GOP state senator said tax cuts passed by Republican-controlled legislatures earlier this decade produced the largest state general fund surplus in history, the $1 billion-plus available in 2007. Brown criticized Schweitzer for embarking on “the biggest growth of government in state history.”
Schweitzer has defended his fiscal record, saying that with legislative backing, he has provided more money to K-12 and higher education than any Montana governor, reduced taxes by more than any previous governor, provided money to help pay off future pension deficits and paid cash for building projects rather than issuing bonds.
Brown called for eliminating the 3 percent business equipment tax to catch up with Montana's neighboring states.
“You should not be penalized for owning equipment you need to run your business,” Brown said.
Perhaps even more important, Brown said, is the need to provide permanent property tax reductions for homeowners, not Schweitzer's one-time $400-per-household rebate that was subject to taxes.
“We shouldn't make it harder for people to have a roof over their head,” Brown said.
He said Montana should emulate Wyoming and develop its natural resources in an environmentally responsible way. He said revenue from natural resource development allows Wyoming to finance construction of new schools and pay its teachers much higher salaries than in Montana.
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