On June 6th, more than 1700 delegates across Georgia attended the Georgia GOP State Convention at the Dalton Convention Center. Some traveled hundreds of miles for the opportunity to exercise their civic duty.

It was the first convention for some, and hopes of purposeful grassroots participation were high. There was a sense of responsibility and personal empowerment. In other words, these delegates felt they could help improve the Georgia GOP and the state.

They were even picking up the tab for their participation.

The attendees assumed travel costs, hotels, convention fees, and the 120-dollar dinner. A couple could have easily spent 700 – 800 dollars.

Reports of Bullying

But immediately after the convention, reports of bullying and actions that bordered on outright betrayal of Republicans by Republicans began to surface.

The bright hopes of newcomers were dashed, and the more seasoned delegates were shocked. Feelings of hope and a sense of purpose were replaced by disillusion.

Not everyone who attended would agree with this assessment. But it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t something to these reports.

Observations of an attendee

So, Fulton County Speaks interviewed a convention attendee to gain a grassroots perspective of what occurred.

The overarching observation of this delegate is that the Chair, the nominating committee, and specific individuals demonstrated disconcerting behaviors during the convention.

The delegate told us the following:

Robert’s Rules of Order

The Georgia GOP state convention is supposed to be run on Robert’s Rules of Order. But it wasn’t – the rules were violated.

Robert’s Rules of Order state that the Chair is supposed to be impartial – but he wasn’t.

According to the Georgia GOP’s own rules, “The rules contained in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the convention in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Georgia Republican Assembly and these Standing Rules.”

The Chair violates the rules

Josh McCoon (chairman of the Georgia Republican party) assigned the convention Chair position to Mike Crane. (A Chair is the individual or group overseeing and managing a convention.)

Mike Crane violated Robert’s Rules of Order more than once. As a result, the delegation was never allowed to discuss the rules on how we would vote – electronic clickers or paper ballots. Thus, we continued the convention without having approved the rules.

Roberts Rules of Orders calls for discussion on motions, but the Chair ignored this rule and didn’t call for discussions.

Examples of violations

Here are examples of multiple violations of Robert’s Rules of Order:

• The Chair is supposed to remain unbiased. However, Mike Crane displayed bias towards some candidates that came to the microphone. He was commenting on their performance between speeches -not a demonstration of being unbiased. Whether this action was intentional or not, it influenced the elections.

• He often neglected to acknowledge the speakers from the four microphones.

• The nominating committee (that reviewed and vetted all the candidates) disparaged a candidate more than once. This violates Roberts Rules of Orders. The rules delineate that facts can be presented (such as actions that candidates did or didn’t do). However, the committee can’t put out beliefs, such as a particular candidate being a bad candidate. The nominating committee is supposed to lay out facts for the body, and the body is supposed to vote.

• Some individuals (part of Josh McCoon’s campaign) intentionally blocked microphones so delegates couldn’t get up and make motions. The microphones were taken off the stand twice so no one could use them. Remarkably, some witnesses to these actions have stated that this is part of politics and it’s OK.

The Chair continued disparaging candidates, so I went to the microphone and pointed out that it was unprofessional to call out candidates. He commented, “Just take your seat now!“

The Takeaway

From what I observed, it was clear that a significant portion of the body was very upset.

Some delegates believe that their rights as delegates were violated, no matter what candidate they supported.

There is a narrative within the Republican party that we need unity to beat the Democrats. The attitude and conduct of the convention were utterly contrary to the notion of unity.

Treat people respectfully

If you want people to unite, treat them respectfully and don’t violate their rights.

Some disillusioned people aren’t motivated or have no interest in supporting the party. As a result, the party is not working together towards an end goal.

We always scream at the left about violating rules and laws, but we did the same thing. How will we push for things like election integrity when we break rules?

One positive thing is that new people there for the first time saw the shenanigans and were turned off.

Where do we go from here?

Several individuals have filed an appeal.

The appeal states that Mike Crane should never be a convention chair again.

It states that any nominating committee members should not be allowed to be in any convention in an official capacity or role moving forward.

The party should ensure that these bad actors are not placed into any role with the GOP convention moving forward.

If you would like to get involved with likeminded individuals, working to bring integrity to Georgia, click HERE

If you would like a copy of the appeal that was filed regarding the convention, email fultoncountyspeaks@proton.me