Ron Paul supporters team with Joe Miller to take over Alaska Republican Party

[Blue_In_AK]

Source: Alaska Dispatch

There’s always someone pointing out that the world would be a better place if they were in charge,” said Randy Ruedrich, longtime and outgoing chairman of the Alaska Republican Party.

Ruedrich said those words on Saturday night as he was about to finish presiding over his last party convention in Alaska, held at Anchorage’s Hilton. A new chairman was about to be announced, signaling a sea change in the Alaska GOP.

This weekend, it was the young, sometimes bedraggled but always idealstic and not always so polite, supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul who were certain that if they were in charge of the party, Alaska and the country would be a better place.

And now they’ll get their chance to prove it.

After at least 12 years of the Alaska GOP being run by what those party newcomers call “establishment Republicans,” a new force is taking over: Alaska Republicans voted Russ Millette as the party’s new chairman and Debbie Holland-Brown as co-chair. They are both supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul.

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Read more: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/ron-paul-supporters-team-joe-miller-take-over-alaska-republican-party

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And chaos reigns in the Alaska Republican Party -- the Corrupt Bastards Club has been replaced by the Tea Party and Libertarians. This should be good.

[cstanleytech]

1. Republican, Tea Party, Libertarian ...... far as I can tell they are the same thing.

So no real change except that most likely their more extreme taliban like members are taking over the key spots and calling the shots.

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. You are missing key elements in the platforms.

Republicans want to eliminate the government, except in cases where it regulates what happens in the bedroom. Womens rights, repeal of DOMA, etc...

Teahadists want to eliminate the government in that they don't want the government's hands on their Medicare.

Libertarians want to eliminate the government because pesky things like suffrage and civil rights are impeding on their ConstitutionalFreedoms^TM

Definitely distinct programs going on here.

[Bradford]

8. Tell me, Rudy...

Would you instead propose the "Detain 'suspected' terrorists indefinitely without trial" program?

Or how about the "I said I'd vote against the PATRIOT Act but then I voted FOR it in the Senate" program?

You see, Rudy, mocking "constitutional freedoms" is all fun and games until the president signs an executive order for your assassination (without due process, of course).

[MrSlayer]

17. Do you really think the President is going to kill you?

It's pretty much always been that if "they" want you, they're going to get you. But you usually need to do or be perceived as having done something fairly serious for them to want to get you.

I realize the Constitution promises better than this but I think we're long off those rails. If we were ever truly on them at all.

They just don't seem to need to hide it anymore.

[Blue_In_AK]

16. This actually is a pretty big shift in the power structure of the Alaska Republican Party.

Up until now, they've been controlled by the business/Big Oil branch, i.e., the "Corrupt Bastards," of which several were indicted and tried in 2007-8. That's when Ted Stevens was caught up in his legal troubles.

These Tea Party folks have not been representative AT ALL of where the majority of Alaska's Republicans stand (at least the ones in positions of power). It's going to be really interesting to see what comes of this.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Separatist movement inside the GOP coming soon?

It sounds like they'll pick up any old right wing idea, and Millette seems keen on "states' rights". That would be fun to watch - Palin's state party advocating withdrawal from the USA.

[bulloney]

4. Isn't Alaska one of the highest or THE highest per-capita recipients of federal dollars?

That'll be interesting to see how that meshes if the libertarians or teahadists take control.

They don't need no stinkin' gubmint.

[Kablooie]

5. They don't need gubmint, just gubmint dollars.

[jerseyjack]

6. There is a message in this.

The new nut jobs did this district by district. It is this type of action that Thom Hartmann has been advocating for years. Turn off the TeeVee and your Angry Birds and go to the local Democratic meetings. Become a committee member. It is not hard to do.

Then there won't be blue dogs to complain about.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. The Obama machine did that in 2008

and already has suc an onfrastructure in place today. Unfortunately, too many party people are hung up with their own issues and outdated strategies and some refuse to take advantage of alternate means for grassroots organizing in the 21st century.

Plu, the problem is not so much district by district organizing per se when it comes to blue dogs. It's geographic realities. I.e., likes eventually live with likes when the opportunity exists to move around, and thus those left in the majority in a particular district put in whoever reflects their sentiment, and the others be damned. That is, the U.S. is very much self-separated.

[tanyev]

9. Alaska GOP taken over by young 66 year old!

[Javaman]

10. one day, ron paul will die and all his crazy ass supporters will

freak out. They will run around in circles not knowing what to do or which way to run.

[lastlib]

11. Nah, they'll just adopt Rand...

...who I suspect will be Mitten's Veep.

[Javaman]

12. that's a scary thought. nt

[jonthebru]

15. yup

[Crowman1979]

13. So now do any of you Ron Paul supporters on DU still want to follow him after this?

[jwirr]

14. And we think Sarah was bad - wait until we get the devil we do not know.