Any observations from our Texas delegates?
Yes, at the caucus level it seems arcane, but a system of rules are necessary and Roberts Rules or Order do just that, give order to a process open to railroading.
We are fortunate to have a great State Chairman. He is not a divider and is great at keeping order.
Was it efficient, probably not. And yes is is expensive to attend. You are a captive audience in a convention environment where everything is grossly costly. Even Ft. Worth. I was told that the Bass Brothers owned 80% of downtown Ft. Worth. (I like Ft. Worth, but really do not like cities)
The process is broken more due to the gaming in the National Republic Committee. The process is grossly steered from there. The NRC “rules” are not representative of all states. This time Texas was scammed by the combination of a terrible outgoing National Chairman and the consequences of Obozo and Holder fouling up our primary process with the lawsuit over redistricting. What a mess.
There is NO WAY that Mitt Romney would have been selected by the grassroots of the Texas GOP had this been a remotely representative process.
BUT the real problem is that the very people who should be candidates on the National Level will not run because of what the National Press does to them. And because of the frivolous lawsuits which the Dems have made a stock and trade. Until we fix those 2 things we are crippled as a Party and a Nation.
It is difficult to hold elected officials to the platform, but party funding and exposure can be used to encouraging candidates to read and respond to the platform. Rule 43 of the Texas GOP Rules is an attempt to do this.
Rule 38 addresses the presidential delegate allocation based on the primary vote, but can be changed at the convention for subsequent years if that is the will of the body. Switching to some type of hybrid primary/caucus has been considered in the past, but has never gained much support. Somehow, Romney got 70% of the Texas Primary vote, so the vast majority of delegates are bound to vote for him on the first ballot at the national convention. The RNC does have influence on this process in awarding at large delegates and possibly penalizing States for moving their primaries earlier. Personally, I don't want to have a situation where every state tries to move its primary to Jan./Feb. or else it will limit the opportunity of candidates that lack substantial name recognition, wealth, or party backing to build support or for party factions to settle on a consensus candidate before most of the delegates have been allocated.
Basically, it all comes down to what an organized delegation is willing to works towards.