Candidate for Georgia GOP Chair John Padgett
Bill Simon, May 15th, 2013==================================================================================================
**** UPDATE on 5/18/2013: John Padgett wins the chairmanship of the 2013-2015 Georgia GOP. *****
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On May 2, 2013, the most fascinating press release that may have ever been written was issued by the Clarke County GOP on behalf of John Padgett (it appears on GAPundit.com here).
“Fascinating“, not because of its accuracy, but because of its…what’s the freakin’ word I’m reaching for here…ummm….okay, fine, let’s call it the “most bizarre press release ever.”
The press release refers to the documented incidents that happened at the Clarke County (“CC”) GOP Convention held in March of 2012.
This PR is bizarre because it has the following quotes by these two CC-GOP characters:
Carter Kessler: “After speaking with Matt [Brewster, CC GOP Chair], I am confident that we will continue to work together to protect the Constitution, promote liberty, prosperity, and personal freedom.”
Matt Brewster: “Carter and I both hope that no one will misconstrue the events during the 2012 Clarke County Republican Party Convention and place blame on John Padgett,” said Brewster. “John was serving our county as a delegate and had no responsibilities outside of that role. People who suggest otherwise are simply wrong.”
First, people don’t have to “suggest” or “imply” that Padgett was actually not just “serving as a delegate”…because there was a video taken of that convention that Matt Brewster apparently has never seen because it is he who refers to John Padgett as being the person for people to go talk to if they have a problem with the convention (when you click the link below, Brewster is the guy with black hair and long white-sleeved shirt standing at the podium at the end of the convention).
AND…if John Padgett was merely a “delegate”, why would Brewster be referring to Padgett so directly as the person people should go see to talk to?
Here’s the link to the video, and below are crucial time marks for you to pay close attention to:
The 2 minute-20 second mark when Brewster refers to “GOP Secretary John Padgett” to be the designated person to ‘go ask questions of.’
After the convention closes, the woman you see and hear talking about “going to see John Padgett” is Lori Bone, a Ron Paul supporter. She finds Padgett whereupon Padgett starts demanding the camera be turned-off and he attempts to get away from the persistent, but very respectful, Lori Bone, as she corners her prey at about the 2 minute, 44-second mark.
You see Padgett walking away…and at about the 3 minute, 52-second mark, you hear John Padgett state: “I don’t know the Rules…I don’t know the Rules…” in response to Bone’s challenge to him on the fact that Clarke County GOP broke the rules.
Watch the whole video…and watch John Padgett run away from a GIRL! Imagine what will happen when someone like WSB TV News Reporter Lori Geary parks a microphone in front of John Padgett and asks him a question about something going on in Georgia? Is he going to call her “Darlin’” and pat her on the hand and walk away from her and the camera too?
Also…contrary to Brewster’s claim that Padgett was merely a “delegate,” at no time did you see or hear John Padgett claim to Lori Bone that he was at the convention “only as a delegate.”
As far as Carter Kessler’s attempts at reconciling things now with Brewster and the Clarke County GOP…guess I am going to have to remind Brewster, Padgett and John Elliot of this Tweet that John Elliot emailed me last year that these three got so incensed over Kessler tweeting-out in May 2012:
“Carter Kessler (@carterkessler)
5/20/12 3:44 PM
@cynthiamckinney
would love to have you help me out with my campaign for Liberty here in Athens for GA house seat 118″
Yeah…that’s Carter Kessler communicating with former 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney. (Say, Chairman Brewster? When are y’all gonna have McKinney up in your neck of the woods for a CC GOP meeting?)
Now, Brewster and Kessler’s quotes in this particular press release aside…you should wonder what the true nature of the hate relationship that exists between the Clarke County GOP and BJ Van Gundy is all about.
As a result of that video discussed above, and a bunch of other documentation (including witness affidavits to the multiple rules being violated at the CC-GOP convention in 2012) there was an appeal/complaint filed to reverse the outcome of the CC convention in 2012. The complaint was ignored by the CC committee and by the 10th district committee who were supposed to also review the complaint.
This is a link to a later version of the complaint that (though the date on this is after the state convention last year, the evidence contained herein and on that video formed the basis for a formal challenge to the 2012 Credentials Committee at the state convention) the people who got screwed in the 2012 Clarke County Convention filed against Clarke County GOP.
Van Gundy chaired the State GOP Credentials Committee in 2012. Evidence was submitted by the challengers to the Clarke County GOP Convention (i.e., Lori Boone, Carter Kessler, et al.) to have the CC delegation disqualified for violating Robert’s Rules (especially Matt Brewster’s ignoring the call for “Division”, a basic rule in Robert’s Rules), and therefore violating the 2012 State Call.
After presentation of all the evidence to the Credentials Committee, a vote was called in the committee, and the committee split a vote of 5 for and 5 against to disqualify the Clarke County delegation from being seated at the state convention.
When a vote is tied, that is when the chairman must cast a tie-breaking vote. Van Gundy cast the vote in favor of the challengers…because, apparently, it was clear that the Clarke County Convention violated Robert’s Rules, which is the rule book they were required to follow for that convention.
So, the Clarke County delegation did not get seated at the 2012 State Convention because, not only did they break the rules, they were caught on tape breaking the rules.
That the Clarke County GOP now hates Van Gundy for enforcing clearly written rules is kinda like someone hating a cop for ticketing them for going 90 miles per hour in a school zone.
So…if you are looking to follow a) people that admit they don’t know the rules as Padgett admitted to not knowing, and b) people who don’t care when they do break the rules, and c) people willing to cover-up the breaking of the rules (and expect other people to look the other way as, apparently, Clarke County GOP expected Van Gundy to do)…then Mr. Padgett may be your kind of leader to takeover the GRP.

