SRLC: Day Two Review

Adapting to forces in Washington

No one was more respected than Raphael Cruz

The day started with uncertainty and continued into adaptation by a great conference team and the forward-thinking OKGOP leadership.

SRLC: Day One Review

  The long-awaited national event has finally arrived.

Scott Walker gets the first slot at the conference

 Downtown Oklahoma City has been transformed into a political conclave. The Southern Republican Leadership Conference features nearly all the leading Republican candidates in the upcoming presidential primaries and caucuses.

Bus Crimes In Politics

  Democrats don't 'throw each other under the bus'. That's only the spineless tactic of fearful Republicans who pray that one day the liberal media will actually love them.

  When a college-age kid finally grows up and becomes a conservative grassroots leader, why is it that entrenched political operatives feel he needs to be treated like a leper?

RNC Snubs South Central In Debate Schedule

RNC Announces 9 Primary Debates

RNC Chairman, Reince Priebus, announced 9 debate plans

From the RNC Website:

"...the RNC announced that it has sanctioned nine debates from August 2015 through March 1, 2016. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus presented a clear vision for the debate process, including the dates, locations and sponsors. 

  The RNC previously appointed a standing committee for presidential primary debates to sanction debates on behalf of the RNC. The committee chose to limit the number of debates, spread the debates across the country by sanctioning no more than one debate per state..."

1. Fox News     August 2015     Ohio	2. CNN     September 2015     California	3. CNBC     October 2015     Colorado
4. Fox Business     November 2015     Wisconsin	5. CNN     December 2015     Nevada	6. Fox News     January 2016     Iowa
7. ABC News     February 2016     New Hampshire	8. CBS News     February 2016     South Carolina	9. NBC/Telemundo     February 2016      Florida

  What remains both puzzling and irritating, is the rewarding of an untimely debate to the most egregious violator of RNC rules. Florida violated the RNC requirements in 2012 by awarding all of their delegates to a candidate who clearly did not receive the majority of the vote.
The RNC did make threats, in case RNC rules are violated...

Presidential Forums: A Growing Cottage Industry

How New Forums Effect Campaigns

 Several politically-minded businessmen are becoming shrewd entrepreneurs. Nothing in politics matches the drama of a split convention, and nothing terrifies a national party more than that prospect.

  The 1968 Democrat National Convention was about as ugly and exciting as they come; or came.

  There will probably never be such a spectacle again, if a major party can avoid it.

  But the specter of debates now replaces some of that magic. The problem is that you can't make money off a debate.

  So now we have events put on by both state parties and upstart event management companies. The Iowa Straw Poll was one of the first such events. The Iowa GOP makes a bunch of money off that event, at the Iowa State Fair.

2011 Iowa Straw Poll

  Last week we had a New Hampshire event. This weekend we just had a South Carolina event, and in 2 weeks, the Big Southern Republican Leadership Conference comes to Oklahoma.

  When does a market become too saturated? At what point does a candidate reach his quota, and opt for other ways of connecting with voters and contributors?