Bayshore Tea Party Group Co-founder Speaks Out About Monmouth GOP Convention, Publishes The Candidate Speech He Didn’t Get To Deliver

The following is a statement from Robert Gordon, Co-founder of the Bayshore Tea Party Group, which includes the speech he would have delivered to the Monmouth GOP Convention last week had him nomination been accepted.

Given the points Gordon makes, MMM asked him why he is not challenging the Chairman’s election.  He said the had thought about it but concluded that such action would not be productive.

On Tuesday evening, June 12, 2012, we attempted to get my name entered into nomination for chairman of the Monmouth County Republican committee. That attempt failed for a variety of reasons. First, I was told by Joe Oxley, the current chairman, that we were discourteous in not notifying him of our intention at least two weeks in advance. What transpired after our exchange with Mr. Oxley, was unfortunate, but predictable because of the absence of bylaws or the adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order. I did offer my apology to Mr. Oxley, however I was dismayed by Mr Oxley’s adamant aversion of rules and the resulting response from the floor when my nomination was denied without explanation. It is unfortunate that a simple matter of producing County committee bylaws was not undertaken at a much earlier time, thereby short-circuiting any issues of this type. It was not our intention to embarrass Mr. Oxley or anyone else in this organization.

My considering running for this office came about as a result of several issues. First was the failure to produce bylaws in compliance with Title 19. Our first priority should be to comply with this requirement. Second was the nature of the campaign for chairman being contested by Christine Hanlon and John Bennett. For two weeks my mail box was filled with what in my opinion was negative campaign material. I felt that I should be receiving materials that clearly define what each of these candidates intended to do in strengthening the Republican Party, and this particular County committee. This clearly was not the case. I felt the need for an expanded responsibility for each of the members of this committee in communicating with the public in their respective districts. We represent those people and that representation requires us to convey information from the County committee to the public, and convey the public’s concerns to that same committee. I believe that we should expand this responsibility, and ask our committee members to become more active in the processes of local and state government. We must be the conduit that enhances the flow of information to our constituents and ask them to contact their local and state representatives on all of the issues that will have a bearing on the quality of life in their neighborhoods. We must be diligent in monitoring the activities of our local and state representatives. We must be confident that they are acting in a manner that is consistent with the qualities of good government and conforming to the principles which got them elected. We should not discourage the participation in our local committees as has been the case in this last election.

I am a conservative. I believe in smaller government, fiscal responsibility and adherence to the Constitution of the United States and the state of New Jersey. My speech, a copy of which follows, outlines my sincere wish for unity and a return to the conservative principles of Ronald Reagan. I have stated some items of concern where Republican representatives have not been consistent in sticking with conservative principles. This should concern us all.

John Bennett was elected chairman in a very closely contested election. I congratulate him on his victory. We wish to offer whatever help is necessary to ensure the restoration of unity in this party and the return to conservative principles, so necessary to restoring the quality of life that we have come to expect in New Jersey.

 

THE FOLLOWING IS THE NOMINATION SPEECH THAT I HAD PREPARED FOR THE EVENING OF JUNE 12TH, 2012:

 

Nominee for Chairman Speech

                                                                                             June 12, 2012

“One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors.”

Plato

 

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for being here. My name is Robert Gordon. I’ve lived inMiddletownfor 16 years, and I’m a committeeman from the 15th District. I’m a retired businessman. 16 years in equipment leasing and lease finance in the shipping and transportation businesses, and 20 successful years in Construction Management in New York City.

 

I am a registered Republican! Have been for most of my life. Like most of you I am dismayed with the condition of the country and the State of New Jersey. That dismay began in the late 90’s with the advent of Republicans inWashington, DC beginning to behave like free spending big government Democrats. It continued with a growing conservative malaise and the eventual selection of Barack Obama as President of the United States. The net result was a nationwide outcry against over taxation, over regulation, excess spending, loss of individual freedoms and the disregard for our Constitution! All this solidifying the confirmation in my mind that Washington was out of touch with the most Americans. The next step was an overwhelming outcry from the public and the advent of the T.E.A. Party (Taxed Enough Already) grassroots movements. It was through my association with the TEA parties that I met Joe Oxley. He spoke at several tea party meetings about the fundamentals of effecting change in our political system. The bedrock of that process was and is theCountyCommittee. (Someone once said “ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL”) He guided us in the process of Identifying open seats in our municipalities and getting our names added to the ballot. He spoke about the responsibilities of the position and how important your votes could be. I followed Joe’s advice got myself on the ballot, knocked on my neighbors doors, asked for their support and got myself elected.

The foundation of our political system is the District representative. It’s their duty and responsibility to represent the views of their friends and neighbors to thisCountyCommittee. I would ask that we expand our communication abilities to allow each of us to quickly disperse information to our constituents on legislation and other activities on a local and statewide basis, to enhance the ability of our citizens to become more involved in what impacts their quality of life. John Lovasz a member of the Middletown Executive committee, I think, demonstrates this with his constituents throughout the year. I’m sure there are many others in this group that do the same. We should all be asked to assume this level of responsibility. 

I am also a member of the Bayshore tea party group.

So, you might ask what am I doing here tonight? First let me say that I vote. Second, I am angry. Look at this material that has fouled my mail box for the past two weeks. Two respected members of the Republican party doing their utmost to destroy each other’s credibility. I know close to nothing about each of these individuals, including where they will lead us or how they will lead us. I expect to see positive competition within the party and this is neither positive, nor something to be proud of. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the only example of negative campaigning. The Ernesto Cullari campaign was, in my opinion, a disgrace for several reasons. First, and most important, was the selection process. My belief is that the full body of this committee should hold the responsibility for the selection of candidates. This leads us to the requirement of NJ Title 19, that by-laws be produced for thisCountyCommittee. My understanding is that this is a requirement that has existed since 2009. This should be the first priority of the new Committee Chair. Second, that this committee demand integrity in the conduct of campaigns. Is this what we want conveyed to the electorate. We hold the solutions to most of the problems in government today. These negative messages hardly serve to support what we really stand for. Let’s end them.

What do we stand for? Smaller government? Lower taxes? Fiscal responsibility? Less regulation? Judicial restraint? Adherence to the Constitution? These are the conservative principles that we all accept as the best remedy for all Americans. Why do we as Republicans lose sight of this? Are our elected GOP representatives following these guidelines? There is much evidence to the contrary.

Governor Christie has the power to reject judicial demands that are clearly not in their purview. He must stand by his pre-election comments that issues of this type must come through the legislative process. He must nominate strict constructionist jurists to the Supreme Court. Mr. Harris hardly meets the qualifications for sitting in the Supreme Court, let alone the strict constructionist definition. And while we’re discussing

Mr. Harris, it is disgraceful that the Republicans in the NJ Judiciary Committee voted to seat this nominee. IMO, this is a serious breach of principle. This is not a place for political gamesmanship. Conservative principles must be adhered to.

Redistricting is a thorn in the side of those who value their vote! Last yearNew Jerseyadopted a new Legislative redistricting map which literally guaranteed Democrat control of both houses of our Legislature for the next ten years, as well as confirming to the voting public that their votes will surely not count. This map is, in our opinion, unconstitutional. Last spring the Bayshore Tea Party Group sued the NJ apportionment commission and it’s Democrat members in order to nullify this map and reconvene the apportionment commission to produce a constitutional map. We are awaiting a decision from the NJ court of appeals on our appeal of a previous decision. In the meantime we have had little support from Republicans in this endeavor. At our township executive committee meeting last night we discussed the importance of our GOTV initiatives and vote by mail initiatives. We seem to be working against ourselves. Voter turn out in the 2011 general election was 27% and the 2012 primary was around 20% . The proof is in the pudding. Voters are now more than apathetic; they are convinced that their votes are meaningless. We must work for competitive districts. With our message we will succeed.

There are many additional issues that need our attention;

Agenda 21 and the loss of our property rights. Shelly Kennedy has maintained a constant battle against implementation of this U.N. program as well as ICLEI. A subject too complex to outline here, but resolutions have been adopted that oppose Agenda 21 by the RNC, The Monmouth County Freeholders and many, many more.

As I stated earlier; I vote. I’m working toward solutions to the problems the Party faces and a return to conservative principles. I’m doing this because I believe a course correction back to our core principles, is essential. Our children and their children’s future is in our hands.

Before I forget, I wish to thank my dear friends Barbara and Frank Gonzalez and my wonderful wife Lynn for throwing me from the frying pan into the fire. Seriously, I couldn’t do this without their support, and that of many others in this room.

Vote as you see fit with these thoughts in mind. Thank you for your time. God bless you all.

Posted: June 19th, 2012 | Author: admin | Filed under: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Monmouth County Republican Committee, Monmouth GOP | Tags: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Bob Gordon, Bruce Harris, Chris Christie, Christine Hanlon, John Bennett, Monmouth Republican Committee, Robert Gordon | 10 Comments »

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