My Run-In with Haley Barbour

This last summer, I had the honor and privilege of representing Iowa on the Republican National Platform Committee. As a delegate from Iowa, I did my best to work with other delegates to try and shape the National Platform so that it reflects the same values that the Iowa Platform does.

The National Platform is not like our State Platform. The process is quite different. In Iowa, we draft a State Platform based on input from county and district level platforms. The National Platform is drafted by the candidate's team — this was the McCain platform. Therefore, I was surprised that the draft platform was so socially conservative, more so than McCain himself. (On the last day of the convention, McCain put out his own platform that reflected his more moderate views.)

During the platform discussion, the McCain camp had their team in the room and they read the various motions before they came to the floor. If someone made a motion that they didn't like, they would be invited back behind a curtain and a full-court press woodshed would be laid on to get them to withdraw the motion. I have to admit that in advocating for the issues in the Iowa Platform — I got taken behind the McCain woodshed a time or two.

On one of those occasions, in debate I had a run-in with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The issue was drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The draft platform mentioned all sorts of domestic sources of energy except Ethanol and ANWR. (I stood up for Ethanol too!) Led by one of the delegates from Alaska, I joined a spirited discussion of why ANWR was critical to our nations energy security. I challenged delegates to speak up if their state platforms did not explicitly call for drilling in ANWR - none did. <modesty-off>I gave a great speech.</modesty-off> But it was a Quioxtic effort. The McCain people floor managed the committee well and they won the day.

It was during this debate that Gov. Barbour spoke, he did not address the substance of the issue, whether it was a good idea or bad to drill in ANWR, he simply said, in his Southern Good 'ol Boy way: (As closely as I can recall).

John McCain is our candidate and we don't want to poke a stick in his eye.

I did not have a chance to speak to the issue again, but I muttered under my breath that it was John McCain poking a stick in our eyes.

Two weeks ago, I heard Governor Barbour's now infamous speech at the Night of the Rising Stars event in Des Moines. Barbour was charismatic, witty and entertaining. He even made a joke about his predecessor at the RGA, Mark Sanford. Overall I thought it was a great evening — so why does my eye still hurt?