75.3 F
Cruz Bay
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesQuiet Night for V.I. GOP Caucus

Quiet Night for V.I. GOP Caucus

April 5, 2008 — It was festive but a little quiet at Gertrude's Restaurant Saturday for the V.I. Republican caucus.
With Arizona Sen. John McCain the party's presumptive presidential candidate, the election was really about who will be the nine delegates and six alternates to the Republican National Convention Sept. 1-4, 2008, in St. Paul, Minn., not which candidate they will support.
Signs for candidate Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, lined the road in front of the restaurant, and inside a light turnout of a dozen or so people heard candidates speak about why they should be selected to go to St. Paul. Party officials sat at a table on a small stage, moderating the speakers, making periodic announcements and manning teleconference equipment linking the caucuses on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
State GOP Chairman Herbert Schoenbohm played a recorded message from Paul, who had been scheduled to speak but had to cancel at the last minute. Paul gave his greetings to the people of the territory, apologized for being unable to make it and spoke for a bit about his libertarian principles.
"Sure we need to regulate," he said. "But we need to regulate the Federal Reserve, not the markets."
David "Fitz" James and father David James were there manning a table piled high with Ron Paul campaign supplies.
"I'm really more of a Libertarian," Fitz said. "The Republicans talk about smaller government, but Ron Paul is the only candidate who is really for smaller government."
State Committeewoman Lilliana Belardo de O'Neal said she planned to bring the message to the RNC that the Virgin Islands should not be ignored by the party. She supports McCain but would have been happy with any of the candidates this year.
State Committeeman Holland Redfield II said the Iraq war, the economy and the mood of the country made this year an uphill climb for the party
"We as Republicans have our hands full this year," he said. "The Democrats have not had a taste of water in years. They are motivated and want the White House back. McCain's burden is to impress upon the nation we cannot cut and run out of Afghanistan and Iraq; that the consequences would be far worse than staying there."
The party needs to "stick to our guns" on taxes and government regulation too, he said.

Back Talk

Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.