Michelle Malkin » Nevada GOP convention chaos: McCain outmaneuvered by Paulians, party leaders shut down voting

Nevada GOP convention chaos: McCain outmaneuvered by Paulians, party leaders shut down voting

By Michelle Malkin • April 27, 2008 06:38 PM

John McCain may think he has united the party, but party activists aren’t ready to “calm down” yet.

After seeing his slate of convention delegates in Arizona rejected and alienating North Carolina GOP activists over the anti-Jeremiah Wright ad he condemned without actually watching, the McCain camp has now suffered an embarrassing episode in Nevada.

Via the Las Vegas Review Journal comes the news that the state GOP convention was suspended last night after McCain supporters failed to quell a revolt by Ron Paul’s people:

The state Republican convention was called off Saturday evening without electing national delegates, prompting protests from a record crowd that included many supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul.

State Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, the convention chairman, announced that the convention would recess indefinitely about 6 p.m., saying the party’s contract with the Peppermill Hotel Casino had expired and the gathering would reconvene at a later date.

“We simply had hours and hours of work left to do,” he said in an interview afterward.

It was the sudden and frustrating culmination of a long day that had pitted the party establishment that supports presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., against the insurgent Paul supporters.

Up to that point, the convention had appeared to be proceeding slowly but smoothly after a rules change powered by Paul supporters required a lengthier process than was originally planned for voting on delegates to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., in September. “They hijacked the party away from the people,” Paul supporter Chloie Leavitt, a 44-year-old Overton resident, said as she left. “We were winning and they shut it down.”

Paul supporters appeared to be a large share of the 1,347 state convention delegates. After Beers left the building, some attendees initially refused to leave and tried to restart the convention, but they failed to reach a quorum.

“Unfortunately, with the rule changes implemented this morning, we did not have time to complete the process,” Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden said in a statement. “Our contract for the meeting space had expired, as had our budget, and ballots were unable to be physically produced by the nominations committee. We had to temporarily recess the convention.” She said the party would ask to use the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, which was provided free to the Clark County Democratic Party by UNLV for use in their do-over convention earlier this month after they botched their convention on Feb. 23.

Paul’s supporters succeeded in overturning party rules that would have allowed only pre-approved delegate slates to be elected to the national convention. They argued anyone present ought to be able to run for national delegate. Their move to change the rules succeeded by a wide margin. Once that change was made, Paul campaigners were prepared for an intensive conventioneering effort, passing out their own suggested delegate slates for their people to vote on in hastily assembled delegate elections.

The McCain campaign hadn’t prepared for this contingency, having assumed the pre-approved delegate slates would be pushed through, a source with the campaign said.

Wow.

The Reno Gazette Journal captures the tension:

Throughout the confusion, hecklers battled for the attention of delegates who supported U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

“McCain supporters leave!” one man shouted.

“McCain supporters stay!” a woman answered.

“We’re supposed to be on the same team!” another woman shouted.

We’re going to be witnessing a lot of those shouting matches from now ’til fall.

***

See an Arizona’s take on the chaos at Seeing Red AZ.

Posted in: GOP, John McCain

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#101

On April 28th, 2008 at 1:58 pm, Jbgood said:

They had a poll in Oklahoma last week.
The question was “do you think any of the 3 candidates running for POTUS is qualified for the office?”

The results were that about 65%, forgot the exact figure, thought none of the 3 were qualified.

I agree. I will not vote for any of these for POTUS. I will vote for the down ticket only. I’m tired of having to vote for the lesser of 2 evils.
#102

On April 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm, Buckaroo said:

# 84

piss off “tough guy” — ~1 minute persuing the positions of JSM on issues of abortion, the 2nd amendment, government spending, and yes Iraq and the larger war effort shows stark differences over his competition …

/sheesh
#103

On April 28th, 2008 at 3:24 pm, SakakiO said:

The Paulites hijacked the Minnesota CD 4, 5, and 6 nominating conventions earlier and put their boys in for delegates.

They want a brokered convention. They effectively are interested in making a Democrat win.

Libertarians are worse than Leftists sometimes.
#104

On April 28th, 2008 at 7:58 pm, steveegg said:

On April 28th, 2008 at 3:24 pm, SakakiO said:

…Libertarians are worse than Leftists sometimes.

There is a reason Libertarian and Liberal share the first 5 letters.
#105

On April 29th, 2008 at 9:25 am, Dr. Lead Based Paint said:

Just HOW do you figure Ron Paul to be a nut? He believes in The Constitution of the United States of America - - something that most Americans *used to* believe in!

And the Ron Paul supporters? Kudos to them for standing against the Republican RINO machine! John McCain was a candidate chosen by Democrats to be the Republican nominee. He should NOT be welcome in the Republican Party.

YIPPEEEEE! For some folks who are willing to *DO* something to fix the problem rather than just write about the problem in their blogs.
#106

On April 29th, 2008 at 11:46 am, rotarymunkey said:

On McCain:
Having now watched McCain closely as he’s campaigned, and actually listened to his oft poorly-worded responses to questions, I no longer believe him to be the “floating with the wind” liberally-minded, left-of-center Republican I first thought that he was. What I see is a man with his own ideas, not all of them good, who speaks what he thinks, sometimes to his own detriment. He’s not as slick as Obama, not as well-spoken as Romney, and not at all vicious like Hildabeast. He has a temper true, but it’s rooted in his exasperation with people around him, not out of some sort of angst against society at large, like Rev. Wright. I see a man who, when he believes in something, will pursue it vigorously, as he did with the Immigration Reform Act. This does NOT make him a bad man, although he’s not as “Republican” as we might like.

As in the case of McAmnesty, it is OUR DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY as citizens to make our voices heard. We ALL spoke out against amnesty, calling, emailing, faxing our Representatives and Senators and we DEFEATED that bill. This is EXACTLY how our Republic is supposed to work. We aren’t supposed to elect empty suits to send to Washington D.C. We aren’t supposed to elect a “ruling elite class” either. We ARE ALL responsible for ensuring that Congress makes good and acceptable laws, and that means getting off our fat, happy behinds and ORGANIZING!

On “Pauldos”:
Clearly now we’ve seen how this two party system is failing the large “Middle Ground-Middle Class”. The Elites in both parties have their agendas, and it’s up to US to STEER them in the direction we’d like to go.

I don’t have my own blog, but if I did it would be solely for the purpose of defeating stupid bits of legislation proposed by BOTH sides of the isle. To sit on here and chew each other to shreds over whether or not Pauldos are wrong or right is NOT what our Forefathers would have wished. I do believe, though I don’t agree with Ron Paul, that the Pauldos are engaging in exactly the sort of behavior that the framers of the Constitution would applaud; they’re fighting tooth and nail for what they believe.

Speak ill of their ideas if you like, but do not disparage their actions until YOU are willing to shut down that PC or Mac and attend your local or national convention, at your own expense, and make your voices heard.
#107

On May 2nd, 2008 at 10:25 am, Bob in Myrtle Beach said:

Three words: DRAFT FRED THOMPSON