Liberty in America
columnist: rtbohan

Topic: Republican Convention Ron Paul Battle
Return to Reno Part I

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The Nevada Republican Convention reconvened (sort of) in Reno yesterday. The convention (labled "Rogue" or "Renegade" by the media selected a Paul delegation to the National Convention. Stay tuned

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by rtbohan
(Libertarian)
Sunday, June 29, 2008

You are probably familiar with the story of the Nevada Republican Convention which met in April. The Party leadership, discovering that a majority of the delegates were voting for Ron Paul delegates to the National Convention, abruptly and with neither a prior warning nor a motion from the floor,recessed the convention and turned off the lights.

At the time of the questionable recess, the rules of the convention, calling for nomination of national delegates fromthe floor, had been set and the election of delegates from two of the congressional districts had been completed.  The votes for national convention delegates from the other congressional district had been completed, although the counting of the votes had not.

Immediately after the adjournment,Bob Beers, the convention chairman, announced that the convention would be reconvened, probably in  little more than a month, with the credentialed and present delegates from the recessed convention, and no one else in attendance.  Sue Lowden, the chairman of the state party seemed to take the same position.

Within a week, the Party leadership began retreating from their earlier promises.  Ms Lowden began to speak about finding some "process" for completing the work of the convention.  No more talk about reconvening the recessed convention was heard.  After that, things went down hill.

State Senator Beers had apparently made a verbal promise to the Paul organizers that he would make a list of the delegates at the recessed convention available to them.  When the Paul people insisted that he keep this promise, Ms Lowden announced that Beers could not provide the list to anyone since the state committee had control of it.  After some waffling, she added the information that "some delegates" (unnamed and possibly all members of the state committee) did not want to be contacted by anyone except party officials, so the list would not be made available.  Shortly after that, as the recess dragged on through May, the committee began to talk more about an electronic convention, conducted by the State committee. A major reason given for using this option was the difficulty in securing a suitable meeting place in Reno.

At this point, Wayne Terhune, a Paul delegate from Sparks, called the committee's bluff by personally renting an appropriate space for the convention, and offering it to the party. The Party refused the offer.  The convention would reconvene, they said, at a time and place of their choosing and under terms and conditions to be announced later.  They then announced that the time would be July 26 (rather than June 28) and it would be at the same site as the original convention.  Apparently they believed that hotter temperatures and higher gasoline prices would make the convention go more smoothly.

About four hundred of the delegates from the convention met yesterday in Reno, and continued with the election of delegates to the national convention.  The delegates present were primarily. but not exclusively, Ron Paul supporters, and voted for a predominantly Paulite delegation to the NationalConvention.([link edited for length]) Because media coverage was skimpy and focused mainly on the fact the this meeting was not sanctioned by the state party, I do not know it the convention began by ratifying the delegates already elected in April.

There was a question raised by some McCain supporters as to whether the convention yesterday actually had a quorum.  Since the list of delegates present at the April meeting of the convention was not made available, the convention simply declared 327 to be a quorum and proceeded to business.  Since the actions of the April convention had the support of the Romney delegates as well as the Paul delegates, it is possible that the meeting yesterday was less than a quorum.  The McCain delegates insisted that a quorum was 690, but whether this was based on delegates actually present at the April session, or on the number of delegates authorized, is unclear.

Whether or not there was actually a legitimate quorum present at yesterday's convention, it is important that every qualified Paul delegate be present at the party's version of the continuation of the convention next month.  The announcement on the party's website(www.nevadagop.org)  says that organization and resolutions have been passed in April and that the reconvened convention will "proceed to the election of delegates to the national convention.  There is no acknowlegement here that the delegates from two of the congressional districts have already been named, nor a pledge to limit the votes in the other district to those already cast.  Nor is there any assurance that additional delegates who were not present at the April session will not be added to the convention.  If the intention of the Paul delegates is to  protest the actions of the state party to the National Committee and to the credentials committee, it is important to make points of order about these issues at the state committees jam session.

Ron Paul indicated, at the time his ended his campaign for the nomination, that the actions of his supporters were raising hostility within the party.  But it is important that what has happened in Nevada must be protested all the way to St. Paul, and with as much publicity as can be garnered in the media and on the web.  The bossism and chicanery of the Nevada Party leadership are too egregious to pass without vigorous protest not only from Paul supporters but to all who support openess and honesty in politics.

RETURN TO RENO IS A CONTINUATION OF THE EXCITING SAGA OF THE NEVADA STATE CONVENTIION.  YOU HAVE JUST READ PART I.  LOOK FOR PART II NEXT MONTH ON NOLAN CHART

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2008 rtbohan, all rights reserved.
Published: Sunday, June 29, 2008
Last modified: Sunday, June 29, 2008

The views expressed in this article are those of rtbohan only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. rtbohan is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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