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Apr. 26, 2008
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CONVENTION IN RENO: Paul to test GOP's unity

But spokeswoman says candidate not trying to spoil event

By MOLLY BALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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RENO -- Nevada Republicans gather here today in what party officials hope will be a celebration of unity behind their presumptive presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

But with another candidate who refuses to leave the race crashing the party, unity might be far from the mood at today's state Republican convention.

Although he cannot win the nomination, Texas Rep. Ron Paul is still a candidate. Paul has an avid following in Nevada, where he drew more support than McCain did in January's Republican presidential caucuses, placing second. He has refused to endorse McCain.

Paul is scheduled to speak today, as is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who won the caucuses in a landslide but now is campaigning for McCain, who came in third in the caucuses.

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    • And Paul followers are expected to be out in force. Many worked to get elected as delegates to the state convention at their county conventions in February and March. Paul supporters held a rally in Reno on Friday night at which he was scheduled to appear.

    A Nevada spokeswoman for Paul's campaign, Jennifer Terhune, said the intention was not to crash the party.

    "Dr. Paul's purpose is not to be a troublemaker," she said. "Dr. Paul has always stood on principles throughout his career, conservative values that he believes in. He's going to stand on those principles. He's not there to divide the party -- he's a Republican. His position is to bring the Republican Party back to its conservative roots."

    Paul, a physician who two decades ago ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket, has gained attention for his vocal opposition to the Iraq war and to foreign involvement generally.

    Nevada Republican Party Executive Director Zac Moyle said Paul was invited to speak as a welcoming gesture to his followers. He said he hoped supporters of all the party's presidential candidates would be brought together at today's convention.

    "In the end, the nominee is not going to be Ron Paul. It's going to be John McCain," Moyle said. "We sincerely hope and believe that a lot of these people, maybe not all of them, stick around to be a part of that."

    McCain declined the party's invitation and is campaigning in the eastern United States this weekend.

    A spokesman for the campaign, Jeff Sadosky, said McCain was gratified that Romney, formerly his bitter rival, would speak on his behalf. Romney, the only candidate to mount a major bid for Nevada, took 51 percent of the vote on Jan. 19.

    "Governor Romney is very well-known to the people of Nevada, and John McCain is honored by Governor Romney's support," Sadosky said. "Nevada Republicans will hear Governor Romney talk about the importance of the '08 election and John McCain's fight against runaway government spending and high gas prices."

    Also scheduled to speak at today's convention are Gov. Jim Gibbons and Rep. Dean Heller.

    Rep. Jon Porter could not attend because of his daughter's wedding. Sen. John Ensign was scheduled to speak but canceled.

    A spokesman said Ensign had a prior commitment to speak at a charitable event in Las Vegas.

    Today's convention will elect Nevada's delegates to the Republican National Convention, scheduled to be held in St. Paul, Minn., in September. Other party business, such as debating the platform, also will be conducted.

    The party expects this year's convention to set an attendance record, with more than 1,000 people, compared with about 200 for the 2006 convention in Mesquite.

    Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.



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    CT Johnson wrote on April 28, 2008 11:13 AM: McCain is not showing up to any of the conventions because he would be booed off the stage. Mark my words...he will not show at even on of the state conventions...if he does grow a pair...he will be booed loudly!


    Scott wrote on April 27, 2008 03:41 PM: "Although he cannot win the nomination"

    Please report the facts. History tells us that the above statement is not fact, because the nomination is not decided until the RNC in September. The author needs to look up Hubert Humphrey and Abraham Lincoln, and understand how these two won their respective nominations. Hint: Lincoln had 22 delegates going into the convention, and came out of it with the nomination.


    Jerry Alexander wrote on April 27, 2008 12:52 AM: I can`t believe that NOBODY has mentioned ,in public,on TV,or anywhere else,all of the corrupt things McCain has done,is doing,and will do again.
    NOBODY!!! Are all of you in on this McCain take over,or what?
    I hear of all the things McCain is being charged with,but never in public.
    How many people are included in this McCain Coup? Who can we trust?


    blakmira wrote on April 27, 2008 12:51 AM: I'm still waiting for a journalist to do a story about the massive vote count fraud that went on in almost every primary. Ron Paul placed 2nd, yet has more supporters than McCain? Same story in almost every state.

    In Pennsylvania, Ron Paul was beating McCain 5-to-1, then hours later not only had he not gotten one more single vote but had mysteriously "lost" over 100 votes. It's just such blatant fraud going on, right in our faces.

    So Ron Paul "cannot" win the nomination? We'll just wait and see about that.

    As for Ron Paul supporters sticking around with the GOP and being "a part of McCain" that would be a cold day in Hell. The man is loathed for being a corrupt, lying warmonger -- the opposite of Ron Paul.


    bryan wrote on April 26, 2008 09:31 PM: Zac Moyle: "We sincerely hope and believe that a lot of these people, maybe not all of them, stick around to be a part of that."

    You sure about that Zac?
    http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Feature-Article.htm?InfoNo=032805


    Derek wrote on April 26, 2008 09:09 PM: As a proud centrist (with libertarian leanings) and a former Nevada resident, I couldn't be more proud to see all the hell being raised by the Paul supporters. Considering McCain is a CINO, how could Paul ever endorse him? Molly, please continue to update this story.


    Richard wrote on April 26, 2008 12:56 PM: Boy, if the Republican party is united behind McCain, then why didn't they show up to caucus? Why didn't he show up in Reno?

    The more I get involved in the process, the more I realize that McCain's support is an empty shell.


    Chris wrote on April 26, 2008 11:54 AM: Molly!

    I don't know why you say Ron Paul CAN'T win the nomination?

    You clearly do not understand the delegate process. Please do some homework!!


    Curt wrote on April 26, 2008 10:28 AM: The dollar is worth 4 cents compared to what it used to be worth back in 1913.

    What happened in 1913? The Federal Reserve (The central bank of the U.S.) was created.

    A central bank is not needed. Before 1913, banks used to compete with each other and were forced to be responsible or they would go bankrupt. The federal reserve removed this competition by uniting all the banks; kind of like when two companies get together and do price-fixing instead of competing. This is illegal if any other company does it.

    History shows that money HAS to be something of value for an economy to prosper. That is why the Constitution says only Gold or Silver should be used as money. Before 1913, dollars represented actual Gold or Silver that were stored in banks. A dollar was really a receipt that you could use to get the actual gold.

    Inflation (higher prices) is caused when more money is put into circulation. In a monopoly game, if you use twice the amount of money for every one, all the property prices will probably double because there is more money in circulation (everyone's money is now worth less).

    When dollars are backed by gold, it prevents high inflation because in order to introduce more money into the economy gold has to be mined, which is not an easy or free process. So having a gold-backed currency protects us from inflation. Inflation causes the value of your saved money to go down (think of a pie that has to be split).

    A gold-backed dollar keeps the politicians in check by limiting their power to spend and cause inflation. Without this power they would have to tell the people that they plan to directly raise taxes. The people would not be happy and they would be out of office.

    The


    Ugly American wrote on April 26, 2008 09:42 AM: America needs a doctor.

    Dr. Ron Paul warned about the war and how bad Fed policy would lead to the housing bubble, a collapsing dollar and run away inflation.

    He's the only candidate knows what's going on and what it'll take to fix it.

    Check his record.


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