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Jul. 18, 2008
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STATE CONVENTION: No GOP gathering planned

Republican board will pick delegates

By MOLLY BALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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The Nevada Republican Party won't resume its unfinished state convention as scheduled at the end of this month, the party announced Thursday.

Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden said not enough RSVPs were received to reach a quorum, so the July 26 re-convention is canceled. Instead, officials said the party's executive board is likely to appoint the state's delegates to the Republican National Convention.

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    • "We're very disappointed in the fact that not enough people took the time to fill out a self-addressed, stamped envelope and send it back to the party," said the state GOP's executive director, Zac Moyle. "I sincerely wish people would have given us an opportunity to reconvene."

    He said the party got only about 525 responses, far below the 675 that would have been necessary to reach a quorum, even after extending the deadline by a week, to Monday.

    Under the party's bylaws, the 12-member executive board is empowered to act on behalf of the central committee of party members, Moyle said. The board is scheduled to hold a teleconference the evening of July 25 and decide how to proceed. They probably will chose to accept the recommendation of the party's nominating committee for national delegates.

    That slate of preferred delegates forced the state Republican convention off the rails.

    The convention was held April 26 at the Peppermill Hotel Casino in Reno, but fell apart when a majority of the 1,347 delegates approved a change to the rules for electing the national convention representatives.

    The rule change was championed primarily by supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul, who said they wanted a more democratic process for selecting who got to go to the national convention, scheduled to be held the first week in September in St. Paul, Minn.

    Rather than voting yes or no on a slate of national delegates pre-selected by the nominating committee, the new rule allowed anyone in attendance to run for the 31 national delegate slots in open elections.

    Convention planners hadn't anticipated such a contingency and were unsure how to proceed. Around 6 p.m., the convention's chairman, state Sen. Bob Beers, declared a recess, saying there wasn't enough time to finish the voting.

    A vocal faction composed mostly of Paul supporters believe they were shut out by the party establishment. The dissidents convened their own gathering in Reno on June 28, attracting about 300 people.

    Wayne Terhune, the Sparks dentist who led the rogue convention, said he was "not surprised" by news the party was calling off the convention.

    "We figured all along they were not serious about reconvening," he said. On April 26, "delegate selection for the national convention wasn't going the way the people running the party wanted it to go. Instead of allowing delegates to be elected fairly, they shut it down. ... They decided to obtain by another means what they wanted."

    Terhune acknowledged that he and his allies did not RSVP to the July 26 reconvention. They believe the April 26 convention was recessed illegally, because the recess was not voted upon, and the June 28 rump convention was the real convention, he said.

    The June 28 conventioneers believe they reached a legal quorum because they don't believe the April 26 convention properly credentialed its delegates. They are appealing their case to the Republican National Committee and may take legal action, Terhune said.

    The RNC has indicated it would leave delegate selection in the hands of the state party.

    Mike Weber, a Northern Nevada Assembly candidate and longtime party activist who is not a Paul supporter but has championed their cause, accused the state party of "a total violation of the rules."

    "It was very apparent to me that they had no intention of letting any legitimate convention stand unless they controlled it," he said.

    "We have a group of people who consider themselves better than everyone else, and they want to usurp authority from the conservative grass roots."

    The result, Weber said, is "not good for the health of the party."

    Paul, a Texas congressman who has ended his presidential campaign, came in second in Nevada's Jan. 19 presidential caucuses, behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney but ahead of the presumptive nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

    Romney and Paul spoke at the April 26 convention.

    Moyle said if people really wanted to see a fair delegate election process, they should have RSVPed to the re-convention.

    "People have complained that their rights are being taken away or that they felt disenfranchised," he said. "If they really felt that way, they could have responded and said they wanted to reconvene. I couldn't be more frustrated and disappointed. We've been extremely open about what we've done."

    Moyle said there was no doubt Nevada would send a delegation to the national convention.

    "Nevada will have a full delegation and they will be seated," he said. "We know that. We're confident in that. What we wanted to be able to do was to hold this convention and show we were sincere, and we are disappointed not to have the opportunity to do that."

    He said the June 28 rogue convention officially has "no status whatsoever."

    Party officials would not disclose the list of 31 delegates and 31 alternates drawn up by the nominating committee. The committee's chairman, Doug Mathews of Stateline, said he didn't want to put those on the list at risk of being harassed.

    Committee member Howard Hirsch, chairman of the Lyon County GOP, said the nominating committee didn't ask applicants which presidential candidate they supported.

    "We looked for people who would represent a cross-section of the Nevada Republican Party," he said. "We were just looking for level of commitment and history of party involvement."

    Hirsch said he was disappointed the committee has been battered with accusations of bad faith when longtime party members were trying to welcome the Paul supporters into the fold.

    University of Nevada, Reno, political scientist Eric Herzik said the whole affair has been somewhat embarrassing for the state's Republicans but is unlikely to have further consequences.

    Most Paul supporters came from outside the Republican ranks and were unlikely to vote for McCain, Herzik said.

    "It's not a good thing for Nevada Republicans, but most of the damage has already been done. Is anybody really going to care when all the balloons drop in Minneapolis? No."

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



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    HC in NV wrote on July 21, 2008 01:50 PM: Did I miss the mention of the fact that in order to RSVP, a fee of $35 was required. I am sorry, but I am not willing to give my money directly to 'the party' at this time. I would rather donate directly to candidates who understand why the actions taken on the 26th of April, and since, were wrong.


    Howard Hirsch wrote on July 21, 2008 09:06 AM: Carl, the RP forces had a chance to offer a slate to the convention. Had they done this, the nominations committee could have offered the convention an easy choice between the two slates. The disorganization of the RP supporters and support of anarchy was what resulted in the convention breakdown, not RP's candidacy in and of itself.

    Howard


    Credentialed Delegate wrote on July 20, 2008 04:34 PM: Clark County used voting machines and while not perfect, it worked out well. The State Party failed the Delegates at the Convention because they had no contingency plan in the event of the rules change that happened. They assumed the Delegates who wanted to participate in the process, would accept, without question, rules that were exclusive, rather than inclusive. The convention probably had 1/3 party regulars, 1/3 Ron Paul supporters, and 1/3 who just wanted to participate. I'm wondering how the 2/3 plans to vote in November, and what they'll tell their friends and neighbors. I hope they still support the Republican Party.


    Carl Bunce wrote on July 19, 2008 11:27 PM: Howard, so counting 1400 ballots was the issue? That is what you do when you want to elect people. The State GOP seems to enter every meeting I have been too with no paper for ballots. Why is that? That is what voting is all about? Marking your ballot then counting them! People concerned with them being counted correctly would have stayed all night to count them. It just seems that the Party Officers were not among those people.

    This will all play out in good time. There are other far more important things for all us good Republicans to be concerned with right now.

    www.carlbunce.com


    Edward Keithly wrote on July 19, 2008 12:38 AM: So, the GOP is going to send a slate of delegates to the National Convention that are unknows to party rank-and-file, selected in a star chamber proceeding?

    Bravo! The Soviet Politburo, not to mention the old Democratic Party, would be proud.

    These are tactics completely unworthy of American democracy. Free people, governed in a free country, should know who is being chosen to represent them beforehand, and they should be chosen in a transparent manner.

    This stinks to high heaven, and Sue Lowden... Bob Beers... Zack Moyle... in your heart of hearts, you know it. You may be able to lie to the rest of us, but you can't hide from whatever conscience you haven't sold down the river.

    There are good Republicans in tight races in Nevada this year, from McCain on down. Jon Porter, Joe Heck, Val Weber, Donna Toussaint all need as much party unity behind them as they can get, and you have done your very best to ruin their chances. When Republicans lose the tight ones this year, I hope you will remember we told you so, and I hope you will be very happy with what you have achieved.

    Shame on you, if you are still capable of feeling shame.


    Denise wrote on July 18, 2008 02:06 PM: Our Nevada Republican party leadership acting tyrannical?? You are surprised?? Who is its tyrannicall biggest-donor?? Mr. Litigious himself, El Gondolero Numero Uno. HIS meddling is , I am sure, one of the biggest reasons for the upcoming Repug debacle: Nevada changes colors as the Repugs go down in spectacular flames across the whole country. You can't buy everyone's vote, Sheldon.


    muah wrote on July 18, 2008 01:26 PM: I hope the terr-a-ists get all the repulicans AND democrats. Then we can start enjoying liberty and the pursuit of happiness again.

    We're ALL being held hostage by a small bunch of power-hungry a$$holes, and I wouldn't lose any sleep if the ghost of Flight 93 magically appeared and crashed into the Capitol. I'd begrudge the loss of part of our nation's architectural history, but gladly dance on the charred remains of our "representatives" on each anniversary.

    Why couldn't that anthrax mailbomber have done a better job?


    Howard Hirsch wrote on July 18, 2008 11:09 AM: Carl, Doug Mathews was on the podium in the process of giving his nominations report (which included the "secret" list of individuals recommended) when the convention, in its short-sightedness, decided to torpedo the whole thing.

    As a member of the committee, I'll say once again: every attendee at the state convention had an opportunity to put in for the national convention, and having such a committee is SOP, not only at the state level, BUT FOR EACH COUNTY CONVENTION AS WELL!

    The alternative was to have impromptu nominations from the floor of individuals not known to the convention, then have 1400 delegates vote for 31 names out of a list of 200. Carl, are you willing to count the ballots with no errors?

    Howard Hirsch
    Chairman, Lyon County Republican Central
    Committee
    Dayton, Nevada


    Carl Bunce wrote on July 18, 2008 09:05 AM: Does it not bother anyone that the state delegates still do not know who is on the anointed list of 31 National Delegates from the State Convention Nominations Committee? How could they expect anyone to vote for people that we don't know? Is that any form of democracy? That is the only issue! It has nothing to do with a candidate. They expect everyone to just say YES. The State Party is on par with the directorship skills of the Bush Administration, where they are not accountable to anyone, or at least believe that they are not. The People of Nevada will make sure everyone understands who is in control on August 12th. www.carlbunce.com


    Dan May wrote on July 18, 2008 07:42 AM: Regarding the State Convention, at every opportunity, the Republican Party leadership have behaved like tyrants. First, they insisted only they could nominate national delegates which would rob the State delegates of their right to vote. Then, in opposition to Party by-laws, they refused to allow all delegates to see the Credential List. Then, they refused to allow the State delegates to see the list of who they had secretly put on THEIR ballot and had the gall to call for our approval of THEIR list without even letting us see it. Then, after we fought for, and won by a 2 to 1 margin, the right to make our own nominations, we made our OPEN nominations and conducted the first round of voting. Rather than announce the results of that first round of voting, which was 6 for Paul and only 3 for McCain, they again violated the Party's by-laws and ended the Convention without the required motion, second and vote to recess. Then, they locked up the ALREADY COUNTED VOTES in the hotel's vault, and in all their press releases since never revealed that Paul had won. Their only statements being voting wasn't completed.

    When their Chairman violated Party by-laws and unilaterally called the recess, he said he would tell us within 2 weeks when he would resume the Convention. After 5 weeks of no responses to our inquiries we announced we would resumed it on own our. They immediately announced no one should attend our effort claiming they would resume on July 26. Yesterday, they announced they would in fact not resume on July 26... as we knew they would. They would rather send no delegates than Paul delegates. They want to pretend NV supports big-government McCain. We don't. They say they will "appoint" the national delegates.


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