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John L. Smith
Republican caucus falls short yet amuses
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Las Vegas again showed the nation Saturday why it remains the Entertainment Capital of the World.
I speak not of the return of Siegfried & Roy or the latest surrealistic spectacle from Cirque du Soleil, but of the Republican presidential caucus. It was advertised for "One Night Only" but managed to be held over for a day as GOP vote counters double- and triple-checked their math.
It was supposed to be entertaining, right?
It wasn't supposed to be the state Republican Party's highly coordinated coming out celebration, was it?
If it was strictly for entertainment purposes, the caucus more than lived up to its billing. It was good fun mixed with enough head-spinning chaos to give a Riviera production show a run for its money. I give it my highest rating. But if Republican insiders imagined that the party would strut its stuff before the national media, well, I'm not so sure they were satisfied with the results.
Speaking of results, some of the caucus precinct counters weren't quite ready for prime time. Although party officials vowed Nevada's caucus would not sink to the depths of incompetence displayed by Iowa officials, that doesn't exactly qualify as a lofty goal for a group that's trying to win the Silver State for its standard-bearer.
Whether the party reached its goal depends in part on whether you think it should take a couple days to count approximately 34,000 ballots. This is the year 2012. Technology is our friend.
The slow count meant that East Coast press missed its deadlines. If you want to stay on the right side of Wolf Blitzer and the other headliners from the televised political media, you have to give them numbers.
Then there's the actual voter turnout , which fell thousands of votes short of the 2008 caucus. Although I heard no one blame the lackluster total on the weather -- it was, after all, a gorgeous morning -- I did hear a variety of unconvincing reasons all those supposedly angry Republicans decided to stay home. To put it kindly, the Nevada GOP needs to work on the enthusiasm thing before the November general election.
Then there was the special caucus held at the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin for orthodox Jews and Seventh-day Adventists. Forget the catcalls and the suspicion that casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson was making his pet political party sit up. If you're going to have a Saturday caucus, it makes sense to accommodate as many voters as possible.
Besides, it turned out to be tremendously entertaining theater with Ron Paul supporters undergoing amazing religious conversions right before the eyes of party officials. Add some name-calling, and you had a nationally televised reminder that Nevada's GOP was, shall we say, still working out the bugs on its 2012 election routine.
Of course, no review of Saturday's caucus would be complete without a review of the actual process. Scores of well-meaning folks showed up too late to argue with their neighbors and cast their ballots. Dozens apparently found the forms too confounding or time-consuming. Some ballots weren't counted.
Although most voters I spoke with treated the caucus with good humor, others blasted the delays and confusion. Of those who complained, the choices were clear: Mitt Romney over Newt Gingrich and primary over caucus. They don't have to visit with their neighbors unless they want to. A few participants even suggested the caucus process be fired straight up to Gingrich's moon colony.
Caucus week is over, but who can forget Mitt getting big love from Donald Trump?
Trump, the former GOP presidential candidate, lavished his endorsement on Romney -- but not before it was reported Gingrich would receive The Donald's blessing.
All in all, it was worth the price of admission.
But I'm not sure if it will get good reviews in November.
John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.
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What a surprise, republicans need a reason for people to show up to vote, and as of yet have none. Take a long look at the candidates and what they have to say that will pull us out of this mess that Bush got us into and then you will understand why there are small turnouts. Truth Hurts, doesn't it???
What a waste of time the entire caucus idea is!! I want to be able to drop into my precinct's voting location any time during the day and place my vote in a primary -- takes 5 minutes at my convenience. I do NOT want to have to show up at 8:00 a.m., hang around, listen to a bunch of idiots reading off talking points from Rush or Savage or whoever in favor of (or against) various candidates, wasting hours of my time, before I get to cast my ballot. I'm sorry, America, but I doubt I will attend the next caucus. What a joke!!
Moist & Meaty. Where have I heard the term "seperate but equal" before?
"Ready for Prime time"? Come on John, Trump was NEVER a presidential candidate. What crap.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the separate but equal Adelson caucus.
Of course I just love it when you have to prove what religion you believe in to go to a "special" caucus. Those republicans sure know how to throw a caucus.
If the republicans can't even run a caucus, how can they govern a country?
Hi Jack. How come you changed your screen name?
"I did hear a variety of unconvincing reasons all those supposedly angry Republicans decided to stay home. To put it kindly, the Nevada GOP needs to work on the enthusiasm thing before the November general election."
With no real hero to support, smart Republicans stayed home in droves, just like they will on a Tuesday this November.