The NV GOP convo was called off 4/26 without even electing nat'l delegates, "prompting protests from a record crowd that included many supporters" of Ron Paul. Convo chair/state Sen. Bob Beers (R) announced that the convo 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."
Up to that point the convo "had appeared to be proceeding slowly but smoothly after a rules change powered by the Paul supporters required a lengthier process than was originally planned for voting on delegates" for the GOP Nat'l Convo. "Paul's supporters succeeded in overturning party ruled that would have allowed only pre-approved delegate slates to be elected" to the nat'l convo. "Their move to change the rules succeeded by a wide margin."
John McCain's camp "hadn't prepared for this contingency, having assumed the pre-approved delegate slates would be pushed through, a source of the campaign said." GOP chair Sue Lowden said the party didn't anticipate the rules change. Lowden: "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."
Regional Paul camp coordinator Jeff Greenspan: "This is highly irregular. We could have finished tonight. I've never seen anything like this" (Ball, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4/27).
"Paul supporters occasionally shouted down the chairman, then rocked the convention with noise when Paul" appeared to rally them. Greenspan said the Paul convo plan had been in the works for months. In Reno 4/26 "they communicated strategy on the convention floor by mass cell phone text messaging, which no doubt kept them a step ahead of party leadership (Coolican, Las Vegas Sun, 4/27).
Univ. NV prof. Eric Herzik said the ability of Paul's followers to push party leaders to abruptly recess the convo until an unknown date showed the disarray of GOP establishment and a party largely without leadership. Washoe Co. GOP chair Heidi Smith: "My question is, where was the McCain campaign? And where were their signs? If Ron Paul's people walked in with signs, why couldn't the McCain people walk in with signs?" (Damon, Reno Gazette-Journal, 4/27).
Bowling For Reno
The "most telling incident of the day" came from Mitt Romney and Rep. Dean Heller (R-02), who sketched out attacks GOPers will launch on Dems. "Romney said Clinton and Obama are 'more concerned with what ACLU lawyers thin than protecting the American people.'" Romney: "I know Americans are going to chose a great patriot, a man whose been tested and proven." Heller: "If you cannot score above a 40 when you're bowling, you probably are not physically fit to be president." More Heller: "If you cannot remember if you've been under sniper fire, you shouldn't be answering the phone at 3 o'clock in the morning" (Las Vegas Sun, 4/27).
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