Vol. 5, No. 13
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May 1, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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COPYWRITING
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Analysis:
Young Turks Make
Their Move
GOP Oldsters Fight Back,
Beers Loses Control
by Johnny Gunn
There were 1347 delegates to the 2008 GOP state convention on April 26 and the lines were drawn. The old line party faithful wanted things done their way, after all, things have been done their way for decades, but a new young vibrant group felt it was time to make their move, and they almost got their way. Almost. The fight of course isn’t a new one, it isn’t something that just happens to the Republicans, it isn’t even political in its overall context. It’s how life works, the young replace the old, the old traditions are upended by new ones, the young are aggressive and want to make a statement. It’s life.
The fight started slowly, with the Internet and the Ron Paul Revolution and it spread to the pages of newspapers that report more than what traditionalists accept, and the revolution spread to other parts of the process. Ron Paul it seems, actually has something to say and what he has been saying goes to the core of republican thinking, dogma, philosophy, and it has been the young ones that have picked up on the process. In Nevada, Congressman Paul has a very strong presence, but more than that, his philosophy has made its way into the general republican platforms.
How does all this relate to the GOP state convention? That began with the January 19 Caucus when Mitt Romney won the state GOP’s top spot with Paul in second place, and John McCain in third. The Ron Paul precinct delegates made it through their respective county conventions and onto the floor of state. It wasn’t just a 4.8 earthquake that shook the floors of the Peppermill Hotel Casino, it was the beginnings of a revolution within the superstructure of the Nevada Republican Party.
During the convention, it is necessary to determine the rules that will be followed and a part of those rules laid out how delegates to the National Republican Convention in September would be chosen. Party officials, fully backing John McCain created a delegate nominating committee that in turn set up a slate of delegates backing John McCain that irritated the Ron Paul delegates to the point that a floor fight developed in which the young Turks made their play. They forced the convention to adopt rules that would allow the convention as a whole to determine the slate of delegates to National.
During the debate on the rules change it became more and more obvious that convention chairman Senator Bob Beers was trying to maintain what the older echelon of party faithful had wanted, and unable to do so, lost his temper more than once. Beers’ and the dominant gray beard’s frustration was probably at the heart of the final end of the convention April 26. Spinning their way out of the problem, Beers, more than likely at the behest of his elders, simply adjourned the meeting until a further date in the future. Claiming that they had run out of their contracted time with the Peppermill, that they were unable to run ballots off for delegate voting, and other spin items, they save a little face on the one hand, and opened the doors to a full revolution “at a future date.”
Where does Mitt Romney fit in all this? Romney spoke to the convention as did Paul, and looking at the results of the state caucus, Romney should have had the most delegates to the convention, but he pulled out of the race, suggesting that his backers in turn back John McCain. Speaking to the convention, Romney was forceful and vigorous and made a good plea for McCain, and some in the crowd were wondering if a behind the curtain deal has been reached in which Romney will be asked to run with McCain as his number two. Those thoughts were not discussed from the podium.
It is expected that Nevada Republican Party Convention 2008, Part Two will be held in Reno at a date to be determined. Party officials are saying the convention must conclude in Reno and are working to get a date, time, and place. One thing the young Turks must keep in mind, don’t let the elder branch of the party change the rules once the doors are open. The Republican party’s core philosophy has been more than mangled in the last few years, and the revolution is designed to bring the party back to what it has stood for, for so many years. The state party platform magnifies that concept, and it was brought about by the young and very aggressive new wing to the party.
Many members of that group are Ron Paul backers and many are willing to say that despite the fact that Paul has a less than even chance to win the nomination, the platform he has outlined, the core beliefs of the Republican party, are finding their way into broad republican acceptance. For example, the Nevada convention accepted as a part of its platform the repeal of the Patriot Act, the repeal of the Real ID Act, and other “big brother” intrusions into constitutional freedoms.
How much of those thoughts will carry into the national platform in Minnesota in September will be determined by a large degree on who ends up being the republican candidate for president. Nevada’s delegates, if and when they are selected, will go to the national convention unhindered by whom they will support. This was the thinking behind the young aggressive segment of the convention in getting specific people elected as delegates to the national gathering.
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