Paul Supporters Get Their Way in Nevada- so Far That Is
There is more evidence that John McCain needs to focus on uniting the fractions in the Republican party behind him before he can turn all his energy toward his Democratic opponent, whoever that may be. First, in the Pennsylvania primary, there was 27% of Republicans who voted for someone else. Now there is the Nevada incident.
The Nevada Republican Party was supposed to have its convention to pick the delegates to the National Convention. Now, John McCain is the presumptive candidate of the Republican party. However, he did not win the Nevada Caucuses. Mitt Romney did and Ron Paul came in second Romney got 51% and Paul and McCain got 13% each, with Paul getting about 200 more votes. Romney is calling for a united party, but Paul, even though he acknowledges that it is impossible for him to win, has vowed to stay in the race.
Paul’s contingent at the state convention was so strong that they were able to change the rules. The party already had a set of delegates ready to go and because of the actions of the Paul faction, that slate has been disbanded and the delegates will be chosen from all of the delegates, not the ones pre selected.
That was not the end of it. Later on the state chairman Bob Beers announced they had run out of time and postponed the convention, which was not popular, especially with the Paul supporters. If the rules changes stand and the slate is open to all delegates, not all of the ones going to the National Convention will be in the McCain camp. While this will probably not have a big impact on who the Republican nominee will be, it can carry over to the general election. And the delegates will also vote on the party platform. According to Paul supporters, the slate that was set to go supported the platform of the party leaders and not that of all the people.
Attention has focused on the two Democratic candidates and their battle for the nomination. The general idea is that the Republicans are all set. But looking at the recent events, there very well could be a bigger battle at the Republican convention than the Democratic, even if the Democrats do not have a nominee in place at that time. Whether or not the divisions in the Republican party will spill over to Republican voters crossing over in the November election remains to be seen. That is a long time away and in the world of politics anything can and usually does happen. But it is something to keep an eye on.
Comment by Matt on 29 April 2008:
. . . Can the insane McCain rumblings continue?
Comment by Liberty or Death on 29 April 2008:
the author makes it sound like the Paul supporters are doing something wrong, the delegates are supposed to be voted on by the people not chosen by a few behind closed doors…
Comment by david on 29 April 2008:
THe fact is Ron Paul and his, our, campaign is waking up Americans to get involved again, that is a good thing for us all. The platform and the process as a whole can work to our advantage if we stay on top of things as we should in a constitutional republic.
Let freedom ring~~~~~see you in D.C. 7-12-08
Comment by Patrick Phillips on 29 April 2008:
A very fair article. All of the mindless drones that hated McCain when the talk show hosts told them to last year are all fawning over him now that he’s the “presumptive” nominee. For Ron Paul supporters, this race isn’t about Party one bit. Both the Democrat and Republican parties have been leading this proud country to ruin and bankruptcy. Are we seriously to just fall in line and march toward Hell with them?
Comment by Shelby on 29 April 2008:
Mitt Romney for VP!!!
Comment by badmedia on 30 April 2008:
Can’t fix a voting machine at the conventions.
Comment by Hyrum on 30 April 2008:
Go Ron Paul supporters. I’m glad not all Americans have forgotten that we live in a democracy and not a dictatorship.
Comment by Bitter EX democrackkk on 2 May 2008:
Um, Hyrum … America is NOT a democracy, it is a Representative Republic.
Democracies crumble after about 200 years in history.
Comment by HDogg on 2 May 2008:
Ron paul is psycho!!!
Comment by James on 2 May 2008:
If the people of this country would have their own opinions, instead of those presented by the mainstream media… and they took the time to read the facts about each politician, we might have a chance at saving this country and electing leaders who can get the job done without hidden agendas! But instead we have liars, lawbreakers, and crooks running for all available office positions as the public just turns their heads and looks the other way to forget that these people have done things as bad as looting the white house on their way out, lying under oath, drug addicts pushing for tougher drug laws, etc. No wonder we are the laughing stock of the world platform! I just pray that you all do your homework before you go to the polls, and make an informed decision… instead of just going along with the masses! Good Luck America! The future is in your hands for now… I personally would like to keep it that way! Paul/Romney or vice versa would be the ticket I would vote for!