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Thursday, May 3, 2012 | 1:35 p.m.
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UPDATED BELOW
In a letter delivered Wednesday to GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, the RNC's chief counsel said if Ron Paul delegates are allowed to take too many slots for the national convention, Nevada's entire contingent may not be seated in Tampa.
John R. Phillippe Jr. said that while his letter is not binding, "I believe it is highly likely that any committee with jurisdiction over the matter would find improper any change to the election, selection, allocation, or binding of delegates, thus jeopardizing the seating of Nevada’s entire delegation to the National Convention."
Clearly, the RNC fears that mischief at the Sparks convention this weekend could result in Ron Paul delegates taking Mitt Romney slots and then not abiding by GOP rules to vote for the presumptive nominee on the first ballot in Tampa. So they are trying to force McDonald to ensure that actual Romney delegates fill 20 of the 28 national convention slots, thus removing any mystery of who they will vote for.
This could be even more fun on Saturday because — and I may be wrong — I don't think these Paul folks respect authority too much. And now the new chairman, who is close to some of the Paul folks, has to be the enforcer.
Too delicious.
The letter is at right.
Related file
UPDATE: I have now obtained a copy of the letter from last week -- posted at right and mentioned in the missive I posted last night -- that was responding to Chairman Michael McDonald's request about whether the state convention could "un-bind" Nevada delegates to the Tampa convention -- that's what the Paul folks have been talking about. The RNC's counsel warns that such a move would be "impermissible" and indicates, as he would reinforce a few days later, that Nevada's entire Tampa delegation would be jeopardized. The second letter undoubtedly was sent because the RNC had no confidence in either McDonald's and/or the Paul folks ability or willingness to abide by the rules. But they have been warned twice.
Hard to believe the RNC would actually refuse to let the Nevada delegation into the room, but....
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It's time for the Ron Paul people and libertarian leaning republicans to give the GOP a little of its own dirty medicine...If they don't want libertarian leaning republicans in the Republican Coalition...then let's pack up our bags and vote 3rd party or even DNC. The way these party insiders treat the grass roots and libertarian leaning republicans, play dirty tricks every way they can, and ignore Ron Paul and his is supporters is despicable. Time for Ron Paul to play kingmaker.
The Best candidate is Ron Paul, had Santorum & Newt dropped out a long time ago, you would have saw Ron Paul Win NV. & numerous other states! If Romney's people don't show up he doesn't win!
This entire situation poses one very obvious question - if the RNC truly believes Romney has the support of the 1144 RNC delegates required to win the nomination, why would they send a threat letter to the Nevada GOP like this?
YES, Ron Paul and his supporters don't like
Romney and are not going away quietly.
LOL!!!
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The only accurate part of that letter is the 1 sentence quoted from the Nevada GOP rule book, which states that the delegates should be allocated according to the popular vote. The rest of the letter looked like attorney bull crap, and I should know, because I'm an attorney, and I read crap like this all day long. I didn't see anything in that letter that would stop Nevada from sending a full slate of Paul supporters who are allocated to Romney. Even if they are bound to Romney in the first vote at the national convention, then could ABSTAIN in the first vote, thus denying Romney his 1,144. Then they would be free to vote for Paul in the subsequent votes.
The Paul people were the ones willing to raise their hands, pay the fee and take time to attend the convention. I was grateful someone, during the painful process known as a caucus, volunteered and moved the day along. Treating them as the ugly stepchildren of the Republican Party doesn't help anyone, including Mitt.
If the Ron Paul supporters understand and can use the rules to help their candidate, they should do so. Sending a slate of Ron Paul supporters to Tampa for the Republican National Convention would effectively and accurately mirror the Silver State's conservative caucus. Good luck, Ron Paul people!!!
Ron Paul supporters obviously have a lack of respect for the nomination process.
Nearly 50% of the Republicans voted for Romney.
I say let them to do their mischief.
It will hurt them in the long run and ingrained in the brain of the people that desire to recruit that Ron Paulers lack class and are not people who should be trusted.
They will forever be regulated to being a subset of subset of a subset if they continue to be disrepectful.
On the other hand, if act like grown ups then they can gain ground.
I think they don't want to be grown ups.
If they want to gain ground then they don't want to be forever known as the idiots that went to Florida to disrupt the Republican convention.
What do you think will happen to the Ron Paul cause if that happened? Do you think that will win over more Republicans in the future or do you think that will paint a bull-eyes on your backs forever in the Republican party?
What do you think will happen in the next nomination process? Other Republicans will throw this mischief right back into your faces when you ask them to vote for whoever you desire to push.
I would be open to many of ideas of Ron Paul but I am turned off by their behavior.
I see the Ron Paul crowd burning lots of bridges.
I say let the Ron Paulers infect it til it rots from within.
I want to see this new Nevada Tea/Republican guy go medieval on them and treat them like strippers who fail to pay the club.
I make a prediction though....
This 2012 meeting will go the same way as the 2008 one.
The Ron Paulies will go absolutely nuts and shout down anyone else. And then the chairman or Head Guy Who Things He's In Charge But Really Isn't will adjourn abruptly and throw everybody out.
Then, like any good Tea/Republican always does, they do...nothing. Debacle. Calamity rules the day. Nothing decided.
Republicans should be more concerned about Ron Paul running as an independent. Given the way the Republican leadership has treated him, I'd say the chances are good he'll be the 3rd candidate in November.
With Romney's approval numbers lower than President Obama's, the Republicans are beginning to panic.
I don't believe that is going to happen.
Ron Paul is just trying to build a foundation to help his son.
If he ran then that would damage his son's future.
If he really want to be a 3rd party candidate then he would need to started working on the paperwork like yesterday. It takes a lot of legal work to get on the state ballots. There has been no activity.
What's the best way to quiet a Pauloonie?
Ask them to make an intelligent statement about their mans position on anything!
Well at the Clark County convention the Ron Paul people lied to get elected to the executive committee. The Paul supporters were not in the majority - they were just the loudest and most obnoxious, using delaying tactics to run out the clock until there was no longer a quorum present to conduct party business.
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The Ron Paul People are Doing NOTHING that passionate Mitt Romney or Other Candidates people could not do also, under existing Republican Rules. Romney just happened to be with the one with Most Money for Commercials, Super Pac Hidden Money, Corporate Wall Street Mega Bank Money and Hedge Fund Managers Money. Unfortunately for Mitt, his Passionate Followers are limited to the upper half of the 1%.
Ron Paul 2012!! the RNC are mad!! lol!!
We are coming for u Obama!!
Easy, Ron Paul supporters should just lie and tell everybody at the convention that they support Romney.
Just more of the my way or the high way from the RNC to anyone that does not obey them. And if their man wins in November, the same will hold true to all those of the 99%.
I am voting for Ron Paul!
Could it be that Michael McDonald was elected to lead the party so when they fail in November they would have a obvious fall guy to blame it on?
This letter is borderline for me to drop the GOP. I considered voting for several of the GOP contenders (except Romney) but now, only Ron Paul embodies the qualities of both a winning candidate and one who can lead us out of the wilderness we have created. Nevada of all places must recognize the insanity of spending beyond our means. This dreamworld is shared by Obama and Romney. The federal government has got to be cut down to size and the tax load must reflect our actual needs before we can hope to reduce the debt we have built.
If Paul delegates "are allowed to take too many slots...". Does he mean "get elected...". Er - I thought this was democracy? The rules are clear and the Paul supporters will abide by them - but this is not about anyone "allowing" people to get elected as state delegates.
If the RNC pisses off Ron Paul by trying to be a bully and not give Dr Paul the respect he deserves by allowing at least the fiscal part of his agenda to be heard and voted on (audit the fed, etc) then he may just run as a 3rd candidate and take at least 25-30% of the vote. Heck, he might just get lucky and get 40% and win the damn thing!
I was AT the county convention at the Orleans & Ron Paul's supporters were the overwhelming majority! I was quite surprised. For those of you have have never been to any of the party meetings you really don't understand the way things really work. You talk about wanting our country back to prosperity & building things here again yet anytime there is a vote for any sort of tax most of you say yes to them. No one will stick their necks out for any sort of positive change. The only way to fix our country is to STOP sending our money & jobs overseas. We need to protect AMERICANS FIRST!! Obama just promised "help" to Afghanistan, what do you think that really means? MORE of OUR hard earned money wasted on strangers!! It is TIME to STOP wasting money & lock up the purses!
BTW, why Ron Paul is the best choice for POTUS:
1) Romney will do the same thing as Obama and Bush. The US will continue on it's downward decline.
2) Obama will continue to push his agenda which this country can't afford. We'll become Greece by 2017 when the US dollar is almost 100% certain not to be the reserve currency of the world. (four currencies will take its place) This will devalue the dollar by over 1/2, cause hyperinflation for sure. Only reason dollar worth anything today is it has to be used to buy crude oil by other countries that bring us gold to trade for our paper funny money.
3) Obama-Romney = war mongers. Wars instead of bread, really? Ron Paul wants to spend money on America, bring troops home to defend our borders.
Those 3 reasons are enough to vote for Ron Paul
I like Dr Paul's chances debating Romney and Obama and getting at least 1/3 of the vote. Romney will get his 1/3 and so will Obama if our economy continues to slide as gas continues to push $4 (which is the real economy killer) And guess what? Gas was $2 when he took office but Obama himself says that he wants $5 gas which he says is the only way to get us to ride bikes and buy small cars! True, but doesn't he know the damage that does to the economy? You and deliver oil or food on bikes to stores!
Excuse me, but, REALLY?
I am supporting Ron Paul. I've voted for 36 years, now, and I feel I am a TRUE Republican. In my opinion, the Neo-Cons (emphasis on the word, CONS) are not real GOP. They are not what the party slate portrays. Yet they believe it's up the them to block US, the real defenders of OUR Constitution, from the GOP National Convention? What gives these people this right? Being in the party for a few years to a few decades does not give them ultimate power to knock-down Ron Paul supporters OR delegates. As I see it, only the Ron Paul delegates care enough about these United States (and each of our own states) enough to really BE THERE-- for Liberty.
How does a Neo-Con feel he or she has any more "right" to the party delegate slots than anyone else? If the GOP prefers to lose their slot in the two-party process, let them have it. But, remember; when these folk are blocking Ron Paul votes, they are silencing US. They are voiding the VOICE of not just the upcoming generation, but plenty of us who've been "in this" for quite some time. Yes, we have libertarian-leanings (Small L), but shouldn't ALL Republicans have same? In my opinion, these Neo-Cons are the same as the Democratic Neo-Cons, and so what IS the rationale behind the 2-party votes?
Do not conspire to silence US and we will not do same to you. Keep this sort of thing up and prepare to have your party dismantled. At that point, YOU can have it.
Remove the all the old leadership.
Well said AnneBeck. I might not be as passionate about saving the US as you (I plan on leaving to a Costa Rica beach town soon to be honest, gave up) but I do agree with your points. The way I see it, most people care more about their favorite tv show or sports team than they do about learning the truth about politics. Most people don't even know what a neocon is, let alone have a clue as to where this country is heaving in the next decade. There is a good article called Springtime for Trotsky (google it) that nails it. They're communists in disguise, not Conservatives, not godly people to be sure. Godly people don't support killing 100,000+ innocent people in unjust wars, people who didn't attack us or do not threaten our sovereignty. "But they gave comfort to those who attacked us on 911" Really? Do you really know how things went down on 911? Is so, why didn't the 911 commission explain how WTC7 imploded into dust leaving a crater in the ground and it wasn't hit by a plane? (they said that had to be kept secret for national security reasons). Really? Secret? Why? Doesn't the truth make us free and lies enslave us? (ie, we're screwed) Yes, I've given up on the US. Why? All networks are owned by Neocons. Even Fox is owned by a jewish foreigner (his mother is jewish) who puts Israel before the US. What's wrong with that, they're our ally? WW3 is what's wrong with that, and I want nothing to do with being locked up in a prison state when things hit the fan. The only thing that could change that would be a Ron Paul presidency, period.
This stance that Paul should not get delegates because he didn't get the popular vote is bogus.
In Nevada, only 8.23% of registered Republicans voted in the Primary.
Ronmey took 50%. So just 4.12% of the registered Republicans in Nevada declared they want Romney.
If your argument is that a small group of people should not be able to determine who represents a larger group a people, than there is no way whatsoever you can state that Romney should get delegates either.
You see this all over the country. Tiny percentages of registered Republicans are actually participating, and these clowns are calling this tiny percentage the "Popular" vote.
These are not "Popular" votes. They are "Preference" votes.
Preference does not equal support. If Romney had the support, he would get the delegates.
Are other states being told by the RNC that each candidate's official campaign must vet each nominee for national delegate prior to sequential voting? What other state conventions used this process so far?
At any rate, Chairman McDonald can't comply with the RNC's recommendation letter without violating the convention rules. It would be up to the state delegates to change the rules by a 2/3 vote and the majority of state delegates are Ron Paul supporters so this RNC letter won't be heeded in our state.
However, it does show how worried Romney is about getting the 1144 votes on the first ballot in Tampa. More proof of what a weak candidate he will be if he is nominated. It's a sad day for the GOP when it seeks to drive away so much potential support from enthusiastic and active members. Very short-sighted on the part of the RNC.
I can certainly tell you that this Democrat voting Libertarian would vote for Ron Paul in a heartbeat. Please run as a third candidate! Please give us something other than the corrupt GOP and Dems.
I am a 62 year old woman. Last Saturday I voted in a Massachusetts' Republican caucus for the first time in my life.
I found the Ron Paul supporters to be mature, well-spoken, responsible. I could tell it was difficult for some of the members of the Paul's Liberty slate to get up and speak in front of the large crowd for three minutes because they were nervous. They had worked hard on their speeches, and these same Americans, when they spoke, were very sincere and thoughtful. They came from all walks of life. There was a woman accountant, an engineer, a college student, among others.
Romney's slate was composed of well-known politician friends of his giving the standard slick and empty speeches who spoke too long, 7 minutes for one. (3 minutes were allotted for each candidate).
The Liberty Slate won 5 of 6 delegates in the 6th District of Romney's state of Massachusetts.
Members of the old Republican party need to make room for new life and ideas in their party. I saw a level of maturity, intelligence, and commitment to make good things happen for this country at the caucus and was impressed by Ron Paul's Liberty supporters. They are the real Patriots, average Americans - just like of old. I am very proud of them.
This is the way to heal our great country.
The caucus set the vote for the first ballot at the convention, and breaking faith with the GOPers that made the effort to vote in caucus would be a breach of faith that would discredit the Paul campaign and lead to an irreperable breach within the NV GOP.
Of course, if Romney doen's win on the fist vote, then the delegates are free to vote as their conscience dictates.
The Grand Old Party might just as well slap some swastikas on their sleeves and roll out a national set of rules for being a member of zee party.
They are out of control. Gingrich and Santorum still have not released THEIR delegates yet and ALL of the delegates could easily be seated and stand up at the convention and nominate anyone BUT Romney. What's the GOP going to do - make death threats next?
Well Tea Party? Like how your good old fashioned party is treating the Democratic process now? Figured out yet that you're nothing but puppets for corporate raiders who want tax cuts and loopholes so they can get richer and watch the country go to hell in a hand basket?
Wait until the kill the Postal Service and Romney gives the mail to FedEx and UPS and a letter costs you $2.00 to send. And that will be just the tip of the privatizing iceberg! Oh ho ho! You Tea Party boobs really stepped in it.
Hahaha!
"Ronmey took 50%. So just 4.12% of the registered Republicans in Nevada declared they want Romney."
Just Ron Paul got .74% of the registered Republican vote and you want to declare him the the winner? (That is hilarous. You guys are suppose to be sooo whooooopie and all you could muster was .74% of the registered vote for your guy)
Like I say, go and hurt your cause.
Please do.
Get other Republicans mad at you.
That will not help your cause.
It will hurt it.
If you want to go to Florida and add planks to the party platform like we should go back to 1890's and do away with Social Security, Medicare then go ahead. I have no problem with that.
But if you want to take the votes earned by Romney (he did beat Ron 50% to 18%) then you are asking for blowback that will hurt your cause.
ahhh the moderator removed my comment. It was funny! Jon Ralston getting all excited.
Sgt, Ron Paul Conservatives are not neocons, many of us believe in the Constitution unlike blow hard Republicans that only give it lip service. What part of the Constitution gives the federal gov the right to tell local schools they can't pledge allegiance to the flag because the word "god" is somehow offensive? It was Bush that doubled the size of the dept of edu. Romney will not change that, Dr Paul would. Both Romoney and Bush want to continue the failed "war on drugs" while allowing the CIA to profit from drug smuggling. Remember the Savings and loan fiasco that cost taxpayers hundreds of billions? The CIA was laundering money in S&L's from their drug trafficking. Bush and the CIA were part of that. Those criminals never paid for their crimes. Read the book "Defrauding America" for more info in case you didn't know. Romney is part of that corrupt GOP (not saying dems are not, they are too, Obama won't change the satus quo). Dr Paul would do what they did in Portugal, decriminalize drugs and help the users get help. Drug use is down over 50% in Portugal since decriminalization, not up. So is crime and dependence on drugs. Sure, more people would self medicate with pot and the drug companies would make less money, that's what's happened in Portugal, but hey, that isn't a bad thing in my book. I don't own stock in drug companies. Obama and Bush do, Dr Paul doesn't. Romney is simply another big gov Rep that like Bush and Obama will expand the military complex and cut social services. Good thing is that if we continue on that path, our currency will continue to loose value, China will stop buying our debt, and this country will experience another depression - bank failure - and civil unrest. To me, that is what they want and that is what they will get. It's SOOO predictable! What do you think is going to happen when Israel attacks Iran, oil production is disrupted? $10 gas. What happens to the economy? Nose dive. What happens when China and Russia decide to back Iran? World War. This is what will happen under Obama or Romney. At least those of us that have half a brain and see what is obviously happening will vote for Paul then act accordingly if he isn't elected. (prepare for chaos or get the move out)
RNC should have let the process work it out without promoting Romney so hard; and no matter how hard they are pushing Romney on us we resist him. So now they are afraid that Ron Paul is on a way to Romney's nomination, sure lets' change the rules and let's just give it to Romney because he is just so awesome and America will be so enthusiastic to support him in November. How idiotic republicans really are? Don't you get it we do not want him. Let's Paul take it to the convention and then see what happened. My choice was Newt Gingrich but I will take Ron Paul over Mitt Romney any day. I say good luck Ron Paul makes this election a historic one; America needs some serious change and Romney just won't cut it.
It's great to have discussions about this subject, but the truth is that nothing will ever change because most Americans have lost the ability to think rationally, provide intelligent thoughts, give a damn about anything but themselves, or work together in a spirit of cooperation, compromise, and common sense. The very wealthy will not give up their billions and the generations of welfare families will not give that up either.
Americans are far more interested in the latest sports star or entertainer than they are in what's going on in the government at the federal or state levels. They allow and encourage these useless fools to make their millions while believing that teachers, nurses, engineers, and the like deserve one-tenth of that amount. I had patients who complained about the 50.00 office visit charge we had and then had the gonads to tell us about the 1,000.00 tickets to the super bowl they bought.
We have gone from being Americans, first and foremost, to a collection of hundreds of special interest groups who care nothing about any other "group". For the past 10-20 years our ideas, thoughts, and feelings have been formed by TV, the movies, the internet, video games, and now social networks - all of which only have our collective best interest at heart. Right?
The Doc makes come good points. Our society is being brain washed to behave exactly as our handlers want us to behave. It's like they feed us candy and cookies knowing we won't touch the veggies and fruit (what is good for us) Those who have their priorities in the right place know that without freedom, nothing else matters. Those who know history and have a firm grip of world events know that without sound money, a nation is destined to fail. Most Americans think that our country can simply continue to print money until the end of time and that our debt will never become an issue because hey, we're the god dammed us of a, we're number 1, and we'll put a bullet in the the rest of the world ass if they don't like it, ye haw! Those intellectually anencephalic rocket scientists will wake up someday to learn that the money they put away for retirement is only worth 1/100th of what it was a month before. They'll be shocked, angry, and demand that their money be restored, but just as McCain told the auto workers to "get over it, the auto jobs are not coming back", neither will their life savings. These are the fruits we will reap someday because of our collective lack of caring as a society and our willingness to take it in the ol brown eye from our elected officials . (we continue to elect the same garbage over and over again because our handlers continue to spoon feed us the same thing)
By the way, when I say "freedom" I mean this. Our country used to provide us with the opportunity to do very well if we played by the rules, got a good education, obeyed the law, etc. We could obtain financial freedom because everyone had to play by the rules. The NeoCons (communists) and liberals (communists) decided that they didn't like that system because some folks (whites) had an inherent advantage over blacks and people of color. So they started tinkering with the system to help minorities "come up" with affirmative action. They decided not to enforce immigration laws and allow illegals to flood the marketplace and do work for 1/2 of what the licensed trained folks who played by the rule were making. Contractors now had to compete against illegals who didn't pay taxes, fees, etc and could do the same job (maybe not as good but close enough) for $10 a hour. Construction jobs that used to pay $25 hr now paid $10-$15. Kids and older folks that could count on fast food summer jobs were not told they couldn't get the job unless they spoke Spanish. College grads that paid $100,000 for their education couldn't find work or had to work in fields unrelated to their education (recent report that less than 50% of college grads can find work). Entire industries were allowed to go over seas where workers make $2-$5 an hour (if even that). How did this happen? Intl bankers and Intl Corps bought the GOP (and dems) and pushed us towards globalization which is another word for hasta la vista to the middle class and the American dream and hello to a future generation of sweat shop slaves (our kids) On our watch we allowed this to happen. Ron Paul is the ONLY one that can turn this bus around before it goes off a cliff (maybe not even he can fix things, who am I kidding, checks and balances ....) In the mean time, the masses yawn and ask someone to toss them another Bud light and Nacho chips.
I love that you said "Too delicious." All of this really is, too delicious.
After reading the letter to Nevada repubs from national repubs it seems like the national repubs are treating the Nevada repubs like they are their minor children.
We all know what children spanked publicly are capable of...
...I hope they all (The Paul supporters denied access to the RNC) show up with their guns. The republican party needs to thin its ranks :)
Well the more the RNC tries to tell people who to vote for, the more I might vote for Obama.