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Christopher DeVargas
Michael McDonald, Feb 28, 2012.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 | 2:41 p.m.
UPDATE: Late yesterday, GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, trying to slow down any move to make the party irrelevant, worked with the RNC and released a statement designed to undercut the Clark County party's call for Reince Priebus' resignation and indicate to DC that he is willing to play ball: “The Chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus has the authority to take the necessary steps to support a candidate to ensure Republicans win the presidency in November. RNC Rule 11 applies to the RNC’s ability to make endorsements and spend resources in state races and may have been misinterpreted by some in Nevada in its application to the presidential election. Ron Paul's campaign released a statement on May 5 providing Chairman Priebus and the RNC their "full consent" to move forward with setting up Victory organizations. Certainly we do not need to wait for Tampa before assisting our presumptive nominee. I look forward to working with Chairman Priebus and Republicans across the state of Nevada as we build a top-notch ground game to beat Barack Obama and elect Mitt Romney to the White House.” In concert, Sean Spicer, the communications director of the RNC, told me: "The RNC continues to work with the state party." To some extent this merely heads off the inevitable because nobody here on the ground -- from the RNC, from the Romney campaign, from the Dean Heller campaign, from the Joe Heck campaign -- is likely to trust the party with any real money. But can McDonald slow down the move to erect the outside entity for a bit -- at least before something else goofy happens out here? Perhaps. After all, if he can persuade the City Council to give him $4 million for a project even though he's not a developer, maybe he can sell the DC and Boston folks that he really can run a viable state party.
Fed up with an inept and self-destructive GOP apparatus in Nevada, the Republican National Committee and the Mitt Romney campaign have decided to erect a “shadow state party” in this critical swing state, sources confirmed today.
“They are still bogged down in the minutiae of whether Romney will be the presumptive nominee,” scoffed a GOP strategist familiar with the details of the restructuring. “We don’t have time for that when the Obama campaign already is in full campaign mode. We have no use for them (the state GOP).”
The lack of faith in the Republican Party here intensified with the botched February caucus, metastasized after the Ron Paul takeover in Sparks and reached its zenith with Tuesday evening’s call for RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to resign by a divided Clark County GOP
Priebus was described to me as “disappointed with the censuring,” which probably means his blood pressure went high enough to give an elephant a stroke. So Priebus, in concert with the Romney folks here, have decided to turn the so-called Team Nevada office on Tropicana into the de facto Republican Party.
“The goal is for us to be running get out the vote, running phone programs, voter ID, voter contact, everything through the Team Nevada headquarters,” the strategist told me. That is, everything the party is supposed to do, except the GOP here can’t raise money and has the inmates running the asylum.
He continued: “The RNC has said it is willing to do everything possible as the state party appears not to be willing to work with us, so we will do it without them.”
The plan would be to transfer money directly to Team Nevada and/or funnel some through the Washoe Republican Party, run by the respected Dave Buell, who is well-liked by the RNC and Romney folks.
To distill, the GOP insider said, “Essentially we’re setting up a shadow state party.”
And it will surely cast a long shadow over a state GOP that is trying to oust its executive director, David Gallagher, a political pro, while other staff departures seem likely as the Paul folks complete their coup. Even soon-to-be-former RNC Committeeman Bob List called the state GOP “dysfunctional” during an appearance today on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” although the former governor also blamed the Romney campaign for resting on its caucus win laurels and allowing the Paul revolution to occur.
But List is likely not to factor into these plans, which will feature full integration, as is occurring nationally, between the RNC and Romney. It's also likely that after the June 12 primary clears the filed, the Rep. Joe Heck and Sen. Dean Heller campaigns will get on board.
This move has been inevitable and essential for some time for the RNC and Team Romney to combat a formidable Democratic machine. They won’t be able to do everything the Democrats can do, but separating themselves from the imploding and embarrassing party structure is a good first step.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Excellent. Let state GOP groups all over the country self destruct.
Ron Paul 2012!
After the events of the past few weeks, I'm not surprised by this development. So much for Republicans coming together for a commmon cause--kicking Obama out of the White House! The Democrats don't need to fight the GOP--since Republicans are just shooting each other. I can only hope that the Romney Campaign and the RNC can put together a formiddible operation.
It seems completely in keeping with the record of Mitt, Romney, the Conscientious Objector who ganged up on a kid, held him down and cut off his hair because they looked weird to the Mitt.
It seems completely in keeping with the record of this good Christian man who ties his family dog to the roof of the car roof for hours because, well, Seamus was just a dog.
The bypassing of standard rules and reasonable procedures in order to benefit himself seems completely in keeping with the persona of the corporate raider with a track record of leveraging investments in companies and then selling off the assets, discarding the workers and leaving families to pick up the pieces and communities to suffer so he can haul his wad to the bank and pay a lower tax rate than a schoolteacher.
This circumventing of procedure seems just another brick in the wall. Is anyone surprised ??
There's nothing good on TV, so I welcome these highly-paid Republican professionals to Nevada - thanks for supporting our economy, and for providing the sort of "cannibalism as entertainment" that we so desperately need here in the Silver State!
This isn't Boston, but we like to think of it as a "fun" place, even if the local Republicans don't meet your definition of highly skilled party apparatchiks. So, when you're done alienating them, be sure to stop by one or more of our fabulous casino resorts, and get your picture taken while doing something appalling at one of our ever-popular men's clubs. You'll be glad you did, until it gets published by the Paulestinians.
So now Mitt is "cutting the hair off" the State GOP . . .
He is likely to bypass the Congress as well, if given the opportunity...to save America that is...
For whatever reason, the Ron Paul fans followed the rules and prevailed.
The GOP-backed Mitt Romney Team apparently think rules only apply to other people.
Not really the role model most parents want for their children.
Romney is dirty. Tax dodging, bully, out for the top 2 percent. Goodbye midde cass.
Maybe he'll bypass the Constitution to get what he wants too... He's guaranteeing that the true conservatives will either not vote or vote libertarian. Stupid move.
Didn't he Mitt say he would Boycott the state if they didn't move the caucus date back..
And if you don't like Obamcare this is how it happened the republicans refused to come to the table and listen to the peoples voice they only here theirs. Now they are doing it again.
How is that boycotting the swing state working for ya?
Mitt Romney supports the Project for the New American Century and the Foreign Policy Initiative the think-tank which promotes: diplomatic, economic, and military engagement IN THE WORLD. Romney even named his foreign policy plan a new American Century. Iraq was all lies, so is Iran. The media has a war to sell you are you buying it?
I am voting for Ron Paul!
Video of Romney & PNAC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYEsfXqHe...
The Romney campaign is riddled with establishment crooks. Most all of the delegates across the country support Ron Paul. Even those delegates that are supposedly "bound" to vote for Romney, simply do not have to...and many of them won't. They will abstain from voting on the 1st ballot and then vote for Ron Paul on the 2nd ballot. The crooks who have controlled the GOP for years are losing their control to the demands of people who want their freedom back.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus SHOULD resign. Nevada's GOP is finally showing signs of life!
How can the GOP step in and basically throw out the Ron Paul win, since the Ron Paul people followed the rules this should be illegal. Ron Paul won, deal with it. The Republican Party is going to be replaced by the Libertarian Party if the GOP keeps slitting it's own wrists like this. A third party run for Ron Paul will take a large number of Republicans and I feel an even larger number of Democrats. Either way, this country is doomed if the political system openly breaks the rules for election of nominees and the Presidency itself, at the rate that we are going. Obama and Bush and their administrations have been disastrous to say the least, and criminal charges should be filed against them.
The Nevada state GOP is falling apart, and i love watching it happen.
:-)
This move will only hurt the GOP. It looks shady and seems clearly to be a move to circumvent the process that was played out by the rules in Nevada. It shows disregard and contempt for the people of Nevada. Shame on Mr Priebus, the RNC and Mr Romney's campaign.
Assuming the information in this article is true, it is good news for the people in Nevada. It illustrates how he is willing to follow the rules and represent the will of the people unless he loses. Now Romney is the outsider looking in - challenging the official party organization.
I am a state delegate and i worked hard , i was chairman of my precinct and i went to the county GOP convention to become a state delegate and i went to the state convention in Sparks. All of these efforts cost me money and time, these events are not free. to have the good ole boys change things because they do not like the results is disgusting .
It is time to kick these bank funded crooks out of office and Romney's top donor is Goldman Sachs while Ron Paul's is the U.S. Army...If the GOP changes the rules , then they can keep their private good ole boys party.
This is what saddens me about all this. The Paul people are using a legitimate process first off. And secondly, KNOWING THAT THE ACTIVE MILITARY GIVES MORE DONATIONS TO THE PAUL CAMPAIGN THAN ALL OTHER CANDIDATES COMBINED, I feel like all these fights are against our military. If anyone understands how DAMAGING OUR FOREIGN POLICY TRULY IS, it's them. And the more the GOP fights Ron Paul, I see it as a fight against our own military and veterans. I'm ashamed. So much for "thank you for your service."
Not sure if people see this, but I see this move made more towards looking for someone to blame when failure sinks in.
Because the blatant truth of the matter is that when you run mediochre candidates in a political party that is so extreme and radical, so bereft of any message of any type of hope for the common folk here in Nevada, and the only goal they have is to lie to get votes, only to get in power, with no clue how to govern...then there is absolutely no alternative other than total humiliation for the entire Tea/Republican Party after the votes will be cast.
The people of Nevada are gonna destroy this abomination called the Tea/Republican Party.
They don't want to change their stupid predatory ways, get out of this ultra-conservative nutball unattainable ideology of theirs?
We'll do it for them. We CAN fix it by ripping it to pieces so they can start over again and perhaps go back to the political party that Abraham Lincoln envisioned way back when.
Obama for another four years. AND a Democratic Party majority in both the Senate and the House.
To Heller with Heck and to Heck with Heller.
All of this fuss and bother to cope with a challenger, Ron Paul, whom the Romney people--along with the GOP generally-- have treated as marginal and irrelevant for the past few years!
I suppose that they don't call the GOP the "Stupid Party" for nothing. On the other hand, maybe they should follow the trend, and give Ron Paul and his supporters a second look. He is, in any event, more electable than Romney, as well as vastly more prepared to help us ride out the troubled times that are in the works, as the debts, malinvestments, and regulations hit home for the second time...
PEACE AND FREEDOM!!
This just proves how Romney's RNC is corrupt to its very core! I stand shoulder to shoulder with my Ron Paul brethren in this battle. While I STRONGLY disagree with them on social issues and foreign policy, I more strongly support their conviction in fighting Mitt Romney and the corruption that he has drawn to the forefront of the Republican Party. Go get 'em guys!
What a bunch of criminals!
Mitt Romney won't be getting MY vote, and I'll be leaving the GOP as will many others after this.
We will NOT tolerate a GOP that behaves just like the Dems.
Romeny is a corrupt, lying, vote-stealing thug.
It's obvious that the Obama machine has infiltrated the Nevada GOP starting with the election of the new state chairman:
http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com/TheM...
His backtracking today cannot erase the damage he's already done to the Nevada GOP.
Pushing forward Romney using cheating has got to be the stupidest idea ever devised. If Romney DOES get the nomination, do you REALLY suppose Obama won't be airing these clips in every political commercial to discredit Romney? Do you really thing every single rules violation won't be dragged up and used to utterly crush any shred of credibility Romney might be able to project? And this in the middle of the Euro collapse that'll be going on around election time?
We've followed the rules, and we've followed our leader. His face may be scarred but you will never find a mark on his back.
I'm at a loss to see how anyone could admit support for such a dishonorable person as Romney.
Mr. Hamilton,
How can you publicly state "it is to close to call" when in each election "None of these candidates" always comes in ahead of you no matter what party you run on for that election?
We don't need someone else in office that has as much trouble with the truth as you do.
Well let's see here....
Mitt Romney supporters are developing a reputation for refusing to play by the GOP caucus rules at the state level. And, now, that the national convention is coming up in Tampa, and Ron Paul has won more than the required minimum of five states, Romney is in a bind! If the Tampa convention goes ahead as planned, it will have to appear legitimate because the national spotlight will be on! So, what does the Romney campaign do, now that they're backed into a corner by the Paul campaign? Desperately try to change the rules, that's what! Otherwise, Ron Paul could very well win, simply because he represents the voice of the People AND because no delegate is locked into either candidate! If Romney was really supported as well as the media says, he wouldn't have to cheat and he'd be up front and honest about his business! It really is that simple!
" inept and self-destructive GOP apparatus in Nevada"
I think he means "inept and self-destructive GOP apparatus in America."