SD 1 Primary Heats Up As Progressives Churn Out Anti-Lee Mailers

Remember that episode of "The Agenda" last month when Pat Spearman was on? At the end of the program, Elizabeth Crum was asking how Spearman could possibly compete without the kind of money and field operation that Lee has.



Well, it looks like those assumptions Crum made were wrong. Jon Ralston has the latest.

A coalition of progressive groups have mailed the first of what they hope will be nine pieces against state Sen. John Lee, calling him "a millionaire who stands with the richest 1%, not the bottom 99%."

The targeted mailer, posted at right, uses several Lee votes, including against a tenant rights bill co-sponsored by Speaker Barbara Buckley, to contrast him with their candidate, Patricia Spearman.

The folks out to erase Lee are: ProgressNow Nevada Action, Nevada Conservation League, Planned Parenthood and IBEW. Also, MoveOn, PLAN Action and Sierra Club are assisting where they can. [...]

Without the moneyed and populous teachers and Culinary, this is all about phone banks and mail and targeting what will be a small primary universe. Lee will have the money and most of the endorsements, and most insiders think he will win. But with such a small turnout likely, only a few thousand votes will be needed, which has to be making some people, including Lee, a tad nervous.

I had always figured that union organizing muscle would neutralize Lee's Senate Caucus (endorsement) advantage. And I also thought Crum wasn't giving Spearman proper credit for working the field and knocking on so many doors in SD 1 (alongside many enthusiastic volunteers). But now, we're seeing something else that can cut into Lee's incumbency edge... And perhaps turn it against him.

Remember that SD 1 is a heftily Democratic district, so this race will be decided in this primary... And it will be decided mostly by the highest propensity and most hard core Democratic voters. And given John Lee's tendency to join Republicans often to advance their policy priorities, these mailers may come back to bite Lee depending on how many are sent and how many people see them before early voting begins.

It's increasingly looking like a real race is developing in Senate 1. We'll have to see if voters there value incumbency and plum committee assignments, or if they prefer someone who hews closer to their ideology.

Firefighters Strike Back, Score Win Against Clark County

I guess teachers aren't the only public servants who have had to fight back. Firefighters have as well. And now, Clark County firefighters have won in arbitration.

Clark County did not prove that a firefighter the government terminated at the height of the sick abuse scandal abused his privileges, an arbitrator has ruled, potentially costing the folks on Grand Central Parkway a lot of money.

Donald Munn's lawyer says the award could even up worth seven figures considering that the fired firefighter wants his job back with all benefits, too.

Although the arbitrator said an email sent by Munn raised suspicions about the use of sick leave in the department, the county had no cause to fire him and did not meet the burden of proof.

Back in March, Ralston interviewed the firefighter and attorney who sued Clark County. (Skip to 14:15 in the video below to catch it.)



Certainly, there have been problems with police and fire contracts in Clark County. However, that's more because of lazy local elected officials. They figured it was cheaper to pay current firefighters good salaries with good benefits for doing extra service than recruit more new firefighters. So once "The Great Recession" hit, we suddenly saw a "crisis" where there hadn't been one before.

Also, remember that firefighters aren't paid to sit around and look at a computer all day. It's actually an incredibly difficult job. And considering the long work week and strenuous tasks they do, firefighter salaries start to make more sense.

While Clark County government certainly has not attacked firefighters like Clark County School District has hit teachers, it's increasingly looking like they may have also overreached in firing firefighters who had nothing to do with the sick leave scandal. So chalk another expensive legal loss to a former employee for Clark County. I hope this isn't becoming a habit. After all, law suits and arbitration battles cost money, too.

The Bain of Romney's Campaign

It's here. OFA launched RomneyEconomics.com earlier this week, reminding America of what Mitt Romney wanted us all to forget when his G-O-TEA primary opponents stumbled upon Romney's history of job destroying "vulture capitalism".



Remember that? Remember Bain Capital? Romney was hoping you'd forget, but his record can't stay hidden or forgotten altogether. After all, Romney's fellow Republicans were first to point out Romney's record of destroying American businesses and taking away Americans' jobs.



But now, Mittens' Bain scandal is looking even worse. Rural Northern Nevada can be added to the growing list of communities hit hard by Bain.

[...] Between 2000 and 2002, Stage Stores, a clothing chain, shut down three stores in rural Nevada as part of a bankruptcy.

The stores’ closures came after Bain Capital had sold off its interest in the company in 1999. Obama’s campaign said the chain had been saddled with debt after an aggressive expansion under Bain, and after Bain made $170 million profit from the investment.

Nationally, 5,795 workers at Stage, which sells name-brand clothing in small to mid-sized cities, were laid off between 1999 and Feb. 2002, according to the Obama campaign.

It’s unknown how many workers were laid off in the Nevada stores in Winnemucca, Elko and Fallon.

In Winnemucca, 166 miles northeast of Reno, Rich Stone, owner of a dry cleaner next to the former Stage Store, remembers the retailer as a fine fit for the community.

Since it closed, residents of the small town of 8,900 and surrounding Humboldt County can’t buy non-Western-themed clothes there. They have to travel to Reno or shop online, Stone said.

“It’s a void,” said Stone, who is also a city councilman and a Republican. “We lose a lot of sales tax revenue.”

Stone then added that this was just "capitalism" and no one should expect "welfare". Actually, no one there was. However, what consumers were hoping for was another option for clothes shopping. And what local workers were hoping for was an employer willing to treat them right and simply reward them for the hard work they put into those stores. It looks like Bain did neither when it bankrupted Stage Stores and forced it to close Stage's Nevada locations.

As Desert Beacon has said before, the "capitalism" that Romney practiced at Bain Capital is not the kind of capitalism our Founding Fathers wanted for America. Rather, Romney practiced "financialism" that enriched himself and fellow Bain executives while impoverishing formerly middle class American workers. While Bain had one of the "best track records" in making Wall Street plenty of money, it's also had one of the "best track records" in giving workers the shaft.



Do these workers look like they're after "welfare" and "handouts"? No. They just did a good job... And they lost their jobs as soon as Bain lost interest and moved onto other companies to pump up to destroy. And no matter how hard Mitt Romney tries to hide this from the American people, he can't change the facts and he can't make history go away.

It's Back! NSEA Walking Back to AFL-CIO Tax Initiative

Apparently, NSEA Chief Lynn Warne was in the mood to "make news" on "The Agenda" today. Last month, the state teachers' union walked away from the AFL-CIO tax reform initiative. Now, they look to be walking back to it.



I guess teachers are finally getting sick and tired of being spat upon, treated like crap, and blamed for the problems that are actually caused by certain politicians in Carson City playing the usual political games. Perhaps after the last month of turmoil at CCSD & WCSD along with Brian Sandoval's "moderate" denial of reality, NSEA leadership are now realizing this may be progressives' one best opportunity to finally begin changing Nevada's tax code for the better and funding public education at a more appropriate level.

So yet again, we see major twists and turns on the path to meaningful tax reform in The Silver State. But this time, this turn of events may lead to more justice for the 99% and a healthier path forward for the state's economy.

Lights, Camera... Action?

Every so often, we hear the usual talk about Nevada's need for economic diversification. And then, we see... Nothing. But is change finally on the horizon? Local filmmakers hope so.

Although the neon and casinos of Las Vegas have long been featured in movies, too often film crews only spend a few days in the city before leaving the state to finish the filming and production elsewhere, Ramirez said.

“They’ll come here just to get the lights and the stuff they don’t want to fake, then they’ll go back to New Mexico,” he said.

Silver State is run by [Chris] Ramirez and Mark Balint, both film industry veterans, out of an office at Emergency Arts downtown, which they share with Ramirez’s dog Abby. The company employs two other full-time staff members and says it can assemble as many as 100 freelance crew members for shoots.

Ramirez and Balint are fierce advocates for bringing more of the film industry to Las Vegas. They say the city offers a versatile environment — including suburbs, mountains, desert and urban neighborhoods — in which to shoot movies, commercials or television series and that its proximity to Southern California gives it an advantage over other states trying to woo the film industry.

“Nevada has a surprising amount of looks between northern Nevada and Las Vegas,” Ramirez said. “You can fake a lot of different areas. For a movie we did years ago, I used Sunset Park for Connecticut.”

But luring more film production to Nevada likely will require the state to offer some sort of incentives, Balint said, similar to tax credits offered to the industry in 44 other states.

“If we were able to narrow that (incentive) gap, we’d get a lot more production here,” Balint, Silver State’s head of production, said.

And I can see where they're coming from. My neighborhood can probably fill in for some idyllic California suburb. Town Square can probably fill in for... Well, a real town square. The Henderson Pavilion can probably fill in for some other famous concert venue.

And then, of course, we have "The Real Deal". Instead of film crews using a California, New Mexico, or Canadian film lot fill in for our Fabulous Las Vegas Strip, they can actually film there! And the same goes for Downtown Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, and more.

So why aren't more movies made in Nevada? And why especially aren't more movies made in Southern Nevada, which has already become "Little Hollywood" as celebrities party here, do concerts here, and increasingly lure more tourists here?

It's complicated. For starters, there was legislation last session to expand tax credits for local film production. That bill died in committee.

Of course, it also doesn't help that our state never really seems to take economic diversification seriously, especially when it comes to Clark County. Think of all the opportunities we could actually pursue... If only we invest in the public infrastructure necessary to attract stable businesses and grow an educated workforce. The opportunities are always here, but when will we ever chase them?

At least with the film industry, we already have most of the infrastructure they're looking for. They're just looking for more tax credits, and it looks like a deal can be made. You know, it will be nice for Nevada to be known for more than just celebrities' naughty behavior. Maybe, we can actually become famous for the right reasons.

How I Got My Start

Since arriving here in California, I've been reminded of my own personal history. Believe it or not, I wasn't always... Oh hell, yes I was. Still, I like to think I've matured in the last three years that I've lived in Nevada.

My first big blog gig was at Calitics in 2007. I pretty much covered the OC beat... And raised a whole lot of hell. I'm still proud of the hell-raising I did over a proposed toll road through a state park to the beach.

I then moved onto The Liberal OC, and I had a chance to grow some more and learn from the pro's on how to properly "muck-rake" and get to what's really happening in local politics. While I sometimes behaved as the local blogs' "wild child", I like to think I was at least of some use. I still won't forget my experience investigating the strange goings-on in Dana Point City Hall.

My final posts in OC were for an upstart blog. It was quite fun to be at the ground floor of something for a change, and my colleagues there encouraged me to dig deeper into the kind of policy wonkiness that you've all come to know and love me (hopefully!) for now.

Trust me, I didn't quite take a short & easy path to ProgressNow's, Desert Beacon's, & The Nevada View's respective blog rolls. Before Elizabeth Halseth, there was Diane Harkey. Before Yucca Mountain, there was Trestles. Before the beautiful train wreck that is the Nevada Republican Party, there was the grueling machine that was the Orange County Republican Party. Before I began experiencing the true "fabulosity" of Nevada politics, I had to learn my way through the hurly burly of Orange County politics.

And I appreciate all my old friends (and even some old foes) who helped me reach the point I'm at today.

Poor North Las Vegas

So state officials are again chiding North Las Vegas for their clusterf*ck of a city budget. And even worse, they're basically putting the city on probation.

North Las Vegas Finance Director Al Zochowski told the Nevada Tax Commission this morning that the financially strapped city will experience a small cash flow deficit in June but should end the month with slightly more than $2 million in positive cash flow.

Hacker also told the commission that the city has been meeting all of its debt obligations.

The cash flow status prompted the commission to request that North Las Vegas begin furnishing the state with regular cash flow reports as the state Department of Taxation continues to assist the city with its finances.

Zochowski and City Manager Timothy Hacker also were directed to submit a letter to the taxation department that lays out all the actions the city took to back up its proposed fiscal 2013 budget. The City Council is expected to vote on the budget Tuesday for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Yep. It's really that bad now. But really, how did "Nor'town" get here? Well, it's complicated.

Certainly, there's a reason why it's been named one of "The 10 Worst Run Cities in America". Priorities do seem awfully out of whack at times. While a shiny new City Hall opens, direly needed parks and community centers close. And while the city continues to chase development that still doesn't make sense, more layoffs seem destined to happen.

However, there's another reason why Nor'town is destitute, a reason we certainly can't ignore. The state has also had a major role in putting North Las Vegas in this place. Remember that North Las Vegas gets far less C-Tax funding per capita than Las Vegas and Henderson. And remember that Nor'town has to pay out of its own pocket for services (like public libraries) that Las Vegas and Henderson don't.

Again, there's a glaring inequity in Nevada's tax structure, one that even affects our local governments and their finances. And it seems especially cruel that it's hitting many of Southern Nevada's poorest communities the hardest. After all, these are the communities that need things like libraries, after school programs, and crime prevention the most. And now, Nor'town is being asked to cut more.

While the City of North Las Vegas has made many poor decisions in the past on budgeting and setting proper priorities, the people of this city should not be punished simply because of their zip code... And because other municipalities were savvier in snatching away state funds. North Las Vegas, we really have a problem. And it's far deeper than you think.

Look Who's Evolving, Too. (& Look Who's Not.)

It just keeps getting better. Harry's coming on board "The Equality Express", as well.

[... O]n Thursday, Reid quietly said that if he were called on to vote one way or another in his home state of Nevada, he would “follow [his] children and grandchildren” and support legalizing gay marriage in Nevada.

Reid communicated his position without words: He nodded affirmatively in response to a reporter questioning whether he would support a vote in Nevada to recognize homosexual marriages.

The statement expressed by that nod is a significant one for the Senate majority leader, who has often said that he doesn’t object to gay couples marrying or think it’s any of his business whether or not gay couples choose to marry, but has never proactively said he would support their right to do so at the state level if asked to decide.

About time. Thank you, Senator.

It's really amazing to see the winds of change blow in the proper direction... And it's even better to see those winds bringing along our elected officials.

I know this has been tough for Senator Reid. It's been tough trying to balance his faith, his values, and his commitment to the public that elected him. I'm just glad to see his values win the day. Of course, I'm sure it's helped that Nevada voters have also evolved dramatically on this issue over time.



However, it looks like some of the nation's other prominent politicans (you know, the Republican kind) continue to shove their heads into the sand and ignore the arc of history bending toward justice. Mitt Romney is now demanding "a national standard" for enshrining marriage discrimination in our US Constitution. Apparently, Willard has a history of bullying. That certainly hasn't changed.

However, the rest of the country has changed. Even some Republicans seem to get that now. The arc of history is indeed bending toward justice. It's great to see that Nevada's Senior Senator now understands that. It's just sad that G-O-TEA politicians are actually proud to be behind the curve.

So President Obama Isn't the Only One Evolving.

Well, this is a much welcome change. Now that President Obama is completing his evolution on marriage equality, the political world is scrambling. And yes, it's even happening here in Nevada.

"As a gay man, it means a lot to me personally, because this is a president I've supported since he was a candidate and is somebody that I believed in and continue to believe in," said Chris Miller with the Clark County Democratic Party. "He continues to do things, not just for the gay community, but the entire country. That makes me want to stand with him even stronger."

Homosexual Ron Viotue and his partner of 42 years are applauding the president for his decision to support gay marriage as well as his repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell last year.

"He kept saying by the end of his first term, and I thought he (was) blowing smoke," he said. "It's never going to happen, and it did. This man has a lot, a lot of courage."

Ron and his partner began living together in the 1970's and had a private ceremony. The pair now owns an income tax business in Las Vegas. They're hopeful after so many years of helping married couples claim credits and deductions, they'll eventually get the same benefits they are currently denied.

At Southern Nevada Stonewall last night, soon to be State Senator Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) made more news by announcing plans to introduce a constitutional amendment to repeal Question 2. If it's passed by the next two consective sessions of the Legislature, then it can go to the voters for approval in 2016. State Senator David Parks (D-Paradise) also noted that marriage equality may come to The Silver State even sooner if Lambda Legal's federal law suit challenging Question 2 succeeds. Even our US Senator, Harry Reid (D), is evolving.

It's really amazing to see how we've progressed as a country... And as a state. Just twenty years ago, an anti-sodomy law targeting LGBTQ citizens were still on the books. (It was repealed in 1993.) Just three years ago, SB 283 domestic partnerships were on the verge of becoming law. Just last year, AB 211 transgender inclusive ENDA became law. And now, Nevada is closer than ever before to fully stepping into the 21st century. Oh, the places we'll go.

However, it looks like at least some folks here would rather stay in the past. Governor Brian Sandoval (R-Still Scared?) reaffirmed his support for marriage discrimination, along with the RNC and likely G-O-TEA Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney (R-Always Drinking Too Much TEA). Apparently after devolving for so long, it will take them a whole lot longer to evolve.



Still, it's great to see that marriage equality is quickly becoming less of a "deadly wedge issue" and more of just basic common sense, as it really always should have been.

Long Time Coming... But Welcome Aboard, Mr. President.

It happened. It finally happened.

In an interview with ABC News, Obama said, “I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

The ABC appearance followed several days of amped-up pressure on Obama to change his stance on same-sex marriage after Vice President Biden and members of Obama’s Cabinet expressed their support for legalized marriage between same-sex couples.

More from Obama, from an ABC transcript:

“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

Welcome to the arc of justice, Mr. President. It may have taken you a while, but I'm glad you're now here.

And it feels that much more poignant that this is happening just as I arrive in Southern California. I was here when Prop 8 passed. Despite the wonderfully historic moment we saw when Obama was first elected President, it was simultaneously a very ugly moment in time for those of us in California when the marriage ban here passed. How on earth could we simultaneously go forward and go back?

Now, it finally feels like we're coming around full circle. We're obviously nowhere near full equality yet, but at least we're one step closer.

The Revolution Is Won... Only to Be Lost?

So I wasn't the only blogger noticing last weekend's bucket full of crazy... And what it means for November. Conservative blogger Orrin Johnson again lashed out at the Ron Paul "Revolutionaries" now taking over the Nevada Republican Party. And yes, he's worried about that silly little election coming up this fall.

Let’s review. The purpose of a political party is to help candidates from that party win elections. Period. If you can’t influence election outcomes, you are irrelevant in politics and policy debates. Party members, committees, and delegates don’t set tax rates, ratify treaties, confirm judges, pass or repeal regulations, produce budgets, select cabinet appointments, or in any other way directly control the actual policies which govern our everyday lives and our economic futures.

The only way a party influences actual policy is if it influences elections. The only way for a party to do that is to have power and influence over who runs and who can get elected. Traditionally, parties do that by raising money for candidates, and by making themselves indispensable to the actual job of winning an election via volunteers, influence, credibility, and resources like walk lists, voter rolls, and precinct maps.

The Ron Paul Revolutionaries, however have shown a remarkable INability to accomplish any of the things that influences candidates.

And this is why establishment Republicans are panicking. As we had discussed on Monday, the Nevada GOP is set to fail in its biggest duty as a state party, which is to put together the field game necessary to elect candidates. When the party fails to focus on setting up that necessary field game, then what's the point of having a state party in the first place?

Honestly, I feel bad for poor Orrin... Just a little. Before I moved here to Nevada, I sometimes had to deal with "emo-prog" types who cared more about promoting "BOLD PROGRESSIVES!!!" than winning elections. And it was just painful to watch.

As you've often read here, I'm quite far to the left myself. Yes, I'll happily admit I'm a "fire breathing liberal". However, I'm also a liberal/progressive who likes winning elections. And yes, winning elections doesn't happen by just demanding "purity" and throwing a temper tantrum when that doesn't happen. Believe it or not, temper tantrums don't win elections. This is something we often have to grapple with on the left, but now we're seeing this unfold on the right at a level that I've never seen before.

As much as some grassroots folks on the left and the right love to see epic ideological battles unfold at party conventions and purge all "unsavory moderates" out of their respective parties, the fact of the matter is that doing that gets us no closer to winning elections. (If anything, that HURTS efforts to win elections.) While it's always important to promote the values we believe in and hold fast to them, we can't punish political parties for focus on party building while perhaps shirking "ideology enforcement" duties. After all, the first responsibility of a political party is to build the infrastructure necessary to win elections.

At times, we on the left have not seen eye to eye with Nevada State Democratic Party leaders. And yes, we sometimes get irritated when they seem to favor moderate candidates over "BOLD PROGRESSIVES!!!" However, most of us also realize that getting 70-90% of what we want is far better than getting nothing, so we leave Fantasy-land behind and return to the real world & return to working the field to win elections.

And this is why Orrin Johnson is panicking. Ron Paul's supporters care deeply for their libertarian beliefs, and they're set to accept nothing less than full fealty to those beliefs. But in pursuing complete ideological purity, they're also set to lose a whole lot of elections because they simply don't care about that stuff. This is why Nevada Republicans are in such dire straits. And it should serve as an important lesson to all the rest of us trying to balance ideological wishes with political reality.

If Only Green Valley High's Problems Were the Norm...

Green Valley High School, here in Henderson, has so much to be proud of. However, Green Valley High is experiencing a bit of an embarrassment... Even while it's being honored! Apparently, US News & World Report used the wrong data on both the school and the entire state of Nevada's public education infrastructure in deciding rankings. Whoops.

Still, Green Valley High has plenty to be proud of. It has one of the top graduation and college bound rates in the state. And other publications still rank it as one of the best schools in the country.

Ah, if only the rest of Clark County School District were that fortunate. Instead, CCSD overall is ranked as one of the WORST K-12 school districts in the nation. And local families are increasingly mad as hell & don't want to take take it any more.

Fifteen of 47 licensed educators at Vegas Verdes [Elementary School] have announced they plan to leave the school after this school year, and an untold number of teachers may be laid off if the School District follows through on its threat of layoffs.

“That’s terrible for my children’s future. It makes me fear my kids won’t be educated the right way,” said Teresa Sandoval-Salazar, a parent of three children at Vegas Verdes and the self-proclaimed organizer of the protest. “I don’t know why (the School District) is playing with the future of our children. I don’t think that’s right.” [...]

Former School Board member Jose Solorio —who was at the protest representing the Latino political group Si Se Puede — said the budget cuts so far have disproportionately hurt Hispanic students, who make up the majority of students in the district. English Language Learner facilitators were cut last year, which hurts schools like Vegas Verdes that serve a majority minority population, he said.

Solorio added that the School District should take a closer look at its budget instead of blaming teachers, who he said were attracted to the profession because of the annual step increases. Solorio is worried about teacher retention at a time when the School District is facing many academic challenges, he said.

“Teachers shouldn’t be lambasted because they got to keep their salaries,” he said. “The real issue is the lack of education funding from the state. Teachers shouldn’t bear the brunt of the blame.”

This is something that we discussed last Friday. CCSD administration have been setting up teachers to be the "fall guys" for some time. They've hoped that we just blame teachers for CCSD's failure to properly serve the community, and for state politicians' failure to properly fund public education. It's encouraging to see that a growing number of parents are finally noticing the holes in CCSD's story.

However, there's another problem here that isn't talked about often enough. Notice where Vegas Verdes is located. And notice where Green Valley is located. While recent budget cuts have hurt schools throughout Nevada, inner city Las Vegas public schools have been hurt the most.

Again, all public schools here have suffered. But at schools in more affluent suburbs, parents can at least afford to donate to keep extracurricular activities strong... And CCSD has incentives to keep as much intact as possible. (Hint: Reread the top paragraph.)

But in the poorer neighborhoods, the schools are in dire straits. And the things that students there need, like English Language Learner programs, are often considered more "politically palatable" budget cuts. It just goes to show that the real problems with Nevada schools, especially here in Clark County, are not what we often see in the media... And they're certainly not what the typical "tea party" aligned politicians claim they are.

If only the rest of CCSD's schools had Green Valley High's problems...

Why Mitt Romney's Worried About Nevada

(Also at DK Elections)



So "The Revolution" succeeded... Even though it still didn't. But even though Mitt Romney may be guaranteed 20 of 28 Nevada Republican delegates on paper, his campaign has still been shaken. Why? Look who has the energy and the passion.

This is what Ralston talked about in his column yesterday.

The RNC, represented at the Nugget and watching the Paul folks dominate similar conventions across the country, would prefer an uneventful (read: choreographed) national convention where Paul delegates don’t boo Mitt Romney as he accepts the nomination or start a resolution revolution from the floor. Similarly, they were hoping for a relatively sedate Nevada Republican Party event this weekend, with the Paul folks leaving happy and the Romney contingent fairly represented on the national delegate slate (3 of 25!).

Instead what transpired Saturday was a microcosm of the war for the soul of the Republican Party, with orange-capped Romney captains patrolling the convention floor, motivated by a desire to keep the sheep in line, while more colorfully dressed Paul delegates destabilized the convention, animated by either a love of liberty or a love of black helicopters (hard to tell percentages.).
[...]

Considering how close the election is foretold to be here and in the country, though, what the Paul folks do come November is critical to Romney’s fortunes. And that is the delicate waltz the Romney National Committee is confronted with, one that it executed with two left feet with two letters threatening not to seat the entire Nevada delegation if the Paul folks didn’t play ball. (Net impact: Zero.)

The Paul folks want to “change the party from within,” as I heard so many of them say – while Team Romney and its RNC allies want to do what Al Davis always urged: Just win, baby.

It is the bloodless mind of the GOP vs. the passionate heart that wants to beat loudly in Tampa. And over at Obama for America, they are smiling that despite the economy and the president’s numbers, knowing that at this rate, the Republicans might just beat themselves.

This is the dilemma that Romney's campaign and the RNC are facing, and the dilemma that they don't want the media to focus on. After all, it's quite embarrassing. For someone who's supposed to be "the presumptive Republican nominee", Romney still can't lock down his own base.

Now yes, we've become used to DC pundits telling us that Republicans are coalescing behind Romney and are enthusiastic about beating Obama. Yet while the Republican base does vehemently hate President Obama, and while much of that base has drifted to Romney in the last month, the view inside the GOP isn't really as rosy and peachy as those DC pundits think.

I definitely don't think it's an accident that President Obama has been on the rebound here in Nevada. However, there's more to this story than just the polls. Really, OFA has been active in the field since last summer. And Nevada Democrats are preparing to ramp up the field campaign for the entire ticket once the primary is over. When local pundits like Jon Ralston describe the Democratic Party's ground game as a "well oiled machine", they mean it. Just talk to Harry Reid about it.

Still, Democrats are not taking this election for granted. That's why we're seeing more field activity along with more media ad buys. After all, Barack Obama is not the only Democrat on our ballot. We also have an(other) US Senate race and two key US House races that may tip the balance of power on Capitol Hill. And on top of that, there's even more action down the ballot. And since elections are still won or lost in the field, that's where Democrats are doubling down.

And this is why so many Nevada Republican insiders are panicking. As this past weekend's display of unbridled insanity shows, the rank and file have still not coalesced behind Romney. Even if most of them eventually do by the summer, that's time and energy wasted on "the base" that should otherwise be spent corraling "the base" into working the field.

And even worse, Romney couldn't even count all the folks in John Ascuaga's Nugget this past weekend as his base! Even now, the bulk of Ron Paul's supporters refuse to endorse Romney... Even in the general election. And now that some of Ron Paul's biggest supporters are taking control of the Nevada Republican Party, big donors are threatening to bolt. And while that likely means money that would have gone to the Nevada GOP is instead being directed to pro-Romney SuperPACs, that still means money that can't be invested in the kind of GOTV (or "get out the vote") operation that Romney, along with down ballot GOP candidates, will need to win.

And since Ron Paul's campaign is still hellbent on causing even more trouble on the road to Tampa, it's denying Romney the chance to fully unite the base and redirect them from the primary fight to the general election. This is why Romney is in more trouble than some of the national polls suggest. With OFA building a strong field operation here in Nevada and throughout the country, Romney simply has no ground game to competently compete. And Ron Paul supporters are intent on keeping it that way.

The (#NVGOP #TrainWreck) "Revolution" Is Still Being Tweeted

While we were sleeping, they were still fighting.

Balloting for the national delegates didn’t begin until after 7 p.m., pushing the marathon convention into the early morning hours of Sunday with neither side willing to abandon a process rife with arcane rule fights.

A debate over whether to vote by hand, by two hands, by standing or by voice, for example, took nearly a half-hour to resolve.

But Paul’s supporters, driven by four years of planning and persistence, vowed to outlast the so-called Republican establishment that is trying desperately to close ranks around Romney — the likely nominee who is planning to face President Barack Obama in November.

Their hope: to elect enough Paul supporters to influence the national convention in August despite the fact Paul came in third in the Nevada caucuses. [...]

“It’s not over yet,” said Eugene H. Cushing, a Paul supporter from Reno. “These decisions are made at the national convention by the delegates there.”

Adam Ballner, a Paul supporter from Las Vegas, echoed the point, noting that the Republican primary has been marked by sudden spikes of popularity for a succession of candidates.

“Those (caucuses) were a gauge of where everyone was at that moment in time,” he said. “But this is the process we go through to determine the best candidate, and it doesn’t end until Florida.”

Oh, yes. That's right. The train wreck continues!

So where are they now? Well, at least they finally have new RNC committee representatives... Albeit pro-Ron Paul RNC committee representatives!

And now that it looks like at least some of the folks who showed up yesterday left, it's at least a little more likely that Ron Paul now has a majority in Sparks. And since the Paul troops successfully blocked a quorum requirement yesterday, they may yet succeed in hijacking the Tampa bound national convention delegation today.

So stay tuned for even more insanity. I'll be joining in on the Twitter #NVGOP madness @atdleft throughout the day, and I'll update this blog as soon as we have a better idea of what's to become of Nevada's Republican National Convention delegates.

UPDATE 9:45 AM:

It's now official. The Ron Paul brigade has finally secured a GOP national convention delegate majority, and a full supermajority at that! It looks like the Paul troops have won at least 22 delegate positions. I guess Team Romney indeed collapsed overnight.

So now, the Nevada GOP is assured of another fight with the RNC. This time, they're set to violate RNC guidelines calling for pledged and bound delegates. Under the guidelines, Romney is supposed to have 14 pledged delegates. Now, he may not even have 4.

So the Ron Paul brigade has finally succeeded in fully hijacking the Nevada GOP. I can't wait to see what they do in the general election!

UPDATE 10:15 AM:

Now, it's really official. The Ron Paul campaign won 22 delegates to Romney's 6. So Ron Paul has emerged as the final winner of the Nevada Republican Caucus...

Or has he? Not so, say RNC and Mitt Romney campaign lawyers. Since the Nevada Republican Party had agreed last year to bind national delegates to the caucus results, at least 14 of those delegates must still vote for Mitt Romney in the first (and likely only) round of balloting in Tampa.

So is this all for naught? Perhaps not. Ron Paul's campaign has already hinted that it wants to influence both the Tampa convention schedule and the party platform, so now it's in a better role to do that. And even though Ron Paul Nevada director Carl Bunce is saying he won't challenge the binding requirement, he still won't say whether he'll require at least 8 of his delegates to vote for Mitt Romney in Tampa.

So the suspense continues...

The (Ron Paul) "Revolution" Is Being Tweeted

Here's how Anjeanette Damon began her latest story on the madness going down in Sparks today.

A deeply divided contingent of more than 1,200 Republicans has gathered at a Sparks casino to elect delegates to the national convention in Tampa, Fl.

Within an hour of the convention being gaveled open, accusations of fake ballots, scuffles over seating and brief disagreements over rules erupted.

Overall, however, business proceeded rather smoothly with a delegation that seemed tipped toward Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who is scheduled to speak this afternoon

But that's only the start of it. Check #NVGOP on Twitter for more updates. So far, it looks like late arriving Romney delegates will be allowed to vote, so the Ron Paul folks are bummed... But they're still refusing to give up.

Rather, they're now trying to remove the convention chair! And there's all sorts of yelling and screaming going on inside John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. Oh yes, the revolution is in full force now.

It looks like Twitter may be overloaded here in Nevada, so I'll keep trying to find more updates for you.

UPDATE 3:50 PM:

So what's happening in Sparks now? Everything. And nothing.

Long story short, they're still fighting over the process. Nevada Republicans just barely adopted the rules for the convention, and it still looks like they're nowhere near delegate selection. At last check, it looked like close to an even Paul v. Romney divide... But now that the convention can go on without a quorum, Ron Paul supporters are essentially out to "rope-a-dope" Team Romney into exhaustion, hoping they'll leave before national convention delegate selection begins.

We'll have to wait and see how this works. So far, the ones who've been exhausted the most are the journalists covering this!

UPDATE 4:45 PM:

Finally, the delegate selection begins! And in a stunning turn of events, it looks like the Ron Paul approved RNC rep candidates have become the early favorites. Heidi Smith sounded really drunk, and apparently both she and Bob List are now "not conservative enough" for the crowd at Sparks. Never mind that Smith called President Obama a "SOE-SHUL-IST!!!!!" and List regurgitated "tenther" nonsense. I guess one must now burn Obama in effigy, make love to a cardboard cutout of Ron Paul, vow to destroy all government, and dissolve our 21st century economy to have any kind of future in the Nevada G-O-TEA.

No wonder why Dean Heller, Joe Heck, and Brian Sandoval stayed away today.

UPDATE 7:50 PM:

Finally, the Nevada Republican Party has new RNC committee members. James Smack and Diana Orrock beat incumbents Bob List and Heidi Smith by a landslide. Not only is this in and of itself big news, but it's also a key test vote for the delegate selection votes soon to come. Incumbents List and Smith back Mitt Romney, while Smack and Orrock support Ron Paul.

Steve Sebelius noted the real irony here, which is that List and Smith both upped the ante on the "tea party" crazy, yet they still lost. Wow. What does that say about the future of the Nevada Republican Party? Especially that a former Governor (albeit a disgraced one term Governor) could lose his RNC position to some rural dude who likes Ron Paul and lost his Congressional primary 86-14?

So as we look forward to the delegate slate competition, it looks like Ron Paul's campaign may ultimately have the upper hand tonight. And the caucus fracas that began in January won't be ending any time soon.