[rscully]

This is article is soooooooooo misleading! I was there as a delegate and I can assure you, the people who were upset by the State party unceremoniously recessing the convention were not just the Ron Paul crowd. In fact, the Ron Paul crowd were not even the cause for the meeting to be cut short. Going into convention, the Ron Paul crowd were not the only ones feeling unexcited about a McCain ticket - many conservatives were, too. Just about everybody was pissed off when the State party bailed and literally hurried out of the convention.

It was the State Party who assailed us with long-winded speeches (twice) about contributing to the Patiot Fund (a worthy cause, but redundant after the same speaker came up to “kill time” while they counted the ballots). In fact, a lot of time was wasted by a party wholly unprepared for a contingency who was not going to be railroaded into accepting thier slate of delegates to the National Convention. Again, and I think it bears repeating: It was not only the Ron Paul people who were po’d about the State's attempt to strong-arm the convention.

Even though I'm going to be wearing full HAZMAT gear when I vote for McStain (I believe in party unity), what the State Party pulled was crap, pure and simple. I'm a conservative who thinks Ron Paul took a left turn off the reservation, but in this case, his people were not the bad guys they're being made out to be. Sure, they were vocal, but they weren't the only ones.

This convention was hijacked by the Nevada Republican Party leadership with their pre-determined ballot of delegates. When the Paul group AND OTHERS voted to open up the floor to delegates from the floor, the leadership realized they were not going to be able to load the slate with their pre-chosen people. It was their abuse of rules technicalities, including ending the meeting abruptly and without any kind of vote, that was wasting the thousands of dollars the convention delegates spent of their own money to go.

Now, contrary to RNC rules, they're going to reconvene in Las Vegas. Perfect. If you don't like the rules, break ‘em, or make your own up. How utterly typical. No wonder many Nevada Republicans are leaving the party and becoming independants in droves.

[a_different_conservative]

I was there too and your description of events is spot-on.

I can understand the party regulars were a little upset because this was such an atypical convention but they need to get over it. Nothing the Ron Paul supporters did was in any way devious or underhanded. I (and others) went through the same precinct caucus, county and state conventions everyone else did. I never concealed my intention to support Paul when I was elected a delegate to my precinct and I continue to support Paul as an active candidate just as I promised my precinct I would.

If anything should unnerve the party regulars it is the apathy of the alleged McCain supporters. This is not directed at the upstanding McCain supporters who came to the convention to do their job but at the many McCain supporters who, seeing the persistance of the Paul supporters at both the precinct and county levels, couldn’t be bothered to pay the lousy $50 and go to the state convention - 300 more McCain supporters would have been enough to stop the Paul supporters.

I hope they can find the energy to go to the polls and vote or we may see a Democrat in office. You can be sure I and MANY other Paul supporters will hold our nose and do our duty to support McCain in November.