Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
After all of the hullaballoo over how the Democratic party would handle the Michigan and Florida delegates at their convention, which has long been solved, now it appears that the Republican convention may have a nasty fight over two competing delegations from Nevada. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Two Nevada delegations are packing their bags for the Republican National Convention Sept. 1, and if the latest party ruling stands, neither of them will be seated.A fiasco at the state convention spawned the dueling delegations -- one for John McCain and one for Ron Paul -- and their continued wrangling has exposed a split in the party that may spell trouble in a key state for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Here's how things got to this point:
In April, riding high on a second-place showing in the Silver State, the grass-roots Paul supporters were well represented and well organized at the Republican state convention. Winning a key rule change, the Paul delegation began electing a majority slate for its candidate, when party officials dropped the gavel, turned out the lights and adjourned the convention indefinitely.The state party leadership went on to appoint a slate of McCain delegates to the national convention by private conference call. Meanwhile, the spurned Paul faction gathered for its own "reconvention" to produce a competing delegation. In a decision Aug. 5, the national party's contest committee recommended against seating either slate, citing flaws in the selection process. The fate of Nevada's 34 seats at the Republican National Convention may not be decided until the final days before it begins.
This could be interesting to watch.
Politics
Comments
Yeah the Republicans really showed their asses with Ron Paul. It felt slimy and they pissed off and opened the eyes of a good number of Republicans (geez- at least I hope).
Posted by: Chuck | August 29, 2008 10:12 AM
Beautiful! This post brings a tear to my eye.
I now have the audacity to hope that this rift can be settled amicably by the Rethuglicans through a mud-wraslin' cage match.
AND STAY OFF OF MCCAIN'S LAWNS !!$3!@##%@!
Posted by: J-Dog | August 29, 2008 10:13 AM
Related to the RNC, CNBC reported this morning that the Republicans are considering postponing the convention until after Gustav, so as not to have their thunder stolen if the levies fail again. I wonder what's going through the heads right now of those who prayed of rain ruin the Democratic convention.
Posted by: Abby Normal | August 29, 2008 10:18 AM
Gustav.
Very welll may be spectacular proof that if there is a god, he has a mind of his own and can take care of his own business, thankyouverymuch.
Posted by: Russell Miller | August 29, 2008 11:31 AM
Being upstaged is the only reason the Republicans fear Gustav, folks. They certainly learned their lesson after Katrina.
I know from personal experience that FEMA will, if anything, be over-zealously deployed this election year. Remember, the poor response to Andrew in 92 gave Clinton a major election plank and hurt dear old dad.
In '04, with Florida being the center of the known universe, and his brother's state, Junior pulled out all the stops and made it his life's mission to get relief to Florida after four major hurricanes. He was glad-handing all over the state, running a campaign on the government's dime by "being presidential" in a crisis. I was in two of those hurricanes. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting someone from FEMA trying to throw money at you.
Louisiana in '05 didn't "matter" for anything, and the Lower 9th ward was just a bunch of desperately poor black people, who don't vote anyway. I think they were truly surprised that anyone else, particularly the media, cared that the response was so pathetic.
It's an election year that the media proved it did care. Uncle Sam will be spreading wisdom and cash around wherever Gustav hits. I will be truly amazed if there is any other result.
Posted by: Mr. Upright | August 29, 2008 12:10 PM
In related news, McCain has made his VP choice--a virtual unknown from Alaska, and in what will surely alienate a sizeable segment of his fervent supporters, a woman. I'll be watching this one with rapt interest.
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | August 29, 2008 12:44 PM
I think the libertarian right is a wild card that the press has so far almost ignored. The latest Zogby poll shows that they could hold the balance of power in a couple states like Virginia and North Carolina. If the Nevada business serves as a rallying point for the Paulites, McCain could have a serious problem there. His choice of Sarah Palin as VP is a big pander to the religious right (she's strongly pro-life, anti-gay, and favors teaching ID in the public schools) and the same stands that mobilize the RR often alienate the libertarians.
Posted by: John McKay | August 29, 2008 1:34 PM
I saw that Sadie and couldn't believe it. How will McCain be able to go after Obama's experience when his own running mate's credentials are a couple years as Governor and a few more as a small town mayor? I could almost see the headline: McCain Concedes Experience Not Important.
She does seem to have all the right right-wing cred McCain needs, anti-abortion, creationist, global warming skeptic(though sources conflict on this one), anti-gay marriage. She's big on talking about ethics and reduced her own pay while cutting taxes and shrinking the Alaskan government. Apart from not much experience (and perhaps her gender) she looks at first blush to be exactly what the Republican base would want. Plus I think McCain is hoping she'll bring in a big chunk of those former Hillary supporters who have not realigned with Obama. Still, I'm surprised McCain would undercut his own experience argument like this.
I must admit I wasn't too familiar with her before now and I've just started to research her. So this is just my initial impression. Take anything I've said so far with a grain of salt.
Posted by: Abby Normal | August 29, 2008 1:35 PM
In related news, McCain has made his VP choice--a virtual unknown from Alaska, and in what will surely alienate a sizeable segment of his fervent supporters, a woman. I'll be watching this one with rapt interest.
Why would you say Palin would alienate McCain supporters? I think McCain has seriously firmed up his base because his biggest problem is with conservative evangelicals. Palin plays to the weakness very well.
Posted by: mroberts | August 29, 2008 1:51 PM
I was going to vote for Bob Barr, but am seriously thinking about McCain, now with the Palin pick. Who I just heard of for the first time today. But she totally radiates citizen versus politician, just like Ron Paul. Never thought in a million years, the Repubs would win me back...and with a Romney/Huck/generic governor, they never would have. I'm really jazzed. Her pick even reminds me of things that I like about McCain (no to special interests and lobbyists).
Posted by: TCO | August 29, 2008 3:17 PM
mroberts, if the conservative evangelicals get behind Palin then the republicans have bigger problems than we thought. Or did you forget 1 Timothy 2:12:
"I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent"
A woman as VP would be a single heartbeat away from having "authority over men" than any other woman in histroy.
For the conservative evangelicals to embrace Palin would have to mean that they have abandoned not only their conservative values, but their evangelical ones as well. While watching the CE's abandoning their principles wouldn't be a surprise, it would be amusing to watch them have to do so in the full view of the public.
Posted by: Blaidd Drwg | August 29, 2008 4:48 PM
"Her pick even reminds me of things that I like about McCain (no to special interests and lobbyists)".
Did you mean no to lobbyist unless their part of his campaign?
I'm just astounded that anyone would still believe this after all the publicity about McCain's schmoozing with lobbyists within his campaign. Not to mention his flip-flop on offshore drilling, and his blatant switch to appease the Religious Right, which certainly looks like pandering to special interests to me.
Posted by: trog69 | August 29, 2008 5:14 PM
Abby, I knew it. Republicans in general have no sense of geography.
Minnesota is NO WHERE NEAR the coast and Gustav's potential path.
Posted by: Shawn Wilkinson | August 29, 2008 5:35 PM
"Yeah the Republicans really showed their asses with Ron Paul. It felt slimy and they pissed off and opened the eyes of a good number of Republicans (geez- at least I hope)."
I really think thee won't be much commotion over this.
The GOP party elite know how to throw their weight around. They will(procedurally, physically, or both) bare knuckle the Paulites out of the way.
And the Paulites, always far braver behind a keyboard than in person, will take it like the wimps they are, and drift off into the woodwork of the convention after a time to have a good sulk.
A few days later, and still nursing their hangovers, they will type up brave missives and tall tales detailing how they fought a good fight but, alas, the corrupt mainstream media (spelled lamestream in their screes) failed to document and report on their heroic struggle.
Posted by: Art | August 30, 2008 12:18 AM
Excuse my ignorance, but why don't they split the Nevada delegates proportionally to the number of votes each candidate attracted, then let 'em fight it out on the floor of the convention? Or am I being just too sensible? -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | August 30, 2008 1:19 AM