Future unclear for state GOP convention, national delegates

LAS VEGAS-With the announcement last week by the Nevada Republican Party that it has chosen Jul. 26 to reconvene its first, unsuccessful convention, controversies remain for Ron Paul supporters and previously voted-on delegates that could lead all the way to the Republican National Convention in September.

Supporters of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) hope to host a form of make-up convention on Jun. 28 and believe that if they achieve a quorum of the previous Apr. 26 convention attendees they may be able to elect a slate of delegates that could be seated at the national convention. 

The effort, which is thus far being bankrolled by Reno dentist and Paul supporter Dr. Wayne Terhune, is sanctioned by the Ron Paul campaign and is being organized largely over Web sites like Meetup and Digg.com.

In order for their Jun. 28 date to have any chance of electing delegates that will actually be seated, however, Paul supporters will have to overcome enormous strategic and legal hurdles that will test the burgeoning power of netroots-fueled movements like Paul's.

The first hurdle Paul supporters will face is the organizational challenge of gathering enough people at their Jun. 28 site to constitute a quorum of the previous convention.  A quorum, they believe, will consist of a majority of the 1,347 delegates who attended in April, an argument they base on Robert's Rules of Order.

In April, Paul supporters were able to muster enough support to vote down a proposed portion of the convention's rules 752 to 405.  It is unclear, however, how many of those supporters Paulites will be able to get to Reno Jun. 28.  Even assuming that many could be convinced to attend a convention that has been denounced by Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden and not sanctioned by the NRP, they will need an over 86 percent turnout rate to achieve that quorum.

When 32nd Assembly District candidate Mike Weber attempted to form a quorum following the previous convention's recess, he was only able to get about 500 to remain.

Democrats' turnout at their May state convention, with five primaries remaining in a record-breaking season, was only slightly more than 70 percent.

Supporters' attempts to organize a quorum in June are further hampered by the NRP's refusal to release the official list of delegate attendees.

Even were the Jun. 28 convention to achieve a majority, however, Paul supporters will have to argue their own delegates' legitimacy before several committees of the Republican National Committee and, failing that, probably several branches of the judiciary.  In a 1,400 word post Lowden published on her blog today, she detailed a number of arguments the state Republican Party would use to contest any Jun. 28 delegates' validity, including NRP bylaws regarding "special meetings" and state law giving the state central committee the right to call to convention.

Paul supporters believe Lowden's arguments are moot because the convention was merely called to recess.  They say their gathering will be neither a "special meeting" nor something which requires an additional call to convention.

"Because the state convention was called and convened on Apr. 26, it has not adjourned," said Ron Paul regional director Jeff Greenspan.  "Once it is in existence, until there is "adjourn sine die," no additional calls are necessary."

For any Jun. 28 delegates to be seated, this argument would have to pass muster with both the national convention's contests committee and its credentials committee.  Of course, Paul supporters could contest decisions by those committees in court, but would face a judiciary that would likely be loath to interfere in a party's internal delegate certification processes.

One way to improve their convention's chances of legitimacy would be to boycott the Jul. 26, convention, which the Paul campaign is not publicly doing.  If the party-sanctioned convention is unable to achieve a quorum then, it will be much more difficult to argue that it, and not the Paul convention, has the legitimate slate of delegates to the national convention.  Paul supporters have not advocated a boycott yet, however.

"I'd like to see [Paul supporters] go to both, personally," said Greenspan.  "We're going to send out information on both of the proposed dates without reaching any kind of judgment or preference, saying we encourage the greatest amount of participation."

"I'm going to go to both of them," said Chris Dyer, a candidate in the Republican primary for the 1st Congressional District.  "I'll go to the Jun. 28 one just in case they reach a quorum and of course if there is no quorum, I'll go to the Jul. 26 one."

Dyer is among the delegates voted on before the April recess.  Afterwards, the Ron Paul campaign announced that he, along with three Paul supporters from the 3rd Congressional District, had won election to the national convention, but NRP executive director Zach Moyle cautioned those elections may not be valid.

"That will be the first order of business to conduct when we reconvene," said Moyle.  "There have been a lot of reports that state so-and-so was elected here but nothing was certified at the convention and we don't even know if all balloting was finished." 

It will require a full vote of the Jul. 26 convention to certify those previously-voted on delegates.

If Paul supporters can rally enough delegates to reach their definition of a quorum, they will face a tough choice about delegates like Dyer.  If they show up in enough force to force the convention to certify Dyer and the others, they may lend additional credibility to that convention and deflate arguments for their own.

"Myself, [U.S. Sen.] John Ensign and Danny Tarkanian were the three that were elected out of CD1," said Dyer.  "Bob Beers, the chairman of the convention, was the one who counted our votes so I don't know how to get more official than that."

Following a quorum on Jun. 28, Paul supporters' may have to face the choice to either go for broke with a full slate of delegates or try to hold onto and build on the modest success they achieved in April.