Nevada GOP Bumbles into Another Self-Inflicted Wound

(Chuck Muth) – If shooting yourself in the foot was an Olympic event, the Nevada Republican Party would be gold medal winners.

Yesterday, the state GOP announced it will hold its presidential “caucus” on Thursday, February 8, 2024 – two days after the State of Nevada holds its legislatively-mandated presidential primary.

The party sued to block the primary but lost in court.  And if you think the dueling elections are going to confuse the hell out of Republican voters…you’re right.

Delegates to the Republican National Convention will be decided by the results of the caucus, not the primary.  Which means the primary will pretty much be just a beauty contest with no meaning – other than bragging rights.

Republican voters who wish to have a say in who goes to the national convention and which GOP candidate gets their support will have to show up in-person on February 8 at 5:00 pm at locations not yet determined.

Republican voters who wish to have a say in the primary beauty contest will be able to vote at any time on February 6 (Ronald Reagan’s birthday!) at any regular polling location.  They’ll also be able to vote early or vote by mail.

Guess which one is going to get the bigger turnout?

But according to a report by Jessica Hill in today’s Las Vegas Review-Journal, it’s going to be even worse than that.

The Nevada GOP is also telling the various presidential campaigns “they must not participate in the state presidential preference primary – such as filing a statement of candidacy with the state – or else they will not be able to participate in the caucus and will be awarded no delegates.”

So not only is the party shutting out tens of thousands of Republican voters who can’t/won’t vote in the caucus for a wide variety of reasons, the Nevada GOP is extorting legitimate Republican candidates from even filing to appear on the ballot!

Now, riddle me this, Batman…

Let’s say Trump figures he has the caucus in the bag and opts NOT to participate in the state’s primary.  That means another GOP candidate will win the primary, but Trump will get all the convention delegates.

Or let’s say Trump DOES participate in the primary and another candidate beats him. Seems unlikely at this point, but it’s still way early. Anything can happen.

This is gonna be a major PR disaster for the GOP as Nevada Republican voters come to realize what the party has done to them.

But the party doesn’t care. The Nevada GOP is, for all intents and purposes, the Trump campaign in Nevada.  Heck, its executive director, Alida Benson, only recently resigned and is now the state director for the Trump campaign!

The political Siamese twins apparently believe Trump will crush his opposition in a tightly-controlled caucus – where they can make and change the rules at will, as they’ve done in the past – but that in an open primary, with far more Republican voters participating, all bets are off.

In addition, the party itself will be spending tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of dollars it doesn’t have holding their alternative caucus rather than participating in the primary, which is paid by the public.

That’s a lot of money the party *could* be using to, you know, elect more Republicans at the state and local level – including legislative seats where the GOP is currently in a super-minority in the Assembly and just one seat away from a super-minority in the Senate.

But for the Nevada GOP, nothing – NOTHING – matters other than stacking the deck to assure Donald Trump gets the state’s convention delegates next February.

Sorry, Gov. Lombardo.  You’re on your own protecting your 75 vetoes.

Trump has incessantly complained that his 2020 election was rigged – and there’s certainly truth to that.  But now he’s the one doing the rigging for 2024.

I guess he believes if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Over the weekend I signed/co-signed for our family’s third new (used) car in less than three months.  When it rains, it pours!

I got a new (used) 2006 Lincoln Town Car in June to replace my 2015 Hyundai that some lady totaled last October when she blew through a red light and t-boned me.

Daughter Jenna got a new (used) 2015 Ford Explorer in July after her Dodge Caravan’s tranny went on the fritz.  I’m talking about “transmission,” not “transgender.”

On Saturday, daughter Kristen drove off in a 2021 Toyota Tacoma to replace her 2006 Nissan Versa that blew its engine.

We shopped at a LOT of dealerships and talked to a LOT of salesmen over the last three months.  Not a knock on any of the others, but my new personal auto sales consultant, Silas Walker at Findlay Lincoln Mercury, is in a class all to himself.

All three of our deals had challenges – Jenna was upside down on her Caravan loan by some $6,000! – but Silas went above and beyond in putting them together for us.

So if you’re in the market for a used car – or even a brand new Lincoln! – give Silas a call and let him know I referred you.  He’s somebody I absolutely trust and will take care of you like nobody’s business.

Silas’ cell phone is (702) 235-1065.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“Two years ago, the world watched in horror as Joe Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in a way that betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies.  Disaster followed. Thirteen American service members were killed, China grew increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, Russia invaded Ukraine, and terrorists took over Afghanistan with the help of American equipment and supplies.” – GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.  You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.