{"id":46705,"date":"2023-09-11T15:42:14","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T22:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/?p=46705"},"modified":"2023-09-12T05:27:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T12:27:28","slug":"how-the-nevada-gop-is-rigging-its-presidential-caucus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/how-the-nevada-gop-is-rigging-its-presidential-caucus\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Nevada GOP is Rigging its Presidential Caucus"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Chuck Muth)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 It matters not to me which Republican presidential candidate you might be supporting.\u00a0
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Good, conservative Republicans are supporting Trump.\u00a0 Good conservative Republicans are supporting DeSantis.\u00a0 And good, conservative Republicans are supporting other candidates in the race.
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I\u2019ll take any of them over Biden.
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But when the official party apparatus tries to tilt the scales toward one candidate over the other, that\u2019s a horse of a different color.\u00a0 And that\u2019s exactly what the Nevada GOP is doing by insisting on holding a separate party-run \u201ccaucus\u201d two days after the official state-run primary.\u00a0
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I\u2019ve already detailed the insanity of this decision in a\u00a0previous column<\/a>, so I won\u2019t repeat the arguments against it here.\u00a0 Yet party leaders continue to deny the undeniable that they\u2019re rigging the game on Trump\u2019s behalf.
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The fact that the party\u2019s executive director recently stepped down to take over the Trump campaign in Nevada is the most obvious.\u00a0<\/strong>
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But a pair of resolutions that\u2019ll be voted on at the Nevada Republican Central Committee meeting on September 23 in remote Winnemucca \u2013 a decision itself made to advantage Trump \u2013 demonstrate just how far the party is going to stack the deck in 45\u2019s favor.
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Let\u2019s take a look\u2026
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Resolution #1\u00a0<\/strong>requires that all GOP presidential candidates must file with the Nevada GOP and pay a fee \u201cto be determined by the NRP Executive Committee.\u201d\u00a0 While the fee isn\u2019t set in the resolution, media reports confirm candidates will have to cough up a whopping $55,000 each.
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That will certainly discourage challengers to Trump who don\u2019t have his warchest.
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Worse, the resolution states that any candidate who agrees to participate in the state-run presidential primary \u201cwill be declared ineligible to participate in\u201d the caucus.
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Many, if not most \u2013 and maybe all \u2013 of Trump\u2019s challengers are likely to participate in the official presidential primary on February 6 and, therefore, will be banned from having their names appear on the caucus ballot two days later.
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Indeed, it\u2019s entirely possible that, with this rule in place, Trump will be the\u00a0ONLY<\/u>\u00a0candidate whose name appears on the caucus ballot.\u00a0 Talk about rigging the system!
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The resolution also stipulates that every Republican voter who wants to participate in the caucus must have registered as a Republican at least 30 days prior to the caucus.
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So let\u2019s say DeSantis or any of the other GOP candidates do well in Iowa and New Hampshire before Nevada votes.\u00a0 Excitement builds.\u00a0 And new voters want to register and participate in the caucus within the 30-day window.
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Sorry, Charlie.\u00a0 No can do.
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The resolution continues\u2026
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\u201cOnly employed representatives and official surrogates of presidential campaigns who have requested and received pre-approval from the NVGOP will be allowed to speak at any precinct meeting\u2026\u201d
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Sorry National Rifle Association, Right-to-Life, Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth \u2013 all of which actively participate in elections on behalf of candidates.\u00a0
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And let\u2019s say Nikki Haley decides to participate in the caucus and wants to send surrogates to the caucus meetings to speak on her behalf.\u00a0 No can do\u2026unless, again, the Haley supporters \u201chave requested and received pre-approval from the NVGOP.\u201d
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Mother, may I?
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And if such campaign surrogates don\u2019t get permission and dare to show up at the caucus and try to speak to voters anyway, they \u201cwill be subject to a minimum fine of $5,000 per instance.\u201d
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Speech suppression.\u00a0 Somehow, I couldn\u2019t find that in the GOP platform.
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Now let\u2019s say the super-PAC supporting Tim Scott wants to get a list of likely caucus attendees based on past voting history.\u00a0 Fuggetaboutit.\u00a0
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\u201cUnder no circumstances,\u201d the resolution reads, shall any such lists be \u201creleased to or made available to any Super PAC, PAC, or other organization claiming to support or represent any Presidential campaign.\u201d
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In addition, the resolution also says PACs and other organizations \u201cshall not be permitted to display, promote, or distribute literature, or take any other similar actions either outside or inside the\u201d caucus locations.
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More speech suppression.
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Then there\u2019s\u00a0Resolution #4<\/strong>, which establishes the criteria that must be met to become an official delegate to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
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To become a delegate, you must meet 4 of 6 requirements. They include\u2026<\/p>\n