Elizabeth Crum

An impassioned motion to revoke credentials for more than 300 delegates who arrived after the meeting began.

This adorable baby was sporting a Ron Paul sticker and seemed unphased by the shouting that ensued at Saturday's convention meeting

Heated questions about the presence of guests and whether they were voting.

An angry motion to remove the convention chairman.

And that was just for starters.

More than 1,600 county delegates are gathered at the Nevada Republican Party (NRP) convention in Sparks, NV in a meeting that has fluctuated between contentiousness and calm.

Among other things, Nevada’s two sitting Republican National Commmitee persons, both Romney supporters, were unseated b by wide margins yesterday.

We wrote a story on Nevada News Bureau with all the particulars.

President Obama’s re-election campaign is up with its first round of TV ads in Nevada this week after being hammered by the American Energy Alliance on gas prices.

Anjeanette Damon has the scoop on the small ad buy in Reno and Las Vegas.

Energy will be one of the issues on which voters are bombarded on the airwaves from now ’til November.

But who is to blame for rising gas prices, really? And what can be done about it?

Currently, 75-80% of the cost of gasoline is driven by petroleum prices while the other 20-25% lies in refining and distribution. The latter can be influenced by U.S. policy to some degree. The former cannot, at least not much (and hardly at all in the short term) because the influencing factors are things outside our control such as OPEC supply decisions, tensions in the Middle East and seasonal variants.

Policy leverage may be possible in the long run as U.S. demand declines and supply increases, but our influence lies more on the demand side (23 percent of world total consumption) than the supply side (9 percent of world production). Policies that reduce demand (like pushing alternative fuels or the construction and use of mass transportation) or increase supply (drill, baby, drill) or some dual front (“all of the above”) effort are where we must head if we really want to influence oil prices in the long run.

Disagreements about these things tend to be more about degree than any all-or-nothing stance (except by the extremists on both ends, but who listens to them?)

Where policy makers seem to differ the most in the national argument on energy is re: the environmental consequences of energy production and use. Energy exploration and production generates high-paying employment but also generates environmental costs that are not always obvious in the price system.

Conservatives say the economic advantages of more/faster/better fossil fuel energy far outweigh concerns about carbon emissions or occasional oil spills, and anyhow India and China are building new coal-fired energy plants every 5 minutes so it’s futile to fight that battle even if one believed in it.

Liberals and greenies say it’s a moral imperative to wean the nation off carbon, even if it costs us all a little (or a lot) more.

And never the twain shall meet. Or so it seems right now. The energy ad wars shall wage on, in Nevada and nationally, and the best narrative will win in November while voters will no doubt continue to lose at the gas pump no matter who is president.

Chris Frates at the Influence Alley blog at National Journal reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is up with radio ads in eight states including Nevada, targeting Republican lawmakers including Rep. Joe Heck for their support of the Paul Ryan budget plan.

Their already tired talking point?

Their support for the bill means Heck and his GOP pals put the wealthy ahead of protecting Medicare.

“Did you know Congressman Joe Heck voted twice to essentially end Medicare to give tax breaks to millionaires?” the ad asks.

No, no we didn’t. But thanks for enlightening us, Dems. Nevadans will look forward to more breathless hyperbole on proposed Medicare reform in the months to come.

Or shall we just call it a lie, like Politifact did?

There was only one threat to close down yesterday’s meeting, says an attendee, but otherwise the Nye County GOP convention went down pretty much the way Ron Paulers are crowing in the following press release.

If you think the Nevada GOP convention is not in jeopardy of an epic battle (or total chaos, depending on your point of view) you’re just not paying attention.

…

HENDERSON, Nevada – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul swept all state delegates from Nye County and a strong majority of state delegates from Douglas County in these areas’ respective GOP county conventions held Saturday.  Yesterday’s success story from Nye County is especially notable because the county party establishment leadership attempted to break the rules in order to win, and ironically this effort destroyed their ability to send any representation to the state convention.

Nye County Republican Party leadership attempted to fill empty precinct delegate slots with people who failed to be elected or even participate in the February 4^th caucus precinct meetings.  Ron Paul supporters, however, worked tirelessly to ensure that the Republican Party rules were upheld and that Nevada State statutes were complied with.  The 12-term Congressman from Texas’ supporters refused to allow the convening of a convention with unelected delegates.  This delay in starting the convention ultimately frustrated the less-dedicated establishment attendees who refused to play by the rules.

After a tiring circle of threats from the chair to shut down the convention unless attendees would turn a blind eye to the cheating, Paul supporters elected a chair determined to conduct the proceedings in a fair manner.  When this blow was dealt to the current Nye County Republican Party leadership, they all departed – forfeiting any intention to represent or lead their county to the state convention.  The end result in Nye County was a fair, compliant election of a slate of delegates and alternate delegates to the state convention, all backing Dr. Paul.

Farther west in Douglas County, Ron Paul supporters locked down more than half of the 108 state delegates and many alternate delegate positions.  Fortunately, Douglas County citizens were able to make their voice heard loud and clear without having to circumvent the obstacle of an establishment determined to override the people.

Reflecting on the powerful impact the Paul conservative movement has in Nevada, Ron Paul 2012 Nevada State Chairman Carl Bunce said, “Supporters of Dr. Paul are reshaping Republican politics in Nevada.  They have the stamina and determination to bring the party back to its limited government roots, county by county.”

“Beltway insiders might dismiss it, some in the media may choose to overlook it, and establishment party hacks will at times cheat, but nothing can stop the Ron Paul-influenced reawakening of the conservative movement in America.  Voters are smarter than the representation they’re getting and the empty rhetoric of fake conservatives and serial hypocrites,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“Republicans understand Ron Paul is the only candidate who can challenge status quo candidate Mitt Romney, defeat Obama, and Restore America Now.  Proof of this is ordinary citizens including first-time political activists investing their time to become the delegates required to win Dr. Paul the GOP nomination,” added Mr. Benton.

The Nye and Douglas successes add to a decisive victory in Clark County, the populous county encompassing Las Vegas.  In Clark, Paul secured approximately 60 percent of the delegates heading to the state convention, and won a supermajority of the Clark County Republican Executive Board.  Progress and momentum such as in these examples is hardly limited to Nevada.  It has occurred in other states including Washington and Missouri.

Is the county-level battle over how to fill delegate vacancies yet another reason to expect that the NV GOP state convention will be contentious?

I asked Jesse Law, political activist and Ron Paul supporter, for his two cents on that and yesterday’s goings-on in Nye. He sent this statement via email:

The fight in Tonopah was over the chairwoman’s decision to fill vacancies with appointments.  The membership’s argument was that an appointment to fill a vacancy in a precinct for a convention delegate is only valid if there were no election for delegates at the precinct. There will be a fight at the state convention but the rules are clear, and I expect the ruling from the state party to be met with confirmation at the state convention.

Yep, sounds like the state convention will be a popcorn-worthy event.

And:  If you attended the GOP meetings in either Douglas or Nye counties yesterday, feel free to drop your comments below.

Here are event details on the state gathering should you wish to attend:

Got an email from an old friend who found me not here.

Should’ve posted a “Gone Fishin’” sign (and have done so now).

I’ll be back someday (when the time is right), but in the meantime here is where to find me these days:

– Editing and managing the Nevada News Bureau

– Blogging on The Blog there (now branded E!!Politics)

– Doing political analysis & commentary wherever I’m hired or invited

Also:  Follow me on Twitter @elizcrum

Gun Owners of Nevada has an online petiton urging Harry Reid to oppose any new restrictions and/or a ban on assault weapons.  If you support 2nd amendment rights in NV, go sign it.  And if you are a gun owner, you really should sign up for GONV’s newsletter (upper left of their front page).

Vin Suprynowicz, one of my favorite local writers, penned a great column on immigration law enforcement (or lack thereof) in the RJ over the weekend.  As usual, he wipes the floor with his critics (albeit not very bright ones).