Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION: Nevadans watch as war takes center stage

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., left, state party Chairwoman Earlene Forsythe and delegate Joe Brown, Nevada national committeeman, cheer Monday at the Republican National Convention. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- The battle for Nevada is being waged in Las Vegas and Reno this week, but here, where delegates meet four miles from ground zero, the war on terror has trumped the fight for all but the biggest swing states.

The polls might be split, and the ad buys from President Bush and challenger John Kerry might be huge, but state party Chairwoman Earlene Forsythe had to pause, think and pause again when asked what special attention the state is being paid at the Republican National Convention.

"Our hotel is nice," she said.

Delegates heard Monday evening from two big symbols in the war on terrorism, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war.

With waves of helicopters patrolling the skies above Manhattan and an 18-block radius around Madison Square Garden in virtual lockdown, the city that suffered the largest losses on Sept. 11, 2001, rightly got the attention, Forsythe said.

"We're in New York to honor 9-11," she said. "I think it was a real honor to the people of New York that we chose this city for the convention."

Although Nevada isn't on the minds of other state delegates the way Ohio and Florida are, Congressman Jim Gibbons said, it still gets big buzz.

"Everybody I've talked to who's watching knows that Nevada is very much in play," Gibbons said, referring to congressional members and their staffs at the convention. "That's the one reason we've seen so much attention in Nevada."

Gibbons noted some polls show the candidates deadlocked in the Electoral College race at 269, so Nevada's five votes could be the difference.

Reno delegate Su Kemper said she expected the spotlight to be focused on Nevada as the week continues.

"The president was just in West Virginia and there's only five electoral votes there," Kemper said. "These smaller states are going to matter, but I have not noticed anything yet about being a swing state."

Even if Nevada went largely unnoticed, the topic of the war on terror helped drive home why Republicans think they can win the White House this year.

"President Bush is the leader we need to protect us," said Brian Krolicki, the state's treasurer and a delegate from Reno.

When Giuliani and McCain highlighted national security, Nevadans were right there to listen.

Nevada's contingent sat immediately to the left of the speakers, behind New Hampshire, Iowa and Arkansas. But those seats are good only through Wednesday. On Thursday, Nevada moves to the stands behind Texas for the "theater-in-the-round" configuration for Bush's nomination speech.

Forsythe was told Monday to "pass" when Nevada was called in the roll call of states to nominate Bush for a second term. That's exactly what she did.

"We've never done that," Forsythe said. "We're passing to some of the battleground states, but I don't know which ones."

When states call roll, they begin at A and wind through the alphabet. In 2000, Nevada was the state that gave then-Gov. George Bush the required delegates for the GOP nomination.

When a state passes to another state, it is typically done to allow either the candidate's home state or another state of critical importance to get the spotlight.

In Boston, Ohio put Kerry over the top for his nomination. Ohio might do the same for Bush today.

Monday's breakfast speakers descended on the Buckeye state, on Florida and on Pennsylvania and Iowa. Nevadans began meeting at 6 a.m. in a cramped suite on the 48th floor of their hotel.

This morning the delegation will move to a bigger room on the second floor for a visit from Interior Secretary Gale Norton. On Thursday, Nevada delegates will go to another delegation's hotel to hear campaign Chairman Marc Racicot and a host of other officials stress the importance of getting voters identified, registered and to the polls.

Mike Moody, past president of the Nevada Republican Men's Club, flew to New York on Sunday night to work on the Democratic National Committee's opposition effort called "Mission Not Accomplished."

"I have voted for every Republican presidential candidate in 30 years," Moody said. "But I have a real problem with George Bush and his rush to war in Iraq and the tax cuts that created long-term deficits."

Moody joined Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack at a news conference for the DNC about seven blocks from Madison Square Garden.

In Nevada, Democrats were readying Monday for a visit from Elizabeth Edwards, vice presidential candidate John Edwards' wife. Democrats also had several news conferences in the state.

Mayor Oscar Goodman joined fellow Democrat and congressional candidate Tom Gallagher in Las Vegas to criticize reductions in homeland security funds.

Goodman made a plea to the Bush administration: "Please do not become complacent because complacency will be the root of all evil."

To illustrate his point, Goodman spoke of a recent accident on U.S. Highway 95 when a truck caught fire. Nevada Highway Patrol arrived first on the scene and had difficulty reaching the Las Vegas Fire Department because they were on different radio frequencies.

The Nevada Democratic Party contends Bush has slashed state and local preparedness grants by nearly $1 billion for next year.

Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge visited Las Vegas, and Nevada was awarded roughly $37 million in homeland security funds; Clark County was guaranteed at least $10.7 million of that.

Those resources notwithstanding, Goodman said, monies were lacking to overhaul radio communications among various agencies, but Goodman did not know how much such improvements would cost.

In New York, some Republican delegates took their case to other states.

Toni and Al Valdez went over to visit friends in the New Mexico delegation and bumped into Sen. Pete Domenici, on whose 1992 campaign the couple met.

"He was worried that Nevada was going to lose for Bush because of all that stuff about Yucca Mountain," Toni Valdez said. "We told him, `No, no, no, no, we're going to bring it home for him.' "

Review-Journal writer Frank Curreri contributed to this report.