‘It’s all good’

I could sense Saturday's Clark County Democratic Convention That Wasn't was going to derail from the moment I had to come to a complete stop on Interstate 15 north of the Flamingo Road exit hours before the start of the event at nearby Bally's.

But the hints of the catastrophic failure were evident months ago at the county party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. And in case no one picked up on them, the massive turnout at precinct caucuses a month ago should have served as a telegraphed pass that more than 7,000 people were going to show up Saturday.

The signs of a typical political train wreck (like the end of a legislative session) are usually evident far in advance of the post-meltdown forensics. And the tragedy of Saturday's debacle at Bally's is that all the signs were screamingly evident that the convention was headed for disaster.

The crowd, which was big and had more Obama support than was obvious in Clark County on the day of the precinct caucuses, was already booing when Rep. Shelley Berkley, whose Las Vegas district includes the Strip, and Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y, gave their pro-Clinton speeches shortly after 10 a.m.

The registration line still stretched to the front door of Bally's. Delegates for both campaigns were still being told they weren't delegates. Tracy Harrifore, an Obama delegate, held her paperwork showing she was a delegate, but was relegated to alternate status anyway. By 4 p.m. when the convention shut down, Obama's Nevada chairman, Billy Vassiliadis, still had no delegate credentials.

There were plenty of lost Clinton delegates, too. Former Assemblyman Doug Bache did his best Bruce Banner impression upon being told he didn't exist. The Hulk was given a credential after getting in County Chairman John Hunt's face.

No one could answer why the county party, expecting 7,000 and inviting more, would book the convention into a 5,000-person ballroom with 2,500 chairs. "I was told it could hold 8,000," party Executive Director Peggy Maze Johnson said.

By 10:30 a.m., not only was the ballroom a fire hazard, it had the tension of Florida in 2000. Some suggested Chicago in 1968. There were unconfirmed reports of fist fights in the hall and ballot boxes in the bathroom. Both seemed readily possible.

By 11 a.m., about 3,500 people had been sent home, and the campaigns had pressured the party enough to recess the mess.

The crowd was so volatile, convention Chairman Bill Stanley could barely tell delegates "what I'm fixin' to do."

Finally he got it out, calling for a "privileged motion to recess for the purpose of voting and apportioning delegates to a date certain sometime at least 14 days after the Feb. 23 convention and no later than 30 days prior to the state convention due to a pressing situation affecting the privilege of assembly."

Hunt, with a smile on his face, kept repeating: "It's all good."

He needed someone to smack him in the head with his oversized gavel. And if order hadn't been restored four hours later, after some serious intervention by each campaign, someone might actually have jumped the stage and done it.

As Obama "alternate" Harrifore eloquently stated: "This isn't about school board, it's for the presidency of the United States."

One can only wonder why the county party didn't move the convention to an adequate facility. Perhaps, as one former state party executive told me, it's because Harrah's carries the bills for the party. And darn it if the Mandalay Bay Events Center wasn't filled with shoes.

The Culinary union's D. Taylor, who railed against the "incompetence of the Clark County party," said if his local had screwed up a strike vote, a negotiation or even a picket line, it would "be run out of town."

It's certainly one thing to screw up a gala post-debate dinner where presidential candidates give brief speeches. It's entirely another thing to make New Mexico's two-week counting of Super Tuesday votes look progressive.

Hunt, whose candidacy for attorney general in 2002 blew up, has now chaired two screwed up events. Typically, Democrats "excuse" the snafus, provided they actually get what they were promised in the end.

At the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, most actually got fed and heard the speeches. On Saturday, Democrats didn't even get registered, let alone see or pass a platform, decide a presidential preference or apportion delegates to the state convention.

What will they do on Nov. 4 to top it?

Democrats shouldn't give Hunt & Co. a chance. The colossal failure should not be condoned by keeping Johnson on the payroll and Hunt in charge. In his last official role, Hunt should be fixin' to remove Stanley as convention chairman.

But these steps would be a public recognition of the fiasco under their watch. And so far, Hunt is blaming everyone else.

The simple fact is that Saturday was an embarrassment of epic proportions for Democrats. The Republicans are just smiling from across the aisle, agreeing: "It's all good."

Contact Erin Neff at eneff@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2906.