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Editorial
Paul supporters put Nebraska in spotlight
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Nebraska is getting as much national political attention as it has since 1968, and Republican Party officials are hoping Grand Island doesn't turn into Chicago on Saturday.
That's because they fear Ron Paul supporters from other states may disrupt the state convention in their effort to sway delegates to give Paul a majority and a chance to have his name put into nomination at the GOP national convention in Tampa, Florida.
Nebraska is the last state to hold a Republican convention, and it is Paul supporters' last chance to win the five states necessary for the convention recognition. He already has Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and Louisiana.
Bobby Jindal, Louisiana governor and possible Mitt Romney running mate, is expected to attend the Grand Island convention, an illustration of just how important the state event is.
Yes, Paul stopped campaigning for president in May, and his son, Rand, a senator from Kentucky, has endorsed Romney.
But while Paul has no chance of winning the nomination, five states will give his libertarian supporters a voice on the national stage, perhaps a bigger victory than would be an actual nomination, with its many necessary compromises.
It's always a pleasant surprise to see circumstances thrust our state, with only 1.8 million people, into the national spotlight.
Let's hope convention attendees, however, heed state GOP officials' calls for a civil debate, agreeing to disagree without being disagreeable.