EDITORIAL: GOP, Let the voters decide

When state Republican movers and shakers proposed a select panel of 16 interview candidates running in the primary elections, we initially raised a wary eye questioning the intent.

Why party bosses and state central committee members may think this is a good idea to anoint the chosen ones for local and statewide races, we don’t know the reason to their madness.

First, Gov. Brian Sandoval boycotted the committee’s survey, followed by State Sen. Mark Hutchison, who will be a candidate for lieutenant governor, and then every incumbent senate candidate.

It appears the Nevada GOP is more interested in dividing the party like their national counterparts and trying to find the “right” candidate to fit “their” mold.

No wonder candidates running for office, when they had a chance to say a few words at Saturday night’s Fallon GOP dinner, said the Republican Party is one of many different ideas and that moderates and Tea Party members, for example, should be able to work side by side.

Since Republicans are so quick to invoke the name of President Reagan, he said, “If I can get 80 percent of my agenda it is better than none.”

Let’s expand: Republican will not agree on every issue, but they are still loyal to the GOP.

Nevadans are independent thinkers, and anyone who has been in this state for a long time knows voters of all political persuasions hate to be told what to do. A traditional Nevada voter (the few who are remaining) will gather information, examine candidates and then cast judgment for the best office seeker.

Although the state’s largest newspapers tend to endorse candidates, smaller rural newspapers like us tend to present information and let the voters make up their own minds.

The primary process is to allow as many candidates as possible to file for office and then let the voters decide the top candidate. Afterward, the political machine musters up all its resources and then throws its weight behind the candidate running in the general election.

Sounds reasonable to us, but not to the state GOP that devised the panel to “interview” candidates.

At their Fallon meeting on Saturday, the GOP State Central Committee voted 135-81 to postpone endorsements until April’s state GOP convention.

If the delegates to the convention have any sense, they, too, will turn down this political process from the central committee. This will allow all Republican voters in the state to choose the person they think is most qualified for the job. Voters don’t need a committee to do their thinking for them.

Editorials written by the LVN Editorial Board appear on Wednesdays.