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politics and politicians Title: At Rand Paul's request, Republican committee gives green light to caucus (appear on ballot twice in Kentucky) BOWLING GREEN — It looks increasingly like Kentucky Republicans will have a presidential caucus next year, when it seems just as likely that a Kentucky Republican will be running for president. While most of the state was focused on the Kentucky Wildcats' quest for a perfect season Saturday, about 50 members of the Republican Party of Kentucky's executive committee met behind closed doors for about two hours, listening to Paul and his staff make their case for a presidential caucus. In the days and weeks since Paul formally asked the committee to approve a caucus, which would help Paul clear at least some hurdles to running for both his U.S. Senate seat and the presidency next year, a number of Republicans expressed concern about moving to a caucus, raising questions about costs and participation. But when the doors opened and the press was let into a room that had come to feel like a sauna, the executive committee members voted unanimously to approve a caucus, allowing a special rules committee to go about answering some of the questions that couldn't be answered on Saturday. Mike Duncan, former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), made the formal motion to vote on a caucus, and there were no nay votes, moving Republicans one big step closer to holding a presidential caucus next March instead of waiting until the May primary. While winning approval for a caucus from the executive committee was key to Paul's efforts, the state central committee, which comprises more than 350 members, will still have to vote on a formal proposal, with caucus rules and details, when it meets Aug. 22. When asked whether the efforts to push for a caucus should be read as proof that he is in fact running for president, Paul did not budge from his spring timetable. "It should be seen as we're getting closer to a decision," he said. "The decision's going to be made probably in the next month or so." Paul joked that if he decides not to run after asking state Republicans to consider and approve a caucus, he would "be excommunicated from the party or something." Steve Robertson, chairman of the Republican Party of Kentucky, said that the meeting was not contentious. But he said it was a "back and forth" that ultimately resulted in a unified voice to move the caucus forward. Robertson would not say whether there was an effort in the room to ensure a unified vote, and he defended the closed-door executive session requested by Paul's state director, Jim Milliman. "I think that this committee deserves an opportunity to ask frank questions of Sen. Paul," he said. "Sen. Paul deserves an opportunity to give them frank answers." Robertson said that the two big issues — cost and participation — were raised by committee members, and Paul acknowledged after the vote: "Some of this we don't have all the answers." Committee members were especially keen to ensure that some sort of absentee mechanism is in place that would allow for overseas active-duty military members to participate. Paul was optimistic that such a mechanism can be created, suggesting Republicans work with base commanders at the state's military installations to see whether deployed soldiers could take a picture of their IDs on their smart phones and vote that way. "We might get more votes than we've ever had because we're not really restricted to state law on how the voting is," Paul said. Robertson estimated that more than half of the committee members present spoke or asked questions at some point, as Paul and his staff did their best to provide answers. Paul said that moving to a caucus is "a big change, and people want to know about what change means, so it's just working through that." A presidential caucus, which would occur in March, solves only part of Paul's ballot quandary as he tries to run for both offices at once despite a state law preventing a candidate from appearing on the same ballot twice. A number of Republicans, generally allies of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have expressed concern that if Paul were to win the Republican presidential nomination, there is no allowance in state law to replace him on the ballot in the Senate race, potentially handing Democrats a seat in the Senate. But when he was asked about that concern after Saturday's meeting, Paul said that the vote "solves the first part of the equation," adding that "hopefully" there will be a second part that needs solving. McConnell's approving the idea last month was viewed as key in winning over some skeptical committee members, and Paul said Saturday that the majority leader's endorsement, along with those of U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie and Thomas Massie, were "very important." "I think there are two reasons to be for the caucus — one is fairness, and the other is relevance," Paul said. "Fairness is that I just want to be treated like many other candidates around the country who have not been restricted." Paul, who has repeatedly cited the 2012 example of GOP vice presidential nominee and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said he does not think Kentucky voters will punish him for seeking two offices at once, if that's what he chooses to do. "A lot of people have done it historically," he said. "I don't know that there's really a problem. I don't know that anybody has ever been punished at the ballot box for being an elected official who ran for president." Saturday afternoon, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes issued a statement saying that a Republican caucus "could create potential chaos in our electoral process and severely undermine the integrity of the commonwealth's elections." Grimes, the state's chief elections official, said in her statement that she would "continue to monitor the situation," but it's unclear what role she would have in the process as the state law gives the parties authority over how they select their presidential delegates.
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#1. To: hondo68 (#0)
Sour grapes after The Mitch beat her like a rug. LOL. She'll spend the next year pouting.
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