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Nov. 16, 2007

First GOP hopeful to visit Pahrump

By MARK WAITE
PVT

Where's the GOP?

So where have the Republican candidates been?

Republicans outnumber Democrats in voter registration numbers in Nye County 9,206 to 7,638. The only Republican Party candidate to have sent even a representative to Pahrump was Mitt Romney's son last month, on a moment's notice.

Zac Moyle, state Republican Party executive director, said unions have been mobilizing Democratic candidates to get out and make appearances. In fact Democratic candidates appearing in Pahrump have avoided the casinos, which are non-union, in favor of other venues.

"You're going to be seeing some candidates out in Pahrump very soon. Ron Paul is the first but he certainly isn't the last," Moyle said.

Statewide, Republican voter registration numbers dipped below that of the Democrats, partly because the voter registrations in U.S. congressional District 2 has been purged of inactive voters, Moyle said. That is the district in which Pahrump lies, currently represented in Congress by freshman Dean Heller.

"The Democrats had six months more on the ground than we did," Moyle said. But he added, "There's been more Republican visits in the state in the past month than there has been Democrats."

Moyle predicted the momentum is swinging to the Republicans in the Silver State. He said every time a Democrat visits Pahrump, it gets the Republican grassroots supporters more charged up.

Moyle said the Democrats have largely ignored the rural counties. He noted Republican presidential candidates former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., all campaigned for Gov. Jim Gibbons in Nevada.

But he still failed to answer the question: Where have the GOP front-runners been?

The first Republican presidential candidate in the 2008 campaign to visit Pahrump will make an appearance next Monday night, when U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex., addresses an audience at the Bob Ruud Community Center at 7 p.m.

Paul's name has been appearing around Pahrump on crude, homemade signs. His visit will be hosted by the Nye County Republican Party and the Pahrump Valley Republican Women.

Paul's Pahrump visit will be sandwiched between appearances in Las Vegas in the morning and afternoon, and a flight out to Reno later in the evening.

Paul had an obstetrics-gynecology practice in Brazoria County, Texas. He was elected to Congress in 1976-77, again from 1979-85 and has represented the 14th Congressional District of Texas since January 1997. He ran unsuccessfully as the Libertarian Party candidate for president in 1988.

His candidacy was given a boost both financially and publicity-wise, with news the Paul campaign raised $4 million in 24 hours Nov. 5.

Sarah Kulkin, the daughter of local political candidate Harley Kulkin and a volunteer in Paul's Meet Up Group, explained why she's an enthusiastic supporter.

"He really is the real conservative Republican that wants to bring us home from Iraq and keep us out of Iran, keep spending low, keep taxes low, get rid of any agencies that are just wasteful and not doing their job," Kulkin said.

Paul is the only Republican presidential candidate to voice an opposition to the war in Iraq. Otherwise, the U.S. Congress Votes Database reported Paul voted with Republican colleagues 74.9 percent of the time.

"When was the last time you heard a presidential candidate other than him talk about liberty? Someone who cares about our rights and wants to get rid of the Patriot Act?" Kulkin said. "That's something we need right now and nobody else is addressing it."

Kulkin said Paul's message has been resonating well with voters. When volunteers stood on a corner near a traffic light in Pahrump, motorists honked their horns and gave the thumbs up, she said.