Key county GOP calls for Priebus resignation

The Republican National Committee just got a taste of life under the new GOP order in Nevada.

Thanks to the efforts of Ron Paul supporters, the Clark County GOP — the largest in the key swing state — voted narrowly Tuesday to censure RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and demand his resignation.

His crime? Priebus is accused of violating RNC Rule 11(a), which stipulates that the Republican National Committee cannot "contribute money or in-kind aid to any candidate for any public or party office except the nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary."

The resolution asserts that Priebus broke party rules when he announced April 25 that the RNC was setting up a joint fundraising operation with Romney since there were still candidates — namely Ron Paul — in the race at that time.

Laura Myers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal has more:

Paul's supporters are angry that the RNC is helping Romney while the Texas congressman remains in the race, collecting hundreds of delegates from Nevada and other states to the national convention so he can influence the party platform and remain a factor in the White House. "The Clark County Republican Party formally condemns the actions of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and the RNC Executive Committee for their flagrant violations of RNC Rule 11(a)," the Clark County party said in a statement Wednesday. "The Republican Party's rules in regard to this matter are specifically intended to ensure a fair process which allows the members of the party to determine which candidates best represent the ideals and will of the membership. By disenfranchising its own members, the RNC Executive Committee and Chairman Priebus have weakened the party by subverting the principles on which it was built. " "We hope that our Republican colleagues in local and state parties across the nation will join with us in expressing our outrage at having our role in the nomination process usurped by a select few individuals," the statement continued. "Finally, given his outright disregard for the rules that govern our party, we are formally demanding that Chairman Priebus resign his position within the RNC effective immediately." Despite the anger from Paul supporters in Nevada, Paul's campaign said over the weekend that it doesn't believe the RNC is violating its rules. Also, Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said Priebus also offered Paul the opportunity to jointly raise money with the RNC for a possible general election campaign, and Paul said no.

The RNC points out that the resolution isn't directed toward a presidential race, but rather toward state level contests. Besides, there's plenty of precedent for the party to begin working with the presumptive nominee before the nomination is officially bestowed.

"The RNC Chairman has the authority to take necessary steps to assist our presumptive nominee before our national convention in Tampa. RNC Rule 11 applies to the RNC’s ability to make state endorsements only and has been misapplied by some in Nevada to include the presidential election," RNC spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said Wednesday afternoon. "We look forward to working with Republicans in Nevada to elect Mitt Romney and defeat Barack Obama in the fall."

While the resolution has no real teeth, the fact that Paul supporters went to the trouble to pass it — even after Paul essentially dropped out and offered an olive branch to the national party — is revealing. Elements of the Ron Paul base are not only operating independently and contrary to the campaign's wishes, but they continue to look at the national party with deep suspicion.