They Are Who We Thought They Were

In case you missed it… The Las Vegas Review-Journal published a story last night on the chaos ensuing in Nevada’s state Democrat Party and its largest county’s party, detailing recent resignations of senior leadership due to infighting.

With progressive supporters of socialist Bernie Sanders taking over the party, it has created a deep divide over policy platforms, including pro-Palestine language in the Clark County Democrat Party’s platform. After previously passing the language, now-former Chair Donna West conducted a new vote to strip it out.

But with West resigning her post, it is only a matter of time until anti-Israel and other extreme ideals take hold and push Nevada Democrats to becoming indistinguishable with run-of-the-mill socialists.

While Nevada Democrats are fighting about which failed socialist policy of the past they want in their platform, Nevada Republicans are more unified than ever in supporting President Trump and giving him four more years in the White House.

Republicans made a clear statement it is behind the President 100 percent when they voted to do away with the party’s caucus and endorse President Trump’s campaign. And while Nevada Democrats are fighting each other, Nevada Republicans across the state are working to elect strong conservatives up and down the ballot in November.

Read the Las Vegas Review-Journal story below or here.

Top Clark County Democrats quit as progressives gain ground
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Rory Appleton

Several key leaders within the Clark County Democratic Party, including Chairwoman Donna West and a handful of executive board and committee heads, have resigned as progressive leadership within both the county and state parties has swelled in recent months.

Gabrielle d’Ayr, formerly the county party’s 1st vice chair, confirmed that she has officially taken over for West, a longtime Democratic political fixture in Southern Nevada. West submitted her resignation to d’Ayr in an email on June 30.

The newly minted chair also received a resignation from Matt Kimball, the party’s 3rd vice chair, on June 30. Other recent departures include Treasurer Kara Freedman, who resigned Monday, several members of the party’s rules and bylaws committee and its legal counsel, Elizabeth Brickfield.

D’Ayr declined to give the reasons these members cited for their resignations. Each are still members of the Democratic Party. West and Kimball did not respond to interview requests.

The resignations come after months of infighting between progressives and “establishment” Democrats over policy platforms.

[…]

Pro-Palestine planks removed

Whitmer and d’Ayr agree that friction between the progressives and establishment members came to a head in May, when they say West changed the party’s agreed-upon platform to remove several pro-Palestine planks without a new vote. Both spoke out against the decision publicly, even calling an executive board meeting, which West allegedly refused to attend, where the progressive majority formally opposed the move.

West and the Nevada State Democratic Party refused to recognize this opposition or even explain the change, d’Ayr and Whitmer said. West allegedly made the switch after receiving an angry phone call from “an elected official,” d’Ayr and Whitmer said.

“Progressives feel we need more representation and input, so we were heavily involved in these plank proposals,” Whitmer said. “We want to support Democrats, but we want them to support our principles and the principles of the people.”

Whitmer said she worked to keep more than 1,000 of her fellow Sanders delegates as active members of the party, saying Biden and other Democratic candidates within this state will need progressives’ support in November. This group ran a progressive slate for the 10 vacant positions on the state party’s executive board, winning nine of them, including a victory over Kimball.

Progressives now hold a majority on both the state and county boards. Whitmer soundly beat out Nevada State Democratic Party Chairman William McCurdy II — who was backed by top elected officials including Reps. Susie Lee and Steven Horsford — to serve as chairwoman of the state’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held that post in 2016.