Is Ron Paul to Blame for Romney's Nevada Problems?

Peter Suderman wrote earlier today of Romney's apparent problems pulling Nevada to his side, stressing his apparent failure to win swing voters by stressing economic troubles. Yet Obama is still trouncing him in the polls.

Meanwhile, yesterday the CBC wrote of the problems the Nevada Republican Party is facing over division between Ron Paul fans and the GOP mainstream. While this effect may have nothing to do with desire to vote for Obama in polls, it certainly might hurt in bringing out what "should" be Republican voters to vote for him. Details:

the big question this time is: Why isn't Romney getting the help he needs from the Nevada GOP?

One reason is…"The Ron Paul people."

That's what Heidi Smith, a member of the Republican executive board from Washoe County, calls those who are now in several of the executive positions of the state party…

They are also so anti-Romney that they tried to get away with naming Paul as Nevada's presidential choice at the national convention in Florida in August.

He wasn't. Romney won the primary and Paul came third. But state executives have considerable clout over which delegates can be sent to a national party convention…

[The Paul people] were able to take over Clark County's Republican organization, that's where Las Vegas is, and then the state party. Washoe County, in the north, is where Reno is and together, the two counties account for about 93 per cent of Nevada's population of 2.7 million people.

As a result of Paulite control over too many Nevada power centers, Romney is sending his own separate operation, "Team Romney," to work the state.

Team Romney still has a few weeks left to catch up and if he pulls off a victory in Nevada, it will probably taste just a little sweeter given the challenges. If he doesn't, there will likely be no shortage of blame being passed around.

If Romney is too crummy a candidate to win the votes and money and energy of more libertarian leaning Republicans, the fault lies in their candidate, not the non-voters.

I blogged back in May on the beginnings of the Paul Nevada faction troubles. 

My book, Ron Paul's Revolution.