2009 NFRA Convention

Reno rally targets Reid re-election, by Anjeanette Damon

The Republicans vying for the chance to challenge U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., paid homage to the more conservative wing of their party Friday, speaking at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies convention in Reno.

Still in the early weeks of what political observers predict could be a brutal Republican primary, the candidates remained mostly cordial toward one another. But many in the crowd were ready for battle, saying Reid’s defeat is the top priority of conservatives across the country.

“We need to get a conservative in there,” said Gretchin Kvaal, of Reno. “We need to get conservatives back where they belong in the Republic. He’s proven to be not the independent who is working for Nevada. He’s a lap dog for the Democratic Party.”

Kvaal said she’s not sure who among the dozen Republicans in the Senate primary she’ll support. That’s why she went to Friday’s rally, to learn more about them. “There are a lot of people running against him,” she said. “I don’t know who I’ll support. But I know for darn sure who I’m against.”

Most of the candidates took a turn speaking before the crowd of about 150 people at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Many of the observers were delegates to the national convention. Others were local voters like Kvaal.

The candidate speeches ran the gamut from shouting about the need for a guerrilla war to oust liberals from government to those who called for a polite primary to avoid weakening whoever emerges to take on Reid next year.

“We need to send someone who is ready to fight a guerilla war,” said Mike Wiley, an ex-radio talk show host who once ran for office in Florida, saying he’s the candidate with those skills.

A spokesman for Reid dismissed the rally, saying Republicans are more concerned with politics than turning the economy around. “While Republicans rally in knee-jerk defense of the status quo, Sen. Harry Reid will continue delivering for Nevadans with fresh ideas to turn the economy around and create good paying jobs,” Reid’s campaign manager Brandon Hall said.

Hall referred to a recent quote by Republican candidate John Chachas, who told a Washington D.C. newspaper the bad economy would be “good for Republican politics.”

State Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, implored the crowd and his challengers to keep their focus on Reid.

“Not a negative word against any Republican,” Amodei said. “This can’t be a blood-letting between now and June. Whoever emerges from the primary has to emerge strong.”

That was the concern of some in the crowd as well.

Dave Buell, a Reno member of the national federation who organized the rally against Reid, said “the worst thing that could happen is if they bloody each other up.” “If they come out clean, any one of these candidate can win,” Buell said.

Buell said he organized the rally because Reid’s ouster is a priority not only for Nevada members, but national members as well.

“He’s our primary target,” agreed Patrick Briney, of Arkansas, the national federation’s chaplain. “He’s been in there too long and done too much damage.”

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