Lies, anti-Semitism intrude on special Saturday night caucus

Hearing an anti-Semitic crack at a special evening GOP caucus for conservative and orthodox Jews and Seventh-day Adventists was like a face slap to Monterey Brookman as she stood to advocate for Mitt Romney.

Not everyone heard it Saturday night, but she and I did.

Ron Paul supporter Evan Donoghue, who had earlier been involved in a fracas outside the caucus, said in a loud voice, "Oh, you're the Goldman Sachs representative."

Actually, Brookman, the first Romney speaker, is a longtime advocate for a caucus time when Jewish Republicans like herself could participate without breaking the Saturday Sabbath.

"Goldman Sachs is code for Jew," said Peter Dubowsky, an orthodox Jew attending the feisty event who considered the comment an insult. He interpreted another speaker's negative reference to "New York lawyers" as another code word for Jew.

The caucus speakers spoke in alphabetical order of the candidates. Fewer than 10 advocated for Newt Gingrich. But more than two dozen spoke for Paul, and from their applause it was clear they dominated the 350-seat auditorium.

But to gain entrance, some signed forms saying they were attending that caucus because, for religious reasons, they couldn't attend the 9 a.m. caucuses on their Sabbath.

"The Ron Paul people all lied on an affidavit," Brookman said.

Well, perhaps not all, but clearly most.

The special caucus at the Adelson Educational Campus in Summerlin was not designed as a catchall for anyone who didn't make the morning caucuses, despite robocalls to Paul supporters claiming it was.

It was designed to begin after sunset because on the Sabbath, observant Jews are forbidden to "work," which covers a wide range of activities, including going to a caucus. Seventh-day Adventists also strictly observe the Sabbath, starting at sunset Friday and ending at sunset Saturday.

Rabbi Yitzchak Wyne from Young Israel Synagogue said that as he stood in line, he was asking people he didn't know: "What religion are you?" Some said they were Seventh-day Adventists. Others, likely Ron Paul supporters, said their religion was personal. "They wouldn't tell their religion."

After initially resisting, Clark County Republican officials were smart to just let people in who were willing to sign the affidavit, even while recognizing many were lying. Even though Las Vegas police had been called, organizers didn't want anything escalating.

The final vote gave a skewed view of how many conservative religious people really felt about the presidential candidates. Out of 318 votes, Paul received 183, Romney 61, Gingrich 57 and Rick Santorum 16.

Las Vegas Sands honcho Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, attended this caucus and left after they voted , but before the final tally. I didn't see their ballots, but after recently giving a political action committee supporting the former House speaker $10 million, presumably they voted for Gingrich .

I asked, Adelson, "Did this turn out as you had hoped?"

"No comment," he replied.

Despite the problems, the conservative and orthodox Jews I interviewed, while distressed by the disrespect of some in the audience, were grateful their religious beliefs were respected enough by the GOP to organize this special caucus, even one hijacked by Paul supporters.

After Brookman was insulted by Donoghue, only two other people spoke for Romney, who had been declared the winner of Nevada's GOP caucus even before the 7 p.m. event began, making me question the relevancy of the special caucus.

However, a second-place showing by Paul in Nevada would have boosted his campaign.

As she left, Brookman said, "I wish Dr. Paul, who I know wouldn't support this behavior, would tell his supporters to be respectful."

Any Paul fans who signed forms falsely saying they were precluded from participating in the morning caucus "because of my religious beliefs," demonstrated they're willing to lie to win. Not exactly a political game change.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.