GOP presidential contender Ron Paul has shocked mainstream media outlets and the GOP with some upset victories in recent weeks. Ron Paul supporters have managed to win a majority of delegates in states like Nevada, Maine, Iowa, Louisiana, and Massachusetts at district caucuses.
In several of those states, the delegates are not bound by the popular vote, which means they can vote for Ron Paul at the convention, regardless of who emerged victoriously at the primary caucuses.
What does all this mean for the Texas constitutionalist? The Huffington Post notes, “Paul can be nominated from the floor in Tampa by a plurality of five state delegations.”
The Des Moines Register adds, “Paul must have a majority of support from at least five state delegations. With states like North Dakota, Minnesota and others on track, his supporters could then attempt to nominate from the floor.”
In other words, Ron Paul is not entirely out of this competition.
There are approximately 30 states and territories wherein delegates are not bound to a particular candidate, regardless of the popular vote. Most states require delegates to be bound by the popular vote in just the first found of ballots, but not in the rounds that follow.
“The dirty little secret is: At the end of the day, these guys and gals can vote any way they want,” asserts one anonymous Republican who has attended numerous national conventions. “Each state has different laws on pledged delegates.”
Likewise, in some caucus states, the results that were being reported out of the state causes meant nothing, as they were virtually nonbinding straw polls coupled with precinct-level caucuses.
For many of those states, the real decisions come out of district caucuses and state conventions, wherein the delegates are chosen for the national convention.
Salon notes that it is at those district caucuses and state conventions where Paul supporters may have the last laugh: “For the Paul forces—who lack the numbers to win statewide primaries but have the devotion to pack any room, anywhere, at any time—it has offered an inviting loophole.”
The article concludes that Romney may discover at the Tampa convention that he does not have the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination, “thereby allowing Paul to extract major concessions or even steal the nomination for himself.”
Ron Paul also has some delegates at the convention cleverly disguised as Mitt Romney delegates. And those who are disguised as Romney delegates could opt to abstain during the first round of voting in Tampa. If Romney does not win in the first ballot, those delegates could then become unbound.
And before the GOP calls foul, the establishment would do well to remember that Ronald Reagan considered a similar tactic in 1976 against Gerald Ford.
An article entitled “Reagan Forces May ‘Steal’ Ford Votes” read, “In secret strategy sessions, Reagan aides have toyed with the idea of asking delegates to abstain as long as their state laws require them to honor the primary verdicts.
This would prevent the president from riding up an early-ballot victory. Then, in subsequent ballots, they could legally switch to Reagan.”
And in 2008, more than 10 delegates refrained from voting at the Republican national convention.
Sensing that victory is all but Romney’s, the GOP has resorted to some dirty tricks. The Republican National Committee has already threatened that it may refuse to permit the entire delegation for Nevada to be seated at the national convention.
In a letter to Nevada’s GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, the RNC’s chief counsel John R. Philippe Jr. states that if Ron Paul delegates are allowed to take too many slots at the convention, Nevada’s entire delegation may not be seated in Tampa.
According to Phillippe, Jr., who admits that his letter is not binding, “I believe it is highly likely that any committee with jurisdiction over the matter would find improper any change to the election, selection, allocation, or binding of delegates, thus jeopardizing the seating of Nevada’s entire delegation to the National Convention.”
But the Las Vegas Sun has its own take on Phillippe’s letter:
Clearly, the RNC fears that mischief at the Sparks convention this weekend could result in Ron Paul delegates taking Mitt Romney slots and then not abiding by GOP rules to vote for the presumptive nominee on the first ballot in Tampa.
So they are trying to force McDonald to ensure that actual Romney delegates fill 20 of the 28 national convention slots, thus removing any mystery of who they will vote for.
After Paul’s victory in Maine, the Romney campaign sent top lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg to challenge the results. Ginsberg, who also served as George W. Bush’s lawyer in 2000, is infamous for helping to secure the Florida recount, which lead to Bush’s presidency.
In some states, the GOP caught on to the delegate strategy of the Ron Paul campaign and attempted to foil that strategy. In Maine, for example, the Romney campaign circulated a fake list of supposed Ron Paul delegates.
Reports indicate a similar strategy was attempted in Maine, which have some wondering whether this was in fact a coordinated effort.
What is it that frightens the GOP so much about Paul?
It is because he is one of the few people in a position of power who wants to use that position to limit the power of the government.
Unlike the Neocons and Marxists that have infiltrated the Parties, Paul does not subscribe to the notion that the government knows what is better for us than we do, does not believe in the bullying tactics of the majority, and does not believe that the powers that be should run roughshod over the Constitution—a rare governing document which has secured rights for the individual that are not open to the interpretation and the whims of the majority or of the political elite.
Ron Paul is dangerous to the current political infrastructure that has taken both parties decades to create because he knows the two party system is a facade, and he is exposing it.
He recognizes and has told us that the fight is not between Democrats and Republicans, not between rich and poor, blacks and whites, heterosexuals and homosexuals….it is the political elite against the rest of us.
At one time, the government feared the people. As Thomas Jefferson noted, that is when the people are most free. Instead, we have tiptoed into a state of tyranny, when we are now in fear of our government. Ron Paul seeks to change that, and for that reason, he must be stopped.
But rather than allow Paul’s ideas to compete in a legitimate arena against their own, both Parties, particularly with the help of the mainstream media, have sought to stifle Paul’s voice. And they continue to try.
It’s quite possible, however, that the time has come for the liberty doctrine, for which Ron Paul is the leading advocate, to prevail.
But without Paul’s delegate strategy, he would have had virtually no chance. The GOP saw to it that he was boxed out of the political process.
Still, nothing is certain, and some contend that the efforts of the Paul campaign are for cosmetic concessions. Despite all of the recent developments regarding delegates, some analysts still believe that the Ron Paul supporters will simply serve as a significant presence at the convention. Business Week notes:
But his delegates could shake things up right when the party’s supposed to unify behind a single candidate. They could start off by calling for a floor vote, and then jump up in blocs to nominate Paul, one state after another.
He isn’t likely to actually get the nomination that way, but multiple states clamoring for him would embarrass the party and make things more difficult for Romney in the months before November.
To fend off that political nightmare, Romney may have to offer concessions to Paul. Perhaps give him the microphone and let him speak in Tampa. Or incorporate some of his ideas into party platforms that the GOP will hash out in Tampa.
But for Ron Paul’s fiery support, it seems that platform planks will not be sufficient. After all, just look at how often the GOP seems to ignore the planks that they already have outlined in the platform.
Here are some gems found within the GOP platform:
· A Plan to Control Spending
· Improving the work of government
· Promoting Human Rights and American Values
One wonders how some of these Republicans can keep a straight face when they read off these planks.
After all, the Republican Party has been all too complicit in the passage of unconstitutional laws that violate our civil liberties, the passage of absurdly expensive bills that will add to the deficit, and the defense of torture and preemptive wars.
The bottom line for all the naysayers at there is this: Ron Paul does not need to secure 1,144 delegates. He just needs to see to it that Mitt Romney does not get 1,144 delegates. And that seems to be an increasing possibility.
http://theintelhub.com/2012/05/08/ron-paul-terrifies-the-red-and-blue-team/
More...
Fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/08/ron-paul-supporters-eye-upcoming-conventions-in-delegate-grabbing-quest/
LA Times: Ron Paul complicates Romney's coronation
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-ron-paul-20120507,0,1815576.story
RP Campaign website:
http://www.ronpaul2012.com/
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