read full article here Ron Paul Delegate Strategy May Just be Working
The Republican Establishment is afraid of Ron Paul and events that took place at party nominating conventions from Maine to Alaska proved that it’s for good reason.
Despite the efforts of Republican officialdom to marginalize Ron Paul and promote Mitt Romney, supporters of the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman are enjoying remarkable success in having their delegates elected at the state GOP nominating conventions being held nationwide in advance of the Republican Convention that will take place in Tampa in August.
Irrefutable proof of the commitment of those very active voters who want to see Ron Paul succeed Barack Obama is found in the numbers of them who show up and fight for inclusion on the slate of delegates that will eventually represent their states at the national convention.
While certainly laudable and impressively clever, will the delegate strategy pay off for Paul and land him on Pennsylvania Ave?
After all, although Paul’s path to the presidency may be a steep climb, if he is able to continue amassing delegates in the state conventions, then he may be able to force a fracture among the throng at the national convention or exert pressure on the platform committee to include more Paul-friendly planks.
That isn’t to suggest that a brokered convention is a foregone conclusion or even a distinct possibility, however. It also doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
A survey of the performance of Ron Paul’s backers at several state conventions is worth taking and Mitt Romney’s people may want to read it and take heed.First, at the Maine convention, three words were used to describe the scene at the Augusta Civic Center: Chaos, turmoil, and insane. When the smoke cleared, the Paul platoon had united and their man, Brent Tweed was elected chairman of the state convention.
The victory for the Paul campaign in Maine did not come without a firefight, however, that included charges from the Romney camp of ballot fraud and violation of party rules. None of the charges stuck and Tweed defeated the more mainstream Republican candidate by only four votes. Paul backers were also able to propel their cohorts onto victory in several down ballot spots, as well.
The domination by the Ron Paul bloc was so complete that by the time the last folding chair was put away at the two-day convention, they had used the rules of parliamentary procedure to their advantage and walked away with 20 of 24 of the state’s national delegates. Those delegates will be in Tampa and there is nothing forcing them to cast their votes for Mitt Romney.
Nothing except the presence of a Romney lawyer at the convention and the threat of legal action by the GOP Establishment in Maine challenging the results of the voting.
"They [Paul supporters] have so phenomenally screwed this up that they will go to Tampa and not be seated," said Charles Cragin, a Romney supporter who lost his bid to chair the convention to Tweed.
Giving no heed to the wailing and gnashing of teeth by the Republican Establishment, the Ron Paul Revolution marched on firing another shot heard round the world in the home of Lexington and Concord.
In Massachusetts, less than half of the delegate candidates in favor of former governor Romney were elected, with Paul taking the majority. This is the sort of math that must drive Romney’s people mad. The “presumptive nominee” should take no solace from the gentleman’s agreement that dictates that delegates vote for Romney when the roll is called in Tampa. The black letter of the rules prescribe no such fealty.
Rick Santorum’s former constituents delivered delegates for Ron Paul, as well, despite having gone for Romney in the primary elections. Paul picked up five delegates from Pennsylvania.
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