How The Republican Party Is Fighting Ron Paul

Impact

It’s all about the delegates in the GOP fight for the White House – Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul all know this truth. Depending on how you count them, anyone from Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum could be winning. So, why is Ron Paul so happy? The reason, as many Paulites will remind you, most delegates are not bound past the first vote. In this instance, if enough Ron Paul people become delegates in these Romney, Santorum, or even Gingrich states – Ron Paul could sneak into a first or second place finish. It is how the Governor from California named Ronald Reagan, recently elected at the time, almost stole the 1976 nomination from Gerald Ford.

The local GOP parties know this little dilemma, so it has become an issue of great importance to ensure that the right people become delegates – even if it means ignoring Party rules and discouraging participation. 

Video evidence has been taken in Georgia and Missouri of party officials ignoring popular vote, parliamentary procedure, and party rules in the delegation process to ensure the Party insiders fill the seats in Florida at the convention. While many people have made the argument that the Paul supporters who have subverted the delegation process is just as bad, this is simply not the case. 

Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich campaigns can euqally ensure that their supporters show up to these open to the public meetings. Instead of actually mobilizing voters the way Ron Paul does, these campaigns attempt to stuff the ballot box to ensure victory. 

As every campaign operative knows, one of the pivotal efforts in any campaign is the “Get Out The Vote” program to ensure that your base will get to the ballot box in November. If these candidates cannot get out their vote in a primary race, then how can we expect them to get out their vote in a general election? If a candidate cannot organize a group of thirty to fifty people per district in one to six states (roughly 1,000 people per state), can they really be qualified to run the free world? The problems that this country faces requires organizational skills that go beyond cheating your way to victory. If anything, the fact that despite all of the institutional bias against him, Ron Paul can mobilize more voters than Romney and Santorum, is damning on the Republican candidates.