Ron Paul's forces quietly plot GOP convention revolt against McCain

Virtually all the nation's political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.

But in the meantime, quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.

Paul's presidential candidacy has been correctly dismissed all along in terms of winning the nomination. He was even excluded as irrelevant by Fox News from a nationally-televised GOP debate in New Hampshire.

But what's been largely overlooked is Paul's candidacy as a reflection of a powerful lingering dissatisfaction with the Arizona senator among the party's most conservative conservatives. As anticipated in late March in The Ticket, that situation could be exacerbated by today's expected announcement from former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia for the Libertarian Party's presidential nod, a slot held by Paul in 1988.

Never mind Ralph Nader, Republican and Democratic parties both face ...

... potentially damaging internal splits that could cripple their chances for victory in a narrow vote on Nov. 4.

Just take a look at recent Republican primary results, largely overlooked because McCain locked up the necessary 1,191 delegates long ago. In Indiana, McCain got 77% of the recent Republican primary vote, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who've each long ago quit and endorsed McCain, still got 10% and 5% respectively, while Paul took 8%.

On the same May 6 in North Carolina, McCain received less than three-quarters of Republican votes (74%), while Huckabee got 12%, Paul 7% and Alan Keyes and No Preference took a total of 7%.

Pennsylvania was even slightly worse for the GOP's presumptive nominee, who got only 73% to a combined 27% for Paul (16%) and Huckabee (11%).

As Politico.com's Jonathan Martin noted recently, at least some of these results are temporary protest votes in meaningless primaries built on lingering affection for Huckabee and suspicion of McCain.

Given the long-since settled GOP race, thousands of other Republicans in these states, who might have put up with a McCain vote, crossed over to vote in the more exciting Democratic primaries, on their own for Sen. Barack Obama or at the urging of talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, who sought to support Hillary Clinton and prolong Democratic bloodletting.

According to a recent Boston Globe tally, Paul has a grand total of 19 Republican delegates to Romney's 260, Huckabee's 286 and McCain's 1,413.

In the last three months, Paul's forces, who donated $34.5 million to his White House effort and upward of a million total votes, have, as The Ticket has noted, been fighting a series of guerrilla battles with party establishment officials at county and state conventions from Washington and Missouri to Maine and Mississippi. Their goal: to take control of local committees, boost their delegate totals and influence platform debates.

Paul, for instance, favors a drastically reduced federal government, abolishing the Federal Reserve, ending the Iraq war immediately and withdrawing U.S. troops from abroad.

They hope to demonstrate their disagreements with McCain vocally at the convention through platform fights and an attempt to get Paul a prominent speaking slot. Paul, who's running unopposed in his home Texas district for an 11th House term, still has some $5 million in war funds and has instructed his followers that their struggle is not about a single election, but a long-term revolution for control of the Republican Party.

So eager are they to follow their leader's words, that Paul's supporters have driven his new book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto," to the top of several bestseller lists.

While Paul has consistently refused a third-party bid, he has vowed not to endorse McCain, a refusal mirrored by hundreds of his supporters who have left comments on The Ticket in recent weeks. And, no doubt, they'll flock back here today to spread the gospel below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photos: Associated Press and RonPaul.com

Comments

[OGReadmore]

We do not live in a democracy, fools! We live in a Constitutional Republic. Unfortunately, our republic has been hijacked by corporations. Only those who the corporate powers deem worthy will ever find themselves in high political office. It is corporate america who pays for the elections, and it is corporate america who elects our leaders. Just ask Diebold. Our votes don't really count, because the corporations count the votes.

[I am 12 years old. Stop me.]

I'm just checking in to see how good this system is at stopping me from participating.

We kids have a voice too, and you should hear us!

Peace to all mankind!

W00t!

[Frank Wessley]

I am voting for (and writing his name in on the ballot) Ron Paul as president of the United States because I have done a lot (!!!!!) of research on him, and he knows what he is doing. He is easily the best choice for our country, for president.

Ron Paul (unlike McCain, Obama, and Hillary) is not a member of the pro-war and pro-North American Union Council of Foreign Relations, and he is not taking large campaign contributions from large investment firms like Goldman Sachs (unlike McCain, Obama and Hillary).

If you have a conscience, morals and ethics -- if you are Christian -- you will vote for a peace candidate who stands for real American values. You will vote for Ron Paul in 2008.

[Wake Up]

I am utterly amazed at the mindset of the Ron Paul bashers in this post.

I mean WAKE UP.

If you simply take away your prejudices agaisnt "Ron Paul people" and listen to the message...I am not sure a person who has control over their mind and thoughts can say he is wrong abotu our current state of affairs in the USA or where we need to go in order to save our great country.

Perhaps we ought to start referring to all the Ron Paul bashers as "Commies".

In my opinion if you vote for any of the other candidates or refuse to hold them accountable for their lack of support for the Constitution...you very well may be Commies. Perhaps it is you who they are making the camps for....

[Sam]

So what if I'm 12. I want to write on this cool blog, too.

PEECE BROTHAAZ!

[John]

It never ceases to amaze me how many people want to discount Ron Paul. This article is laced with loaded language in reference to Ron Paul's campaign, notably "revolt against McCain", "guerrilla battles with party establishment officials" and "take control of local committees." Even though objectivity is clearly not the strong suit of the Author, that kind of sophomoric spin-doctoring is exactly the kind of writing that is indicative of the lack of legitimate counter arguments to Ron Paul's platform. Ron Paul wants to run the country using the rules and laws our country has agreed on. He wants to keep our military from losing their lives in ways beyond protecting our country. It should be clear exactly what kind of people would oppose that ideology. Frighteningly there seems to be a large number of citizens who are not seeing the consequences of their dismissal of Ron Paul.

[Edmund]

Seems to me the lesser of two evils still takes us to hell in a handbasket. And I wonder how much "less evil" he really is. Honestly, if our We the People cannot understand where we are going, we do not deserve liberty and really do belong in an all-expense paid trip to Club Stalin (soon to be Club Hillary).

Sure, there are some things I do not like about Ron Paul, ie his stance on foreign policy and his being anti-death penalty. But there are a lot more things wrong with our government. My government treats me more like a criminal than they do those at Club Gitmo.

The choice is near at hand.

[Peter Kondos]

Ron Paul is nuts! Anybody that gave money to Ron Paul's campaign is nuts. Go ahead and help Obama get elected and see what that will get you...probably small change in your pocket and you will have helped to elect a man who hates America.

[Steven Stipulkoski]

Since we have survived Bush for two terms, we can survive Obama for one. Obama probably does not have a clue as to what will fix the American economy so he will probably be a weak candidate by 2012.

Let's write in Ron Paul's name this November so he can't be ignored by the MSM in 2012.

[orlandocajun]

OGReadmore | May 12, 2008 at 10:02 AM
"It is corporate america who pays for the elections, and it is corporate america who elects our leaders"

I agree that corporate America pays, in large part, for elections, but corporate America can't register to vote. It is people who vote and the vast majority are too uninformed to exercise the privilege. We can't blame corporate America for selling what the gullible are buying.

Personally, I would like to see Limbaugh start a "write-in Thompson or Hunter" campaign rather than waste his time on the Democrats. I don't care if McCain loses. We'll get a liberal either way. Anyway, the real power in this country is in Congress...not the White House.

[brad]

MR. MALCOLM - Read the Revolution: A Manifesto yet? It's a quick read. I challenge you to read it and refute his platform policies here.

It'd be much better journalism than you are doing right now.

[Micah Burnett]

"Correctly dismissed..." Um, really? Is that why he broke all the fundraising records. Man those Internet bloggers/spammers sure are rich! Go back and bury your head in the LA Times Malcolm, and let the real men steer the future of our country.

http://www.zeios.com/OurRepublic/

[Akerasi]

It's a sad, sad day when the Democrat's presumptive nominee is more fiscally conservative than the Republican one. As a registered Libertarian, I tend to vote for the most fiscally conservative candidate for president, as that tends to be most helpful.

[Steven Stipulkoski]

Since we have survived Bush for two terms, we can survive Obama for one. Obama probably does not have a clue as to what will fix the American economy so he will probably be a weak candidate by 2012.

Let's write in Ron Paul's name this November so he can't be ignored by the MSM in 2012.

[Mike]

As a Paul fan, I'm against the Iraq War. If Obama wins, the Iraq War ends (not that I would vote for him). But why would I vote for McCain? If he wins, liberalism wins, abortion continues, and the war goes on. Why would I expect a member of the "gang of 14" to appoint judges to overturn Roe v Wade?

[SillyBoy]

A large percentage of Paul supporters are no more Republican than Ralph Nader. Paul himself is more or less a Libertarian who's grafted onto the Republican party.

The Democrats have a real, deep, and serious divide. Paul's candidacy has become a sideshow, as radicalized as some of Paul's proposals.

If some Democrats want to comfort themselves by imagining a fantasy Paulista takeover of the Republican convention, I'm sure Michael Moore could slap together a script and film it. As for reality, other than a possible inbterruption or two (as Paulistas are as persistent as they are logically inconsistent) don't hold your breath.

[parke]

Want to play fair? Then get your folks to show up to the caucuses and vote. Dont cry because Paul supporters are activists.

'Advertisements are the only truths to be relied upon in newspapers.' Jefferson

I turned the TV off a long time ago. After FOX pulled the rug from Paul the day before the primary in NH I canceled my cable. Jefferson is correct. The media crowns the king of America. Im with Howard Beale.

America needs a doctor. We are in deep shit and there is only one man focusing on our rights, the value of our dollar and ending the OCCUPATION of Iraq. The others are nothing but the status quo.

[bilzabub]

When I went on a five day road trip not long ago, I noticed that there were, by a large margin, more bumperstickers, signs, and even billboards in support of Ron Paul than for any other candidate running. I firmly believe that the American mainstream media is completely out-of-touch with the American people and only pay attention to politicians who are willing to support their greedy corporate slimeball agendas. The media doesn't care a single bit about the liberties of the American people. And shame on the Republican Party for propping up Bushs' 3rd term candidate instead of the candidate that The People actually want. Just take a road trip and see for yourself.

As they say,
You can fool some of the people some of the time.....

[DH]

Enough! Hey Ron Paul supporters, your candidate LOST. Hey Bob Barr supporters, your candidate is an ego maniac desperately craving attention and has no shot of being President. Sorry, but it is time to move on. We need to unite under our common beliefs as Republicans and not divide the party because your candidate LACKED THE SUPPORT OF THE MAJORITY. That is how our system works. We need to gather behind McCain for the sake of our future or we will live with regret as Obama or Hillary run our great country into the ground.

[Gregg Stanley]

I've waited 30 years for one decent major party candidate.
Not that there were any decent candidates in the last 100 years. Grover Cleveland was the last OK president.

With Ron Paul we have a good candidate. Viva la revolution!

[Kris]

I'm tired of how large and inefficient the federal and local governments have become. That's why I vote against just about everything, I don't even care if it's schools asking for more funding - they aren't working anyways. Our system is about due to collapse. I'm guessing in the next 15-20 years the population will be fed up and revolt. Of course Dr. Paul could be the catalyst to speed it up even quicker.

[Bob in TX]

I personally like Ron Paul, and agree with much of what he has done during his tenure. He is the only one who brought up the issue of issuing letters of Marque and Reprisal against Osama and the Taliban. That single act by Congress could have really made a difference since they frankly haven't the guts to deal with the issue. On the issue of the War, however, he is dead wrong. It makes no difference that troops were committed based on faulty intelligence or a lie. They are there, and they are dying. To pull our without achieving victory - i.e. a self sustaining Iraqi Republic, is to throw the sacrifices of our troops on the refuse pile. They are having an effect there, and the fact that our troops demonstrate on a daily basis that they are not a bunch of monstrous evil-doers, bugs the living Hell out of the bulk of Muslims in the region and the rest of the Muslim world. Muslims are seeing that perhaps they have been fed a bunch of crap by their leaders and Imams their entire lives. Yes, there may be an initial backlash of Islamic terrorism, just as there was a backlash of Nazi terrorism in Germany after the war (all they way to 1948...that's three years folks!).
Do I agree with what the Paulistas are planning? Sure. But anyone who believes Paul will walk out with the nomination is crazy. His effort represents 10% of the 30% of the voting populace that constitutes the Republican Party (that means his national support is basically 3%). Last I heard, you still need over 50% to win in a two party race and even though it's less if more parties are involved, it's still a lot more than 3%. I am still very torn about whether or not to cast my November ballot for McCain. His close work with McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, illegal, immigration, and the "Gang of 14" have not endeared him to me. One need only to read the Constitution to see what should have been done on the Justices. And one need only look at recent developments in Oklahoma to see the proper stand on illegal immigration (if you haven't paid attention, the Oklahoma legislature has passed a bunch of anti-immigrant legislation...Result: They are leaving Oklahoma in droves...AND...The unemployment rate has dropped! Guess there are a bunch of Americans who are willing to do those jobs that only illegal immigrants would do!). As to the issue of Supreme Court Justices, McCain is a maverick. What assurances does anyone have that he will appoint Scalias, Thomases, Roberts, or Alitos? None! I see more Souters in the hall standing by. Perhaps I'll cast my presidential vote elsewhere, or sit that one out as I don't want the Conservative Right to get the blame for the upcoming debacle. After all, we did have to endure Jimmy Carter to get Ronald Reagan.

[Aaron]

"Ron Paul could get almost all the McCain GOPers plus the Huckabee vote"

Are you serious? The Republican nomination is going to McCain without any serious debate or problem in Minnesota. There will be crazy Uncle Paul supporters, the same exact people who are at other Paul events; they don't represent a a majority of the Republican party at all. Look at the numbers: he received 19 delegates. That doesn't even work out to a minority, let alone a majority. Those who would have voted for Paul aren't supporters who would have ever supported another Republican nominee, so nothing is lost with them turning to another party.

[Evil Bankers]

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the corporations which grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

~ Thomas Jefferson

[James Ligenfelter]

I've been in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I've been with the US Special Operations forces for nearly 15 years and no one has spoken to us about how we feel about the war or the candidates. EVERYONE in my unit endorsed Ron Paul and wish he had media attention. The media will soon change because WE the PEOPLE are changing. The marketing adage that you can exploit people and control their conversations and decisions is no longer valid in a society where the internet can refute the media lies. We now challenge the lies and look for integrity. Ron Paul has integrity. The writer of this piece was sorely out of touch and may still be with his apologetic tone towards the mass herd.