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8th May 2012, 07:38 AM
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May 6, 2012, 8:39 pm Still in the Race, and Plotting a Path to the Convention
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/author/michael-d-shear/) The marquee names in the cast of the 2012 presidential election are Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. But in the days ahead, watch out for a somewhat forgotten member of the extras: Ron Paul.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/07/us/caucus-paul/caucus-paul-articleInline.jpgBen Margot/Associated PressRon Paul in April.
Mr. Paul, below, a Texas congressman, officially remains in the hunt for the Republican nomination. And now, his well-organized network of faithful supporters is causing trouble for Mr. Romney at state party conventions around the country.
In state after state, Mr. Paul’s libertarian-minded army of volunteers is trying to seize delegates from Mr. Romney, taking over party chairmanships and ousting longstanding party officials with ties to Mr. Romney.
Nothing Mr. Paul is doing threatens Mr. Romney’s hold on the nomination. But the actions could have an impact at the Republican National Convention (http://www.gopconvention2012.com/) on these fronts:
THE DELEGATES In essence, Mr. Paul is doing what Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich had threatened to do — use gatherings of conservative voters at state party conventions to peel away delegates that were awarded to Mr. Romney during the primaries and caucuses.
He is having some success.
In Nevada on Saturday, Bob List, a former governor and a Romney supporter, lost his seat on the Republican National Committee (http://www.gop.com/getconnected/getconnected.htm) (and his ticket to the convention) to a backer of Mr. Paul, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://www.lvrj.com/news/romney-s-son-urges-unity-at-state-gop-convention-150294685.html).
A headline (http://www.pressherald.com/news/Thousands-pour-in-to-GOP-convention.html) from The Portland Press Herald in Maine tells the story there: “Ron Paul Supporters Take Over Maine G.O.P. Convention.” Supporters of Mr. Paul were elected chairman and secretary of the state convention.
In Iowa, Mr. Paul’s supporters dominated the selection of at-large delegates, according to The Iowa Republican (http://theiowarepublican.com/2012/ron-paul-dominates-at-large-delegate-slate/). And in Alaska, his supporters grabbed the convention chairmanship as well, says The Alaska Dispatch (http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/alaska-gops-new-chair-god-prevailed-victory-ron-paul-supporters).
THE TALLY Thanks to Mr. Paul’s supporters, he will arrive in Tampa, Fla., for the Republican convention this summer with more delegates than many media tallies would suggest.
That will not give him a real shot at the nomination, but it might give him the ability to make a ruckus while he is there. The more delegates he has, the better chance he might have to prevent Mr. Romney from being nominated on the first ballot.
Even if that does not happen, Mr. Paul could use a larger number of delegates as leverage for a better speaking slot at the convention. Or he could negotiate with Mr. Romney’s people for a bigger role for his son, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
THE PLATFORM But Mr. Paul’s main goal is most likely to put himself at the center of shaping the party’s official platform at the convention.
The platform lays out where the party stands on social, economic and military issues, and it is written by a committee that typically operates at the direction of the nominee — in this case, Mr. Romney.
But delegates for Mr. Paul could try to upset that arrangement by pushing hard to be included in the platform debates. Mr. Paul’s views on the Federal Reserve, Iraq and Afghanistan, drug policy, health care and the deficit are very different from Mr. Romney’s.
In the end, Mr. Romney’s allies are likely to win those debates. Modern political conventions have become largely ceremonial affairs, and Mr. Paul probably will not change that, even with the extra delegates he is amassing.
THE YOUTH VOTE There is one other danger for Mr. Romney as his political team tries to deal with Mr. Paul.
Many of Mr. Paul’s supporters across the country are young voters Mr. Romney will need in November as he competes with President Obama. In some places, the youth vote — if it turns out — could be decisive.
As a result, Mr. Romney cannot afford to treat Mr. Paul in a dismissive way that could turn off his supporters. That might give Mr. Paul even more leverage at the convention as he seeks to advance his movement and his issues.
May 6, 2012, 8:39 pm Still in the Race, and Plotting a Path to the Convention
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/author/michael-d-shear/) The marquee names in the cast of the 2012 presidential election are Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. But in the days ahead, watch out for a somewhat forgotten member of the extras: Ron Paul.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/07/us/caucus-paul/caucus-paul-articleInline.jpgBen Margot/Associated PressRon Paul in April.
Mr. Paul, below, a Texas congressman, officially remains in the hunt for the Republican nomination. And now, his well-organized network of faithful supporters is causing trouble for Mr. Romney at state party conventions around the country.
In state after state, Mr. Paul’s libertarian-minded army of volunteers is trying to seize delegates from Mr. Romney, taking over party chairmanships and ousting longstanding party officials with ties to Mr. Romney.
Nothing Mr. Paul is doing threatens Mr. Romney’s hold on the nomination. But the actions could have an impact at the Republican National Convention (http://www.gopconvention2012.com/) on these fronts:
THE DELEGATES In essence, Mr. Paul is doing what Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich had threatened to do — use gatherings of conservative voters at state party conventions to peel away delegates that were awarded to Mr. Romney during the primaries and caucuses.
He is having some success.
In Nevada on Saturday, Bob List, a former governor and a Romney supporter, lost his seat on the Republican National Committee (http://www.gop.com/getconnected/getconnected.htm) (and his ticket to the convention) to a backer of Mr. Paul, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal (http://www.lvrj.com/news/romney-s-son-urges-unity-at-state-gop-convention-150294685.html).
A headline (http://www.pressherald.com/news/Thousands-pour-in-to-GOP-convention.html) from The Portland Press Herald in Maine tells the story there: “Ron Paul Supporters Take Over Maine G.O.P. Convention.” Supporters of Mr. Paul were elected chairman and secretary of the state convention.
In Iowa, Mr. Paul’s supporters dominated the selection of at-large delegates, according to The Iowa Republican (http://theiowarepublican.com/2012/ron-paul-dominates-at-large-delegate-slate/). And in Alaska, his supporters grabbed the convention chairmanship as well, says The Alaska Dispatch (http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/alaska-gops-new-chair-god-prevailed-victory-ron-paul-supporters).
THE TALLY Thanks to Mr. Paul’s supporters, he will arrive in Tampa, Fla., for the Republican convention this summer with more delegates than many media tallies would suggest.
That will not give him a real shot at the nomination, but it might give him the ability to make a ruckus while he is there. The more delegates he has, the better chance he might have to prevent Mr. Romney from being nominated on the first ballot.
Even if that does not happen, Mr. Paul could use a larger number of delegates as leverage for a better speaking slot at the convention. Or he could negotiate with Mr. Romney’s people for a bigger role for his son, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
THE PLATFORM But Mr. Paul’s main goal is most likely to put himself at the center of shaping the party’s official platform at the convention.
The platform lays out where the party stands on social, economic and military issues, and it is written by a committee that typically operates at the direction of the nominee — in this case, Mr. Romney.
But delegates for Mr. Paul could try to upset that arrangement by pushing hard to be included in the platform debates. Mr. Paul’s views on the Federal Reserve, Iraq and Afghanistan, drug policy, health care and the deficit are very different from Mr. Romney’s.
In the end, Mr. Romney’s allies are likely to win those debates. Modern political conventions have become largely ceremonial affairs, and Mr. Paul probably will not change that, even with the extra delegates he is amassing.
THE YOUTH VOTE There is one other danger for Mr. Romney as his political team tries to deal with Mr. Paul.
Many of Mr. Paul’s supporters across the country are young voters Mr. Romney will need in November as he competes with President Obama. In some places, the youth vote — if it turns out — could be decisive.
As a result, Mr. Romney cannot afford to treat Mr. Paul in a dismissive way that could turn off his supporters. That might give Mr. Paul even more leverage at the convention as he seeks to advance his movement and his issues.