How Mitt Romney cheated his way to the GOP nomination
By Doug Wead
New evidence is coming out about just how tough and dirty the Mitt Romney campaign fought to block the Ron Paul takeover of the Republican Party at the State Conventions last summer.
It may offer a little sneak preview of what a Romney presidency will be like. And make no mistake, barring war with Syria or some other dramatic October surprise, Romney will now win this election in a landslide. At least, that is my humble opinion, as one who loves and reads history. The economy will decide that.
It turns out that Mitt Romney and other Republican operatives were apparently very much aware of what was going on at the precinct, county, district and state conventions. This was not greedy state and country chairmen wanting to hang onto power so they could go to the RNC as delegates and get drunk. The hardball tactics were apparently approved and refined from state to state from Iowa, where the state chairman got money for the GOP and promises and conveniently kept a Santorum popularity vote win and a Ron Paul delegate win, out of the news for months, all the way to Tampa, where pudgy, Romney Brownshirt goons raced along the streets in golf cart-like vehicles, looking for demonstrators to divert into chain fence cages beyond view of the media. Welcome to Romney’s America.
Read the full story here.
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Ron Paul 2012 might have just happened, had it not been for that darn “Comeback Team” proclaiming themselves to be small government advocates. Hm. Let’s also not forget what went down at the RNC convention this year.
- The Vocal Libertarian
3 GOP Electoral College members say they may not vote for Republican ticket of Romney/Ryan
This is one of the more interesting articles I’ve read recently. It’s not that I care whether some disgruntled Republican casts a vote for Ron Paul in the general election. It’s that we still have an electoral college. And it’s possible that in a very, very tight election some jerk could throw the entire country into chaos.
Imagine. Romney wins a very tight election with exactly 270 electoral votes. The Republicans keep the house. The Democrats take the senate. One guy decides that he’s going to vote for Ron Paul for President. Now Romney gets 269 votes. Obama has 268. Nobody has a majority. And the House of Representatives chooses between Obama, Romney and Paul for President. Except once the Republicans figure out what is happening, a handful of them cast votes for Paul Ryan as President. So now it’s a Ryan vs. Romney vs. Obama fight in the House. (But the vote happens with each state getting one vote—so it’s weird too.) And the same sort of thing happens in the Senate. Except that people don’t really want a Romney-Biden administration. So a few electors strike out on their own there. Some cast votes for Obama. Some cast votes for Hillary Clinton. But that doesn’t work because the Constitution is weird and is written so that Biden gets the vote in a case like this.
And the strangest part of it all is that this doesn’t provoke a Constitutional crisis. It’s already written down.
THIS COULD BE ALMOST AS EXCITING AS THE ELECTION OF 1800, in which “voting dragged on for seven days and 36 ballots.” Granted, they’ve changed the Constitution since then to keep it from getting quite so crazy, but still.
— Bonnie
I notice there aren’t any cards for Gary Johnson. Also, considering the RNC was just this week, its pretty clear no one expected Ron Paul to come out on top.
Election cycle memorabilia. What ones do you have?
- Jayel
This is some fantastic product placement…
#RNC2012 (Taken with Instagram at Tampa International Airport (TPA))
I’m just sayin’. I’m now sitting at the gate and waiting to board my plane. Next to me are some sadfaced Ron Paul fans discussing the strategy for 2016.
Guys. I know the RNC pulled some shenanigans, but really…
When Jerry Garcia died, the deadheads went home. Rep. Ron Paul said this was his last hurrah. At least unite behind Sen. Rand Paul, or former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
Instead, this is what they did down at the bookstore at the United Terminal as a form of protest:
When the clerk would move the books, they’d put them back. Seriously. It’s a little ridiculous. I think you could find something else to do. Like knitting. Or pick up a copy of The Hunger Games. I hear it’s a good read.
In all seriousness, the Paul fans are much more passionate than I saw anyone be about Romney at the RNC. I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good forecast for the general feeling the GOP has regarding their nominee, but I did run into two delegates Thursday wearing these pins they bought on Zazzle.com:
— Meg
Ron Paul supporters right outside the RNC
Photograph by Jayel Aheram.
Ron Paul supporters make themselves heard in convention hall
Ron Paul supporters have always been very vocal, and the reconvening of the Republican National Convention today was no exception.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, RNC chairman Reince Priebus gaveled everyone back into the convention, welcoming the delegates back to the 2012 RNC. Just minutes before the gavel came down, however, the floor of the Tampa Bay Times Forum was abuzz with chants for the Texas congressman and two-time presidential candidate. Paul was on the floor of the space, where he received a rock-star-like welcome. Supporters chanted, “Let him speak” – a reference to the fact that Paul was not given a speaking slot at the RNC (although his son, Rand, will be speaking).
At one point, chants of “Romney” were drowned out by chants of “Ron Paul.” Paul walked around the floor wearing a red, white and blue lei, and he walked through the crowd signing autographs, according to reports from ABC News’ Aaron Katersky.
It wouldn’t be my speech […] that would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.
Ron Paul, declining to speak at the RNC
Context, via the The New York Times:
Mr. Paul, in an interview, said convention planners had offered him an opportunity to speak under two conditions: that he deliver remarks vetted by the Romney campaign, and that he give a full-fledged endorsement of Mr. Romney. He declined.
- Jason
