Well, Republicans can kiss any hope of support from Ron Paul supporters goodbye

[MadHound]

Modern day conventions are supposed to be venues for bringing all the different party constituents together behind supporting one candidate. Primary losers are given coveted speaking positions, rival delegates are treated with respect, and generally some serious efforts are made to smooth the waters and soothe egos so that the party can go forward together and support the nominee.

Not so at this year's Republican convention. After a set of last minute rule changes designed to concentrate power into even fewer hands, the Romney folks added more insult, and injury.
"A minor revolt broke out on the floor of the Republican Party's presidential convention Tuesday afternoon and evening. Ron Paul delegates from several states erupted into protest over a controversial change to the party's rules to block future insurgencies mounted by outside candidates like their hero. Paul supporters also freaked out over the convention's refusal to recognize about two dozen Paul delegates and for refusing to treat Paul like a serious candidate for the nomination.

During the roll call of the states, the Paulites were irate, screaming at the podium, as convention secretary Kim Reynolds declined to read out the delegate votes for any candidate other than Romney. "The Republican Party is so afraid of Ron Paul that they won't repeat his name," shouted Jim Ayala, a Nevada delegate and Paul supporter wearing an Oath Keepers t-shirt.

Minutes earlier, the Paulites were enraged when the convention adopted the new set of rules on a voice vote during which the Paul backers out-shouted the other delegates. One Nevada delegate and Paul supporter, Mark Carducci, thrust two middle fingers into the air toward RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), screaming "Fuck you, tyrants!"
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/ron-paul-supporters-rebel-convention-floor-fuck-you-tyrants

Never the most comfortable members of the Republican party, Paulites have now suffered their final insult at the hands of the party. The Paul delegates who marched out of the convention were also taking their fellow supporters along with them, and marching right on out of the party. Doing a quick run through the internet this morning, blog after Paulite blog, website after Paulite website is urging fellow Paulites to either stay home or vote Libertarian, and they probably will, in droves.

The Paulites were always like old, sweaty dynamite, if not handled gently, they would blow up in your faces, and that is exactly what happened. The funny thing is, the Republicans really needed these people on board, really needed their organization. The Paulites were important not just for their numbers(roughly about ten percent of the party), but for their expertise in grassroots politics. Nobody, absolutely nobody in the Republican party knew how to work the grassworks circuit better than the Ron Paul machine.

Now, that expertise is gone, along with all those votes. This means that Romney's chances for winning the election have just decreased, badly. After all, who would have more chance of winning over a backwoods uber conservative voter in Arkansas, a Paulite campaigner who speaks his language, or some pasty white boy in a shirt and tie who's just been bussed in from St. Louis? Yeah, they're going to need that Paulite ground game.

But that's all gone now, and for our sake, that is a good thing. This is just another in a long line of instances where Romney and the Republicans have handled things badly, and the mistakes are starting to pile up. Ineptness and insensitivity doesn't win campaigns, yet that seems all that the Romney and Republicans can muster. It's going to be a long campaign season for them.

[n2doc]

1. We shall see

The fear of another 4 years of "the Kenyan" may cause them to hold their noses and vote for Rmoney, especially if the race is close.

[Lucy Goosey]

9. That was my first thought, too.

I hope that this sort of thing will have them writing Ron Paul in, or just not voting, but I wouldn't count on it.

[SDjack]

12. R&R had to move towards the center. They will understand.

All will be forgiven. Kisses and hugs all around. There will be inter-marriages. They will fall-into-line.

[TeamPooka]

46. I don't think Paulites "understand" a lot of things but they do

understand being used by the GOP.
I hope.

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. Reassuring analysis, thanks!

[Blue_Tires]

3. repubs never had their support to begin with

The Paul cultists only care about the dogma of their personal Jesus...

Let Paul finally retire to Galveston or wherever the fuck he's from, and maybe a few of his zombies will return to reality

[aquart]

10. Oh, not soon I hope.

[docgee]

4. Passing this around:

They're cheating. The Republican National Committee is not transparent and does not have integrity. They stole votes. They stole delegates. They refused to send busses for our delegates. It's a totalitarian process. This is not democracy

[G_j]

20. cheating is their way. nt

[karynnj]

22. By "our" does that mean that you are a Ron Paul supporter?

If so, would you be comfortable in saying how (or whether) you intend to vote in November.

[docgee]

47. Are you asking me if I'm a Ron paul supporter?

LOL fuck no, I copied that from the article, It was a quote from a Ron Paul supporter. I thought it may indicate some of them may stay home this year on Nov. 6.

[karynnj]

48. Good to hear - it was not clear what was quote and what was yours n/t

[Cha]

49. It's an example of how the romneys would run

our country. Facists.

[Patiod]

5. My Libertarian brother: "I'm not voting for either of them!"

Me: "Good for you"
Him: "I'm going to write in Mickey Mouse!"
Me: "Works for me"
Him: "No, I mean it, neither of them will get MY vote!"
Me: "Again, works for me"

He wanted a fight, and my attitude is that so long as you don't vote from Romney, I'm happy as pie.

This from "fierce libertarian" who works just under 40/week in retail, has to pay 100% for his crappy health insurance (because he's not full time - NO ONE is full time), and makes just above minimum wage in a "right to work" state.

Yeah, those Libertarian values are working out great for you, brother, and are only going to keep making your life better!

[tomm2thumbs]

6. I'll see where the Rand Paul speech goes

Could be Ron will be the 'surprise speaker' they have talked about, in hopes of generating a little bit of new excitement. Maybe they have negotiated an audit-the-fed law or something with him to get him to suck up and endorse.

I don't buy anything Romney's folks put out there as they are designed by weasels.

(my apologies to weasels)

[JPZenger]

7. In Virginia, there is a viable third party alternative

In Va., former congressman Goode is running on the Constitution Party ticket. He is very popular in parts of the state. The Repubs knocked him off the PA. ballot.

[Blue_Tires]

8. Goode is a non-factor in any part of the state that actually has people...

[Pab Sungenis]

29. But every vote he gets

is a vote taken away from Romney. Goode will never win Virginia's electoral votes, but he'll make them more likely to go into Obama's column.

[highplainsdem]

11. The only Paulite I've talked to about this told me he's outraged, and he won't be voting for

Romney, but he won't vote for Obama, either.

[Chorophyll]

14. Works for me if they all stay home. nt

[onenote]

27. true, although "all of them" isn't very many.

I doubt they have the numbers to impact the outcome in any state. But we shall see.

[Chorophyll]

36. Maybe they won't impact the outcome, but the party looks like a big mess

(which we always knew it was) and every little bit of chaos helps.

For once, the Dems are on-message and the Repugs are the cat-herders. I like it.

[Codeine]

13. I don't buy it.

Spoiled white fratboys, the lot of them. They'll vote against Obama regardless.

[HappyMe]

26. You're probably right.

They are angry and have to take it out on someone.

We just have to hope some will stay home, and others will write in Paul.

[Marr]

33. I don't think so.

The Paul supporters I've met were, in many ways, comparable to very left wing members of the Democratic Party (in terms of their relationship with the party). They've already been pushed to the edge of the tent, but are hanging in there in the hopes of changing the party itself from the ground up, and getting it away from the party establishment.

The GOP didn't just insult the Paul supporters yesterday-- they also demonstrated how easily they can just change the rules to send reformers back to square on, keeping all the influence in the hands of the party establishment.

I think a whole lot of them are going to say, "screw it-- we'll start from scratch", and vote third party.

[zeemike]

15. To me it appears that they just don't care.

Just like they don't care if they get no minority vote or the vote of women...
And then the question becomes why?....and my cynical mind says it is because the fix is in and no matter what they do they know they will win.
But that makes me a CTer and so you can disregard this statement.

[valerief]

16. They've probably programmed all the Paul votes to flip to Romney anyway. nt

[yardwork]

25. That worries me. It could well be true.

[valerief]

28. I believe it usually is. Why bother with electronic voting machines if you don't rig them? nt

[Johonny]

17. Should Dems give money to the Libertarian candidate?

in hopes of taking votes away from Romney.

[Chorophyll]

37. What? No. nt

[Johonny]

40. You know Republicans have done this against Dems

given money to 3rd parties in hopes of attracting Democratic voters away. I mean it is a real strategy political parties do. The question is would these people really vote third party particularly if Dems gave the Libertarian party $$ to advertise. My guess is no, so don't do it because it would only be effective if Ron Paul was that third party candidate. He isn't, and it seems after all the convention stuff winds down Paul will be in the GOP and supporting, somewhat, Romney. In that case the whole Ron Paul revolution is a side show that probably won't amount to much.

[Zalatix]

50. That maneuver has to be thought out.

It should be done in solidly Republican states... like Texas.

If Romney loses Texas because Libertarians voted for Paul instead, it's a LANDSLIDE for Obama.

[loudsue]

18. The entire republican mind set is authoritarian Nazi.

They are fascists ....each one. Lock step or hit the road.

[Waiting For Everyman]

19. Rmoney is going to regret that move.

I'm glad though, it's a break for us. He just shot himself in the foot. That was arrogant, and stupid, and unnecessary.

[Javaman]

21. Maybe yes, maybe no...

for all the libertarian rhetoric we enjoy laughing at, they will remain repukes to the core.

While they love to yell this or that about personal freedoms and "government out of our lives!", at the end of the day, they are too timid to actually stand up for their very bizarre and very misguided beliefs.

As I told an libertarian halfwit on fb, if you really believe in ron paul and libertarianism, then don't vote for the repukes. the repukes love your vote and laugh in your face.

He just grumbled and wrote nothing more.

they are famous for stamping their feet and turning beat red over their presumed loss of rights, but in reality, they love the comfort of voting for someone who tells them what to do.

and as I have said to other libertarian halfwits in the past, if they really believe in ron paul and libertarianism, why do they support ron paul who continually runs on a repuke ticket? They never give a coherent answer. It's usually a babble fest of hyperbole.

So will they abandon the repuke party? maybe but I don't think they will.

They will grumble back into their holes of stupidity.

[Major Hogwash]

23. They kicked the Iowa delegation of Paul supporters off of the convention floor.

But, it wasn't shown on tv.

The Virginia delegates for Paul were also hustled out of the convention center when they disagreed with not being allowed to show their support for Paul.
The Texas delegation had some Paul supporters who were shouting "Paul" from the convention floor, but they were soon met with sharp stares of disapproval by the Romney supporters in the Texas delegation until they quit.

Not a good sign to throw duly elected delegates out of their own convention.
The rules that were changed said that only votes for Romney would be counted publicly at the convention, so the votes for Paul from delegates who traveled clear to Tampa were never counted and his delegates were silenced.

The Republican party is in its last throes.

[jsr]

24. Libertarians vote with the Thugs

It never fails.

[madrchsod]

30. so the republicans had their own "night of the long knifes"

if they take even 5% from the republicans it`s a very good thing.

[Marr]

31. Yep-- that was the most interesting political event I've seen a long time.

The GOP establishment is supremely arrogant and authoritarian, and it really came out yesterday in a damaging way. They needed those Paul supporters, but instead, they insulted and humiliated them for no good reason other than to assert that they are in charge.

I think they tossed any chance of winning the election yesterday. The Paul supporters are not Limbots-- they will not just forget this when the next shiny hate object is waggled in front of them. I think they lost a lot of people forever yesterday.

[Heather MC]

32. Gary Johnson 2012!!!!

That's what you tell the diseffected Paulites

[Swede Atlanta]

34. I would draw one distinction....

I think "hardcore" Paul supporters will refrain from active promotion of RMoney (e.g. phone banking, leafletting, etc.). That said, when a Pauline opens their absentee or mail ballot or goes into the voting booth, I don't think they are going to vote for Obama. The likelihood they will vote by any means is probably going to be very individual. Some will feel so betrayed by the GOP they will sit this one out. But I believe their hatred of this President is so deep and pervasive they are highly likely to go to vote AGAINST Obama, not for RMoney.

[Kolesar]

35. Otherwise, they would have voted for Romney with a neocon for a war policy adviser ...

Who could even get a cabinet position in the Republican government in January

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

38. Ron Paul will tell them to vote for Romney

Their hero is a fraud and a phony. His people just got served a shit sandwich and he'll stand there and take it.

[JHB]

39. How much Paulite support were they going to get anyway?

The Paulites have been doing their level best to procedurally arrange an intra-party coup to replace Romney. The RNC changed the rules to slap them down, but they weren't going to act like the usual primary losers anyway.

[frylock]

41. paulites are proud, stubborn people..

this affront is not going to sit well with them, and i think a large percenatge will sit out to send a message to the party establishment. they've already weathered 4 years of obama, so i don't think another 4 is going to kill them if it serves to send a giant FU to romney and his ilk.

[Kennah]

42. Please oh please Dear Lord Satan, let there be a Ron Paul Third Party Run!

[CK_John]

43. They will huff and puff and vote for the GOP.

[Fire Walk With Me]

44. Both groups want the same thing: To control everything without accountability.

This may seem to put them into crisis with each other.

[dembotoz]

45. they will fall into line

only hope is that they do not actively work for the bastard

[Scootaloo]

51. Do you know what the one big, huge, telling difference is between Paultards and Republicans?

Nothing. Not a goddamned thing. You can put Paul's platform up next to any other Republican's, and not be able to tell the difference. Ron Paul's supporters support him because it makes them feel important and "revolutionary," as if voting for a 40-year insider is a wild and crazy act of political subversiveness.

But at the end of the day, they're still dumbfucks who are basing their vote off the fact that a black democrat might help poor people.