Not Backing Down

The issue was largely unreported in our area. I follow closely, so I caught a small article in the local paper, and followed through with research to see what exactly was happening.

The issue? The Ron Paul campaigns strategy to take over the delegates in Idaho.
For starters, Idaho recently changed to a caucus state just this year, so this is the first time voters voted with the caucus system.  That was a nightmare in itself, but that will be for another post.

The caucus vote  revealed that Mitt Romney won the majority of votes in Idaho at 62%.  Santorum garnered a few more votes than Paul for 18.2% and Paul came in third receiving 18.1% of the vote. Newt Gingrich was far behind at 2.1%. The vote awarded Romney the state’s 32 national delegates which in this state are binding.

Then came the controversy!  It was reported (and many were aware of this strategy for sometime) that the Paul campaign had a plan to take over the state delegates at the National Convention in Florida.  They had a plan in place to elect as many committee precinctmen as possible, who in turn would be the ones to nominate the delegates that would vote in favor of Paul at the convention. Legal? Yes. Underhanded? I would say so; at the very least – entirely without good character.

Finally, the Paul campaign due to negative publicity, issued a statement that they did not support this “take over” in Idaho. You can read their entire statement here.  That's commendable if it were believable, but past actions show otherwise.

But a summary of their opinion can be read in this one sentence from the Paul campaign:

“Therefore, the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign condemns efforts to expand its influence in the Republican Party in Idaho and beyond when these activities are couched as vengeful, underhanded, or markedly distasteful.”

The Idaho Statesman had several articles concerning the issue; and though the Statesman reported exactly what was happening in Idaho, some within the Paul campaign painted the newspaper's reporting as unfair and incorrect. However, one can read the strategy from the website of Paul supporters in Idaho, Idaho for Liberty , and it is exactly as the Statesman reported.

At the time I read the harsh criticism of Idaho supporters from Paul’s campaign manager, John Tate, I questioned whether it would lead to any further action. Apparently I was right. The insincerity of the statement is revealed when the Paul campaign asked for more money  for their delegate strategy the next day.  You can read about that in this article at the Idaho Statesman. So much for "commendable".

Another troubling statement from the Idaho for Liberty website reads:

“The issue, though, is not a lack of following the rules, but rather, a strategy of following the Party rules which are already in place. These rules allow any faction or coalition to benefit from a supermajority at the convention. Some Ron Paul supporters are motivated, in part, by the State’s winner-take-all decision. They view it as unfair and contrary to the National GOP rules, which dictate that proportional delegates should instead be given. Santorum’s people had a similar concern. Additionally, with over 2000 voting procedures that go into a party’s delegate selection process some believe it is morally wrong to bind any delegate based on the results of a single caucus vote because it would make the entire process meaningless.”

The Paul campaign doesn’t like this part of Idaho’s legal process which was voted upon this past year. So it seems they are going to ignore it and use this as their reason for “stealing” the delegates. It seems for the Paul campaign, “states rights” is only important when it benefits them!  The Ron Paul campaign is always quick to defend states rights (issues such as the marriage amendment, legalization of drugs etc.) until the state doesn’t agree with them…then it’s unfair.

Another inaccurate statement from that site states:

“Regardless of whether one agrees with Ron Paul’s ideals to restore this country, it is undeniable that he has the ability to defeat Barack Obama, as evidenced in national polls. Furthermore, Ron Paul is the candidate who will have the strongest backing from the entire GOP, Constitutionalists, Libertarians, Blue Republicans, Independents and other factions when running against Obama. As you’ve seen, the attendance and diversity at Ron Paul events is unparalleled. Add to that the support of the remainder of the GOP, and you have an unbeatable force.”

This is unequivocally false.  If it were true, Paul would have received above 12% of the vote through out the majority of the states. He did not! As I said before, even in Idaho, he only received 18.1%! Taking into consideration the totals of the other candidates, 82% of voters In Idaho did not vote for Ron Paul!  That hardly gives the Paul camp rights to take over the delegates.  Even in Idaho, where Paul support was one of his strongest states during the 2008 campaign, he acquired only 27% of Idaho's vote at that time. That was one of his highest ranking states!  Isn’t it time to speak the truth about Ron Paul’s minimal nation wide support?

“A recent article in our local newspaper, The Idaho Statesman (read it here), describes how the Establishment GOP are plotting against and attacking the Ron Paul supporters. We need your immediate help to ensure that liberty has a voice and fair influence over the election process. Please click the paypal “donate” button (below) to make a generous donation to help us win our campaign races across the State of Idaho. Monetary donations to precinct candidates do NOT fall under the Sunshine laws, hence they can be anonymous.”

They call this an inaccurate attack…It is not!  It is exactly what the Paul campaign said they are doing! Using the system to their benefit without regard to what is morally right. They use the system once again, in regard to the "Sunshine Laws".

A quick google of what is taking place in Idaho among Paul supporters will reveal they are not backing down from this strategy. While some of the comments on these newspaper and blog pages are over the top, (as they often are from SOME Paul supporters), the intent is clear: this group has no intentions of giving up or backing down.  To back up what is being said in this article, simply read the comments of readers posted to these pages, and you will see what I mean. Most are out of touch, and they continue to blame the establishment for their lack of success. It simply isn’t true.

It’s time for unity, but we are not going to get it. It seems the Paul camp will continue in the same manner that they did in the 2008 election.  Paul actually endorsed the liberal left Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney at one point, before throwing any support to the Republican Party. He eventually told his supporters to cast their votes for the Constitutionalist candidate Charles Baldwin.

So if you hate the Republican Party so much, Dr. Paul, get out of it!! You are not helping this nation by your antics; you are helping destroy it!  It is the height of hypocrisy, in my opinion, and I continue to be disgusted by Ron Paul and his antics.

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Further Links (Take your pick!):

“Idaho flashpoint”

Ron Paul's Army

A simple video explanation of the delegate strategy

The Nutshell

A well-written, easy to understand story about the Idaho delegate strategy