I take the content of political newsletters with a grain of salt, but this one caught my attention. I do not know if it’s verifiable, but is a testament to the ongoing claim of democratic obstruction regarding [[Ron Paul]] that has been reported similarly and extensively regarding third parties and candidates, such as [[Gary Johnson]]. Paul’s campaign manager writes:
I’ve been doing conventions long enough to realize that when you don’t have the numbers, things will not go your way. Today, we didn’t have the numbers. That is not in question.
Four years ago, the Republican Party simply handled our R3VOLUTION by slamming the door in our faces with hardly any consequences. Today, the GOP establishment can no longer afford to employ these tactics. Instead, they’ve adopted new ones.
Properly elected Ron Paul delegates were stripped from us. And when a motion was made to amend the Credentials Committee Report, it was ignored.
Morton Blackwell, a longtime conservative activist and RNC Rules Committee expert, found himself indefinitely detained – along with the rest of the Virginia delegation. The RNC’s bus driver responsible for transporting delegates somehow “got lost” for well over an hour until a critical Rules Committee meeting adjourned. Blackwell and the Virginia delegation were heading up the efforts to defeat new RNC rules proposed by Washington, D.C.-based insider attorneys.
These rules are designed to turn the Republican Party into a top-down organization and strip power away from state parties and grassroots activists of every stripe. All efforts to vote down these onerous rules were ignored despite a clear split in the voice vote.
Sadly, these rules will now govern the party.
While it is almost certain we did not have the votes on the floor to win either of these battles, a fair and open debate and recognition of our motions would have been a better way for these problems to have been handled.
It didn’t have to be this way. And quite frankly, it’s a shame. It’s a shame for Ron Paul supporters. It’s a shame for conservative activists of all stripes, and it’s a shame for the Republican Party.
It also seems that Paul had consistently packed the house of most of his venues across the country, whereas other candidates … not so much. He’s always been the fringe candidate and is reported as such, but then perception (press and polls) often becomes reality (support and votes). At least the news reports the other side of the above story well.
And with that I leave you with a video of the reaction to Ron Paul at the RNC convention … unfortunately for some unknown reason the cheers of “President” and “Ron Paul” are almost completely muted, though they made even reporting difficult for some live newscasters.
Maybe it’s time for better transparency and accountability in the real power of politics — parties.