Brokered Convention-- a good thing. There is hope yet still for Ron Paul

Paul Sees Convention Fight as Best Bet

The Texan's team says the party may go to its summer convention with no candidate holding the necessary delegates, creating a floor fight in which the party turns to him. "A brokered convention is the most favorable situation for Ron winning the nomination," said Jesse Benton, chairman of the Paul campaign.

I agree. As soon as the convention is held, I think a large majority of the delegates will move around. Perhaps in either direction. But, if the republican party continues to be as broken as it is, then there will be less focus on Romney. Going to a brokered convention would mean that ALL the delegates would be exposed, into where they really stand. Maybe Ron Paul won't have the 1,144 off the bat, but who is to say it will not happen for him? All the candidates surely must know that Ron Paul supporters will not vote for the other candidates! Whether that is 12% of the party or 50%, it will lose the election for the republicans if Paul isn't in.

The Texan's team says the party may go to its summer convention with no candidate holding the necessary delegates, creating a floor fight in which the party turns to him. "A brokered convention is the most favorable situation for Ron winning the nomination," said Jesse Benton, chairman of the Paul campaign.

After 23 nominating contests, Mr. Paul hasn't won a single state. His strategy of focusing on caucuses, where his modest but devoted cadre of supporters might have outsize influence, has produced no victories in nine caucus states so far—including three on Super Tuesday.

Mr. Paul even traveled to Alaska in an attempt to win there on Tuesday, the only candidate to do so. He placed third.

It is sad how the media spins things. Just on a personal note, how can everyone be so easily swayed by Santorum's fancy vest and "family man" appearance, yet they care so little when a candidate takes care in campaigning there? It makes no sense how Ron Paul has "lost" so many states...

Mr. Paul has gathered 47 delegates, far fewer than the three other major GOP candidates, according to an Associated Press tally. By contrast, Mitt Romney leads the field with 415.

Still, Mr. Paul is neither dropping out of the race nor giving up, Mr. Benton said. Short of claiming the nomination, the campaign said it wants to gather enough delegates at the convention for Mr. Paul's ideas on the Federal Reserve and other matters to be included in the party platform.

"The actual political reality is that he has no shot mathematically to get the number of delegates needed to win the nomination," said Matthew Schlapp, a former political director for President George W. Bush. "If he had won a couple of these early caucus states—and if Gov. Romney were to continue to not be able to put this nomination away—you might be able to construct an argument. But he hasn't been able to do that."

Even so, Mr. Paul has raised a total of about $31 million—more than any of his GOP rivals except Mr. Romney.

He also stacks up well against President Barack Obama by some measures. With his fiscal conservatism and aversion to military intervention, Mr. Paul has attracted a loyal following that some Republican strategists see as more of a movement than a traditional campaign.

A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed that in head-to-head matchups against Mr. Obama, Mr. Paul trailed by eight percentage points, a better showing against the president than that of Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich. Mr. Paul bested the president among men and blue-collar voters, the survey found.

But Mr. Paul's unique profile within the GOP means it is hard to gauge what his presence or absence means to the race. Allies of Messrs. Gingrich and Santorum argue that the other should drop out to clear the field for a single person to mount a tougher conservative challenge to Mr. Romney. But it is less clear that either would stand to gain if Mr. Paul dropped out.

Were Mr. Paul to go home, his coalition wouldn't necessarily flock to a Santorum candidacy, said Mike DeWine, Ohio attorney general and a Santorum supporter.

"It's more likely that Rick gets supporters from Gingrich than he does from Ron Paul," Mr. DeWine said.

The Paul campaign says even if it didn't win any caucuses outright, it can still collect a bounty of delegates in caucus states. The voting in many of those states is only the first step in a long process, and the Paul camp has sought to outmaneuver rivals by getting supporters elected to state conventions that will eventually allocate delegates.

Still, winning a state would be nice, Mr. Paul's advisers agree. "Of course we'd like to have a win by now, but there are still a lot of contests to go," said Gary Howard, a campaign spokesman.

Good article. It admits to Ron Paul's large support base, even if indirectly. Ron Paul has a chance, my good fellows at ATS. There is hope! There still may be a way to get his Revolution message through to the masses, we cannot give up now!

There is NO hope he'll even be a nominated choice for President. Not my opinion...just watch it unfold. It would be nice if he had a chance...be he doesnt.

Paul is actually doing quite well delegates wise, despite what the media says. However, I agree it is disappointing he has not been able to pull off a victory in terms of the popular vote yet(assuming the election isn't just straight up rigged, that is). The National Convention is going to be veeeery interesting. I think a brokered convention is quite likely, and Paul is going to have a lot of power if that is the case. It probably is Paul's best bet at this time. I sincerely hope Paul can pull out a victory, that's for sure. He is our only hope!

reply to post by TheJourney


Yeah I know that the media only tells "projected" delegates. Can you hook us up with a link to the actual delegates? This one says about 143...

How Many Delegates Does Ron Paul Really have?

Ron Paul fans making skylarking guesses based on their assumptions of their success in getting Paulites selected as delegates to county, district, and later state conventions guess that Paul may already have 143 in the bag. Again, no one knows, and if Gingrich and/or Santorum are no longer candidates come convention time (today's results will help shape that), that leaves many more in play.

reply to post by PhysicsAdept


Mitt Romney is an empty suit with a SuperPac.

A brokered convention is a good thing.

I have a question:

Are the delegate votes taken openly on the floor of the convention, or is it a secret ballot vote?

If the votes are transparent, then we could see a brokered convention. If the voting takes place on paper then we could easily see the GOP choose the candidate they so desire without a second thought to the delegates.

Ben Swann has the answer to those who dont understand the delegates

Reality Check - What Do The 'REAL' Republican Delegate Numbers Look Like

reply to post by Eurisko2012


Yeah, I am hoping that at the convention he is finally exposed, even the media would have to report what actually happens there. Then Ron Paul could get some legit attention? Well maybe, or they would just go ahead and say that Romney got second and they are so proud oh him etc.

reply to post by Dr UAE


So to sum up the video:

1144 delegates are needed

Projected:
Romney: 415
Santorum: 176
Gingrich: 105
Paul 47

Actual: (bound delegates that will not switch candidate)
Romney: 244
Gingrich: 52
Santorum: 17
Paul: 11

197 unbound delegates that will likely go to Paul.


Then of course each candidate has maybe 50 more each that they should have, but is unclear to exact amounts at this time.

Originally posted by PhysicsAdept
reply to post by Dr UAE

 

197 unbound delegates that will likely go to Paul.

Funniest thing I read all day.
Ron Paul is going to lock up every single unbound delegate? He can't even lock up a State how is he going to overule the order of a Party that wants no part if him?

In reallity Ron Paul will be on the sidelines with zero say at the convention because he couldn't win a single State. If he had won a few, they may have allowed him to push a few agendas on the Party platform but as it is now he is a nobody and won't see the time of day.

reply to post by TinfoilTP


Well he did win a few, until the votes were forged in the opposite direction

As for the 197 delegates, the "reality check" says a majority of them will go to Paul, and I agree with it. Now, saying that "every single one" will go to him is extreme, but the way the media is projecting it now they are saying that Romney has them all, with Santorum taking a sprinkling of them. You gotta realize that the people who are dedicated enough and actually know their presidential candidate will stay and vote for their delegates in the caucus. This is why Paul will have many more than what the media says, because his followers know what is going on and what it takes to get him in.

There have been many accounts, both eye-witness as well as the delegates themselves, and politicians alike that state that Ron Paul is getting more delegates than the media gives him attention for. Now, the only way for someone like you to even believe that is to see it, right? So then we shall see.

Originally posted by Eurisko2012
reply to post by PhysicsAdept

 

Mitt Romney is an empty suit with a SuperPac.

A brokered convention is a good thing.

I agree with your empty suit comment Eurisko... that does include 'mt head' also?

Romney is a mindless, controlled, wealthy elitist