SURPRISE! Ron Paul Destroyed Mitt Romney In Massachusetts This Weekend

[brooklynite]

Business Insider:

Ron Paul dealt a quiet, but embarrassing, blow to Republican rival Mitt Romney this weekend, scoring an impressive delegate victory on the presumptive nominee's home turf.

The Boston Globe reports today that Paul supporters filled more than half of the delegate slots at this weekend's Massachusetts Republican district caucuses, edging out at least 16 Romney delegates for a spot at the Republican National Convention.

...snip...

Massachusetts wasn't the only state where Paul notched delegate victories this weekend. The campaign announced Sunday that Paul supporters will make up 74 percent of the delegates at the Louisiana GOP convention, putting Paul in prime position to pick up a sizable chunk of the state's national convention delegates. Paul supporters also reportedly made inroads at Alaska's GOP convention, overcoming staunch opposition from the state party Establishment.

Romney's campaign is looking more and more like Hilary's: a focus that assumed everything would be wrapped up by Super Tuesday, and no attention to details like caucus and convention procedures.

[Politicalboi]

1. Go Ron Paul!

[amuse bouche]

2. That's good

Myth Rmoney is so creepy to me

[NavyDavy]

3. they are both worthless reich wing freaks........

[freshwest]

4. +1

[Bjorn Against]

6. Very true, but it still makes me smile to see Romney lose his home state in the primary

[David in Canada]

12. True, but...

You're right. However, Paul is an HONEST right-wing nutjob whereas Romney is a lying, conniving, glib and backstabbing faux-moderate right-wing douchebag.

At least with Paul, there would be a real debate on the future of the United States, not the mushy pablum-like stuff that seems harmless but gives you cramps and diarrhea later like Romney is espousing!

Bring on Ron Paul. Let's put the right-wing Austrian economic school to bed once and for all!

[Ikonoklast]

29. Fuck Ron Paul.

[TBF]

35. +1 and Gary Johnson. nt

[Kablooie]

15. But Ron Paul has the longer limousine.

That's the kind of thing people really vote for.

[Ikonoklast]

30. Fuck Ron Paul...and fuck Ron Paul's limousine, too.

[vaberella]

20. Thank you. n/t

[boxman15]

5. Pick your poison: Far-right neoconservatism or extreme libertarianism. nt

[Jamaal510]

7. I would've rather seen RP as the nominee.

At least with him, he's correct on a couple of issues and would've stirred up a debate about legalization and the war, possibly pushing Obama to the left. But Romney is simply pathetic...

[boxman15]

11. Yeah, at least Paul is authentic.

His economic policies are nuts, as are a few of his other positions, but a debate between him and Obama would be good for this country I think.

[Iggo]

16. Fuck Ron Paul.

[boxman15]

33. Agreed.

[Iggo]

14. Fuck Ron Paul.

[libodem]

23. Yeah

And that asinine kid of his, too.

[Ikonoklast]

28. Fuck Ron Paul.

[eridani]

8. No surprise at all. Now that Rmoney has the nomination, some Repubs

--will feel free to use their delegation nominations as a protest.

[grantcart]

9. What the reporter is omitting is that the Romney campaign

has set up NO statewide campaigns in the states where he contested in the primary, unlike Obama that used the primary as stepping stone for the General Election.

Ron Paul is going to have a stronger organization in the various states on November 4th 2012 than Romney.

[davidpdx]

13. It smells like a 3rd party run

Right to Rmoney's toliet. RP is going to be the party pooper and make Rmoney look even more pathetic.

[grantcart]

17. They are setting up a run for the nomination for Rand Paul in 4 years.

And he could well get the nomination because they will know how to work the rules.

[Cosmocat]

21. They have a VERY good game, but it is limited

they absolutely know how to work states that have caucuses, and also states that have unique delegate formulas.

This is the experience Paul has running a couple times before.

They absolutely came into this election with a plan allowing them to sneak in and gobble up delegates in these states.

But, there are not enough of them for him to make any real run at the nomination, maybe make some chaos.

Past the primary, the delegate game is over.

[grantcart]

22. Not exactly, basically all states have caucuses of a kind.

Some start with caucuses and others start with primary elections.

Those that start with primary elections still elect people to go to state conventions where some of the delegates are chosen.

In this instance Romney won the primary and left. Ron Paul worked the system and elected the delegates to the state convention as the article indicates;

Massachusetts wasn't the only state where Paul notched delegate victories this weekend. The campaign announced Sunday that Paul supporters will make up 74 percent of the delegates at the Louisiana GOP convention, putting Paul in prime position to pick up a sizable chunk of the state's national convention delegates. Paul supporters also reportedly made inroads at Alaska's GOP convention, overcoming staunch opposition from the state party Establishment.

Primaries don't actually select convention delegates. It is just the first stage to do so. If the campaigns don't follow up then they will not get the delegates that they are entitled to. Ron Paul has learned this system very well and will outmanouver all of the others next time.

[Cosmocat]

34. No

Every state runs it a little differently.

Paul, based on having gone through it a couple of times, based on having an unusually loyal following, and a mentality within his world view to be a little more rebelious about things, they targeted the states, mostly smaller ones, where they could bushwack their way into the delegates.

My point was the point you made, he knows the system well and is taking advantage of it, but there are not that many states that allow for this kind of insurgency.

Pa, for example, is nothing like this.

The majority of the delegates ARE voted on election day, and they tend to be more mainstream party representatives, state senators, county party chairs ... This is outside of a 10 at large types who are rock solid party types.

They will get in line with whoever won the majority vote for the state.

What Paul is doing is not new.

Most states have worked their primary delegate processes to avoid the kind of thing he is doing.

Romney, I think half was not on the ball with it/half knows that even with Paul bushwacking him here and there, and all the clown car candidates, he knew his delegate math going in, like BO did four years ago, and is willing to lose some battles knowing he will win out at the end.

This wikipage has a nice chart of all the states and how delegates get broken up, from "winner take all" to proportional to no allocation.

[link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2012|

[grantcart]

36. We agree, I should have said "many" instead of all.

I think the key point is that Obama built up state organizations to carry on after the primary. Ron Paul has done the same thing.

Romney didn't. He used 'pop up' organizations that were designed to save money and save time and afterwards go on to the next state.

One of the ironic parts of this is that one of the ways that you build support in the party is that you absorb key staffers and incorporate them into state jobs. Romney is not doing that basically running with his own old team.

This isn't Romney's first run for the President and I think it shows that when it comes to politics he doesn't have a very good learning curve.

[FSogol]

26. Snicker.

Last edited Thu May 3, 2012, 08:23 PM - Edit history (1)

Paul is isn't even running for President, he's just a common grifter fleecing his idiotic "followers."

[brooklynite]

32. Why not?

Because it's more relevant to observe the abilities (or lack thereof) of the person who WILL be the Republican nominee. Ron Paul won't pull off an upset, but Mittens' sloppy campaign work is going to make life painful until the Republican Convention is over.

[vaberella]

19. Why are we praising Ron Paul on this site? For real people? n/t

[libodem]

24. The enemy of my enemy

Is my trash talking buddy.

[Iggo]

31. I know, right?

[Blue_Tires]

25. Wow...Imagine if Paul put this much effort into real campaigning instead of

all these under-the-rader covert machinations...

Oh yeah -- That would mean Chauncey; err...I mean Paul would actually have to show his face and talk to people and face questions that no simple soundbite answer about "liberty", "freedom", or "constitutional" could answer... Then all his worshippers are reminded of the hard reality that all this time they've been in love with the "idea" of Ron Paul as opposed to the real, flesh-and-blood person...

[Hippo_Tron]

27. Rmoney has 847 delegates, Ron Paul has 80

This isn't Hillary vs Obama by any stretch of the imagination. Romney is the Republican nominee.

[Thinkingabout]

37. GOP has sold their soul for wins

They have accepted any and all who would vote for R behind the name and thus have the tea party nuts, antiabortion nuts and with giving attention to Ron Paul the paulbots. Their true party members now has to suck up to all of them and will probably lose the war. For those who thinks Paul is so honest and does not bring home the bacon in the form of earmarks in which he then votes against the bills he attaches them to and I would not call honest in saying he is not for spending.