In pursuit of delegates, Ron Paul comes up short
Ron Paul.
/ Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty ImagesPaul, a Texas congressman first elected in 1976, won just 2 of the Nebraska GOP's 35 national convention delegates last weekend, while Mitt Romney, the GOP's presumptive nominee, won the remaining 33 delegates.
"Ron Paul supporting delegates were there; we were just out numbered," said Laura Ebke, a Nebraska member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, which supported Paul, told CBS News.
In May, the Paul campaign announced that it would no longer be actively campaigning in GOP presidential primaries, but that it would not formally suspend his campaign. Instead, the candidate's organization said it would continue to accumulate delegates to send to the Republican National Convention.
Paul was banking on making use of a little-known Republican rule that would have allowed him to get on the Republican nominating ballot had he won a majority of delegates in at least five states.
As of now, Paul has a majority of delegates in only three states: Iowa, Maine and Minnesota. Some have cited Louisiana as a fourth delegate victory for the Paul campaign, but the Louisiana Republican Party tells CBS News their delegate allocation is currently in dispute.
Even if he ends up victorious in Louisiana, Nebraska marked Paul's last real opportunity to win delegates in a fifth state and get his name on the ballot this August.
Had he made the ballot, many expected that Paul would have received a prominent speaking slot at the Tampa convention, thus lending increased prominence to the libertarian cause -- which Paul's campaign has long cited as a primary cause for his presidential bid. Sean Spicer, of the Republican National Committee, tells CBS News, however, that a plum time slot was by no means a guarantee for Paul even had he succeeded.
He could also have caused Romney a headache in the official nominating process -- ostensibly a formality in this election, as Romney has clinched the necessary 1,144 votes -- by organizing a charge to have Romney delegates switch their support to the Texas congressman.
For now, however, Paul's senior campaign adviser Doug Wead says that Paul's fate with regard to the convention this summer is largely in Romney's hands.
"Really what Dr. Paul does and what his role is will be decided in the Romney camp," Wead told CBS News, of whether or not Paul makes an appearance in Tampa. "There are Romney staffers that reach out to us that tell us that they want our voters and supporters in the general election," as well as, he said, those who think a Paul endorsement could be a liability.
The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Paul's possible role in Tampa this summer.
But Wead says Paul himself doesn't much care either way.
"What could we possibly want? Nothing. This is really an internal debate in the Romney campaign," he said. "How far do we go to try to bring these people in and do we need to?"
"His campaign was a message campaign and a campaign to affect change," Wead added. Citing increased interest among Americans in issues surrounding the Federal Reserve, he argued that Paul's campaign was ultimately successful: "I think he's very pleased by that and tickled by that."
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Even fox news says he has a plurality of 5 states. Done deal. Stop lying.
WHY do you think that a DOCTOR, who says anyone without insurance should die, would be a good anything? He does agree with the party weirdos that wants war in Iran and N.Korea. Yippee!
If you are a National GOP delegate, you need to do your homework. If you check public records you will see there is a consistant conservative candidate that has voted against increasing taxes, increasing the size and scope of government, and consistently voted against increases in spending. All of which are conservative Republican values. That candidate is Ron Paul. Please if you are a Republican National Delegate, please vote for the best and most consistent conservative candidate that the Republican Party has....Please vote for Ron Paul as the Presidential Nominee in the first round at the National Convention in Tampa.
http://www.examiner.com/article/media-ron-paul-delegate-plurality-scam
Ron Paul's delegates have majorities in at least SEVEN states. Our main-stream-media is failing this once great nation.