Now, I know this will annoy some people, but before you complain, ask yourself if you are complaining because you disagree with what I said, or because you don't WANT it to be true.
First off, I see people actually suggesting that Ron Paul never WANTED to win the nomination. That is pure bullcrap. (Hey...how come crap is allowed on television, but not shit?) Yes, he wanted to win. Now...did he ever think that he was a favorite? Doubtful. He always knew it was going to be an extreme long shot, but one worth attempting. After the first set of primaries, regardless of how it happened, when he didn't win and get the momentum, he likely knew it was an even greater long sht. However, no one candidate was pulling away, so anything could happen.
Then Santorum dropped out. And despite what everyone wants to believe, I would bet everything that Ron Paul knew it was over for his chances right then and there. However, that also brought about a POSITIVE aspect. Before Santorum dropped out, Ron Paul was an extreme long shot to win the nomination, AND was a long shot to make any real gains at the Convention. With Santorum out, and with Gingrich soon to follow, he knew that in a two man race, he might get enough delegates to make a difference. And THAT likely became his priority. That is not giving up. That is playing smart. If you are an athlete, you know that the quickest way to get better is to LOSE. An NBA team will never get better playing a college team. But that college team will improve real fast playing an NBA team over and over again, even though they will lose every time. So Ron Paul chose to keep on playing, and gkeep on getting points (delegates) and learn from the game. And by "learn from" I really mean have his SUPPORTERS learn from becase he knows he is going to pass the torch in a few months.
At first, it was going pretty well. A few solid state conventions and he looked to be well on his way to the 5 states he needed to be eligible. Personally, I don't think he expects bound delegates to vote for anyone but whom they are bound to. All his statements have suggested that he either thinks they are bound, or would prefer that delegates vote that way anyway. But still...with those 5 states, he would gain A LOT.
But then came the big week where California voted. The weekend before was a big state convention weekend as well. I forget the exact numbers but it was something like 450 delegates up for grabs between Saturday and Tuesday, and then another 200 the following weekend. The first weekend was a disaster. For whatever reason...fraud, dirty tricks, whatever...Romney dominated that weekend. He got almost all the delegates. And surely Ron Paul KNEW that he Tuesday primaries would be a bloodbath for Romney. between the winner-take all rules and the fact that most were awarded by slate or direct election, he knew hat Romney would take most of those as well.
If I recall, the first announcement that angered a lot of supporters came that week. Right? The ones from Benton? Well..my take on it is, he saw what happened at the first weekend's state conventions, and realized he was not going to get much more. Again, for whatever reason you want to say, he was not winning anymore. If you want to blame it on fraud, then fine...but realize that if that is true, then it was not going to suddenly stop. He also saw some chaos happening. Chaos that was resulting in supporters getting injured, arrested, or whatever. Most may have been the establishment's fault, but some were excitable supporters getting just a little too excited. And believe it or not, Ron Paul is SERIOUS about not wanting chaos. Because it won't help matters, and therefore has all downside and no upside.
So then Ron Paul made his personal announcement as well. I think it was his way of saying "Look....We tried our best. We gave 'em hell. They beat us. This time. But we got some great practice in and learned from our loss. Let's BUILD on this. Don't be discouraged by the loss. Be encouraged by the gains."
The sad thing is, it has the opposite effect on some of his supporters, only because they were so caught up in what was clearly an impossible pipe dream at that point. So they can't see the forest for the trees. (I am not sure what that saying really means, but I have always wanted to use it, and I THINK I used it correctly here, and you really don't get a chance to use it very often. So I gave it a shot.) They are SO focused on the nomination that they think ANYTHING less is a failure. Which is, of course, ridiculous.
Make no mistake about it. Ron Paul is not expecting to get 950 delegates that are bound to others to vote for him in addition to the 180 or so that he will have on his own. He knows more about the true support count than anyone. (And notice I said support count, since that is different than the delegate count.) His e-mail was very clear..he would have 500 SUPPORTERS as delegates. That is factoring in 300 stealth. So it would mean that he would have to have THREE TIMES as many stealth delegates than he thinks...AND they would ALL have to be willing to accept any penalty for voting for him.
IT is why he honestly doesn't even WANT it to be attempted. What good is it if the BEST case scenario occurred and they all did it, and they were successful at not getting replaced, etc. So Ron Paul gets 500 votes. But Romney still gets well over 1800. Maybe a few dozen will stay with Gingrich or Santorum, but not much. The e-mail was pretty clear. His Texas speech was pretty clear, but many refuse to interpret it any other way but :I am still going to win!" when really it was "FORGET about the nomination and let win what we CAN"
But Ron saw that people were STILL planning on creating chaos. A chaos that he doesn't want. My god...I see posts that said "We will FORCE him to accept the nomination" and these posts were SERIOUS. Like it was no longer his choice. AS if he OWED it to them! Can you imagine that! Sometimes I get the feeling that Ron Paul buries his head in his pillow and just lets out a primordial scream in frustration with some of his supporters. And never more so than in the last couple weeks.
That is likely what led to the Rand endorsement. Which...like the Benton e-mail, Ron Paul surely knew about beforehand, and SUPPORTED 100%. IT was the last ditch effort to say "Listen..we are not going to win! But I am not going to quit because then I have NO shot of getting to speak, and we have NO shot of getting anything accomplished in August."
Realize this...there are a LOT of things that occur at the Convention. It is NOT all about nominating the Republican candidate. Focus on the OTHER things because that is where you can win. Maybe not all the battles, but some. But the more you focus on the one unwinnable battle, the lest likely it is the win the others.
It doesn't mean you vote for Romney. I really don't think that Ron Paul expected any of his supporters to vote for Romney simply because Rand endorsed him. Rand Paul did it for his future. And it was a SMART move, supported...and quite possibly ORCHESTRATED by Ron Paul himself. Four years from now, assuming Rand runs and Ron's health holds up, you will surely see Ron out campaigning for his son as much as his body will allow him to. And many of you who have sworn to trust Paul with your lives are now saying that you will never support Rand no matter what! So in other words, you don't REALLY trust Ron Paul. You only trust him when you AGREE with him. So really, you only trust yourselves.
Anyone who will let the last 2-3 weeks change how they feel about Ron Paul, or Rand Paul for that matter, really SHOULD leave the movement. Because you just don't get it. And if I may be harsh for a second...then you are doing far more harm than good by being a part of it.
First off, I see people actually suggesting that Ron Paul never WANTED to win the nomination. That is pure bullcrap. (Hey...how come crap is allowed on television, but not shit?) Yes, he wanted to win. Now...did he ever think that he was a favorite? Doubtful. He always knew it was going to be an extreme long shot, but one worth attempting. After the first set of primaries, regardless of how it happened, when he didn't win and get the momentum, he likely knew it was an even greater long sht. However, no one candidate was pulling away, so anything could happen.
Then Santorum dropped out. And despite what everyone wants to believe, I would bet everything that Ron Paul knew it was over for his chances right then and there. However, that also brought about a POSITIVE aspect. Before Santorum dropped out, Ron Paul was an extreme long shot to win the nomination, AND was a long shot to make any real gains at the Convention. With Santorum out, and with Gingrich soon to follow, he knew that in a two man race, he might get enough delegates to make a difference. And THAT likely became his priority. That is not giving up. That is playing smart. If you are an athlete, you know that the quickest way to get better is to LOSE. An NBA team will never get better playing a college team. But that college team will improve real fast playing an NBA team over and over again, even though they will lose every time. So Ron Paul chose to keep on playing, and gkeep on getting points (delegates) and learn from the game. And by "learn from" I really mean have his SUPPORTERS learn from becase he knows he is going to pass the torch in a few months.
At first, it was going pretty well. A few solid state conventions and he looked to be well on his way to the 5 states he needed to be eligible. Personally, I don't think he expects bound delegates to vote for anyone but whom they are bound to. All his statements have suggested that he either thinks they are bound, or would prefer that delegates vote that way anyway. But still...with those 5 states, he would gain A LOT.
But then came the big week where California voted. The weekend before was a big state convention weekend as well. I forget the exact numbers but it was something like 450 delegates up for grabs between Saturday and Tuesday, and then another 200 the following weekend. The first weekend was a disaster. For whatever reason...fraud, dirty tricks, whatever...Romney dominated that weekend. He got almost all the delegates. And surely Ron Paul KNEW that he Tuesday primaries would be a bloodbath for Romney. between the winner-take all rules and the fact that most were awarded by slate or direct election, he knew hat Romney would take most of those as well.
If I recall, the first announcement that angered a lot of supporters came that week. Right? The ones from Benton? Well..my take on it is, he saw what happened at the first weekend's state conventions, and realized he was not going to get much more. Again, for whatever reason you want to say, he was not winning anymore. If you want to blame it on fraud, then fine...but realize that if that is true, then it was not going to suddenly stop. He also saw some chaos happening. Chaos that was resulting in supporters getting injured, arrested, or whatever. Most may have been the establishment's fault, but some were excitable supporters getting just a little too excited. And believe it or not, Ron Paul is SERIOUS about not wanting chaos. Because it won't help matters, and therefore has all downside and no upside.
So then Ron Paul made his personal announcement as well. I think it was his way of saying "Look....We tried our best. We gave 'em hell. They beat us. This time. But we got some great practice in and learned from our loss. Let's BUILD on this. Don't be discouraged by the loss. Be encouraged by the gains."
The sad thing is, it has the opposite effect on some of his supporters, only because they were so caught up in what was clearly an impossible pipe dream at that point. So they can't see the forest for the trees. (I am not sure what that saying really means, but I have always wanted to use it, and I THINK I used it correctly here, and you really don't get a chance to use it very often. So I gave it a shot.) They are SO focused on the nomination that they think ANYTHING less is a failure. Which is, of course, ridiculous.
Make no mistake about it. Ron Paul is not expecting to get 950 delegates that are bound to others to vote for him in addition to the 180 or so that he will have on his own. He knows more about the true support count than anyone. (And notice I said support count, since that is different than the delegate count.) His e-mail was very clear..he would have 500 SUPPORTERS as delegates. That is factoring in 300 stealth. So it would mean that he would have to have THREE TIMES as many stealth delegates than he thinks...AND they would ALL have to be willing to accept any penalty for voting for him.
IT is why he honestly doesn't even WANT it to be attempted. What good is it if the BEST case scenario occurred and they all did it, and they were successful at not getting replaced, etc. So Ron Paul gets 500 votes. But Romney still gets well over 1800. Maybe a few dozen will stay with Gingrich or Santorum, but not much. The e-mail was pretty clear. His Texas speech was pretty clear, but many refuse to interpret it any other way but :I am still going to win!" when really it was "FORGET about the nomination and let win what we CAN"
But Ron saw that people were STILL planning on creating chaos. A chaos that he doesn't want. My god...I see posts that said "We will FORCE him to accept the nomination" and these posts were SERIOUS. Like it was no longer his choice. AS if he OWED it to them! Can you imagine that! Sometimes I get the feeling that Ron Paul buries his head in his pillow and just lets out a primordial scream in frustration with some of his supporters. And never more so than in the last couple weeks.
That is likely what led to the Rand endorsement. Which...like the Benton e-mail, Ron Paul surely knew about beforehand, and SUPPORTED 100%. IT was the last ditch effort to say "Listen..we are not going to win! But I am not going to quit because then I have NO shot of getting to speak, and we have NO shot of getting anything accomplished in August."
Realize this...there are a LOT of things that occur at the Convention. It is NOT all about nominating the Republican candidate. Focus on the OTHER things because that is where you can win. Maybe not all the battles, but some. But the more you focus on the one unwinnable battle, the lest likely it is the win the others.
It doesn't mean you vote for Romney. I really don't think that Ron Paul expected any of his supporters to vote for Romney simply because Rand endorsed him. Rand Paul did it for his future. And it was a SMART move, supported...and quite possibly ORCHESTRATED by Ron Paul himself. Four years from now, assuming Rand runs and Ron's health holds up, you will surely see Ron out campaigning for his son as much as his body will allow him to. And many of you who have sworn to trust Paul with your lives are now saying that you will never support Rand no matter what! So in other words, you don't REALLY trust Ron Paul. You only trust him when you AGREE with him. So really, you only trust yourselves.
Anyone who will let the last 2-3 weeks change how they feel about Ron Paul, or Rand Paul for that matter, really SHOULD leave the movement. Because you just don't get it. And if I may be harsh for a second...then you are doing far more harm than good by being a part of it.
