Paul, Gingrich, Santorum Accept Texas GOP Debate Invite

[Suzu]

...the President could balance the budger in one stroke...

If the budger is a cousin to the badger, the president could get his hand bitten by stroking it.

 

[J_White]

we can only gain from this.
But Dr.Paul needs to show the glimpses of his 1980s self here !!
he should come out all guns blazing, specially on his foreign policy which has been twisted by the MSM.

 

[PolicyReader]

we can only gain from this.
But Dr.Paul needs to show the glimpses of his 1980s self here !!
he should come out all guns blazing, specially on his foreign policy which has been twisted by the MSM.

Foreign policy and all the reasons why an Obamney Presidency would be a ruin for our country.
I know it's not his style to go after someone directly without provocation, but it would really help us tactically for the general and the primaries to deeply imprint the sameness that is Romney/Obama.

 

[truthspeaker]

HECK YEAH! Ron Paul, Santorum, and Gingrich debate in TEXAS! (in the works)

http://www.texasgop.org/posts/253-gingrich-paul-santorum-accept-texas-gop-debate-invite

Sounds like they're really hoping Romney will speak to have it. I say, if Romney doesn't respect Texas, they should go through with it anyways. Don't mess with Texas.

The following is a quote from the Texas Chair:

<<Munisteri continued, "Today, I am happy to report that I have a commitment of a major television outlet to televise such a debate, if all the candidates show up. There is a significant chance that they will televise the debate even if we are lacking only one candidate. We already have commitments from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Texas Congressman Ron Paul and Senator Rick Santorum to participate in such a debate. Both my staff and myself have reached out to the campaign of Governor Mitt Romney and have been told that they are considering attending the debate.">>

Further down:

<<Jesse Benton, national campaign chairman for Congressman Ron Paul, issued the following statement on behalf of the Paul campaign. "This year's Presidential election is critically important, and Texas deserves to have a fair say. Dr. Paul is committed to the Texas GOP debate and hopes his fellow candidates will join him and show our state the proper respect.">>

Even further down (I love this part)

Chairman Munisteri also commented on the current Presidential race, noting: "In looking at the delegate math - this race is far from over. There is a wide discrepancy between what the Republican National Committee reports as the count of bound, committed delegates, and the count reported by the national press. The RNC official delegate count indicates that no candidate has achieved 50% of the delegates chosen to date, let alone 50% of the total number of overall delegates. I view it as next to impossible for any candidate to wrap up 50% of the committed delegates necessary for a first-ballot nomination before the May 29th Texas Primary."

"I believe the media's delegates counts are inaccurate for multiple reasons," Munisteri continued. "First, they assign delegates from caucus states to candidates despite the fact that those caucus processes are not complete. Many of the early states such as Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri did not pick delegates during the first round of their process, yet the media counts have assigned delegates to candidates in such states despite the fact that the ultimate delegate selection may not correlate with the first round of voting. The media counts also include delegates which are not bound under law or party rules, who may change their mind before the convention. I might point out that before the 1976 convention, a significant number of unbound delegates switched sides before the final convention floor vote. The second point I would make is that the media outlets are fond of coming up with percentages of remaining delegates that various candidates need to obtain a first-ballot nomination, so as to make it appear the race is all but over. This is done without noting the fact that if no candidate receives 50% of the first ballot - then all bets are off. In many states, any delegate can vote for whomever they wish on the second ballot."

Munisteri concluded, "Finally, I would point out that Texas and California account together for 327 delegates - a number which represents approximately 28% of the delegates a candidate needs to secure the nomination. Make no mistake - this race is far from over. Candidates who ignore Texas, and specifically insult our state by not accepting the invitation to our nationally-televised debate, do so at their peril.">>


Now...one last wrinkle in all of this...Texas is choosing her delegates BEFORE the May 29th primaries (which is a postponed date due to the legal redistricting debacle of +4 new Representative seats).
As I asked a Houston GOPer "So, it's like a caucus this year?" She answered, "Yeah, I guess so." I was told to go two hours early and bring something to eat to mine. Apparently my Senate District Convention will hold two or more Senate District Conventions at the SAME location. It will be a first-come, first-served mess.

 

[eduardo89]

Didn't Romney say no more debates? It'd be great if he said no!

I hope Ron hits it out of the park. He's got a couple weeks to prepare.

 

[truthspeaker]

I have to tell my Dad. He's currently in Ron's district but I have no idea which sliced up bit he's in.....

Watch out--his district convention may be along with Harris County's. (Yeah, I know). Some of RP's territory is being hashed into this mulch-sentitorial district convention.

 

[VBRonPaulFan]

Didn't Romney say no more debates? It'd be great if he said no!

I hope Ron hits it out of the park. He's got a couple weeks to prepare.

i could definitely see romney turning it down. it isn't in his best interest anymore to risk saying something stupid in a debate since he has the perception of being a frontrunner.

 

[kathy88]

Munisteri concluded, "Finally, I would point out that Texas and California account together for 327 delegates - a number which represents approximately 28% of the delegates a candidate needs to secure the nomination. Make no mistake - this race is far from over. Candidates who ignore Texas, and specifically insult our state by not accepting the invitation to our nationally-televised debate, do so at their peril.">>

I think I have a little crush on this man...

 

[spudea]

this is awesome! I'm going to this!

 

[roc_rob]

I hope Paul's performance is able to help keep Romney under 1,144.

 

[satchelmcqueen]

im kinda sad here. this could be the last time ron speaks on national tv. i hope he lets it all out. he needs to just go off on them.

 

[satchelmcqueen]

funny how romney has said very very little in this whole process. i cant name one thing that stands out in my mind that hes actually for. he has done all of this on silence. very cowardly to not debate i say.

 

[KingNothing]

They're putting Romney in a position of weakness. I imagine that both Newt and Santorum will start lobbing bombs at Mitty, saying that he's afraid to debate, saying that he's ashamed of his record and knows that he can't defend it, etc. Then, if Mitt does join the debate, it will be because he was forced into it which will also appear weak.

Because of that, I'm sure his minions are working tirelessly to see that this debate never comes to pass.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How is Ron Paul doing in Texas as of now?

 

[KingNothing]

funny how romney has said very very little in this whole process. i cant name one thing that stands out in my mind that hes actually for. he has done all of this on silence. very cowardly to not debate i say.

His campaign took a calculated risk from the beginning. They decided to present a tone of inevitability with his candidacy. They've constantly told the media that their guy will win. They've had their mouthpieces in the media repeat it over and over again. They've planned events with that in mind. The crux of Romney's campaign isn't ideas, or emotion, or a motivated voting base -- it's always been inevitability. From their perspective, the narrative they want to convey is "why debate? We have this in the bag already." And at this point, that is the good position for them to take. Mitt does not stand to gain from more exposure.

That said, I imagine that the other candidates will do everything they can to force him into the debate and I think they'll be successful in that effort.

 

[sailingaway]

im kinda sad here. this could be the last time ron speaks on national tv. i hope he lets it all out. he needs to just go off on them.

I couldn't disagree with you more. The instant he is 'safely retired' he will be called on regularly to discuss the bits a particular faction wants discussed. Remember how AFTER the 2008 election he was on Fox so much?

 

[Ivash]

No way in the world will he decline. He can't risk allowing people see Paul destroy Gingrich/Santorum. He has to be there to dilute Paul's speaking time.

Wha? Romney's camp doesn't see Dr. Paul as a threat. They are afraid of Santorum keeping enough delegates away from Romney to have a brokered convention. They also don't really care about Gingrich.

 

[gorgonzola]

The way I see it Romney is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

NICE!!!

 

[Suzu]

Romney's camp doesn't see Dr. Paul as a threat.

I think you're mistaken there, Ivash.... I think he knows about the real delegate count (how could he not?) and he also knows that if he doesn't agree to show up, the debate may not happen, and if it doesn't happen, Paul gets no TV time from it. Every televised debate lately gives Paul a boost.

 

[carterm]

I think you're mistaken there, Ivash.... I think he knows about the real delegate count (how could he not?) and he also knows that if he doesn't agree to show up, the debate may not happen, and if it doesn't happen, Paul gets no TV time from it. Every televised debate lately gives Paul a boost.

"the real delegate count." what does that even mean. we were supposed to win ND, doesn't look like its going to happen. there is no real delegate count.