There is a split at the senior levels of the Mitt Romney campaign over how to deal with the ongoing Ron Paul takeover of the Republican Party, this, from an old friend inside. Some are saying, “Let it happen, so what? We have the nomination, they represent youth and Hispanics and they are the future, we need them.” Others, I will call them Romney Hawks, are saying, “We don’t know exactly how many delegates they have and that, in itself, is dangerous. They already have enough to embarrass us at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.”
They point to the disastrous RNC of 1992 which many believe contributed to the loss of George H. W. Bush to Bill Clinton in the general election. They say, “We must stop the Ron Paul people at any cost.”
The Romney Hawks have been able to win in states like Alaska and North Dakota, where they anticipated a Ron Paul takeover and carefully planned strategies to disenfranchise them. And the war, by the way, is not just with the Ronulans. The votes of Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and now, in many states, with any pro life delegates as well.
Part of the reason for the hardball is that the Romney team was caught by surprise in Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa and other states. Even more worrisome for the Romney Hawks are the delegates that they are calling “stealth Paulies” lost in the mix, among the GOP faithful, going to Tampa as bound votes for Romney but Ron Paul activists at heart. Some estimates say that Ron Paul could end up with a third of the delegates on the floor of the RNC and “who knows what they can do?” That has galvanized the Romney hardliners. The purge is on.
Alaska is an example where the Romney hardliners pressed their advantage. Last Monday, GOP state party chairman, Randy Reudrich called a state committee meeting and announced that delegate fees would be accepted no later than 48 hours “from this date” setting a deadline for Wednesday, April 18. Then suddenly, the next day, the state party changed its mind, saying that delegate fees were required by 6:00 p.m. that very evening.
First Reudrich’s GOP state party told delegates they could pay their $250 registration fee with personal check or by credit card online. Then they promptly pulled the online link. Delegates were caught off guard again when the Reudrich’s Rules changed. Personal checks were no longer acceptable. One was denied registration by a Party official who declared that even a money order was unacceptable.
The Alaska GOP told individual Ron Paul, prolife, or non-Romney supporters that they were prohibited from sponsoring the fee for surrogate delegates, and prohibited from covering any expenses for airfare or accommodations for anyone else. Of course, this was not true. One Ron Paul supporter who quietly, but firmly, pointed out the legality of the process, and listed Romney delegates whose expenses were paid by friends, was then told, “Yes, but they filed a state GOP waiver form.” He was then told that the party was out of forms. “Sorry.”
In the end, it may be Governor Mitt Romney, and the GOP, who are sorry.
“They are saying that GOP state chairman, Randy Reudrich, was promised a Romney job in Washington,” says one of the Santorum organizers. “He better hope that’s the case because he is finished in this state.”
Cooler heads in the Romney camp are concerned that Romney Hawks are driving young people, Hispanics and Independents to a Third Party or a “sit at home” attitude in the general election. The recent Rasmussen poll which showed Ron Paul beating President Barack Obama in a general election and Mitt Romney not, may have been missed by the national media but it was seen clearly by people in both the Romney and Obama camps.
The good news for the Ron Paul people is that if no one else believes in the success of their campaign, the Romney Hawks obviously do and they are willing to cheat, lie and deceive to stop them. Said one of the staff at Ron Paul Headquarters today, “If Mitt Romney had this thing won, he would be telling his state chairs to make it easy for new people to come into the party.” The fact that they are shutting us out is revealing.”
