I haven't verified that this is true, but assuming it is, I don't think Ron Paul has anything to do with it.
Look, I can't possibly make it any more clear than this - Republicans in Maryland are a novelty at best. They could really care less about us. If this was something down at the state govt level (i.e. Gov. O'Malley's office) then you can bet it's really about Hillary. Apparently, anyone who supports Hillary works 23 hours a day, and is therfore unavailable to vote in a caucus, and should a little bad weather arise, they would miss out on the primaries as well.
Face it - this state has a Dem gov., and supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. They don't give a #@$% about Republicans. This is all about Hillary trying to save face. I don't know why they're bothering - how many went to the Obama rally at UMD yesterday? She lost badly here, IMO
Z