The Mitt Romney campaign and the Republican Party are moving to quell any discontent that Ron Paul supporters might want to express at the Republican National Convention, to be held in Tampa starting Monday, Aug. 27, according to media reports.
Film tribute to air on Tuesday
Fox News reports that a special Ron Paul tribute film will be screened at the convention on Tuesday, Aug. 28. A number of Paul supporters will speak about the congressman's libertarian principles and dedication to his country. The idea of a tribute film, in lieu of Paul actually addressing the convention, was pressed by a group of Paul supporters and was finally endorsed by the Romney campaign on Friday, Aug. 24.
Louisiana delegate impasse resolved.
The Washington Post reports that a controversy surrounding the makeup of the Louisiana delegation has been resolved. According to an agreement struck with the Paul campaign, 17 of the 46 delegates from Louisiana will be Paul supporters. The remainder will presumably support Romney.
Paul delegates stripped from Maine delegation
The Republican Party is not shy of applying the stick as well as the carrot when dealing with Ron Paul supporters. According to the Associated Press, the Republican National Committee has stripped 10 of the 20 delegates from Maine who had supported Ron Paul, suggesting that their election had violated party and parliamentary rules. Paul supporters in Maine are having none of it, suggesting that the fight over the makeup of the Maine delegation is not over.
Paul supporters stripped from Massachusetts delegation
The Boston Globe, incidentally, reported that the Massachusetts delegation was stripped of Paul supporters by the Republican Party. Efforts to appeal the decision and to reach a compromise are ongoing.
Paul supporters in the Nevada delegation intends to place their candidate's name in nomination
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Paul supporters Nevada delegation is still defiant and intends to place Paul's name in nomination at the convention before the roll call vote takes place on Monday, Aug. 27. The gesture is seen to be futile. Paul does not have enough supporters at the convention to overturn Romney's certain nomination. Twenty of the 28 delegates from Nevada will vote for Romney, even if they are Paul supporters.
Some Republican platform victories
Reason Magazine reports that, as a sop to Paul supporters, certain Paul positions are being written into the Republican platform. These include calls to audit the Federal Reserve, some Internet freedom language, a call to abolish the use of drones for domestic surveillance, and language opposing the seizing of private property unfairly by the government. There is also an entire section about the meaning of the United States Constitution, inspired by Paul supporters,
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
