After much discussion, some negotiation, a few compromises, and a vote, the RNC rules committee has agreed upon a rules adjustment to assure that delegates vote for the candidate that won the primary in their state.
[Hold the line while Ron Paul supporters and other grassroots activists prepare to lam-blast me for misstating the issue.]
OK, I’m back. We ran into the issue directly when we (myself and my Better-half, each with recorders in hand) spread-out through the convention on a story about delegates’ response to Mitt Romney‘s faith. Suddenly, we found ourselves on the edge of a crowd chanting.
“ROMNEY! ROMNEY!”
“RON PAUL! RON PAUL!”
It took all of 15 seconds for cameramen and recorders (us, primarily) to form a scrum around the chanters, and the calls began to devolve into shouting. The Romniacs, in blue t-shirts, started to move away.
“Nah, nah, nah, nah…good bye,” they said, shouted, and stalked off, leaving the Ron Paulites shouting about the constitution and their rights being trod on.
“It could happen to you,” the Paul supporters shouted to everyone and no one. They wore white hats with Paul’s face pinned between “Maine” and “2012” and waxed on about the constitution and the loss of their rights.
Are their grievances real? And are they losing the argument because of how they are making the argument?
In the end, as the states recorded their votes to nominate Mitt Romney, with the exception of Oklahoma, which broke RNC rules to give a portion of the votes to Paul. Civility, though, was lost on some supporters of both candidates, and the loss had little effect on the ultimate result, if any at all. No matter how much Paul or Romney supporters shout or belittle their opponent, the tact will not win more votes.
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