Establishment Republicans Find Ron Paul Supporters Threatening

THE EXAMINER | Lee Shelton | March 31, 2012

Elected as a delegate at my local caucus on February 7, I attended our district's BPOU (Basic Political Operating Unit) convention earlier today. It was a somewhat tedious, but overall pleasant, experience. It was also rather enlightening.

After registering and entering the meeting room, the first thing I noticed was the stack of papers that had been placed on the seats. Most were campaign brochures, but one page in particular caught my attention. It was entitled "Open Letter to Ron Paul Supporters in the 4th CD." The author, Mitch Berg, wanted to let all the "Ronualns" know that their membership in a "personality cult" jeopardized the Republican Party's chances in the upcoming elections:

Just like four years ago, you flooded GOP precinct caucuses, and are in the process of flooding the BPOU Conventions, and trying to push your delegates on to the CD, State and (you hope) National conventions. And that’s fine; that’s how the process works.

What’s “worse” is that, like four years ago, so very very very very very many of you will never be seen again after your next round of conventions. You’ll show up, do your bit for Ron Paul – but not the GOP – and disappear, likely not to be seen again. There are some exceptions – but they are rare. Your commitment is to Ron Paul, not to the GOP, even in the context of “Changing the party into a more-libertarian institution in the long term” – with which I’d be completely on board.

The condescending attitude continued as Berg attempted to school Paul supporters in matters of local politics, reminding them that dedication to the cause of liberty is meaningless apart from dedication to the GOP. (You know, because the GOP's track record of defending personal freedom and practicing fiscal responsibility, especially since 9/11, has been so exemplary.)

Berg's letter wasn't the only interesting bit of literature to make its way into the hands of convention attendees. Another sheet was passed out that warned of a possible insurgency within Republican ranks, headed up by (who else?) Ron Paul supporters. It alerted everyone that Paul supporters would attempt a takeover of the convention, voting for delegates on a secret slate who were "being promoted solely for their allegiance to Ron Paul, regardless of their skills, abilities, experience, contributions in time or energy, or underlying core principles and beliefs." Again, the essential problem being a lack of party loyalty.




What does all of this suggest? The GOP establishment is scared. It isn't that they are frightened of Ron Paul winning the presidency. In fact, they are quite certain that won't happen. No, they are afraid that a large number of Republicans might actually grow disenchanted enough to sit out on election day, handing the reins of power back to the Democrats for another four years.

After all, that's what it's really all about, isn't it? Power?

By the way, the convention went off without a hitch. Everyone was polite and civil, despite having all those nasty Ron Paul troublemakers hanging around.

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