(*snip*) The point of this, as Paul himself has said and Benton repeatedly emphasized, is not to disrupt the convention in any way. "Rolling into the convention with a strong delegation, having hundreds of supporters there, sends a very strong message," Benton said. "We're here, our supporters are here, we're positive and respectful -- we're emphasizing decorum and we're going to do everything in our power to work with our supporters to make sure that decorum and respect are the name of the game. But we're going to respectfully show that our supporters are here, and we're the wave of the future."
(*snip*)
He added: "We're bringing forward an attitude of respect. We're also bringing forward specific things we believe in. Our people want to be respected in return. If our ideas are taken seriously and our people are treated with respect, the Republican Party has a chance to pick up a substantial number of their votes. On the flip side, if they treated the way they were in 2008, a lot of people are going to stay home and sit on their hands."
(*snip*)
But there's plenty of reason to doubt that Romney will actually benefit from this gambit, decent and polite as it may be. At Paul's rallies, "Ron Paul or not at all!" is a common refrain. Like Paul, his supporters have little loyalty to the Republican Party as an institution. The purity of his supporters' commitment to his ideals, from the gold standard to pulling out of Afghanistan, makes them uniquely impervious to the sort of "lesser of two evils" arguments common in post-primary political alliances. In short, Ron Paul voters are not likely to turn into Mitt Romney voters, and Ron Paul doesn't have much interest in trying to make them do so.
Given the concessions Paul is asking from Romney and the party, I asked Benton, what is he offering in return?
"I think we're offering good will. I think we're offering friendship," he said. "And I think we're offering the opportunity for Republicans to court our supporters. But we're not deal-cutters. We're not your typical political campaign, offering to work this out in the back room. Our supporters and Dr. Paul believe in some very specific things, and we're laying out a path the Republicans can follow this fall to have a good chance of courting these people."
Poster Comment:
The point of this, as Paul himself has said and Benton repeatedly emphasized, is not to disrupt the convention in any way.
Oh no, that's EXACTLY the point.
Security knocking martyrs' heads would be the best possible outcome. Pubby version of '68. Romney camp should be encouraged to show no quarter.
I don't think Paul, himself, is lying though. Just the indispensable infiltrators.
"I think we're offering good will. I think we're offering friendship," he said.
It sounds SO much cooler with the marbles.