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05-12-2008, 12:03 AM
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Surprise GOP rule switch?
State convention might release Romney delegates; dark horse Paul could benefit
By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake TribuneArticle Last
Updated:05/10/2008 12:33:13 AM MDT
The Ron Paul Revolution will not go quietly.
As they have done in Nevada, Minnesota and elsewhere, a number of Utah Ron Paul backers are trying to get elected today as delegates to the Republican National Convention where, under a proposed rule change, they could be free to vote for whomever they want.
Under existing party rules, the 36 Utah delegates to the convention are obligated to vote for Mitt Romney, who won the state GOP primary with 90 percent of the vote.
But today, the state party will consider changing its rules to release the delegates and let them vote for whom they see fit.
The proposed bylaws change comes in response to a request from Romney, after he dropped out of the race, to release his bound delegates.
That could free the delegates to support whomever they want at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September - a point not lost on Paul supporters.
On blogs and in e-mails, Paul backers have spread a strategy aimed at getting Paul supporters elected as delegates in order to keep Sen. John McCain from getting enough delegate support to clinch the nomination. That could force a convention fight, they argue, and give Paul a path - albeit a contorted one - to win the nomination.
“We will try to force a brokered convention - there is no way around it,” writes Steve Parent on "The Daily Paul" blog.
Last month, the Nevada GOP convention ended in chaos, as Paul supporters were poised to be elected to a majority of the 31 state delegate slots before party leaders abruptly adjourned the gathering without picking the national delegates. Paul supporters cried foul and shouted that the process was rigged.
In Utah, about 100 people have filed to run for national delegate, many of them for the first time, and many of them professed Paul supporters.
The McCain campaign declined to comment, but this week state delegates received a recorded phone message from Romney urging them to vote for a slate of endorsed McCain delegates. The campaign also will have local and national political operatives working the convention today.
Lowell Nelson, a Paul supporter running for national delegate, said he doesn't anticipate chaos erupting today, or going to St. Paul to vote for Paul. He just wants to see the rules stay the same and bind the delegates to vote for Romney, at least on the first round of balloting.
“For us, as a Republican Party, to consider unbinding the delegation from that obligation, from that expectation, is a bit inappropriate, very inappropriate, like changing the rules in the middle of the game,” said Nelson. “I believe we ought to honor the will of the state of Utah by casting those 36 votes for Mitt Romney.”
But, if McCain is unable to lock up the nomination on the first ballot, the delegates would be free to support anyone.
That could open the door for Romney, says Nelson, although he would likely vote for Paul.
Stan Lockhart, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said it will be up to delegates to decide whether they should release the Romney delegates, and the party won't take sides.
“There is a bylaw change that has been proposed. Clearly it is designed to comply with the request of the candidate who got over 90 percent for president in the state of Utah,” said Lockhart, who doesn't anticipate any of the turmoil that plagued the Nevada convention.
“I believe we will have a convention where it is orderly, where it is fair and impartial to all concerned, and where the delegates get to make choices on how to best move the Republican Party forward,” he said.
Surprise GOP rule switch?
State convention might release Romney delegates; dark horse Paul could benefit
By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake TribuneArticle Last
Updated:05/10/2008 12:33:13 AM MDT
The Ron Paul Revolution will not go quietly.
As they have done in Nevada, Minnesota and elsewhere, a number of Utah Ron Paul backers are trying to get elected today as delegates to the Republican National Convention where, under a proposed rule change, they could be free to vote for whomever they want.
Under existing party rules, the 36 Utah delegates to the convention are obligated to vote for Mitt Romney, who won the state GOP primary with 90 percent of the vote.
But today, the state party will consider changing its rules to release the delegates and let them vote for whom they see fit.
The proposed bylaws change comes in response to a request from Romney, after he dropped out of the race, to release his bound delegates.
That could free the delegates to support whomever they want at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September - a point not lost on Paul supporters.
On blogs and in e-mails, Paul backers have spread a strategy aimed at getting Paul supporters elected as delegates in order to keep Sen. John McCain from getting enough delegate support to clinch the nomination. That could force a convention fight, they argue, and give Paul a path - albeit a contorted one - to win the nomination.
“We will try to force a brokered convention - there is no way around it,” writes Steve Parent on "The Daily Paul" blog.
Last month, the Nevada GOP convention ended in chaos, as Paul supporters were poised to be elected to a majority of the 31 state delegate slots before party leaders abruptly adjourned the gathering without picking the national delegates. Paul supporters cried foul and shouted that the process was rigged.
In Utah, about 100 people have filed to run for national delegate, many of them for the first time, and many of them professed Paul supporters.
The McCain campaign declined to comment, but this week state delegates received a recorded phone message from Romney urging them to vote for a slate of endorsed McCain delegates. The campaign also will have local and national political operatives working the convention today.
Lowell Nelson, a Paul supporter running for national delegate, said he doesn't anticipate chaos erupting today, or going to St. Paul to vote for Paul. He just wants to see the rules stay the same and bind the delegates to vote for Romney, at least on the first round of balloting.
“For us, as a Republican Party, to consider unbinding the delegation from that obligation, from that expectation, is a bit inappropriate, very inappropriate, like changing the rules in the middle of the game,” said Nelson. “I believe we ought to honor the will of the state of Utah by casting those 36 votes for Mitt Romney.”
But, if McCain is unable to lock up the nomination on the first ballot, the delegates would be free to support anyone.
That could open the door for Romney, says Nelson, although he would likely vote for Paul.
Stan Lockhart, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said it will be up to delegates to decide whether they should release the Romney delegates, and the party won't take sides.
“There is a bylaw change that has been proposed. Clearly it is designed to comply with the request of the candidate who got over 90 percent for president in the state of Utah,” said Lockhart, who doesn't anticipate any of the turmoil that plagued the Nevada convention.
“I believe we will have a convention where it is orderly, where it is fair and impartial to all concerned, and where the delegates get to make choices on how to best move the Republican Party forward,” he said.