Editor's Note: The Paul camp is the only one to blame for rumors of an early exit. Paul's email indicating his plans for the remaining 11 states was probably the dumbest, costliest move in this campaign.
The Examiner
The New York Times, Politico, CNN, and most other big media outlets are reporting this morning that Governor Romney has secured the requisite number of delegates needed to gain the Republican nomination for President. There is only one problem with their reports. They are wrong. The GOP nominee will be chosen at the Republican National Convention in Tampa Florida in August.
Mainstream press outlets like to keep their stories simple because apparently their readers do not want to sift through a lot of complexity. Unfortunately, the real delegate selection process in the Republican Party is complicated. Candidates are not chosen at the popular vote beauty contests.
Some delegates are selected at primaries and caucuses and are 'bound' to a particular candidate depending on the party rules in particular states. However, the majority of delegates are selected at state conventions, and those delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choosing at the national convention as long as one candidate does not receive a plurality on the first ballot. Even this last point in subject to debate as some experts believe that even the so-called bound delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choosing on the first ballot. This interpretation of federal law is not well publicized by the party insiders that control American elections because it disputes the legitimacy of 'binding' voters to particular candidates.
It is highly unlikely that Governor Romney will have enough delegate votes to be nominated on the first ballot, so this race for the nomination is not over. Congressman Paul continues to rack up delegates even as GOP insiders attempt to adjust their own rules to keep that from happening.
Furthermore, as I reported yesterday, the Paul forces are still considering legal challenges to what they perceive as electioneering shenanigans committed by Romney forces and the Establishment GOP. Paul's supporters may go ahead with the legal challenges even if the Paul campaign is not on board. One such effort is below:
A new group known as Tools for Justice has formed to document voting rights violations and election abuses that may have occurred during the 2012 GOP primaries. This is from their website:
The Examiner
Mainstream press outlets like to keep their stories simple because apparently their readers do not want to sift through a lot of complexity. Unfortunately, the real delegate selection process in the Republican Party is complicated. Candidates are not chosen at the popular vote beauty contests.
Some delegates are selected at primaries and caucuses and are 'bound' to a particular candidate depending on the party rules in particular states. However, the majority of delegates are selected at state conventions, and those delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choosing at the national convention as long as one candidate does not receive a plurality on the first ballot. Even this last point in subject to debate as some experts believe that even the so-called bound delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choosing on the first ballot. This interpretation of federal law is not well publicized by the party insiders that control American elections because it disputes the legitimacy of 'binding' voters to particular candidates.
It is highly unlikely that Governor Romney will have enough delegate votes to be nominated on the first ballot, so this race for the nomination is not over. Congressman Paul continues to rack up delegates even as GOP insiders attempt to adjust their own rules to keep that from happening.
Furthermore, as I reported yesterday, the Paul forces are still considering legal challenges to what they perceive as electioneering shenanigans committed by Romney forces and the Establishment GOP. Paul's supporters may go ahead with the legal challenges even if the Paul campaign is not on board. One such effort is below:
A new group known as Tools for Justice has formed to document voting rights violations and election abuses that may have occurred during the 2012 GOP primaries. This is from their website:
Tools For Justice is working in partnership with WatchtheVote2012.com, RonPaulVoteCount.org, and WTPNetwork.com acting as a private, secure, centralized clearinghouse to support all concerned citizens to enforce our voting rights and restore integrity to the election process by gathering evidence through our members in our private forum.Therefore, rumors of Congressman Paul's exit from the race were incorrect and rumors of Governor Romney's Coronation are greatly exaggerated.
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