How the Republican Party Stole the Nomination from Ron Paul

							How the Republican Party Stole the
Nomination from Ron Paul
Free Words
Jul 31 2012

If you follow mainstream election coverage, you
might think Mitt Romney has coasted to an
honest, easy, well-deserved Republican
nomination. Unfortunately for Republican
voters, nothing could be further from the truth.
The primary process has been an all-out slugfest
and many of the delegates Romney has won may
be the result of dirty tricks and even election
fraud. The following narrative includes links to
reports, first-hand testimonials, and video
evidence highlighting actions taken by the GOP
to ensure a Romney victory, at the expense of
fracturing the party just prior to the general
election. Party leaders at the county and state
level have changed or violated party rules,
cancelled caucuses, changed vote counts, thrown out entire counties of votes, counted public votes
privately, called-in the SWAT team, and inexplicably replaced Paul delegates with Romney delegates to
block Ron Paul from winning the nomination.
Iowa: Days before the caucuses, Paul held a commanding lead in the polls and all the momentum, with
every other candidate having peaked from favorable media coverage and then collapsed under the
ensuing scrutiny. Establishment Republicans, like Iowa’s Representative Steve King (R), attempted to
sabotage Paul’s campaign by spreading rumors he would lose to Obama if nominated. Even though the
Iowa GOP platform reads like a Ron Paul speech, shortly before the caucuses, Iowa Governor Terry
Barnstad told Politico , “[If Paul wins] people are going to look at who comes in second and who
comes in third. If Romney comes in a strong second, it definitely helps him going into New
Hampshire”. The message from the Governor to voters of his state was: a vote for Ron Paul was a
                                                 wasted vote.
                                                Huffington Post reported that Paul was ahead by one
                                                point over Romney and Rick Santorum in entrance
                                                polls conducted by Edison Media Research for the AP
                                                before the caucuses. For the first time ever, the Iowa
                                                GOP changed the final vote count to a secret location .
                                                After the caucus, results from 8 precincts (including
                                                those with colleges, in a state where Paul won 48% of
                                                the youth vote) went missing. Interestingly, these were
                                                all precincts Romney lost in 2008. In addition, GOP
                                                officials discovered inaccuracies in 131 precincts.
Though polling in a comfortable first place, Paul finished third in this non-binding straw poll, behind
Romney and Santorum.
Iowa originally reported Romney in first, Santorum
in a close second, and Paul third. After the recount,
Santorum was named the winner with Romney in
second. No mention was given to how the recount
affected Paul’s vote count. Iowa GOP chairman,
Matt Strawn, later resigned and was replaced by
Paul supporter, A.J. Spiker and Paul went on to win
the majority of delegates.
Florida: The Florida GOP broke party rules by
switching to a winner-take-all state before the date
allowed, which favors the candidate with the most
money for advertising and attack ads. Senior
Advisor to the Ron Paul campaign, Doug Wead,
claims this was done specifically to favor Romney.
Nevada: There is bad blood between Paul’s supporters and establishment Republicans in Nevada. This
dates back to 2008, when Convention Chair, Sue Lowden and her enlisted delegates got up and walked
out of the convention when it became apparent Paul’s supporters would claim a majority of the
delegates. She claimed she would reconvene at a later time, but instead approved the McCain slate of
delegates. This year, Paul supporters expected shenanigans; so his State Chairman, Carl Bunce, planned
to win by outworking Romney. Just before the caucuses, he claimed to have “more IDs than Romney
had votes in ’08″. This means through canvassing door-to-door and phoning voters, he had identified
about 25,000 voters committed to show up and vote for Paul.
On caucus day, the media was denied access to most caucus sites and the few that were permitted were
not allowed to take photos. Others were even ejected from sites. This CNN clip shows GOP staff
preventing a Paul supporter from entering the premises to vote at a special caucus that was set up at the
                                                           last minute for Newt Gingrich backer,
                                                           Sheldon Adelson. Here, participants were
                                                           asked to sign an affidavit (under penalty of
                                                           perjury) stating they were Jewish and
                                                           couldn’t vote earlier in the day due to
                                                           “religious reasons”. CNN showed live
                                                           coverage of votes being counted at this
                                                           event, with Paul amassing nearly 60% of
                                                           the votes. In some precincts in Clark
                                                           County, the largest in Nevada, the number
                                                           of ballots did not match the number of
                                                           voters signed in at the caucus. Though
                                                           votes were to be counted publicly, they
                                                           were largely counted in private. The vote
                                                           count was also inexplicably dragged out for
                                                           several days, leading to a victory for
                                                           Romney. Nevada State GOP Chairwoman,
Amy Tarkanian resigned the day after the caucuses.
Another interesting note is that Paul’s 2012
votes had doubled, tripled, and more than
quadrupled his 2008 votes in every state
leading up to the Nevada caucuses, yet Paul
received only 88 more votes there. Of all the
places for this to occur, Nevada, the country’s
most libertarian state; is the last in which
anyone would expect this.
In spite of these irregularities , Paul won 22 of
25 state delegates and replaced state party
officials with Paul supporters. Romney
supporters then formed their own state party,
called “Team Nevada”. The RNC then
bypassed the official state party in order to
organize for Romney and send all funds to Team Nevada.
Colorado: Romney supporters were caught passing out fake Ron Paul slates at the state convention.
The RNC has not investigated or even commented on the matter.
Minnesota: Doug Wead, claims the state party instructed members not to vote for any delegates under
age fifty because most young delegates support Paul.
Missouri: WXIX Cincinnati’s Ben Swann covered the fiasco in Clay County, Missouri’s largest county.
Temporary Chairman, Eugene Dokes, started the meeting by banning video recording devices, a first
for this event. Robert’s Rules of Order require the temporary chairman to accept nominations and elect
a convention chairman to run the event. Instead, he appointed a chair of his choice. The crowd
immediately erupted with booing. Shortly after, Dokes adjourned the meeting without the required two-
thirds majority, called the police on attendees, and left. In adherence to state rules, Paul supporter,
Brent Stafford, along with one of the top parliamentarians in the state, reconvened in the parking lot
and attempted to resume the event. Shortly after, the SWAT team arrived and arrested Stafford, who
was following state party rules. Dokes later admitted on talk radio that he and other state party officials
deliberately broke the rules to prevent Paul from winning.
Maine: Ben Swann reported on shenanigans in Maine . Even though only 84% of votes had been
counted; State GOP Chairman, Charlie Webster, declared Romney the winner over Paul by less than
200 votes. Hancock and Washington Counties hadn’t voted yet because Webster cancelled the caucuses
due to an impending snowstorm, promising they could vote later and their votes would be counted. The
snowstorm never occurred and he later reneged on his promise, telling voters in those counties their
votes would not be counted after all. Washington County was Paul’s strongest in the state in 2008.
                               Though other states with close outcomes held recounts, this was never a
                               consideration for Maine.
                                At least one of the counties that did vote claims the state party recorded
                                its tallies incorrectly. Matt McDonald, pastor of a small community
                                church in Belfast, was nominated as the chairman of his caucus. He says
                                the state instructed the caucus chairmen not to read any of the vote
                                totals aloud, but rather to send the results straight to Augusta without a
                                public reading. McDonald made a motion to change this rule, and it was
                                approved unanimously. McDonald says 22 voters showed up, resulting
                                in 8 votes for Paul, 7 for Santorum, 5 for Romney, and 2 undecided.
                                When he called the votes into Augusta, he was told they already had the
results and the totals read 9 for Romney, 5 or
Santorum, and 2 for Paul. When McDonald told
her the tally had been counted publicly, he says
“her voice changed and she said…we’ll record
this”. Doug Wead claims, “On every occasion, the
votes that were lost were Ron Paul votes and the
person responsible for reporting them were Mitt
Romney supporters…in one case the votes were
actually transferred from paper to…a computer
and the lady doing the transfer was a Mitt Romney
person”. To date, these tallies have not been
corrected and Romney is still credited with the
straw vote win while the media continues to report
that Paul never won a state contest.
Arizona: The Examiner’s Kevin Kervick reports “ballot stuffing, rule violations, and improper vote
counting that occurred behind closed doors” at the convention. In addition, Paul supporters allege
threats of physical violence from Romney supporters.
Michigan: Doug Wead reports, ” Michigan, unlike any other state…had a special party rule forbidding
any precinct delegate vacancies from being filled at county conventions until after the state delegates
and alternates were chosen. In other words, countless Ron Paul supporters attending county convention
were forcibly blocked…because they weren’t elected precinct delegates in 2010-long before the Ron
Paul 2012 campaign began”. Wead also claims “documented instances in multiple counties where
county party officials “edited” the state delegation lists after the county conventions adjourned”.
Wyoming: A commenter on Paul supporter website, DailyPaul.com, explains how members of the
Republican Executive Committee (all Romney supporters) illegally cast votes in the delegate selection
vote.
Washington: At the state convention , a Ron Paul delegate claimed bubble ballot sheets were withheld
in King County’s district 36. He also claims the 37 th district caucus was forced to conduct the meeting
outside because Chairwoman, Lori Sotelo, was irritated when a Ron Paul supporter was elected to run
the caucus, instead of her choice.
Ben Swann interviewed a voter in Pierce County, Washington; who claims the local Republican
leadership passed out what they called a “unity slate” to voters and said it represented an equal
distribution of delegates committed to Romney, Santorum, and Gingrich. The plan was to organize to
                                       block Ron Paul supporters, who outnumbered the other
                                       candidates’ supporters, from receiving the lion’s share of the
                                       delegates. The Republican leadership prevailed.

                                       Alaska: In spite of last-minute rule changes and violations of
                                       party rules, Paul supporters ousted longtime state chairman,
                                       Randy Ruedrich, and voted-in Paul supporter, Russ Millette.
                                        Ruedrich then tried to sabotage the state convention and
                                       transferred all of the state party’s $100,000 to the local Capital
                                       City Republicans in Juneau, effectively bankrupting the party
                                       now controlled by Paul supporters.
Georgia: This video shows GOP Chairwoman, Sue
Everhart, at the Athens Clarke County GOP meeting
admitting “shoddy treatment of the Ron Paul people
at that [2008] convention” and publicly apologizing.
She presents the rule book that she helped to write
and claims it won’t happen again. The video then
shows the actual convention and party leaders
breaking those rules to force their pre-selected slate
of delegates and prevent Paul’s supporters from
electing their own. Party leaders then adjourned the
meeting illegally and ran out of the meeting.
Massachusetts: Paul won 16 of the 27 delegates
selected so far in Romney’s home state. In addition,
he swept all 6 from Romney’s home county. As a
result (for the first time ever in the state), delegates
were asked to sign an affidavit stating ” I certify
under the pain and penalty of perjury, that on the first ballot at the 2012 Republican National
Convention, I will affirmatively Vote for Mitt Romney, the winner of the 2012 Massachusetts
Presidential Primary.” The state GOP then covered up Romney’s embarrassing loss by invalidating
ballots and ousting the Paul delegates.
North Dakota: Ben Swann reports the selection of delegates was unfair: the GOP handed out pre-
printed ballots with a slate of delegates with 60% of them being Mitt Romney supporters in a state
where he won only 26% of the vote.
Oklahoma: Kevin Kervick of The Examiner reports that the Oklahoma convention had to be moved to
the parking lot because Robert’s Rules were ignored, delegate credentials were not verified, a
convention chair was never appointed, motions made from the floor were ignored, the Chairman
illegally elected a slate of Romney delegates, and the convention was closed without a two-thirds
majority vote. Consistent with Robert’s Rules, Paul supporters reconvened in the parking lot to elect
delegates. Paul supporters have now filed a law suit to ensure their delegates will be seated.
Virginia: Doug Wead claims “at a district convention, they coaxed the Ron Paul delegation outside and
                                       then locked the door. The pastor of the church that was hosting
                                       the event was, himself, locked out”.
                                        U.S. Virgin Islands: Ron Paul won his first caucus, only to have
                                        the GOP take down the straw vote results from their website
                                        showing Paul the victor with 29% over Romney’s 26% and
                                        replaced with a note from the party claiming Romney won
                                        because he won more delegates. Paul’s Official Campaign
                                        Blogger, Jack Hunter, explains how every other contest
                                        determined the victor by the straw vote, except the one straw
                                        vote Paul won.
                                        Alabama: An inexplicable gap exists between Paul’s popular
                                        vote count and his delegate vote count. This is odd because
                                        voters choose both on the same day and on the same ballot.
                                        Alabama Republican Party rules state that voters can only vote
                                        for one candidate and then must choose between his delegates.
                                        Statewide, Paul received only about one-third as many votes as
his delegates. This means voters chose another
candidate, but selected Paul’s delegates. No other
candidate’s totals showed a similar pattern.
Louisiana: Ben Swann reports a clash between the old
Louisiana State GOP leadership and newly-elected
leaders who support Paul. Old Chairman, Roger Villere,
angered attendees with last-minute rule changes the
night before the convention. At the start of the
convention, Villere attempted to recognize the former
Chair of the Rules Committee, who had been voted out
the night before. When new Chair, Alex Helwig, rose to
address the delegation; Villere instructed security
(comprised of off-duty Shreveport Police) to remove
him . They arrested him for trespassing and broke several of his fingers. Next, an overwhelming
majority elected a new Convention Chair, Paul supporter Alex Helwig. Members then turned their
chairs to face Helwig, with their backs to Villere. In desperation, Villere instructed the police officers to
remove the duly-elected Herford. They did so and dislocated his hip in the process, sending him to the
emergency room. The reconvened group followed state party rules and went on to elect a majority of
Paul delegates, which the state party later replaced with its own slate of Romney delegates. The Paul
campaign has appealed to the RNC, but it is unlikely that the RNC will reinstate the Paul delegates.
Oregon: This YouTube video shows establishment Republicans in Congressional District 4 attempting
to steal the ballot box and leave the premises when it became apparent the Ron Paul supporters were in
the majority. A Paul supporter is chased away from the ballots and claims he was accosted by an
establishment party member.Wisconsin: MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell reports Romney violated state
campaign laws by bribing voters with free subs. In other states, Paul supporters claim vote-flipping
occurred with electronic voting machines. Once about 40% of votes are reported, there is typically little
variation in the final numbers. However on several occasions, at about 40% Romney’s trajectory
“flipped” with the leader, which was often Paul. Austin Election Judge, Anne Beckett, has come forth
publicly to claim she witnessed this firsthand.
Baseless allegations or a few isolated incidents may not be cause for concern, but there is enough video
evidence in this report to disturb anyone who cares about fair elections. Rule changes, disregard for
existing rules, cancelling elections, running off with ballots, secret vote counts, throwing out votes,
threats, physical violence, and arbitrary replacement of delegates are activities unbecoming of a
democratic society. Whether you’re a Ron Paul supporter, or even a Republican, is irrelevant. That the
Republican Party will seemingly stop at nothing to ensure their selected candidate is the nominee
should be deeply troubling for all Americans.




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