An Ed Morrissey article at Hot Air makes a number of salient points about the Ron Paul campaign from different directions and we recommend reading it including many of the responses. It remains my view that Ron Paul will not run as a third party candidate and that his supporters I know will support putative nominee Romney to an even greater degree than liberal Republicans can be depended on to support the Republican ticket and certain Mormon hating nincompoops. Romney has surrounded himself with conservatives and has committed repeatedly to an agenda that will reverse the Obama agenda in key areas. I believe he will honor his conservative supporters and a conservative agenda (or be abandoned in droves).
The Morrissey article does reflect a theme we have pursued here. We disagree with his conclusion to do away with the caucus system, indeed we believe that with safeguards it is actually something more states should pursue. But he does make our point about the damage backroom manipulation does to the caucus system. Our Scott County Republican leadership damaged the prospects for continuing the status afforded Iowa’s first in the nation caucus. Shades of Raw Deal. Bold effect added for emphasis:
“This does point out the need to end the caucus system, however. People who cast presidential-preference ballots in caucus states are almost entirely unaware that backroom machinations could produce a much different result than they intended. Minnesota and other states that have clung to the antiquated, 19th-century caucus systems — especially states like Iowa, Maine, and Nevada, where the state parties couldn’t properly count their ballots — need to join the 21st century and give Republican voters a direct method to choose their representation in presidential nomination processes.”
