By David Weigel
SLATE.COM
TAMPA—The Ron Paul RepubliCAN “We Are the Future Rally” breaks the first rule of campaign events—pack the front rows. The University of South Florida Sun Dome, which seats 10,411, is full-up in the second and third decks. The bottom deck isn’t full. Easily more than 100 seats, in clean view of TV cameras, are empty, even when the noon start time arrives. Those seats were supposed to be for Republican National Committee delegates. There were supposed to be more of them.
“We welcome you, delegates!” says our MC, presidential family historian and Paul diehard Doug Wead. Alas, “some are so traumatized that they aren’t even coming here.” They’d been “locked out, lied to, told that the ‘nays’ have it when we can all see on YouTube that the ‘ayes’ have it.”
Everybody boos; everybody knows. The big boys down the road, at the convention center, need to be shamed and exposed and shamed some more. Ron Paul supporters are not immune to paranoia, and in rooms all over Tampa, they are trading rumors about the ways their movement is being screwed. Did you hear that they kicked out all our delegates? The RNC sent out a message that this rally was cancelled. And so on.
Related articles
- Ron Paul Refuses to Endorse Romney (tribuneofthepeople.com)
- Over 10,000 supporters brave Tropical Storm Isaac to see Ron Paul speak at USF | THE JEENYUS CORNER (jeenyuscorner.com)
- Respect for Ron Paul Delegates at the RNC Seems Low (reason.com)
- Ron Paul Gives Final Speech to Thunderous Crowd (wealthwire.com)
- Ron Paul’s Rally: The Event That Could Give Birth To A New Party | THE JEENYUS CORNER (jeenyuscorner.com)
- Ron Paul Passing Torch to a Libertarian Legion | THE JEENYUS CORNER (jeenyuscorner.com)
- C-SPAN to cover Ron Paul’s We Are the Future Rally | THE JEENYUS CORNER (jeenyuscorner.com)
- Kokesh Barred From Ron Paul Rally | THE JEENYUS CORNER (jeenyuscorner.com)
- 10,000 Ron Paul fans can’t be wrong, or rocking the USF Sun Dome when the RNC won’t let you in (digitalbullpen.com)
- Ron Paul’s Rally: Not the End, Just a Continuation of His Revolution (txwclp.org)
