Briefing

Five things Ron Paul wants from the Republican National Convention

It looks as if Ron Paul is going to be an active participant in the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August. Here’s our take on the five things Paul hopes to gain from staying within his party’s tent in 2012.

- Peter Grier, Staff writer

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Minnesota Republicans cheer for presidential candidate Ron Paul during an appearance at the Minnesota Republican State Convention on May 18 in St. Cloud, Minn. (Dave Schwarz/The St. Cloud Times/AP)

2. Paul wants an orderly show of force on the floor

Paul is not going to be the Republican nominee for president, and he knows it. By August, Mitt Romney will have long ago accumulated the 1,144 delegates needed to win. But Paul’s forces won’t be inconsiderable. Campaign strategist Jesse Benton estimates that the Texas libertarian will end up with “several hundred” delegates pledged to him, and several hundred more stealth supporters who are bound to vote for Mr. Romney or a withdrawn candidate on the first ballot.

Some of these supporters haven’t given up hope of a Paul victory. In Nevada, for instance, Paul supporters who control the Clark County GOP structure voted to rebuke Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus for his efforts to start merging the Romney and RNC campaign machines.

But Paul campaign officials insist they do not want to cause any kind of disturbance in Tampa. There’s no discussion of getting Paul supporters who are bound to vote for Romney to abstain from casting ballots in the first round, for instance.

“Decorum” will be the name of the game, Mr. Benton said in a recent conference call with supporters. That makes sense when considered in the context of the campaign’s long-term, makeover-of-the-party goal.

“We’re going to respectfully show that our supporters are here, and we’re the wave of the future,” said Benton.