As his supporters will proudly tell you, Congressman Ron Paul has always been the trouble-making outsider as candiate for president. But that pattern is getting more pronounced ahead of the national GOP convention, and some are wondering if Paul and his army plan to go from trouble makers to spoilers.
At Alaska’s recent GOP convention, Paul enthusiasts booed Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso for expressing support for Romney. And over the weekend, the presumptive nominee’s son, Josh Romney, was interrupted several times at the Arizona Republican Party convention with more booing from Paul supporters. At a similar event in Oklahoma, Romney and Paul delegates reportedly entered an all-out brawl over rules.
With a strategy for continuing to siphon delegates from Romney, the establishment GOP worries Paul supporters could make a scene in Tampa. But Paul has said it’s not about obstructing the process. “Moving an agenda is very important,” he says. “To do that, we need to maximize the number of delegates that we have.”
