Weigel

Texas is the Reason

TAMPA – Earlier today, one of Ron Paul’s disenfranchised Maine delegates tried to convince me that the gadfly’s credential challenge could actually work. “Apparently Texas is coming around to our side,” said Matt McDonald.

Alex Seitz-Wald explains what he was talking about.

“This is the hill to die for,” Texas delegate Tom Washington, the assistant treasurer of the state party, told Salon on the convention floor. It’s “disgusting and disturbing,” said at-large alternate delegate Mark Russo from Rockwall, Texas.

The change, approved last week by the Rules Committee, which convened here in Tampa before the convention began, would allow a presidential campaign in future elections to veto any delegates sent to the national convention to support its candidate.

That’s not quite what the Ron Paul delegates want. They’d like the Maine delegation fully restored. In a perfect world they’d like multiple nomination ballots, which, in the third go-round, would allow the pledged delegates to cast free votes. But a successful challenge to the RNC’s committee report would only require 1/3 of the delegates, plus one, to vote against. Texas has 155 delegates. Ron Paul has more than 100. The rebels are not there yet.