Ron Paul's Ninja Delegates

[Paleobrazilian]

This also comes from a Paultard, I don't know how accurate this count is, but hey, if those ninja delegates are for real, and this drags all the way to the convention, we could see quite something happening.

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And then comes his count...

Code:

Date	State	Gingrich
Pledged	Paul
Pledged	Romney
Pledged	Santorum
Pledged	Unpledged
Caucus Selected	Unpledged
Party Selected	Unpledged
Party Leaders	Unpledged
Released
Jan 3	Iowa	0	0	0	0	25	0	3	0
Jan 10	New Hampshire	0	3	7	0	0	0	0	2
Jan 21	South Carolina	23	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jan 31	Florida	0	0	50	0	0	0	0	0
Feb 4	Nevada	6	5	14	3	0	0	0	0
Feb 7	Colorado	0	0	0	0	33	0	3	0
	Minnesota	0	0	0	0	37	0	3	0
 									
Totals		29	8	73	3	95	0	9	2

Suppose 50% of those unpledged delegates are Paultards.... That could be something.

http://www.capitalfreepress.com/republican-primary-delegate-allocation-2012/

[Paleobrazilian]

Unfortunately for Paul, the number of states with unbound-only delegates won't be that big from now on.

[Paleobrazilian]

Could the Credentials Comitte deny seating those Paulites if they say they're going to vote Paul on 1st ballot, even if they're bound to someone else? If yes, the GOP is safe.

[Paleobrazilian]

Could the Credentials Comitte deny seating those Paulites if they say they're going to vote Paul on 1st ballot, even if they're bound to someone else? If yes, the GOP is safe.

To my understanding, they could vote Romney/Santorum/what have you on the first ballot then switch to Paul on the second if they think he'll win. Alternatively, the Romney!Paul delegates could simply abstain (I think that's allowed) while the other ninjas vote to prevent Romney from winning the required delegates, and then switch to Paul in round 2.

I guess those bound delegates would not want to vote Romney in round 1 and risk letting Mittens win, and I'm not sure if bound delegates can abstain. Plus, if those delegates abstain, would Romney still need 1144 delegates to get the nomination, or would the number get lower? In the end, Paulites could be really tempted to break the bounding rules, and that's why I think the Credentials Comittee could step up and deny seating bound ninja delegates - after all, that could save the GOP from an epic embarassement.

[Paleobrazilian]

Even if crazy Paul antics could cause issues at the convention, no other candidate is going to try to depend on it; if Romney has the pledges (by whatever definition) of 1144 delegates in June, Santorum will drop out and endorse him.  Even if the Paulistas try to pull something, they'd still be a minority at the convention, and it would be a bit late for the Santorum folks to try to put together an effort at the convention several months after dropping out.

I think this rule might have a bearing on this:

Each candidate for nomination for
President of the United States and Vice President of the
United States shall demonstrate the support of a
plurality of the delegates from each of five (5) or more
states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of
that candidate for nomination.

Rule 40 (b)

http://www.gop.com/images/legal/2008_RULES_Adopted.pdf

Neither Paul nor Gingrich has won a plurality in 5 states.

Well, with ninjas Paul expects to get a plurality in states like Iowa, Nevada, Minnesota, etc.