In a few supporter forums the idea is going around that one way to help Ron Paul might be to vote for Mike Huckabee in the hope that if Huckabee wins enough delegates we might get a brokered convention in the fall. Most of the supporters who like this idea at least say that it should only be tried in those winner-take-all primary states where Ron Paul has the least favorable odds.
I strongly advise against this tactical voting. Ron Paul is serious when he says he wants to win every possible vote as well as every possible national delegate. That includes your vote, even if the state you’re in presents seemingly unsurmountable odds against Dr. Paul. Our candidate is fighting hard for the nomination, and his goal, which should be our goal, is not to try to create a brokered convention, but to win every vote he can. The nomination is at stake, and much more is at stake too, including the future of the Republican Party and the future of the Republic. To build up the Ron Paul revolution, we need to show as much strength as possible in every contest, and we need the support and loyalty of everyone who wants to get back to the Constitution.
The deal worked out between our delegates and Mike Huckabee’s in West Virginia was one thing. Ron Paul was eliminated in the first round of voting and did not appear on the ballot in the second round, so our delegates who voted for Huckabee were not deserting Ron Paul — and, crucially, they were voting for Huckabee only because Huckabee’s people promised three national delegates for Dr. Paul. That kind of bargaining is sound. But voting for a candidate other than Ron Paul when there isn’t any chance of getting delegates for Dr. Paul, merely in the hope of having a brokered convention, only weakens the Ron Paul movement rather than strengthening it. We need every vote.
The same goes for leaving the Republican Party and registering as something else. Ron Paul has said how much he respects third parties. But Dr. Paul is in a fight to take back the Republican Party, and to do that he needs all of us to stay with him. I know this can be unpleasant — I registered as an independent when I moved to Delaware last year, and had to switch my registration back to the Republican Party that had left me years before in order to vote for Ron Paul. But however large the problems of the Republican Party may be (and they’re titanic) the one man in whom I have confidence to bring the party back to small-government, non-interventionist, constitutional principles is Ron Paul. If he’s not going third party, neither am I.
Tomorrow there are critical contests in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. If you live in those states, get out and vote — for Ron Paul.
