Witness the recent protest votes in Indiana, where 23% of Republicans voiced their disaffection with McCain. In North Carolina the number was an even higher 26%.
Another libertarian messiah-in-waiting, Bob Barr, entered the race president today, giving the disaffected a glimmer of hope on what, to them, seems a set of woeful ballot choices.
But back to the Paul faithful. What exactly do Paul's guerrilla warriors plan to do come convention time?
They hope to demonstrate their disagreements with McCain vocally at the convention through platform fights and an attempt to get Paul a prominent speaking slot. Paul, who's running unopposed in his home Texas district for an 11th House term, still has some $5 million in war funds and has instructed his followers that their struggle is not about a single election, but a longterm revolution for control of the Republican Party.
In short, they hope for nothing less that a coup, and we're not talking de Ville, either. And hey, look who's #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. If you thought that Paul and his supporters would simply slip back into the Republican tent and make nice with John McCain, you were a tad mistaken. With all the potential turmoil, it's a good thing that bars will stay open until 4 a.m. during the convention. One gets the sense that a few of McCain's supporters will need a good stiff one after dealing with the Paul crowd.
