Ron Paul downplays negotiations with McCain campaign
While Republican party officialdom has been largely dismissive of Ron Paul's performance in this year's presidential primaries, there are reports that some party members are courting Paul's support -- or at least his silence -- in exchange for access to this week's convention in St. Paul.
What the GOP seems to be saying is, 'Don't talk smack about our nominee, and we'll afford you a fraction of
More.. the privileges given to virtually every other Republican member of Congress.' On Tuesday morning, the conservative Washington Times first reported on the talks.
The McCain campaign, acting through the Republican National Committee, has been negotiating with Rep. Ron Paul to win his support and acquire the names of his sympathizers among the 4,607 delegates and alternates at the Republican National Convention, according to a senior aide to the Texas congressman.
Asked about the report on CNN Tuesday morning, Paul downplayed the extent of the negotiations and claimed the RNC was still trying to hamstring his access to the GOP confab.
"We were requesting whether I could come to the floor, and really we've been just up against the wall," Paul told CNN's John Roberts. "I mean, they had one individual come and talk to us. ... We said, 'Well can we come to the floor?' They said yeah you can come under very, very restricted circumstances."
A Republican congressman who's represented a slice of Texas's Gulf coast for more than a decade, Paul is automatically granted access to the Republican convention, but he said organizers told him he would have to surrender his floor credentials at the end of each day and would be unable to bring any aides along with him to the convention floor.
Paul and his supporters are staging a counter convention in Minneapolis on Tuesday to launch his own "Campaign for Liberty" that seeks to continue the political movement he began with his primary campaign. That daylong convention, which at least 10,000 people are expected to attend, is being Webcast on Paul's Web site.
The alternate convention came about after the RNC denied a speaking slot for Paul, who received far more votes and donations in the GOP primaries than either Fred Thompson or Rudy Giuliani, both of whom are scheduled to speak this week.
Paul has refused to endorse McCain or Obama, saying they both want to expand the federal government and pursue an expansionist agenda abroad that is not in line with his libertarian philosophy.
A campaign spokesman, Jesse Benton, told the Times that RNC officials were working with the campaign to let Paul circulate the convention floor Wednesday with a security guard and several aides. In exchange, Paul reportedly said he will "speak respectfully" about McCain.
Paul is scheduled to address the "Campaign for Liberty" at 7:05 p.m. CDT Tuesday. Less..
Added: Sep 2 2008 In: news_politics
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