Right now, John McCain is supposed to be dealing with the annoying question of what to do with Ron Paul at the Rethug Convention.  We would all love to see him speak there.  But McCain may try to put him on, if at all, when he can be sure as few people as possible are watching.  So ...

Quietly and "largely under the radar of most people," allies of of Rep. Ron Paul "have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September," according to the Los Angeles Times.

"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 long-term revolution for control of the Republican Party."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/...

As mcjoan said earlier today, Ron Paul's followers have not quietly marched lockstep behind John McCain's candidacy, opting to field candidates at the Idaho state GOP convention.  

Today's Los Angeles Times "Top of the Ticket" blog written by Andrew Malcolm has more on the Ron Paul camp's ambitions for the summer.  If they succeed, John McCain may wish Paul had simply opted, like Bob Barr, to run on a third-party ticket.

Details below the fold.

Following their stunning success in Nevada, Paul supporters are back at it. And it couldn't happen to a more worthy Republican state party.

The Texas congressman and former Libertarian presidential nominee has targeted Idaho as part of his quixotic challenge to John McCain. Paul loyalists seek to yank the Idaho GOP organization up from the grass roots by fielding candidates for precinct committeeman in the May 27 primary. But they refuse to identify their slate.

An unusually large number of candidates, many unfamiliar to party regulars, seek to fill the county and state central committees, especially in Ada, Twin Falls and Kootenai counties....

Idaho GOP Chairman Kirk Sullivan said Paul's tactics were a hot topic at a recent National Committee meeting.

"They are working hard to have an impact on the national convention," Sullivan said. "But they don't talk to anybody. I have never been approached by a single Ron Paul person about what the party's doing, how they get involved, how the platform will be rewritten, how the rules will be established."...

Challis McAffee, 32, has been attending Central Committee meetings, where he declines to sign in. He is a self-employed Capital High grad who is converting a travel trailer to a food service rig in the driveway of his parents' Boise home, the address he lists for his candidacy.... McAffee chuckled at the notion the Republican Party, which dominates Idaho politics, is nervous about Paul's guerrilla tactics. "They oughtta be," he said in a stage whisper. "We're taking the party back."

Paul has quite a following in Idaho, and enjoyed an enthusiastic reception there last month. If his followers are organized enough, they might be able to pull off a repeat of Nevada and possibly throw a monkey wrench into the downticket races. Both Bill Sali, Idaho's first district represenative, and Jim Risch, current lieutenant governor and the party establishment's heir apparent for Larry Craig's seat, have primaries. Risch, in fact, has seven of opponents, a few of them the run-of-the-mill Idaho Republican kooks (including the Californian who has never been to Idaho), and a few of them fairly serious and committed.

A serious revolt by Paul's people, should it trickle down the ticket, might give Risch a bit of a scare in his march to the nomination. Once he gets that nomination (and he almost certainly will) he's going to have to contend with one of two Independent challengers: the elk rancher who has made it his goal in life to harrass Risch (so much so that he decided to run as an Independent, to up his chances of being on the general election ballot), and Pro-Life, a Ron Paul supporter), who has made it his goal in life to be on the Idaho ballot every two years. Is any of this enough to really endanger Risch or McCain in getting their respective nominations? Highly unlikely, but it could make things a little more fun to watch.

Race tracker wiki: ID-Sen ID-01

In light of the official announcement of former Georgia Republican congressman Bob Barr's candidacy for president as a Libertarian (as diaried today by rerutled and hinted at the other week by The Termite), all I can say is -

Heh®.

All the dithering about what the Democratic Convention may look like is ignoring the grassroots plan by Ron Paul Republicans to stage a demonstration over the "future" of the Republican Party at the St. Paul convention in September.

Yes, if you hadn't noticed, Paul got 16% of the PA vote. Everyone's fixated on Democratic problems, but what about a black eye convention for McCain?

The LA Times reports here:

The last three months Paul's forces, who donated $34.5 million to his White House effort and upwards of one million total votes, have, as The Ticket has noted, been fighting a series of guerrilla battles with party establishment officials at county and state conventions from Washington and Missouri to Maine and Mississippi. Their goal: to take control of local committees, boost their delegate totals and influence platform debates.

10 minutes with comedic cuts thrown in.

Boy, if you want to talk about a presidential candidate who "can’t close the deal"—how about John McCain?

I mean—he is the de facto GOP nominee, but his peeps keep voting for other candidates anyway—even a guy who’s dropped out of the race!

I’m talking about this article:

Read what the Republicans Wish You Wouldn’t

Today's Daily Flipper - McCain Corruption Edition you will read:
McCain Pushed Key Land Deal For Fundraiser
McCain Misses The Mark In Michigan
McCain Doesn’t Know Much About The Judiciary Either
McCain Gets Support From EU Trade Minister
Cindy On Release Of Tax Returns
As The Money Woes Continue
McCain Wants His FEC
Ron Paul Supporters Plan Takeover of GOP Convention

Read all the detail and take action on the flip. Flip it good.

The presumptive nominee of the Republican party, Senator John McCain, continues to celebrate Friday morning, several days after winning blowout victories in both Indiana and North Carolina.  Though overshadowed by the hotly contested Democratic campaigns, McCain says his victories in the two states are a source of considerable pride.

John McCain, who secured the Republican nomination way the fuck back in the beginning of March, was able to win Indiana by a whopping 77.6% of the vote.  In North Carolina, McCain was able to secure almost three-fourths of the Republicans in the state, with slightly more than 74% of the vote.

I'm sure the MSM will jump right on this.
McCain, presumptive nominee, with no other republican actively campaigning against him, seems to be having some competition after all.  In fact, over 20% of republicans in Indiana, N.Carolina, and Pennsylvania voted for someone else.
Here are the numbers:

Indiana
McCain  77%
Huckabee  10%
Paul  8%
Romney  5%

N.Carolina
McCain  73%
Huckabee  12%
Paul  8%
No Preference  4%

Pennsylvania
McCain  73%
Huckabee  11%
Paul  16%

Recently there has been news of the GOP, in states like Texas and Missouri, having to go to extremes to keep the Ron Paul supporters from taking over their state conventions. I live here in Missouri and I can tell you Ron Paul still enjoys strong suppport among the republicans.  Our state went for Obama in the primary and will be competitive in November for the very reason of Ron Paul.  McCain is not liked by the GOP here and he has a lot of ass kissing to do if he wants to win our state.  
To sum up, McCain has problems with his own party seperate from his policies etc.  

I know it's early in the evening, but I know my dKos crowd, y'all are glued to the Indiana primaries, chewing nervously on your fingernails as this harrowing race moves forward. And tonight, you're asking the same question I am.

What if- just what if John McCain doesn't win Indiana tonight?

Gone are the days when the communism reined supreme from the hilltops of Stupidity Central--I mean "Somali Land," to the now-dilapidated Mogadishu.

Gone are the days when Somalis-being the simpletons they are-could set aside their myriad of qabil-related, differences, and band together despite the odds.

Gone are the days when religion was sacred...not a tool used as a means to aggressively coerce the poor, unenlightened folks of small tuuloos, under the guise of "Shariah Law." (Who said those nut bags were Allah's braintrust, huh? Somalia isn't some Wahabi puritanical psyche ward.)

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org

The Long Tail theory is a novel economic concept for some.  For others, it is the notion that enables them to be "strong."  The premise of the Long Tail philosophy is, there is an audience for any product, or Presidential hopeful.  Senator Clinton correctly claims there is interest in her campaign.  People want her to be the next Commander-In-Chief.  Tis true.  

There was almost no coverage of the Republican Pennsylvania primary, for the very good reason that THEIR nomination had been wrapped up since March and obvious since January 29. But what commentary there was, was cautiously optimistic for Democrats.

.... Ron Paul is a short-sighted, small minded, idiot .....

Regarding Ron Paul, my rant ....

Yeah, I know: he's a Republican. But he has been the most honest and upfront out of the Republican candidates for president. He has also garnered a lot of enthusiasm from young people, and his principled dedication to upholding the constitution is admirable.

CNN Reports:

Having a Republican win the upcoming presidential election is “secondary” for Paul who is more interested in defending the Constitution, having the country go in what he considers the right direction, having a sound currency, and achieving balanced budgets. Paul parts ways with McCain over McCain’s support for the Iraq war, his approach to U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and his willingness to spend federal dollars to support military operations in Iraq.

Instead, Paul favors Sen. Barack Obama because of positions on foreign policy. “But that’s doesn’t mean that’s an endorsement,” Paul quickly added.

http://www.cnn.com/...