Rick Santorum is charging that Texas
Rep. Ron Paul and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have a formed a
mutually beneficial pact. Santorum says that this accounts for why Paul has
pulled his punches against Romney when he has levied brutal attacks against
nearly all the rest of the Republican field over the course of his presidential
campaign.
"Clearly there is a tag-team
strategy between Ron Paul and Mitt Romney," said top Santorum strategist,
John Brabender. "There've been 20 debates, right? Why don't you go back
and see how many times Ron Paul has ever criticized anything Mitt Romney has
done."
Yeah, we noticed that too.
Over at Ace of Spades blog, they are reporting
that Romney’s staff is “quietly in touch with Ron Paul.” The report which
quotes an anonymous source within the Romney campaign says that Paul “wants a
place at the convention,” and Romney would allow that as the nominee. Paul has
long intimated that he wants to lock down the coveted keynote address at the
GOP convention, but a prime-time speaking slot would likely do.
On Wednesday, reports
surfaced that Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul, told reporters that
he “would be honored” to be chosen as a vice president. More often than not, politicians
suggest to the press when their name is floated as a veep choice, that they are
flattered but “we have much to do in ‘X’ and I am determined to serve the rest
of my term as ‘Y’,” or some other such demurral. Rand Paul’s embrace of talk of his selection
as V.P. is sparking speculation.
What Republicans need to win the
White House is the support of demographic blocs that are not completely in line
with the Republicans – women or Hispanics, for example. The GOP would not need
to court an ideological vote – particularly one already aligned with the
Republican party like libertarians. A vice presidential pick, usually used to
round out a ticket, would be wasted on a candidate like Rand Paul.
However, if they have credible
evidence that Paul may seek a third party nomination, which could upend the
equation. If the design is to keep Paul in the big tent come November, the
Romney campaign is well advised to pull out all the stops in order to keep the ticket
intact come the fall.
All this is very speculative, but the
connection between Paul and Romney cannot be denied. Paul wants to influence
the party and Romney wants to keep the party intact. That’s motive. Paul’s a
threat as an independent candidate to party unity. That’s means. You don’t even
need to prove opportunity to get a conviction on this one; we are prepared to
pass a verdict of guilt by implication.
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