Ron Paul fans look to convention

Ron Paul supporters are not shy.

They are full-throated and full-throttle for the Texas congressman and Republican presidential hopeful.

Paul’s fans here are easy to spot and plan to stay busy through Super Tuesday. Though many aren’t traditionally associated with the Republican Party, their activities are common: sign waving in Cherokee and DeKalb counties, a rally in Marietta, a potluck dinner in Gwinnett. In cyberspace, Paul’s following is legion, and from Facebook and Twitter to Meetup.com, his supporters are voracious in their championing of the candidate.

Their attraction to the libertarian-leaning Paul is varied. Some love his record as a strict fiscal conservative who eschews tax increases and fights to lower the national debt. Others are drawn to his interest in moving the country’s currency back to the gold standard and still others love his foreign policy, which is centered around a withdrawal of most U.S. troops from around the world.

The same enthusiasm for Paul was there in 2008, when Paul also ran for president, yet he finished a distant fourth in the Georgia primary. This year, he again trails — polls show him in single digits — in the race for Georgia’s March 6 primary, but his supporters hope their influence in the state won’t end March 6.

Paul has a plan to remain relevant through the Republican National Convention this summer in Tampa. The blueprint goes beyond the primary to the GOP state convention in May, when Paul supporters will try to get themselves elected delegates to the national convention. If that happens, they could try to crash the party and force a floor fight for the GOP nomination.

In a strategy that’s being employed in other states, too, Paul’s Georgia supporters lay out the idea right on their website: “Take back the GOP from the ne’re-do-wells by becoming a Georgia GOP Delegate!” the site implores, complete with instructions on how to navigate the party’s rules.

Christopher Wall, a Johns Creek firefighter, is a Paul supporter seeking a ticket to Tampa.

“I’ll go as far as I can,” he said.

Wall, who will be a delegate to his county convention, said if the nomination comes down to a fight at the convention, anything can happen.

“It’s likely we’ll have a brokered convention,” he said.

Georgia’s Paul-backers are not alone. Paul has not campaigned in Georgia and is not expected to. Instead, he has focused on states that are awarding their delegates through caucuses, rather than primaries, because they are a higher payout for candidates who rely on grass-roots support.

As of today, Paul has won 18 delegates nationally, compared with 105 for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 71 for former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and 29 for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

To become a Georgia delegate to the national convention, a Republican voter must first be named a delegate to his county convention March 10, when delegates to congressional district conventions and the state convention are elected. Each of the state’s 76 national delegates is pledged to support a particular candidate based on the results of the March 6 primary.

State law requires a national convention delegate to vote for the candidate to whom the delegate is pledged — but only for the first two ballots. If there is a nomination fight on the convention floor — which hasn’t happened in the modern primary era — those delegates would be free to vote for Paul, or anyone else, on a third ballot.

“It’s about the delegate count,” said James Bell, a Douglas County grass-roots activist for Paul. “It’s not about winning individual races. It’s kind of a unique race for the GOP in that there doesn’t seem to be a front-runner, and it does appear it’s going to be decided at the convention.”

To win delegates in Georgia, a candidate either has to get at least 20 percent of the vote statewide or finish first or second in one of the 14 congressional districts. Polls have shown Paul in single digits, which means it’s unlikely he’ll win delegates.

Kelly Nguyen, a state coordinator of the Georgia grass-roots group backing Paul, knows what might happen March 6.

“We are understanding that Paul is not going to win Georgia,” she said. “That’s OK. We’re still going to motivate the Ron Paul supporters in Georgia and keep them excited.”

Vinson Howell of Cochran said there is still time for Paul to surge, considering all the turnover in the GOP standings.

“I think that a lot of Georgians are still behind Speaker Gingrich because of his ties to the state, but his recent fall in the polls would suggest that many people will shift their attention elsewhere,” Howell said. “After Santorum’s flop in the debate Wednesday night, it wouldn’t surprise me if his numbers dropped some.”

That opens the door for Paul, Howell said, if more voters would give him a chance.

What Paul lacks in sheer numbers in Georgia his supporters make up for with passion. It is a singular passion, however — it’s about Ron Paul, not necessarily about the Republican Party, a disconnect that can cause conflict within the party.

As Bell said of the possibility of a convention nomination fight, “I’m not sure that’s good for the GOP, but it’s definitely good for Ron Paul.”

At a rally in Marietta’s Glover Park on Sunday afternoon several hundred Ron Paul supporters enjoyed the sunny weather, waved homemade signs, listened to speeches, and tapped their feet to a Jimi Hendrix tribute band.

The event drew families with children and dogs, and activists waving a panoply of signs.

The success of the campaign, said James Whitfield, 32, a software writer from Midtown wearing a Ron Paul hoodie, can’t be measured in delegates, but in Paul’s message finding a public forum.

“You can’t remove the virus of liberty from the minds of the men who have heard it,” Whitfield said.

Justin Tomczak of Cobb County supports Romney for president and served as a House district chairman at precinct-level meetings earlier this month. He said Paul’s supporters were out in force.

“They were here for one issue, which is Ron Paul,” Tomczak said.

Paul has the ability to bring new people into the party, Tomczak said. But the question is whether they will — or want to — stay.

“There are a lot of folks who showed up for Ron Paul at the convention who have never gone to a GOP breakfast, they’ve probably never worked on a campaign on the local level, so they’re brand-new,” Tomczak said. “There’s some excitement that there are new people, but it’s excitement mixed with some skepticism and concern because folks have never seen them before.”

If Paul doesn’t win, Tomczak wondered, “are they going to stay engaged in the Republican Party?”

Chuck Clay, a former state senator and state party chairman, said some party regulars are torn.

On the one hand, Clay said, Paul supporters bring a strong interest in fiscal policies and a libertarian bent to the party. But, he said, there is also “a little bit of fear that it could blow up in your face.”

Clay remembers four years ago when Rudy Giuliani was still running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. The former mayor of New York was giving a speech on the square in Marietta.

“And a lot of Ron Paul people showed up and shouted,” Clay said.