Sam Stein: Ron Paul, Rick Santorum Suggest Foul Play From Romney Campaign

CPAC went as expected as Romney has bused in college Republicans for the straw polls starting when he ran in 2008.  He provides transportation, food, lodging, entrance fees, and the ballots to young Mormon college students and when he cannot find enough Mormons, they recruit others.  How do I know?  Saw it with the College Republicans here that wanted to go to CPAC for free in agreement for voting for Romney.  Anyone with a brain knows that straw polls are money making entities and a victory when it is bought by a candidate like Romney is worth nothing.  Santorum coming in a close second is noteworthy since he didn't buy any ballots for his supporters -- they bought their own.  Romney supporters will tout it as a win but frankly buying votes and bringing in your supporters is a hollow victory.  Those same bought supporters were there to cheer on his speech as well.

Another caucus, another claim this time by the Paul camp that Romney in collusion with the State GOP Chair just like in Iowa and Nevada caucus have touted results that are suspect and incomplete.  Looks like where Romney was able to get his people in as GOP Chairs we have real problems with honest elections.  From all accounts Ron Paul should win when another county caucuses this week and their votes are reported or are they going to lose the ballot boxes?

In Washington County -- where Ron Paul was incredibly strong -- the caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media today. Of course, their excuse for the delay was "snow." That’s right snow.  A prediction of 3-4 inches -- that turned into nothing more than a dusting -- was enough for a local GOP official to postpone the caucuses just so the results wouldn’t be reported tonight. 

Three to four inches of snow in Maine is nothing -- to some in Maine a foot is nothing because they are used to snow.  No results should have been announced until the caucus was held in Washington County but that didn't fit the narrative of the Romney campaign.

This may be the most unethical campaign in the Republican Party I have ever seen, and I have seen some rigged campaigns but nothing to this extent and in collusion with the State Chairs.  Think the whole RNC structure needs a massive overhaul because the RNC Chair is also in the Romney camp along with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Republican Governors Association, McDonnell and Christi.  Remember that only Romney and Paul are on the Virginia ballot and even a federal judge said the new law was not constitutional.

What is it, support Romney and lose all ethics?

Ron Paul, Rick Santorum Suggest Foul Play From Romney Campaign 

Sam Stein        

First Posted: 02/12/2012 11:26 am                               

Mitt Romney scored two minor but symbolically important victories on Saturday -- a first-place finish in the CPAC Straw poll and a win in the Maine caucus -- each of which set off accusations of foul play from the second place finisher.

In an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) suggested that Romney had doctored the results of the CPAC contest. 

"I don't try to rig straw polls," he said. "You have to talk to the Romney campaign and how many tickets they bought... We've heard all sorts of things." 

Meanwhile, late Saturday night, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) sent an email to supporters that essentially alleged collusion between the Romney campaign and the Maine Republican Party without actually mentioning Romney by name. A portion of the email is below:  

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And it's hard to imagine that they will take the accusations all that seriously, at least with respect to the CPAC result. Santorum, after all, could have bought tickets just like Romney allegedly did. He didn't.  

As for Maine, the real story there is not that Romney won but that Ron Paul and his campaign have been left so aggrieved. The Paul and Romney campaigns have been in a détente since the campaign started, with each candidate expressing admiration for the other. It's unclear whether that changes now, but it certainly doesn't help Romney to have Paul's legion of backers believe that he stole a caucus, no matter how minor, from their still-bare win column. 

In Washington County -- where Ron Paul was incredibly strong -- the caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media today. Of course, their excuse for the delay was "snow." That’s right. A prediction of 3-4 inches -- that turned into nothing more than a dusting -- was enough for a local GOP official to postpone the caucuses just so the results wouldn’t be reported tonight. This is MAINE we’re talking about. The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn’t cancelled! And just the votes of Washington County would have been enough to put us over the top.

Please see Huffington Post for any Updates to the article

Those of us who questioned Romney's honesty and integrity in 2008 are being proven right in 2012 with the elections where he has won.  Missing ballot boxes in Iowa which have never been found, dead voting in NH, and alleged voter fraud in the Florida high rises which happens every election but where the Romney camp concentrated their efforts along with nursing homes.  Nevada turned Paul people away and then were unable to count votes in a timely manner so Romney would get over 50%.  Now Maine where a county didn't hold their caucus due to snow but the Girl Scouts held a function in the County, the Chair reports the results for the news media even though there is a county missing.  How can you declare Romney the winner with a county who has not even caucused?

Funny how MO, MN, and CO went off with a hitch and Santorum won those.  It has been reported that Romney wasn't very organized in those states so we were saved from missing ballot boxes, dead people voting, and drawn out counting with a few add ons or subtraction of ballots to give Romney a win.  It is downright crooked and Maine has proved this is all about getting Romney the win in the media even if the numbers change down the road.  Totally unethical and the Maine GOP Chair should resign immediately for his collusion with Romney.

Is Ron Paul going to get it through his head that Romney and his people are not ethical and will do what is necessary to defeat Paul or anyone else.  Ron Paul supporters understand but does their candidate?  Conservatives need to turn out in big numbers on Super Tuesday against Romney so any foul play by the Romney camp can be overcome.