Outside the Beltway

Ron Paul Supporters And RNC Reach Truce On Convention Disputes

Doug Mataconis · Wednesday, August 22, 2012 · 2 comments

It looks like Ron Paul supporters and the RNC have come to an agreement that will prevent any embarrassing moments at the upcoming convention:

Tampa, Florida (CNN) - A stand off between Ron Paul supporters and the Republican National Committee over convention delegates appears to be easing, and both sides are close to announcing a deal that could help avoid a potentially embarrassing moment for Mitt Romney on the day he receives the GOP presidential nomination.

The deal, which is expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon, will seat more Paul delegates at next week’s Republican National Convention, an act that could help prevent an organized effort by Paul supporters to try and bring Monday’s opening session to a grinding halt.

“This is a major step towards peace and good will on the convention floor,” said a Paul source familiar with the negotiations. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been made public.

The RNC has agreed to seat 17 Ron Paul delegates from Louisiana, which has been a major point of contention between the Paul campaign and the Romney campaign. In addition, the RNC will also seat additional Paul delegates from Massachusetts, ending the controversy in that state.

There are still ongoing discussions over disputed delegates from Maine, which is being negotiated by Paul advisors, RNC officials and senior Romney staff. But the compromise over Louisiana and Massachusetts was a major break through on this thorny issue less than a week before the Republican National Convention.

The good will between Paul and Romney was helped by the willingness of the Romney campaign to help integrate key policy issues into the Republican Party platform, which has been debated here in Tampa for the past two days. Discussions between Paul and Romney over the platform have been going on for months.

One of those platform issue concessions is a provision that will be part of the GOP Platform that will call for an audit of the Federal Reserve Board, something that has been a pet issue of Ron Paul’s for years and which has energized his supporters since the 2008 campaign. It’s also likely that Paul’s own calls to his supporters not to cause disruptions during the convention, and the prime time speaking slot granted to Senator Rand Paul, have gone a long way toward placating a group of people that are both restive and not always interested in getting along with others.