Paul supporters sweep Minnesota

[BDBoop]

Ron Paul backers complete weekend sweep in Minnesota - TwinCities.com

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The Ron Paul revolution has completed its sweep over the Minnesota Republican Party convention here.

Paul backers won 12 of 13 Republican National Convention delegate slots filled in balloting Saturday, May 19, at Rivers Edge Civic Center.

They might have taken all 13 seats if a Paul state delegate had not graciously conceded the final slot to Rep. Michele Bachmann.

The results mean 32 of Minnesota's 40 national delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa in August will be committed to Paul. Supporters of the Texas congressman and presidential candidate won 20 of the 24 national delegate slots filled at Republican congressional district conventions earlier this spring.

The vote was a well-organized coup by the Paul newcomers over longtime party activists.

"It shows that the Ron Paul people are extremely organized and very serious about winning those spots, and the non-Ron Paul folks were not as well organized," said Republican National Committeeman Jeff Johnson.

Marianne Stebbins, Paul's state campaign chairwoman, said their victory "sends a message that we're not just giving lip service to liberty and smaller government -- we're serious about it."

The campaign of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, put up a "conservative unity slate" made up of party establishment leaders to challenge Paul's "liberty slate." Bachmann, a former presidential candidate who endorsed Romney last week, headed the slate.

 

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With Eye On Future, Billionaire Investor Bets On Paul : NPR

As a conservative, Thiel has donated money to a variety of Republican lawmakers. He's also Christian and gay, and he's a major donor to GOProud, a gay conservative group based in Washington, D.C.

Thiel's contribution of more than $2.5 million to the Endorse Liberty superPAC, which supports Paul, makes him the fund's largest donor — in spite of the fact that the two men have never met or communicated in any way.

Thiel declined to comment for this report. But his spokesman, Jim O'Neill, says Thiel believes Paul is the best candidate to beat President Obama.

"There's a great opportunity to reach out to people who are concerned about civil liberties on the left, people who are concerned about deficits in the middle, people who are concerned about taxation on the right, people who are opposed to bailouts and bubbles," O'Neill says. "And so I think Paul would do really well against Obama."

If that sounds like a long shot, keep this in mind: That's exactly what Thiel invests in. He's given money to a variety of long-term projects, from anti-aging research to "seasteading" — an effort to build communities on platforms in international waters. And he has said his support for Paul is the best bet for now to encourage a libertarian movement.