Much is being made of Ron Paul’s failed effort to infiltrate the Republican Convention by trying to insert their preferred delegate candidates. Using Roberts Rules of Order and acting out, Paulites seek to maneuver around perceived election results and local establishments to gain delegates — ala Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
They failed. Local Republican establishments will resort to almost any means to run roughshod over Paulites. Chaos, arrests and the like notwithstanding.
It turned into a little food fight within the caucus, between the caucus chairman trying to control the caucus and certain elements, I guess with Ron Paul, trying to be heard.
So why do it? Merely stunt politics? Especially when the Paul campaign candidly talked about its delegates strategy? More than a few note Paul’s candidacies resemble an Artistic Installation. Designed to mainstream his libertarian memes for the son’s future.
Arguably, de-legitimizing process and institutions in 2012 furthers that goal. Except Movement-controlled Republican consensus rarely acknowledges process-generated legitimacy except as rationalization. (See generally, Movement reaction to First Obama Administration).
In an age of demotic theater, who played pantomime to their constituencies the best? We’d call it a draw so far.
Granted there’s surely a certain Quixotic, mischievous glint in Paul’s eye, poking the elephant with Roberts Rules of Order. Still, it’s getting late in this excruciating political season. At some point meta-political theater becomes so recursive it folds into itself like a black hole.
One increasingly dreads October.