Matt Belz of Missouri showed up at the Ron Paul rally in Tampa Sunday help to carry on the movement of retiring Texas Republican congressman. He found little support from the other Paul fans at the event though. That was because Belz thought the vehicle to carry the message forward was former New Mexico governor and now Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.
Belz found few takers as he handed out Johnson literature outside the arena where the event was being held. “They don’t get the message. They don’t get that Gary Johnson is furthering the Ron Paul message,” he said.
He added: “Ron Paul supporters are very adamant about supporting Ron Paul.” And they don’t much care for anyone else it seems, except Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Indeed, throughout the 2012 election there has been friction between the Paul and Johnson campaigns, despite – or perhaps because of – their overlapping messages.
Despite it’s many disagreements with the Republican establishment – the Sunday event was being held in part because Paul was being denied a speaking slot at the GOP convention – the Paul campaign has said there is “no chance” that he would endorse Johnson.
Paul, who was himself the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988, has decided that he needs to work within the GOP to move it towards his particular brand of libertarianism. As a result, his campaign has tended to view the actual Libertarian Party as a distraction from that effort. The Libertarian Party on the other hand has coveted Paul’s supporters.
Another factor, as Belz pointed out, is that for many Paul supporters it is all about the man himself. The Paul lovefest that followed inside the arena was proof enough of that.
That raises the question of whether Paul’s movement can survive his own retirement, even with his son now a senator. Belz, as happened said he thought it would. But he still hoped they would give Johnson a second shot .
“I am hoping he gets to 5% nationally and comes back in 2016,” Belz said.
