Police Intervene, Arrest Ron Paul Backers at Missouri Caucus

Yahoo! News / ABC News ^ | March 17, 2012 | Chris Good

[2ndDivisionVet]

Police and organizers shut down proceedings at one of Missouri's largest caucuses today, as Ron Paul supporters feuded with local GOP leaders.

"It's like the Hatfields and the McCoys around here," St. Charles County's former GOP chairman told ABC News, after police arrived on-scene with a helicopter and removed Paul backers.

In St. Charles, an exurb of St. Louis and one of the state's largest GOP counties, Paul supporters sought to elect their own chairman and adopt their own rules when proceedings opened - both of which are part of standard caucus rules and procedure. But as they argued with the caucus chair, Paul supporters held video cameras - against caucus rules, according to a GOP official who was there - and things became contentious.

"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," said Tom Kipers, a former chairman of the St. Charles GOP, who attended the caucus at Francis Howell North High School....

[tacticalogic]

I get angry at people who tell me they and their cadidate are “constitutionalists” while they talk about using federal power for things the Constitution never empowered the federal government to do.

[Da Bilge Troll]

Odd that the fact the Romneybots outnumbered the Ron Paul supporters at that caucus is not mentioned...

I was there (St. Charles) and the 3 candidates' people were about split into thirds. Santorum had the most, which is why the Romney and Paul people joined forces.

there were mostly RomneyBots and Paul supporters there..

Yes, once they joined up, they had about two thirds.

The Paul supporters had to be objecting to some element that was muscling in...

No, they were the element muscling in. They planned this well in advance and they intended to disrupt the proceedings. But we all came there ready to fight and it was no surprise to me. The GOP people running the caucus were idiots and the police over-reacted.

First off, they had only reserved the building for 3 hours after the start-time. This was completely unreasonable.

And seriously: no cameras? In 2012? This was seemingly designed to cause a fight and it did.

So there's plenty of blame to go around.

[Tennessee Nana]

But we all came there ready to fight and it was no surprise to me. The GOP people running the caucus were idiots and the police over-reacted.

So there’s plenty of blame to go around.
___________________________________________

OK fair enough

so youre saying the Romneybots were not just innocent bystanders ???

From what I read it made them sound like nice and put upon uninvolved reasonable attendees...

Granted the Paulites might be riotous...

But the RomneyBots are not that clean handed...

The only rally I was ever at with both Paulites and RomneyBots was in 2008 in South Carolina...

I was there for Duncan Hunter...

I got to meet Ron Paul and some of the Romney family there...

Ron Paul was a gentleman and his people were quiet and very polite and helpful to everyone else..

The Romney boys were snooty and arrogant and their aids werent much nicer..

But that was 2008..

But now in 2012 it seems you were at a Hatfield and McCoy feudin’

:)

[Da Bilge Troll]

so youre saying the Romneybots were not just innocent bystanders ???

Of course they were "involved"! They were being instructed by the Paul organizers!

From what I read it made them sound like nice and put upon uninvolved reasonable attendees... Granted the Paulites might be riotous... But the RomneyBots are not that clean handed...

No, but don't misunderstand me - there was nothing "secretive" about all this. The caucusers were all intermingled and what was told to one group was heard by all. I'm not complaining about that so much - at a caucus such things are just political strategy and tactics.