Ok, so Benito is out. Next target, McCain.
Update: The Ron Paul supporters in the link above managed to generate positive media coverage for Ron Paul by behaving respectfully. On the flip side, LRC reader and Ron Paul supporter Jason Bennett emails with a different story....
I just got back from the John McCain rally here in Chicago at the Odeum Expo Center. My brother and I are both huge supporters of Ron Paul. We came to show our support for Paul and for people to see us there, and to see that there was another option. Unfortunately, our cause was ruined. Just after John McCain started giving his speech, a family of Paul supporters started yelling and chanting, interrupting the speech.
John McCain was handled it tactfully. He said, "Oh come on now. I've had lots of Ron Paul supporters at my other rallies, and they've always been really polite." For about 30 seconds, they shut up, then started their raucous yelling again. They were escorted out by security. My brother and I left rather quickly after that, embarrassed. A security guard in the hall wanted to know if my brother and I were going to be causing trouble, too. We advised him that wasn't our style, and we felt the other Paul supporters had been very rude. In fact, my brother had followed them outside to let them know to their face, that they were an embarrassment to Paul's campaign.
Yelling along with the couple was their three year old daughter. After we left, we saw the family in the parking lot. I let them know too, that I felt their actions were in poor taste. The little girl asked me, "Why don't you like Ron Paul?" to which I replied, "I do, of course, very much." The father tells the little girl, "He likes Ron Paul, but he's just afraid to say it out loud."
Its no wonder we can't get taken seriously by the media when these kinds of shenanigans get pulled. I don't have a problem with doing chants in public or having a rally outside, but to disrupt a speech, and alienate Paul's message to a whole roomful of what might have been undecided voters is just absurd.
Please, go for favorable media coverage by representing Ron Paul in a positive manner rather than being rude and getting thrown out of events for other candidates.
