Ron Paul: Romney campaign scared to let me speak at GOP convention

Rep. Ron Paul said that the Republican Party is scared to let him speak at the national convention in Florida next month.

The Texas Republican candidate for president said he thinks the prospects of him having the Tampa platform to energize his “Ronvolution” movement of supporters — who buck traditional GOP staples such as war funding and are in favor of more radical ideas such as auditing the Federal Reserve — intimidates some in the Republican leadership, including former Gov. Mitt Romney’s (R-Mass.) campaign.

“I think the Romney campaign organization is very insecure,” said Paul in an interview with Fox Business Network on Friday.

“They want this thing to go smoothly. But all conventions are like that. And this is the one thing that annoys me a bit. If they want this thing to go smoothly and be a big media event, and it costs the taxpayers $18 million, and they don't want a discussion, why can't we have a little debate?”

Paul is in the process of gunning hard for the 18 delegate votes he needs from Nebraska’s state GOP convention on Saturday so he can have his name entered into nomination for president and secure a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in August.

While Paul does not stand much of a chance of stealing a significant number of votes away from Romney at the national convention, the plurality of delegates in Nebraska would guarantee him a 15-minute speaking spot, which he believes could galvanize his base.

Paul needs to win a plurality of delegate votes in at least five states to be given a spot on the GOP national convention. So far he was won four: Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, and Louisiana.

Romney, the party’s presumptive nominee, seized the 1,144 delegates need for the nomination in May.

---