Ron Paul could be the real winner of Maine caucus

The mainstream media reported Mitt Romney the victor of the Maine caucus on Saturday, claiming another win for the frontrunner who had slipped in standing behind Rick Santorum during the previous week’s contests.

Then again, when you ignore an entire county, it’s easy to come out on top.News stations jumped the gun and declared Romney the winner over the weekend, and taking into account the available numbers on Saturday, they were right. But as the networks begin relaying the results, they failed to recognize that Washington County, Maine — a stronghold in the Ron Paul presidential campaign — had their caucus mysteriously postponed. The jurisdiction had their caucus suspended due to an expected three inches of snow, which in actuality turned out to be a mere dusting. When the residents of Washington County are allowed to cast their votes next week, Ron Paul could be declared the real winner in Maine. With only 84 percent of the votes tallied in Maine, Romney was declared the victor with 39 percent of the votes favoring the former Massachusetts governor. In second place, however, was Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who only fell flat of Romney by fewer than 200 votes. The Paul campaign had predicted a win in Washington County, and when voters are finally allowed to voice their opinion, the mainstream media may have to retract their earlier opinion.Ron Paul’s team feels that it was a bit fishy that Washington County was washed away on caucus day.“The caucus was delayed until next week just so the votes wouldn’t be reported by the national media,” campaign manager John Tate explains to Ron Paul supporters. “The truth is, there is no length to which the GOP establishment won’t go. There is nothing the mainstream media won’t do,” Tate added.“This is MAINE we’re talking about,” John Tate’s email continues. “The GIRL SCOUTS had an event today in Washington County that wasn’t cancelled! And just the votes of Washington County would have been enough to put us over the top. This is an outrage.”In his response, Tate also writes that the “GOP establishment and their pals in the national media…will do anything to silence our message of liberty.”Ron Paul himself seems that that message is still staying strong across America, however, and made a point of addressing it after being awarded a premature second-place finish with 36 percent of the votes so far.“We have the message that America needs at this particular time,” Paul told supporters Saturday night. “And the wonderful thing is, the message is not complex. Everybody understands it — and the message is liberty. That’s the message. That means we want our freedom, we want each and every individual to have their freedom.”When the freedom to vote is restored In Washington County, the Paul camp predicts that the message will be heard loud and clear. Even with the current results, he told supporters this weekend, “It’s almost like we could call it a tie.”Days earlier, Paul swept Romney during the race in Minnesota, coming in second with 27 percent of the vote in the state’s caucus to a first place win for Rick Santorum.“We had a very, very strong second place — and it’s going to continue,” Paul told supporters last week from Minnesota. With a second place win days later in Maine — a decision that could be upgraded once Washington County residents have their say — the congressman couldn’t be more right.