"It's an embarassment to the process, it's an embarassment to the state of Maine and to the party as a whole how things were conducted today," said Maine National Committeewoman Ashley Ryan minutes after half the Maine delegation walked off the Republican National Convention floor in protest.
Ron Paul-supporting delegates have accused the Republican establishment of changing the rules of the seating process in order to avoid embarassment for Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Their arguments are not without merit.
The Ron Paul faction did not go out quietly, cheering loudly whenever Ron Paul delegates were announced and yelling out the running tally of Paul votes every time the convention announcer failed to do so.
While Maine--and the broader Ron Paul movement--lost this symbolic battle, some delegates say that Republicans have made a bad mistake alienating the Ron Paul vote by picking this fight.
"The party's fractured. This was completely unneccessary, and it's ridiculous," said Ron Paul supporter and Oklahoma delegate Steve Dixon.
Approximately 2 minutes.
Produced by Zach Weissmueller and Tracy Oppenheimer.
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