A founder of Veterans for Ron Paul and prominent Paul supporter who mused about assassinating Mitt Romney on his web show last week, is out with a new tirade exhorting Paulites to disrupt the Republican National Convention — just as the campaign is on a mission to train them not to do so.
"Nobody cares, sorry Jesse," Adam Kokesh tells his audience in the clip from Thursday. "Nobody gives a shit about your negotiations with the Republican Party establishment. No one cares that you're able to placate the Ron Paul grassroots in order to smooth this out for the establisment and make sure that Romney gets his informercial."
"Because the only other option other than having that 51 percent majority at the convention is to disrupt, is to be a presence, is to be a thorn in their side," he says.
Kokesh's words come after the Paul campaign's announcement that it would cease campaigning in early primary states — and begin training its delegates to behave themselves at the Republican National Convention, after a spate of incidents at state conventions this year. Campaign chairman Jesse Benton in particular has been vocal about emphasizing "decorum and respect," a point he repeatedly made in a conference call with reporters last week.
"It's been extremely disappointing to see that the official campaign -- Jesse Benton, John Tate -- have failed to contest this with the Republican party," Kokesh says in the video. "We didn't come here to play nice." He then encourages Paul delegates to lobby other delegates at the convention to switch their loyalties and vote for Paul.
Kokesh is an influential figure in the movement surrounding the Paul campaign, as head of Veterans for Ron Paul and host of the web show Adam vs. The Man, which was once carried on terrestrial radio in a few states. His congressional bid in 2010 was endorsed by Paul, though the campaign says they have since cut ties with him.