No.

Why would the GOP be scared of Ron Paul but end up nominating him?

I’ll explain.

Romney and the GOP have demonstrated both poor judgment and poor sportsmanship that might cost them by damaging Romney’s electability among the Ron Paul supporters thus leading to a splitting of votes, which in turn, could cost the GOP the entire election.

Dr. Ron Paul is still in the race for president and is a strong contender for the 2012 GOP nomination.

To be on the GOP ballot Aug. 27, 2012 in Tampa and get a 15-minute speaking slot, a candidate must have won the plurality (majority) of delegates in at least 5 states.

Well, Ron Paul did win the plurality of delegates in 5 states, enough to be eligible for the nomination and a 15-minute speaking slot at the GOP convention. The states he won are Louisiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Maine and Nevada. Then Ron Paul went on to win the plurality in Massachusetts, Romney’s home state and half the delegates in Oregon. Dr. Ron Paul also has around 500 delegateswho support him. The exact number of delegates that Romney and Paul have is still a mystery but should be clarified at the convention.

So… Ron Paul won his 5-plus states, he’s on the ballot and writing his speech, right? Not exactly.

What happened next is what may cost the Republicans and Romney the entire election. Instead of accepting that Ron Paul, the GOP underdog, had won enough delegates in enough states to be allowed his rightful place on the ballot and his 15-minute speaking slot, the GOP and Romney’s people decided to try and take these legitimate wins away from Ron Paul and his supporters. Ron Paul supporters fought hard, played fair and won. Romney supporters didn’t play fair and still lost those 5-plus states. These Ron Paul pluralities were won in spite of shenanigans and tricks tried by Romney supporters and the GOP to prevent or undermine Ron Paul wins. The Ron Paul supporters were well prepared and won the needed amount of states anyway.

So, how did Romney and his supporters handle their losses of five measly states to Ron Paul? Honorably? Graciously? With dignity? Maturely?

No. Quite the opposite.

Romney’s people ran to Big Daddy GOP to rescue them from their defeats by trying to disqualify the valid Ron Paul delegates and to take away Ron Paul’s right to speak and be on the ballot by reducing his states won to fewer than the five needed.

So far, Romney and the GOP have contested the Ron Paul wins in Louisiana, Maine, Massachusettsand Oregon. They threw out the Massachusetts Ron Paul delegates after the GOP tried to force the delegates to sign a long legal document that required them to vote for Romney. This was not something that had ever been done before. The GOP allowed Romney, big lawyers and big bullying to invalidate Ron Paul’s solid win in Massachusetts.

As in the other states, the Ron Paul delegates in Maine played by the rules and won. Even Governor LePage of Maine, a Republican, is appalled with GOP efforts to throw out the duly-elected Ron Paul delegates.

The entire plot to reduce Ron Paul wins to under five states to take his name off the ballot and take away his 15-minute speaking slot is well under way. If Romney/Ryan are so great, why can’t they handle a little competition without whining and crying like sore losers?

Are they afraid of losing the 2012 nomination to Ron Paul if he speaks and is on the ballot?

Why not play fair and let the best man win?

Who cheats? The lazy, bratty, insecure and less-qualified people who can’t win honestly and fairly. Is that really presidential material?

I wonder if Romney and the GOP are worried that if Ron Paul speaks and gets the nomination, that Ron Paul will fire all of them. Is the GOP that terrified of change, even if it is for the betterment of the country?

Here is why I think that Ron Paul might still walk away with the nomination.

4. Lots of regular “little people”, like me, want Ron Paul to be the 2012 GOP presidential candidate. We, the little people, do not like being trod upon and when we join together, we are stronger than big money. Remember, “We the People”? Ron Paul’s donors areregular working people, many military men and women, not banks.

3. Ron Paul is the David to Romney’s Goliath Machine but the spirit, character and faith of we “little people” count more in America than just money. Romney has raised$152 million to Paul’s $39 million. Ron Paul has more passionate support from his supporters due to Ron Paul’s character and dedication to serving America and Americans based on our founding principles embodied in our Constitution. Money, media manipulation and bullying can’t buy this type of support. But, Romney and his lawyers couldn’t let Ron Paul keep 5-plus wins?

2. Ron Paul wants to serve his country, and has served in the military, and would end the wars. Ron Paul’s supporters and Americans want someone they can trust and believe in. Dr. Paul is that man.

1. Mitt Romney is much less qualified to be president than Ron Paul, who understands the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Watch this link where Romney is asked a basic Constitutional question and replies, “I’ll have to ask my lawyers”. Ron Paul tells Mitt Romney, “Read the Constitution.” Ron Paul is the only Republican Presidential candidate who is qualified, experienced and credible.

We, little people, similar to Ron Paul and his supporters, work hard, play fair and expect the same from others.

If Romney and his supporters had been gracious losers about Ron Paul’s 5-plus state wins and Ron Paul’s 15-minute speech, Romney had a chance to garner both the GOP 2012 nomination plus the support and votes of Ron Paul and his supporters. (I say “a chance” because many Ron Paul supporters do not see Romney as a fiscal conservative.)

Not anymore. It is hard to vote for someone who has acted so dishonorably, even for the sake of party loyalty.

The misguided Machiavellian advice Romney got and took to “win at all costs,” may cost him dearly in November due to the bad will generated with Ron Paul supporters. Too many people have lost too much respect for Romney to vote for him. To the contrary, even though Ron Paul’s campaign was repeatedly slighted and undermined by Romney and his supporters, Ron Paul stayed gracious and denounced mistreatment of Romney. He has told his delegates to “Make yourself heard but be respectful.”

By playing dirty and being greedy, Romney supporters may have lost Romney both the nomination and the election.

Romney and the national GOP are showing their ugly colors by attempting to take away Ron Paul state delegate wins that were earned fair and square.

In speaking with some Ron Paul supporters, here is their current plan. If Ron Paul doesn’t win the 2012 GOP nomination, many Ron Paul supporters will elect to vote for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate. Why wouldn’t Ron Paul supporters write in Ron Paul on ballots around the country? For those write-in votes to count, a write-in candidate must be listed in every state and some Ron Paul supporters do not know if their Ron Paul votes would count.

And, due to the shabby treatment Ron Paul and his supporters have received from the GOP and Romney’s people, many Ron Paul supporters may refuse to vote for Romney in 2012, even if it means Obama being re-elected for four more years. One supporter told me, “I want the GOP to see how many votes they lost by playing dirty. They will only be able to count all the lost votes if I vote for Gary Johnson.”

If you want to learn more about Gary Johnson click here. He stands for small government, government staying out of your business, liberty and fiscal responsibility. He is like Ron Paul without the Roe v Wade concern. Gary Johnson has had virtually no media coverage so you may not have heard of him.

As I heard in grammar school and it remains true: “Cheat, Cheat Never Beat”.

Ron Paul is the only qualified person for the 2012 Republican Nomination who can unify conservative Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and stabilize the economy. If the GOP is smart and humble enough to do a mea culpa and nominate Ron Paul, Republicans stand a better chance of winning in November. If Ron Paul doesn’t get the nomination, many Ron Paul supporters will likely be voting for Gary Johnson. All Romney and the GOP had to do was play fair and win honorably, but I guess that was too much to ask.

But here is the GOP’s conflict: If the GOP nominates Ron Paul and he wins, many of the GOP cronies will be shown the door. There will be a big house cleaning of corrupt politicians, like turning on the lights and the cockroaches scatter. On the other hand, if they don’t nominate Ron Paul, they risk losing all the Ron Paul supporters, which would likely split the vote and lose the 2012 election entirely.

It is hard to make those type of decisions when choosing what is best for the country doesn’t figure in at all, but choosing what is best for their own selfish principles of self-preservation, greed and thirst for power rule the day.

Romney and the GOP need to leave Ron Paul’s five-plus states alone, place him on the ballot and allow Ron Paul to speak.

Follow Laura Trice on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LaurasWJF