Ron Paul and All of Romney's Old Rivals Should Speak

Yes, Ron Paul should be allowed to speak at the Republican Convention. But he is not the only one. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain should also be asked to speak to the convention.

Mitt Romney won the Republican nomination. He represents the establishment wing of the party. He reached out to conservatives with his pick of Paul Ryan to be the vice presidential nominee.

[See a collection of political cartoons on the 2012 campaign.]

That is good, but only to a point. Mitt Romney's campaign made a point of winning without reaching out to the Tea Party, and his campaign is still ignoring the Tea Party. Since the announcement of Paul Ryan as Romney's running mate, a lot of Tea Party leaders and groups have circled around Romney.

But that is still not enough.

The Republican Party needs to acknowledge the Tea Party and its role in bringing the GOP back from the edge of political extinction. How can the GOP do that? By letting the conservative candidates speak.

[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]

What genius decided Chris Christie should be the keynote speaker? How about Newt Gingrich? Gingrich can light up a Republican crowd. Ron Paul has his dedicated following as do Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain.

It isn't just that Ron Paul should be given a speaking slot at the convention. All of the former contenders should be allowed to speak. If a convention is about unifying the party, then the best way to do that is to bring all of these people up and give them their due for the campaigns they ran.

This is how Republicans can unify the Party. The question is, will they?

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