Lest we forget, the Republican presidential primary is still going on. Well, sort of. Technically, anyway. And even in July there were still a few details to be worked out in accordance with the arcane rules of the party for this summer’s convention. One of those was whether or not Ron Paul’s name could be placed in contention for the nomination on the convention floor, giving the Texas congressman essentially a free ticket to speak to the crowd. This weekend, while few people were paying attention, it looks like the last nail was hammered in that coffin.

It looks like Ron Paul isn’t going to be officially nominated for the presidency in Tampa.

His backers failed to win a plurality of delegate slots at the Nebraska GOP convention Saturday, leaving the Texas congressman short of the support necessary to have his name placed into contention at the national convention.

According to national party rules, a candidate needs a plurality of the delegates in at least five states to have his name presented for the nomination – by falling short in Nebraska, the last state to hold its convention, Paul came up one state short.

As you will recall, while never in serious contention for the overall nomination, Paul’s supporters were incredibly effective in a number of states. It wasn’t just their ability to get out the vote, but years of experience with the byzantine rules of the caucus states and the ability to wring every last drop of support out of the local power structure.

Nebraska was bracing for the same “chaos” as it’s described in the article, but in the end it simply didn’t materialize. It would appear that too many of the adults in the room were well aware that the race was over, that it was time to get behind the nominee, and that to allow another stunt like the ones Paul’s people had pulled before would do nothing but embarrass the GOP. At this point it’s difficult to see what role, if any, Ron Paul will play at the convention now.