Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul‘s decision to endorse his father’s rival — presumptive GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney — continues to bring the wrath of Ron Paul‘s cult=like supporters.

“Nothing but a judas. Burn in hell rand,” wrote Natalie Shipanoff on Facebook.

Cody Seggerman Tzm, also writing on Facebook, declared: “Shame on you rand…you sold out on everything your father stands for. For money…if here is a hell, you will see it unless you can make up for your actions.”

Over at The Daily Paul, a poster named Washington said:

The only thing that makes sense is that they must have lured him in with a hot woman and set him with photographs of the event. Something like that. They have to have something on him they are using for leverage. No son would do this to his own father and his entire movement, especially at this critical stage. Carry on with the new invigoration people. These bastards are going down.

Ah, the “hot woman” theory — just the kind of conspiracy belief one finds in the cult of Ron Paul. As usual, Paul’s rabid followers are so wrapped up in the cult-like status of their hero that they fail to comprehend political reality:

Ron Paul will not win the nomination. He never had a chance; Rand Paul, as a freshman Senator from Kentucky, is looking towards his political future and did what he needed to do to support his party.

Some political observers feel Rand Paul realized he doesn’t need or want the more fanatical zealots who follow his father.

“There’s a lot more to the movement than the hard-core fanatics,” journalist Brian Doherty told The Business Insider. “There are a lot of people who voted for Ron Paul in the primaries who are not writing angry things about Rand Paul on the Internet today.”

Mark Whittington, writing for the Yahoo contributor network, suggests the virulent reaction to Rand Paul’s actions showcases a central problem with Ron Paul’s hard-core supporters:

The implied suggestion that Ron Paul is George Washington or Jesus Christ should give one pause. More fundamentally the dust-up over Paul the Younger’s endorsement of his party’s nominee reveals the overwhelming flaw in the Paulitian movement. It is less of a political movement and more of a cult, centered around Ron Paul and his ideas, which his followers seem to regard as holy writ. The campaign is Ron Paul’s swan song. He is in his 70s and is not as spry as he once was. He is leaving Congress, his claim to political legitimacy. And sooner rather than later, he will be with the ages, a departed prophet. Then his cult will die or subsumed into the greater conservative movement. Either outcome would be satisfactory.

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