The American Conservative's Jordan Bloom describes "PAULfest," Ron Paul's informal retirement celebration, as a "failure."

The Paul campaign didn’t even embrace the rally, as it negotiated with the RNC about a speaking slot that never materialized. The underwhelming turnout which surprised even several of the festival organizers, was also due to unrealistic expectations — one staff member quoted 13,000 as the number of tickets sold (they offered two-for-one deals at the end) — not to mention the presence of Isaac, the tropical storm currently gathering strength somewhere between Haiti and Key West. The RNC has cancelled Monday programming as the storm is expected to become a hurricane today.

Bloom also shares an anecdote from a disillusioned Paul supporter.

“This whole RNC thing is totally scripted for television,” says Kenny Bent, 59, a Paul delegate from Nevada. “Anybody who makes any noise will be removed. That’s the way it is. We have played by their rules all the way to get to where we are. And we’ll keep playing by the rules, even though they keep changing them.”