the only problem i have is registering as a republican to vote for paul - because if he doesnt get on the ticket than who am i left with ? romney? perry?... god forbid... bachman??
You can be registered as a republican and then go to the voting booth and vote for anyone you want. You aren't required by law to vote a straight party ticket or anything.
Personally, I'm registered as an independent so that that neither party will be counting on my vote.
When I go into a voting booth if I don't have a specific reason for voting for a certain candidate, I usually vote for whatever third party candidate is on the ballot. If I have no opinion on which judge to elect or which state senator to elect, I vote for the independent or third party candidate. They won't likely WIN, but at least I am sending a message that there are other choices out there besides red and blue. There are always several issues on the ballot that I have not studied in depth and so I have no reasonable opinion on one way or the other.
If its important (like when I didn't want McCain to be president because he might die and make Palin the president) then I vote for the lesser of two evils.
So what these guys are saying, and I agree with, is that you can register as a republican BEFORE the primaries and then you can vote in the republican primaries to lend your support to Ron Paul. If you aren't a registered republican, you don't get to vote in the republican primary.