Ron Paul: 'No way' on being ready to endorse Romney

(CNN) – While his son came out in support for Mitt Romney last week, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said Tuesday he won't be following suit.

"No. Not ready. No way," Paul said on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" when asked if he was ready to endorse Romney.

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In May, the congressman decided to end his active campaigning for president, though he still technically remains a presidential candidate.

His son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, caused a stir nearly two weeks ago among some of his father's diehard supporters when he announced he was backing the presumptive GOP presidential nominee–a candidate whose more moderate Republican platform contrasts with several of the libertarian ideas championed by Sen. Paul and his father.

While Rep. Paul acknowledged on Tuesday that Romney would become the nominee, he argued the candidate "doesn't have control of the hearts and minds of the people" and gave no hint that he would stand behind Romney at the Republican National Convention in August.

"What's he going to achieve? I think it's legitimate for us to continue the debate. I know they don't want the debate at the convention; everything has to be smooth and proper," Paul said.

He added that as a taxpayer, he helps pay for the conventions-or what he called "grand parties"-and therefore has a right to push his own message at the event.

In recent months, Paul supporters have aggressively made waves at state conventions in order to shore up more delegates for Paul at the national convention.

"I'd like to have these conventions mean something and continue the debate and decide what we as a party actually believe in," Paul said.

The congressman also did little to shoot down a lawsuit spearheaded by his supporters against the Republican National Committee.

The suit, CNN has learned, argues that the party's "binding delegate" rule–in which delegates in some states are required to vote for their primary's winner–violates federal law and impedes on delegates' "Constitutional right to vote their conscience" in Tampa.

Responding to the claim, the RNC has dismissed the suit as "frivolous."

While Paul, himself, is not involved in the lawsuit, he said he encouraged his supporters to stand up for themselves and their cause if they feel cheated against.

"If they have a legitimate argument that they can make and that's what they want to do, I'm not going to say 'Don't do it'," he said.

- CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby contributed to this report

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