I believe that the GOP faces a dilemma. I think that if Ron Paul does not win the GOP primary and runs as a third party candidate, he will maintain enough support to guarantee Obama's reelection. There is no doubt that Paul has gotten more support this year than ever before and it might just be enough to put Paul in this unique, and quite powerful, position. Either the GOP can go with Paul and have a shot at beating Obama or they can go with anyone else and Paul will probably take away enough votes to ensure Obama's reelection. One may ask why Paul and his supporters would do such a thing. The reason is that we believe that Ron Paul is the only viable option for president. Most of us Paul supporters believe that the difference between Obama and any other candidate would be like the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke. It's the same thing with a new face and a slight tweak in methodology.
Paul and his supporters Might Be Wrong ? The question remains..why is Paul running as a Republican.. ? That in its self is a self defeating way for a libertarian to win. Might be a tad hypocritical too. and 11-14 % is not over whelming support. Not even here.
He threw his support to four different 3rd parties (way to divide the vote as much as possible), but did not run himself. He'll likely repeat the same. He'll openly say, "please vote for some other 3rd party" but give no solid name (that way, he is not tied to any person) and it will have zero impact.
He runs as republican because anyone with a brain knows that you have to run as a democrat or republican in order to have a chance at winning. And your "11-14%" sounds like a random statistic to me. You can't really be sure as to how much support he has. And I'm not saying that he definitely will run as a 3rd party, but it is possible. Should he choose to do so and should he have enough support, he could guarantee Obama's reelection. That would put Paul in a position of power that would put the GOP in a bind. Of course that would go against what he believes but it is his last shot at presidency, so who is to say he won't try it? It's not like something like this hasn't happened before. Although it seems to me that the non-paul supporters are too oblivious to how much support Paul could have and want to keep believing that it is impossible for him to have enough to have any real impact. Anything is possible, keep that in mind.
Then again now might be that rare time in history when an Independent could have a real chance. Look at Obama's approval rating and also Congress'. It's obvious a majority of people are very disaffected with both parties. With the right running mate, Paul could actually win as an Independent if the Republican party doesn't get behind him. JMO
While I don't agree with Paul on many things, I think he will realize that when it becomes obvious that he won't win the nomination, that it is more important to replace Obama than it is to make a point by running as a 3rd party candidate.
I think he realizes we are screwed, whether it is Obama or Rick Perry and will take the chance to save our country and return our liberties from a corrupt government and media.
He is polling at almost exactly the same as he was in 2008, And neitherr Perry nor Romney are a lock for the nomination. Cain won the Florida strawpoll, and it has picked the nominee 3 out of the last 4 presidential election cycles.
Whether he runs as an Independent or a Republican the polls are not favorable for Paul. Perry and Romney are doing well. I could see Paul as a good nominee for V.P. Just about half of the viable candidates have a good chance of beating Obama. Obama's ratings ( the last I checked were at 33%) and not favorable with many who voted for him the first time around. There isn't enough zeal in Paul's personality for our next President although he seems more honest and outspoken on his platform. That is one kudo I give him. I hear the same ol' rhetoric from most of the candidates but we all know it takes campaigning and funding to get thier voices heard. I guess we will have to wait and see.
Kinda like the global warming data mining..but... put another way Florida has picked the nominee the last 3 out of 5 times and IOWA straw vote means absolutely Nada. The stupid straw polls are using the states as important deals? What counts are real deals. And each state is a narrow focus on 1 or 2 issues while the country faces many diverse issues.
He has been in the top three and has even won one debate. I think the independants like him more also.
negatory. Paul if anything would be a good secretary of the treasury. From the U.S. Department of the Treasury website: "The Secretary of the Treasury is the principal economic advisor to the President and plays a critical role in policy-making by bringing an economic and government financial policy perspective to issues facing the government. The Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing the public debt. The Secretary oversees the activities of the Department in carrying out its major law enforcement responsibilities; in serving as the financial agent for the United States Government; and in manufacturing coins and currency. Paul v. the current guy ? Really ? Now there is my support for Ron Paul..
The real question is why are those sneaky closet liberals like Romney and perry running as republicans?? A wee bit dishonest.
Is it more important to replace Obama? No other candidates would address the monetary disaster we're facing. I fail to see how a (*)(*)(*)(*)ty economy with a repub in office would be much better.
The conservative party and the progressive party have kept failing in office. I think it is time to get a new party in there that can make a real change.
well I wouldn't say we've had a conservative party in office for a long time. we've had the republican party, and there is a difference.
I think Bush is an Authoratarian-Conservative. If you want a perfect conservative in office, you won't find one. There is no such person who holds every single value that would be considered conservative. There are not even more than three people who can agree on what a perfect conservative is.
I hear you, but frankly authoritarian and conservative are contradictory IMO. But still true that getting people to agree on definitions is hard.
Progressives think they have no authoritistic views also. I am sure you would disagree with them on that point when they use taxes to force their beliefs on what kind of foods we should eat, whether we should be able to smoke and even gun rights are very limited with progressives. With conservatives, it is about marriage, euthanasia, and life penalties, etc.. We all like to try to impose our beleifs on others because we think we know best. I want someone in the presidency who can resist this urge.
