Monday, April 9, 2012

WaPo: Ron Paul Matters

Whoa, comes this from the belly of the beast. There's a bit of spin attempting to corral Ron Paul into cutting a deal with Mitt Romney in the WaPo piece, but the key point is that it recognizes that Dr. Paul has created a large group of followers who are not going away.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s long, slow fade into political oblivion in this presidential primary race has received lots — and lots — of attention...

In fact, there is a case to be made that Gingrich matters far less in the contest than Texas Rep. Ron Paul. 
To wit:

* In the last two major primaries — Illinois and Wisconsin — Paul has finished third, Gingrich fourth.

* As of the end of February, Paul had raised $35 million for his 2012 campaign. Gingrich had raised $20 million.



* Paul’s ideas on domestic policy — distrust of the Federal Reserve, dire warnings about the massive debt being run up by the government — have clearly influenced the rhetoric (and thinking) of the GOP. Gingrich’s most notable contribution — idea-wise — to the race thus far is his call for $2.50 gas. While that might be a smart strategy, it’s more a goal than an idea.

Based on those three points alone, the Paul-ites could argue their man has been a bigger force in the direction of the race that Gingrich. Allies of the former speaker could push back — rightly — that their candidate actually won two states (South Carolina and his home state of Georgia) and, unlike Paul, had a path to victory. True enough...


But, when it comes to the future of the contest, it’s hard to dispute that Paul matters more than Gingrich. As we have written before, Paul has a group of supporters whose ardor for his message is far greater than any other candidate can boast. Not only that, but Paul’s backers are loyal first and foremost to Paul — not to the Republican party. And that’s what makes Paul potentially influential as the race moves forward.

A Paul third-party candidacy would, barring some sort of unforeseen dynamic, likely hand President Obama a second term. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and his campaign team understand the power that Paul could wield and have gone out of their way to befriend him — and avoid alienating his supporters.

At some point between now an August, Paul and his people will want something — a speaking slot at the national convention? Consideration of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as a running mate? — from Romney World.

They may not get it. But Paul is in a much stronger bargaining position than Gingrich to extract promises from Romney because he can do far more damage if he isn’t placated.

28 comments:

  1. Paul may be in a strong bargaining position but it is difficult to see what he would bargain for. Secretary of the treasury. Chairman of the FED. You've suggested these, and they're good suggestions. Nevertheless, if Romney does not outright lie he will do the same thing Republicans did with the Contract with America. He will nominate good people, the senate will refuse to confirm, and Romney will say he tried (before nominating a banker).

    You can root for the Yankees or the Mets, the NFL or the AFL, the republicans or the democrats. No matter how much individual teams spend to win none of them want to change the nature of the game. The republican and democrats are two wings of the same big government party. Their job is to preserve the status quo. If they have to lose to do that they will.

    Besides I've read (maybe here) that half of the electorate pay no taxes. At least half of the rest's income comes, directly or indirectly, from the government (meaning they pay their taxes with other people's money). All of these people are desperately hoping they can get theirs before the government collapses.

    Aren't we tired of seeing every failure of government blamed on freedom? Let the house collapse on those who built it. Only when this happens will the majority of voters be ready to try something different. Ron Paul is being taken more seriously this time than he was in 2008. His ideas, the ideas of classical liberty, will be taken even more seriously in the future.

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    1. There is a saying that politicians don't "see the light" til they "feel the heat."

      Good comment from you but all we really need to do is BRING THE HEAT! That will get things changing. Romney, however, doesn't have the cajones in his Goldman-Sach to stand up to anyone! He owes them too much! The reason he wears the morman "holy" undies is to keep his Goldman-Sach warm! ;)

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    2. Anonymous, your reply was priceless - "Let the house collapse on those who built it."

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  2. Once again an article making it sound like Romney is a done deal and Ron Paul is out of the contest. Unlike Gingrich, Ron Paul is still actively campaigning, and the crowds he's pulling in have been steadily increasing, to the point where he's pulling in FAR more supporters than Romney or Santorum, never mind Gingrich. And the other thing that the media isn't mentioning at all is the fact that several of the states they are reporting as being "won" by Romney or Santorum have elected more Ron Paul delegates. In fact, in some districts in Washington, Romney was completely shut out and received NO delegates. But if you look at the AP-sourced delegate numbers, they are still mistakenly showing a big delegate lead for Romney. When the final delegate counts come out, it's going to be interesting to see if the media acknowledges how far off their projections are, or if they will just pretend Romney won anyway!

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  3. We Paul supporters are loyal first and foremost to Liberty, not to Dr. Paul. Should his message change to one similar to Romney, Santorum, Gingrich or Obama we would drop him like a hot potato.

    And that's precisely why we're not going anywhere and can not be co-opted like the tea-party.

    Ideas are pretty powerful things and I will always be grateful to Dr. Paul for teaching me about Liberty.

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    1. Understanding of this concept is what the WaPo and the Romney Camp are missing. We are not loyal to the person, we are loyal to the concepts and character of American Liberty the person represents. Romney can broker whatever deal he wants it will not deliver this libertarian's Precious Vote to him.

      If not Ron Paul then None-of-the-Above...

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  4. RON PAUL WOULD WIN AS 3RD PARTY
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbF5loRF61U

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  5. Man, they are REALLY pushing this Paul/Romney deal scam, aren't they? Unbelieveable... they can only think in terms of politics, back room deals, hustling. Amazing.

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  6. "Paul’s backers are loyal first and foremost to Paul. . ."

    This is not necessarily true. Ron Paul's backers are loyal to the cause of freemdom, liberty and small government. The WSJ seems to imply that Ron Paul's support is a result of a sort of cult of personality. While it can't be argued that Ron Paul appears to be a good and decent man, the reason he enjoys this type of fervent support is because he not only articulates those ideals better than just about anybody alive, he has a voting and life record that exemplifies these principals.

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  7. I don't think Ron Paul will want to completely destroy EVERYTHING he has worked for and become a pawn in the Romney Big Government scheme.

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  8. Third party! Third party! Third party!!!!!!

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  9. And, for the millionth time, neither Ron - nor Rand - is going to "cut a deal" with the likes of Romney. Anyone who thinks that is a possibility still doesn't know the real Ron Paul nor his support. We know - and he knows - he would destroy all he has worked for by allying with Statist, Neocon Warmonger Romney. And Romney's "being nice" to Ron is seen as nothing more than a smarmy tactic to secure our votes. It AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! Our motto is 'No Ron, No Votes,'...and we MEAN IT!

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  10. Romney = Obama = hypocrisy.

    Ron Paul = truth.

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  11. They re just trying to co-op RP with this deal. Nothing here, now move along.

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  12. I do hope that Dr. Paul will not give in to any such "deal". The article mentions that Paul's supporter are far more loyal to him than to any party label. I believe that to be true. One of the fundamental reasons for that loyalty, within the mix of political philosophy, is the belief that the good Doctor will not succumb to any such integrity-compromising "deal". The doctor has never voted for an unbalanced budget or the raising of a tax, even though he often stood alone in the House of Representatives. I have profound doubts that any such "deal" would ever come about.

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  13. Dr. Paul is completely irrelevant and the primary results reflect that fact. Romney will win the nomination and the presidency, so get over your derangement sysdromes and back the GOP. Ronald Reagan would be proud if you did.

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    1. BWAH-Hahahhahahhah!!!!!!

      Thanks for the laugh.

      Is that why the Romney campaign is BEGGING Dr Paul not to run 3rd party, and offering anything to keep him in the fold?

      Fucking moron. Reagan was a tool. If you knew ANYTHING about liberty then you would support Paul.

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  14. How do you strike a deal on reduction of freedom, when freedoms have already being compromised? If you follow the Democrats and Republicans up far enough, they merge into a single entity. They answer to the same higher agenda with little or no regard to individual freedoms.

    It's not Paul the candidate that creates supporters, it's the message. Paul is simply the torch bearer (and a very good one). The momentum grows daily as more of the agenda is exposed through the election process. Ron Paul's supporters are the primary funding source, whereas Romney and Obama share near identical funding sources. Who will be obligated to whom when the race is over? Paul supporters are truly a movement, possibly a movement started well before Paul arrived on the scene (in 1988).

    It's not a cult, it's an awakening. It's not about Ron Paul, it's about true and honest change in a world darkened by those who usurp people's God given liberties because they think they know what's best for us, when in fact they are just doing what's best for them.

    We fund Ron Paul because we trust Paul to not sell us out as so many have before (and still do). Romney has not earned this trust and clearly has defied it with his record as well as our current president. Win or lose, Paul's message of the movement towards truth and personal liberty, will continue to grow and we will fund the next honest and forthright torch bearer.
    Ron Paul - We are not HIS, he is OURS.

    This is not just an election, it's an attempt to restore freedoms and to restore the Republican Party to it's core values and principles. If the GOP stats quo can't tolerate expansion, improvement and purification of it's core values, then it will be supplanted by another second party (much like they once supplanted the Whigs).

    If we keep voting for more of the same that we have always been getting, we will always keep getting more of the same.

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  15. Oh my! It seems the Establishcrats haven't figured out how to make "irrelevant" Ron Paul supporters stick around for the RINO Obama clone they have decided we will "vote" for. How can Ron Paul cause them any problems, with his paltry showings in the ridiculous fixed "elections"? Why should the GOP care, they obviously are throwing the election to Obama anyway, this way they can blame it on Ron Paul. I say, GO FOR IT Dr Paul. Make the GOP irrelevant, they deserve it for being the Democrats stooges.

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  16. It is fun watching the GOP getting their knickers in a knot. Once they finally realize Dr. Ron Paul can't be bought, they can simply put on their victim face and accept the fact that the next President of the United States will be Dr. Ron Paul or the incumbent.

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  17. "A Paul third-party candidacy would, barring some sort of unforeseen dynamic, likely hand President Obama a second term."

    It seems just as likely that a third-party or independent run by Paul would siphon voters away from Obama as from the Republican candidate. For example, Obama will have a difficult time running on an anti-war message (though recently he has been showing restraint with respect to Iran). Obama's support of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would also be a liability in a contest with Paul.

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  18. Ron Paul all the way!!!! Even if by chance they defraud him out of the delegates I am writing him in in November!!!!

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  19. Ron Paul, on a third-party ticket, would be ignored much more than he is now (as a Republican). TPTB will not allow him, or his message, to leak in to mainstream thought. Period. This objective is not based on ideological differences. The coming censorship of the internet -- and worse -- will render all opposing philosophies illegal. Blood Sport. Long live freedom.

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  20. Ron Paul has set out from the begining to raise the standard of the debate. Without Ron Paul, and his very serious arguments it would descend into a farcical cringe-fest. It would be a collection of pretenders all lining up to throw one liners at Obama and the Democrats.

    Without Ron Paul the whole thing would be just another wasted opportunity. He was right about more aspects of policy than any of the others.

    And yet, the media grudgingly gives him the minimum possible amount of respect.

    The moment that described the candidates best, is when they were asked what they do on a Saturday night. All of them except Paul trying to deliver a punch line about sports. Ron Paul simply said he would read. Preferably something on economics.

    That is what America needs. Less TV. More reading.

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  21. We The People of Canada support the We The People of the United States of America in reinstating the original Constitution of the United States of America and we the people will gladly help our fellow North Americans in this God anointed endeavor even if it requires us to spill our own blood and give up our own lives for the resurrection of the Constitution of We The People!
    God Bless America the land that shall be free again forever and ever Amen!

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  22. people who will support any gop nominee (even romney) over obama + those who will support only Paul = GOP wins. People who will support any gop nominee (even romney) over obama - those who will only support paul = Obama wins.

    Now you know why the crony corporatists via corporate media has worked so hard to redact paul from this process ... Romney wouldn't be bad but they're rooting for Obama.

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