Could Ron Paul win Iowa?
Ever since Newt Gingrich started slumping in the polls, a number of pundits and bloggers have been wondering if Ron Paul might end up winning the Iowa cauci. He has a dedicated base of supporters. And currently leads in the RealClear Politics average:
Dedicated supporters are more likely to show up on a cold winter night to vote for their guy.
Commenting on Ron Paul’s surge, Byron York wonders if Paul’s supporters are, “in fact, Republicans“.
Let us hope, however, that Republicans don’t discount the essence of the libertarian Republican’s appeal: the Texas Congressman has long been unequivocal in his opposition to big government. He may have some rather isolationist views on foreign policy and may have showed a lack of good judgment in publishing his newsletter, but on domestic issues at least, the candidate is in tune with the times.
If he is to be successful in November, the eventual Republican nominee bears that in mind. Should the nation be so fortunate as to see that nominee replace the incumbent come January 20, 2013, he must needs act in the spirit of Ron Paul’s domestic agenda, that is, on fiscal issues. And perhaps even monetary ones.
A CONCERN: Ex-Aide: Ron Paul Foreign Policy is ‘Sheer Lunacy’
UPDATE: Ace on Ron Paul and the racist rantings in his newsletter:
There are a lot of people who find it implausible that Barack Hussein Obama didn’t know the basic tenor of the Reverent Wright’s sermons of hatred. It is unlikely in the extreme, they reason, that Obama could have missed each one of Wright’s hateful, anti-semitic seethings — these statements were too pervasive to believe he just happened to miss every single one of them.
Well, the old-line racist/neoconfederate ravings in Paul’s newsletters (for which he was paid; people paid for this, and he profited) were more pervasive.
Furthermore, these missives were written with a specific goal in mind: creating a “paleoconservative alliance” between libertarians and old-time neoconfederates and former Klanners.
Does Doctor Paul seriously expect us to believe he wasn’t even aware of the basic ideological line his newsletters were peddling? He claims he didn’t even have that minimum level of editorial knowledge?
Via Betsy’s Page (via Michelle Malkin‘s Buzzworthy).
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Are we ignoring Dr. Paul’s ugly newsletters of the past for the sake of his libertarian message? Or just that Dr. Paul is probably the lesser-of-many-evils despite his positions when it comes to reproductive rights and gay issues?
I like many of the his economic and governmental positions.
His foreign policy seems a-bit naive but well-intended.
Comment by Ted B. (Charging Rhino) — December 27, 2011 @ 2:27 pm - December 27, 2011
Ted, please note that while Paul’s libertarian message has some appeal, he’s not even on my short list for the GOP nomination.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — December 27, 2011 @ 2:32 pm - December 27, 2011
Iowa has a bad track record of picking the Republican candidate; it’s only newsworthy being the first state in the primary.
Comment by Sebastian Shaw — December 27, 2011 @ 4:59 pm - December 27, 2011
We all know the current battle is between the Gay Left and the Gay Right in the liberal wing of the Republican Party as the liberal wings of both parties try to control the narrative as they did in 2008. What remains to be seen is whether the the conservative base which makes up the majority of the Republican Party is able to overwhelm the Republican open primary states to prevent the nomination of a Republican progressive/libertarian in 2012.
Comment by rjligier — December 27, 2011 @ 5:52 pm - December 27, 2011
It’s not just his newsletters, support for gutting the military and isolationist foreign policy that bothers me, Dan, but the man has praised Wikileaks and Bradley Manning for what they did. That right there is enough to consider the man politically DOA as far as I’m concerned.
Comment by JohnAGJ — December 27, 2011 @ 5:56 pm - December 27, 2011
I’m not sure if I’ll vote for Romney if he ends up running against O. I’m definitely not voting for Paul.
Comment by Rosalie — December 27, 2011 @ 6:44 pm - December 27, 2011
Ask RP supporters what he’s accomplished other than record breaking ear marks…when they he’s just one man in congress…remind them that he has enough influence by himself to get all those ear marks..RP is all talk and a racist talker at that
Comment by Nathan — December 27, 2011 @ 8:08 pm - December 27, 2011
I was undecided for much of the year, then went with Gingrich for about a month. But as a history prof, he should know better than to pressure and intimidate federal judges he disagrees with. That showed his lack of a constitutional grounding, and now I grudgingly am with Romney. I hope if he’s elected that he will at least pursue a moderate conservative agenda. But that may be too much to ask of him.
Comment by davinci — December 27, 2011 @ 9:39 pm - December 27, 2011
His foreign policy seems a-bit naive but well-intended.
If I wanted a president who hated Israel and thought the USA was an evil, illegitimate imperial power I’d vote for Obama.
Comment by V the K — December 28, 2011 @ 12:29 am - December 28, 2011
[…] a comment to my post on the possibility of a Ron Paul victory in Iowa, our reader davinci expressed his grudging backing of a certain candidate: I was undecided for much of the year, then […]
Pingback by GayPatriot » The GOP presidential field & “this extraordinary moment” — December 28, 2011 @ 1:36 am - December 28, 2011
leessee..One RP supporter I know is A: a single payor healthcare supporter, and B: because RP didn’t get the nomination voted 0bama.
Another I know of is a flaming homophobe and racist who votes dem mostly because “Daddy was a Teamster and Dems are for the little guy”
RP should do real well in the election with all those arm in arm photos with the founders of Stormfront and those newsletters he A: either wrote (thereby disqualifying him for the office) or B: let his good buddy the flaming racist write and sign RP’s name to but didn’t at all vet before their publication(thereby proving he is disqualified for the office he seeks). That leaves off his antisemitic tendencies, and possible homophobic tendencies not to mention his ignorant Isolationist leanings. (and before someone claims that he is actually Non-Interventionist. the difference is the Isolationist thinks we can ignore the rest of the world and nothing bad will happen to us, where as the Non-Interventionist thinks nothing bad will happen to us if we ignore the rest of the world.)
Comment by JP — December 28, 2011 @ 2:32 am - December 28, 2011
BOOSH!!!
Comment by TGC — December 28, 2011 @ 3:09 am - December 28, 2011
Can I swipe that one?
Comment by TGC — December 28, 2011 @ 3:09 am - December 28, 2011
By all means, TGC.
Comment by V the K — December 28, 2011 @ 10:09 am - December 28, 2011
Isn’t the youth vote what the Ronulans are banking on?
Youth to lead drop in US voter turnout in 2012-study
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-campaignturnoutl1e7ns5gz-20111228,0,2359360.story
Comment by TGC — December 28, 2011 @ 4:36 pm - December 28, 2011