Posted on 01/11/2007 6:06:07 PM PST by Rodney King
Texas Congressman Ron Paul files for GOP presidential bid
HOUSTON -- Ron Paul, the iconoclastic nine-term congressman from southeast Texas, took the first step Thursday toward launching a second presidential bid in 2008, this time as a Republican.
Paul filed incorporation papers in Texas on Thursday to create a presidential exploratory committee that allows him and his supporters to collect money on behalf of his bid. This will be Paul's second try for the White House; he was the Libertarian nominee for president in 1988.
Kent Snyder, the chairman of Paul's exploratory committee and a former staffer on Paul's Libertarian campaign, said the congressman knows he's a long shot.
"There's no question that it's an uphill battle, and that Dr. Paul is an underdog," Snyder said. "But we think it's well worth doing and we'll let the voters decide."
Paul, of Lake Jackson, acknowledges that the national GOP has never fully embraced him despite his nine terms in office under its banner. He gets little money from the GOP's large traditional donors, but benefits from individual conservative and Libertarian donors outside Texas. He bills himself as "The Taxpayers' Best Friend," and is routinely ranked either first or second in the House of Representatives by the National Taxpayers Union, a national group advocating low taxes and limited government.
He describes himself as a lifelong Libertarian running as a Republican.
Paul was not available for comment Thursday, Snyder said.
But he said the campaign will test its ability to attract financial and political support before deciding whether to launch a full-fledged campaign. Snyder said Paul is not running just to make a point or to try to ensure that his issues are addressed, but to win.
Paul is expected to formally announce his bid in the next week or two, Snyder said.
Snyder said Paul and his supporters are not intimidated by the presence of nationally known and better-financed candidates such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona or former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
"This is going to be a grassroots American campaign," he said. "For us, it's either going to happen at the grassroots level or it's not."
Paul limits his view of the role of the federal government to those duties laid out in the U.S. Constitution. As a result, he sometimes casts votes that appear at odds with his constituents and other Republicans. He was the only Republican congressman to vote against Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 2007.
The vote against the defense appropriations bill, he said, was because of his opposition to the war in Iraq, which he said was "not necessary for our actual security."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not b
If I see a small-government conservative on the ballot, I intend to vote for that candidate.
Just exactly HOW would Mormon polygamy hurt the rest of the nation? Or even their next door neighbors who are NOT polygamists? Please be concise. How would the nation be hurt in any sort of way if government were totally out of the picture and marriage were between individuals and the churches?
Bush I did himself in with two things: His "read my lips" comment and his totally unconstitutional ban by fiat of certain classes of firearms. He would have lost no matter what. But I guess it pleases you to keep your blinders on and pretend otherwise.
Oh so you were a volunteer too.
I would be a volunteer for a genuine "MUCH SMALLER GOVERNMENT" conservative any time. However, I knew that Perot, like Clowntoon and Bush I were NOT that and never would be. However, I note without (too much) comment that you appear to place party above principle AND the Constitution. Sad.
Good question. Here's the answer: those who wish us dead, those who support those who wish us dead, and those within a hundred miles of those 'who wish us dead'.
Modern warfare is unique and may not fit, or be appreciated by the 'less-than-modern'. So what.
The duty to act 'neighborly' by those who cannot comprehend a modern response to 'un-neighborlieness' rests with them, not us.
That they (Arabs) might find themselves living in the Stone Age is through no fault of our own. Societies that adapt and change with the times will survive. Those that don't, will continue to be 'victims' of their own intransigence.
Their adherence to beliefs that place them at odds with the rest of civilized nations come with costs. Our ability to kick their ass is one of them. Our ability to obliterate any and all things Islam is too. They might want to take this into consideration.
Mother Nature isn't kind to species that fail to develope defenses to threats toward their existence. It's always been, "may the best man win" with her.
Who was that guy who came back from Germany with a letter stating that Hitler had no plan to expand his empire? Chamberlin? You could have been his secretary with: "explore more complex ideas".
When your survival is at stake, you don't explore more complex ideas, you get down to basics: how can I kill this SOB before he kills me. Survival 101.
I voted for both Bushes both times.
Then we agree that perot was a spoiler for clinton and if slick willie did it twice, then hillary is going to try it too. She is not smart enough to come up with another strategy.
I say again for possible penetration into your brainhousing group:
"However, I note without (too much) comment that you appear to place party above principle AND the Constitution. Sad."
Just exactly who would you restrain and how?
Then I'm glad it's not your opinion that counts. Dr. Paul wore the uniform of his country once. Did you?
Furthermore, since all Dubya wants to do is fight his PC, "compassionate" war and since he long since has declared "Mission Accomplished," I guess that means the war is, in fact, over and the troops should come home. Obviously he never meant to actually WIN the war or the whole ROE thing would have been geared a lot differently. See my other posts for suggestions as to how a war for national survival should have been fought. Since the gospel according to Bush II says that we won the war WITHOUT destroying our enemy (whom he refuses to name, in any case), I would guess it is past time to bring them home. Then we can all mourn the lives that were thrown away to no purpose, yet again, in a war that was never designed to be won, only to stretch out decades past the forseeable future. But idiots like you will crow that we "won" and that it was not YOUR fault that we are now living under islamofascist domination.
Ron Paul will defend THIS COUNTRY. What I expect he would NOT do is to throw away the lives of our finest young men and women TO NO PURPOSE. Nor would he waste our lives and treasure defending a Europe which does NOT want to be defended.
Do you notice that an evil that survives the primaries is still evil? That were a Giuliani or McLame be the nominee, I could never, in good conscience, provide either support or a vote to that person. ANYONE who preaches disarmament of the American public is anathema to me and to millions more who believe as I do. Bush the First COULD have won despite his "read my lips" lie. All he had to do was UNDO his unconstitutional gun import ban and he'd have gotten enough millions of gun-rights votes to overcome Perot and Clowntoon. It was his to lose and he did. The Perot factor was NOT that strong. Nor was it that strong in '96. However, look at who you nominated then. Bob Dole, just because it was his "turn" to run. Republicans, by and large, are just as suicidal as Demonrats.
The Pentagon sent them out. Unless it was a matter of a threat to the ship {weather, attack, etc} he couldn't order a leave port on his own. From what I've heard when it flunked INSURV they should have taken it up to Portsmouth then and there to get the problems resolved.
We were ordered unscheduled underway one time by the Captain by the Captain. We were up in Yugoslavia in 1977-78 anchored off Dubrovnik for liberty. I was a close port and we were less than a mile off shore it looked like. Shortest run to fleet landing I can ever remember about 10 minutes maybe.
A bad straight line storm hit us and we started dragging anchor. It was so bad we had to send the boats to the shore and leave the crews. The Captain came over the 1MC yelling get the ship underway and get it underway now. He was giving EOT orders too. In about a minute the fantail was boiling while deck houses and anchor were coming up. It was a close one and that was back when we carried nuke warheads. I think a post WW2 record for getting a carrier underway was set that day.
Then I'm glad it's not your opinion that counts. Dr. Paul wore the uniform of his country once. Did you?
You respond with a non-sequitur, a diversion. In this country ones opinion does count, whether they have worn the uniform or not.
BTW, my father did wear the uniform and he also had it shredded and soaked in blood while he was still wearing it. All of that aside, he would never offer up the pathetic opinion that ones opinion doesn't matter unless one wears the uniform.
As I said above: Al Qaeda is in Iraq. Ron Paul would have us leave. Ron Paul does not defend this country.
But idiots like you will crow that we "won" and that it was not YOUR fault that we are now living under islamofascist domination. Ron Paul will defend THIS COUNTRY. What I expect he would NOT do is to throw away the lives of our finest young men and women TO NO PURPOSE.
I've never "crowed" that we've won. Why do you need to make things up to try and make a point. What this President has done, is fought a global war on terror for the most part using non-American soldiers to do the dirty work on the front lines. In countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, The Philippines, Somalia, Afghanistan, Gaza and yes even in Iraq our President has saved American Troop lives by relying on other local Muslim countries to fight the terrorists.
The problem is dopes like you -- don't get it.
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