Posted on 11/14/2007 6:28:52 AM PST by Hemingway's Ghost
RON PAUL has just reached the peak of geek chic.
Having delivered a passionate paean to libertarianism at Oyster River High School, Paul has been presented with a pair of sporty two-tone sunglasses.
"Put them on!" the students yell. The 72-year-old Republican presidential candidate obligingly dons the youthful shades - then stands there beaming as the assembly hall erupts in delight.
Moments later, the kids flock around him, seeking autographs. Later that afternoon, Paul earns another enthusiastic reception from a capacity crowd at the University of New Hampshire.
So what explains Paul's appeal?
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The fire marshal was turning people away from the UNH event for about half an hour before it started.
Queried on global warming, Paul makes it clear that he is agnostic on the issue. Afterward, Erin Thesing, a UNH sophomore, presses him on the matter, telling him she lies awake at night worrying about climate change."If you want to lay awake at night worrying about something, worry about the value of the dollar," replies Paul.
"I don't understand how someone can not care about the future of the world," she tells me later.
What an ignorant tool that chick is.
Why is RoP campaigning at a high school? Doesn’t he know most of them can’t vote?
Agreed. Also:
But in other areas, his emphasis on self-reliance - he wants to cut government spending enough to eliminate the income tax - may put him at odds with the idealistic, activist ethic often important to the young.
I wonder if Lehigh misses the boat here. Is the idealistic, activist ethic congruent with the income tax?
People underestimate the power of the idiot vote.
Ron Paul does indeed have strong appeal for simpletons.
If they want a sane variety of "authentic", they should tune in to Duncan Hunter.
I don't know. Why do politicians read books to children at day care centers?
I'm not so sure about that. Swing voters seem to decide every Presidential election these days, and by definition, swing voters are the idiot vote.
The title pretty much says it all!
Someone who is not a blow-dried phony uttering media acceptable canned goods has has, if fleeting, a listening acceptance. Sort of 'it's the message, stupid'.
Still, right now he is clearly on the ascending leg of that arc. And that means the likable Lone Star State libertarian is poised to become a wild card in New Hampshire.
I agree with the first paragraph. However, I do doubt that Ron Paul will be a "wild card" but I'm willing to wait and see. Folks from New Hampshire do like the latest "maverick". Ron Paul has much the same appeal as Obama. He's new and somewhat untainted so he appeals to the usual desire for something new and improved. As long as candidates like this keep it simple, they sounds great and especially appeal to the younger ones among us who tend to see things in blacks and whites. However in the larger scheme of politics and the broad expanse of presidential history, I'd be surprised if Ron Paul actually rose above the level of a footnote. If he declines from running as a third party he won't even rise to the level of Ralph Nader, Ross Perot or even John Anderson.
Before he challenged the prevailing nation-building orthodoxy, he had plenty of appeal around here - his articles on getting the US out of the UN were quoted lovingly.
Government Extended News Editorial Keywords: RON PAUL, UNITED NATIONS
Source: Ron Paul’s website
Published: 5-14-01 Author: Ron Paul
Posted on 05/14/2001 10:00:00 PDT by oursacredhonor
DITTO! DITTO! DITTO! DITTO! I’m hoping and praying that we pull out of the UN forthwith. But Congress voting to give the bastards money has left me doubtful.
8 Posted on 05/14/2001 10:27:02 PDT by .308
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Asked what he’d do if a bloodbath occurs when we leave Iraq, Paul notes that there was “a surge upward in violence” when we left Vietnam, “yet they sorted it out.”
They sorted it all out!!! What an idiot. They were not sorting laundry.....thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands were slaughtered.......that statement alone disqualifies RP from anything.
I think you nailed it. Paul's been talked up by the Internet and the DBM as the "counterculture" candidate, so some young people think it's "cool" to follow him and "stick it to the man." He's seen as outside the mainstream (which he is) and for whatever reason, he's getting a lot more traction than, say, Kookcinich.
I realize he's got some serious support among libertarians, paleocons, and Constitutionalist Republicans (especially here). But so much of his support is coming from the Code Pinko anti-war radical left, and some also from the Troofer nutburgers, and he's courting these groups at the expense of Republicans who would be more receptive to his domestic messages instead of his suicidal foreign policy.
}:-)4
Indeed - most leftists only want to be idealistic and charitable if someone else is being forced to pay for it. They don't earn enough money with their Irish Lit degrees to afford to be charitable on their own.
I suspect a lot of his support is coming from people who have no intent to vote for him in a general election. After all, he’s only hurting the true conservatives in the race.
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