It's not the same. People are registering Republican for the first time on their own free will after reading about Paul. Paul's campaign conducted zero voter registration drives.
I guess I should have added "registration" to the yard signs and $50 as being one thing, whereas actually going to a polling place is another, especially when you can see the guy you'd be voting for is still at 5% or lower.
People got up and paid to vote for Dr. Paul in the straw polls he's won; you're telling me they won't have the passion to actually vote when it counts? C'mon. I've already explained to you why Paul is low in the MSM polls.
It's nice to dream about things like that, but eventually, y'all have to awaken. Not a snowball's chance in Hades of garnering the nomination. But hey, he is outpolling Tancredo. There's a nice little peg to hang a tiny little hat on.
I'm just happy that Dr. Paul is pushing the GOP back to it's old-right conservative roots and educating college kids about liberty and the Constitution. Read the comments sections of newspaper articles, people are talking about the Constitution again. Dr. Paul's work will live on while the other Republican candidates will be footnotes. Who's going to call themselves a Giuliani Republican 20 years from now at a GOP convention? A Romney Republican?
And his leftist supporters (which you now decide to acknowledge) are not moonbat leftist? They're just your ordinary everyday "so angry about and blinded by the war they'll threaten to vote against their own party" leftist Democrats, eh? You know, the calm, rational, reasoned type who boo war veterans at debates. Good to know.
If the hardcore anti-war types are supporting Paul, then they're just wasting their time, because Paul's not going to change for them. He's not a pacifist, and he opposes liberal pet foreign causes like Darfur. These people are in the extreme minority and are trying to make Paul look bad, IMO. Most of the people who oppose the war aren't out in the streets wearing Code Pink memorabilia and holding anti-Bush signs. Real people with families can be Democrats too, you know.
Anyone caring to donate to a Texas congressional race can do so at http://www.chrispeden.org/, by the way.
Peden has a website? ROFL. What is it, a blank page with the words "Chris Peden" on it?
Maybe Peden's supporters can set up a money bomb on Yassir Arafat Day, or Jack the Ripper Day, or some other day named after either a notorious criminal or failed "revolutionary".
Maybe Peden should drop his ridiculous vanity run and leave Paul alone, because the GOP is going to court him and his supporters in the primaries for his endorsement if he loses. In exchange, they should drop their bi-annual attempt at supporting RINOs or Dems against Paul.
As for the straw polls, yes I still think people won't vote when it counts. When Paul is still polling in single digits at the time of the primary, a large percentage (a term, looking at the polls, that Paul supporters are obviously quite unfamiliar with) of those few of his supporters who actually could even get their hands on a Republican ballot (please don't try to sell me on every one of his supporters switching parties for him. I'm not buying.) will decide enough is enough and won't bother to go. Primaries have notoriously low turnouts anyway. Support for candidates like Paul who have no chance to win when the primary time rolls around is next to nothing. So to reiterate, Paul will fare poorly in most states because A) many of his supporters aren't registered as Republicans and therefore can't get ballots to vote for him, B) many of his younger supporters, even in open primary states, can't be bothered with actually voting, and C) of those who can vote for him in closed primary states, many will be dissuaded by the fact he's still polling in single digits and has no earthly chance to get the nomination.
In the future, I expect we'll be talking about Paul about as much as we talk about Ross Perot. Just think... instead of hearing people with fake thick southern accents saying "Look, here's the deal. Hear that giant suckin' sound?" as a joke, we'll hear people making their voices as high and squeaky as possible to say "...but I'm not an isolationist! Gold Standard! GOLD STANDARD!!!!" as a joke. That has got to make you proud.
And nice of you to show a bit of nervousness about Peden's candidacy. I'm not in Texas, and have no real worry which way the primary in that race turns out. Paul is relatively harmless in the House, in the same way crazy Uncle Lou and his "I'll make city hall pay!" diatribes won't really harm a family. It would be nice to see his fringe ideas purged, but if not, no big deal. But it is funny to see those who complain about Paul being dismissed and made fun of doing exactly the same thing to Peden. I guess it isn't against the Constitution to be a hypocrite in that regard. As far as "leave him alone"... why do I suddenly have this vision of you doing a Chris Crocker-style YouTube video?