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
LOL! For some reason you have a hard time considering surrendering to our enemy ANY TIME. I totally understand...no loss too great to sooth your politican angst...not even the loss of a war.
That wasn't my post at #114. New glasses?
I asked for a link to your statement in #114....blah, blah, blah
Look, I find some pesky women sexy- but not when all they ask for are "links". Unless it's the "Jimmy Dean", that is.
An explosion has been heard in the US embassy compound in the Greek capital, Athens, reports say. Police have surrounded the building and cordoned off the nearby area as they begin to investigate the disturbance.
There was no immediate information about what caused the suspected blast, and no word on any damage or possible injuries.
Fire engines rushed to the scene, amid reports of a third floor blast shortly before dawn, AFP news agency said.
QUICK...SURRENDER!
Who? Rodney King, the one you're calling a world class putz? He's not selling out the troops. It's more like people like you selling them out... When they take that oath to protect and defend the Constitution, people like you are back here using that same document to wipe your nasty a$$ with... No wonder you don't have either the time or the inclination to consider it... you're too busy trashing it.
I don't know what voters were thinking when they put "ethics in Washington" above national security on their lists of priorities. The rats are morally bankrupt and in this post 9/11 era, they couldn't care less about national security.
I understand the need to "throw the bums out", but my God, there isn't a clean finger in Washington, regardless of which party one is talking about.
What is your take on Duncan Hunter's run for '08?
What a tool.
"For some reason you have a hard time considering surrendering to our enemy ANY TIME."
That is the first thing you have said in a LONG time that I can agree with... Of course it's hardly what you meant to say... but oh, well...
Apples and oranges. You're referring to the California primaries, as opposed to a national election. That's like saying Hillary will be the next president because she's got a lock on New York City.
It's what I've been saying from the start on both these threads. Don't blame me if you have reading comprehension problems.
Al Qaeda is in Iraq. Ron Paul would have us leave.
IMO, Ron Paul does not defend this country.
It's kind of hard to consider those issues when we have men and women fighting our nations enemies and Ron Paul calling for our nation to surrender.
In my opinion you're being too one-issue oriented. I agree with you that Paul sucks on the WoT. Are you willing to agree with me that Bush is weak on growth of the government and other traditional concervative concerns?
Stay well. I doubt that you really need to worry about his delegate count, but I know that you won't let him pass your duty station without the constant challenge.
I want a full field of GOP candidates. I like Duncan Hunter, but think his chances are mighty slim, but he'll bring courage and enlightment on several issues into the debates.
If you read my responses to JimRob, you'd know better than that... but I expect nothing more from you and you have yet to disappoint me.
What I have been saying is that we have not fought to WIN, any more than we did in Vietnam. W has all but squandered our best chance to win by trying to fight a "compassionate" war instead of kicking our enemy in the nuts, then kicking him some more until he can't even move. Now he's into that unconstitutional nation-building thing and more "compassion" and we are just wasting our time and our kids' lives and lots of our national treasure pissing in the wind.
We're not talking midnight basketball...we're talking a war of survival.
Yes, an odd thing about me...I don't suffer traitors or fools lightly.
Did you actually read what you wrote to me? Try it.
For better or for worse, we are in the primary campaign. If you're looking for someone great on both domestic and foreign issues, please look into Hunter. He's the only chance of the GOP possibly winning in '08.
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