Posted on 12/14/2007 10:58:50 PM PST by neverdem
Ron Paul is no compassionate conservative. His supporters love him for it.
If there's been a phenomenon in this Republican presidential race, it's been the strength of a fiery doctor from Texas and his message of limited government. As the GOP front-runners address crowds of dispirited primary voters, Mr. Paul has been tearing across the country, leaving a trail of passionate devotees in his wake.
Paul rallies heave with voters waving placards and shouting "Liberty! Liberty!" Money is pouring in from tens of thousands of individual donors--so much cash that the 10-term congressman recently admitted he wasn't sure he could spend it all. A fund-raising event on Guy Fawkes Day (in tribute to Mr. Paul's rebel persona) netted his campaign $4 million, the biggest one-day haul of any GOP candidate, ever. He continues to inch up in the early primary polls, and even bests Fred Thompson in New Hampshire.
Mr. Paul isn't going to be president. He trails in national polls, in no small part because his lack of a proactive foreign policy makes him an unserious candidate in today's terror world. But his success still holds lessons for the leading Republican candidates, as well as those pundits falling for the argument that the future of the GOP rests in a "heroic conservatism" that embraces big government. Mr. Paul shows that the way to many Republican voters' hearts is still through a spirited belief in lower taxes and smaller government, with more state and individual rights.
It helps, too, if voters know you mean it. In nearly 20 years in the House, Mr. Paul can boast he never voted for a tax hike. Nicknamed "Dr. No," he spent much of the time Republicans held a majority voting against his own party, on the grounds that the legislation his colleagues were...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
I just wish the “FMNN” would quit spamming me about Ron Paul. For some reason, that stuff gets through my spam filters every darn day.
I actually agree with those guys on many issue, including free markets, tax limitation, and legalization of drugs. But I depart with them completely on their head-in-the-sand foreign policy. What a shame that they can be so utterly clueless about the threats we face.
I plan on donating my urine.
So by collecting a sweeping up of a wildly diverse and unconnected number of followers from hippies to Nazis, dopers to fascists, isolationists to racists, and everything in between, and yes, some very good conservatives, he gets to a certain small percentage of supporters, how does that relate to a relatively focused party that wants to win national elections?
When a politicians constituency is all over the board in their passionate views, not realizing that they all hate each other, then I think we are talking about something other than just a solid, effective, American leader.
Paul’s supporters are not as clueless as they are often made out to be: it’s just mainstream media spin. Ron Paul knows that the greatest threat the American people face is expanding government which restricts liberty at home & meddles abroad. Paul knows that the best defense of the American people from both government & terrorists it to stick to the Constitution.
What’s “FMNN”?
What the GOP can learn from Ron Paul is the same lesson Perot taught Bush 41 and Clinton back in ‘00. Bloomberg’s trying to decide if he’ll apply to be a guest lecturer in the same classroom, too.
Good analysis, I disagree with him on the War in Iraq that we have to win it, but look at the rest of his agenda. End the IRS and replace it with nothing, get out of UN, WTO, etc.
End Education Dept., Dept of Homeland Security, end birthright citizenship, stop earmarks, cut gov’t spending in half, strong currency, fair trade policy, protect 2nd Amendment.
If you truly believe that this is the bulk of Dr. Paul's support, then you're in denial.
I've participated in the meet-ups and rallies & these folks are just as non-descript as you can get.
In case you haven’t figured it out, all candidates that win anything do so by bringing together a diverse group of supporters. You can make anyone sound bad by naming any negative people from any group that might support them, but candidates do not pick who supports them. It is the other way around.
American is composed of many people with diverse views. Ron Paul is completely consistent in his support of the Constitution as the rule of law. If you don’t support the Constitution then you wouldn’t support Ron Paul.
It is not isolationist to want to end foreign wars and involvements that are bankrupting America and leaving our children with unpayable debts.
Personally, I am sick of what has happened to this country. It will not change until we vote for a candidate that will change things. Every other candidate for either party supports the status quo. They will drive America further into debt and destroy this country. Our currency is becoming worthless from a printing press run wild. Any candidate who does not address this issue is just a joke.
People are passionate about Ron Paul because they care about America and our precious freedom. That is something worth passion, worth everything. That is why they donate so much.
“If you truly believe that this is the bulk of Dr. Paul’s support, then you’re in denial.”
Don’t put your words in my mouth, I never said that was the bulk of his support, I don’t even know the statistical breakdown along those lines.
Of course not ! Hey, we'll just pretend nothing is happening outside our country and wait for the bad guys to bring it over here like they did 6 years ago. It won't be long.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, all candidates that win anything do so by bringing together a diverse group of supporters. You can make anyone sound bad by naming any negative people from any group that might support them, but candidates do not pick who supports them. It is the other way around.”
Candidates do not win by bringing opposites together, because it doesn’t happen on a large scale, like a winning presidential election.
In Paul’s case we aren’t talking about individuals from dark groups supporting him, we are talking about dark ‘movements’ supporting him.
After the changes wrought by Lincoln and FDR, Paul's reliance on the Constitution as written seems quaint, even strange. We have strayed a long way from Madison.
The groups you mentioned are a miniscule, a fraction of a tenth of 1% of Paul’s actual support.
>>>GOP Can Learn from Ron Paul<<<
On how to become a mealy-mouthed weasel, without really trying.
The problem with Ron Paul is nothing more than his policies ring true of 1930s-style Republicanism.
While this in of itself isn’t a bad thing, and it most certainly goes to the roots of the Republican party, it is nothing less than the isolationism of Robert A Taft, who staunchly opposed anything to do with Europe prior and during WWII.
If this was not the case, he would have toppled any other Republican in this race. It has nothing to do with his economics or his social programs, the only thing that’s killing him is his foreign affairs ideas.
“What Dr. Paul is attempting is to bring back the America that existed before the Civil War — minus slavery, of course.”
http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?s=ron+paul
http://www.davidduke.com/general/clear-media-conspiracy-against-ron-paul_2126.html
Do you have any breakdowns at all of who his support is?
I, on the other hand, have also participated and found a large percentage of them loons (especially the non-descript ones). I also notice that you, Mssr. EEE, have neglected to answer the criticism directly, instead offered an ad hominem, to wit; “you’re in denial”. When will you state your position clearly? I’m still waiting for you to answer my direct questions regarding your positions vis-a-vis the 9/11 conspiracy theories that seem to run throughout Paolo’s supporters (Bombs in the Twin Towers. Remote controlled airliners. Bush MIHOP/LIHOP. Saudi family ties, etc. etc.)
Do you or do you not believe these theories? Do you stand apart from those who do AND support Sr. Paolo?
I’m Waiting....
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