Free Republic

While Texan Ron Paul’s stock is soaring nationally, there is trouble on the home front. In September, Paul finished third in a straw poll of 1,300 Texas Republican activists who had been delegates to recent Republican conventions. The congressman corralled just 17 percent of the votes cast, trailing California’s Duncan Hunter with 41 percent. This outcome says Texas Republicans aren’t terribly concerned about viability. Otherwise, one of the national front-runners like Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney would have beaten these long-shots. But if they were willing to “waste” their votes on Hunter, why didn’t most back a fellow Texan? The...

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, an old-fashioned conservative with a strong libertarian streak, inspires a small but growing base of fervent admirers with his strict interpretation of Congress' powers No matter who shows up at this week's Republican presidential debate in Baltimore, it's a good bet the biggest applause will go to the most conservative man onstage. He's Rep. Ron Paul, a perfect protest candidate for 2008. Trained as a physician, he's "Dr. Paul" to a small but growing base of fervent admirers - more than a few of whom could fairly be called zealots. Around the Capitol, the Texas...

As the vote tallies were announced at the Texas Republican straw poll Saturday, at least one supporter of Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson couldn't contain his frustration. "Fix!" he yelled from the back of the ballroom at the Fort Worth Convention Center. "There's no way." The congressman put a great deal of effort into the event in his home state, even paying to bus in supporters. They seemed to be the largest force in town. So it was a disappointment to those supporters when he came in third. Some were convinced that Dr. Paul won. "The results are totally...