The Globe couldn't ignore him forever, but....
"Paul tries to reap Tea Party seeds he helped nourish; Will yield seat in Congress for presidency bid" July 13, 2011|By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent
WOLFEBORO, N.H. - Four years ago, Ron Paul’s libertarian views became divining rods for the brand of strident antigovernment activism that grew into the Tea Party movement. Now the Texas congressman is trying to make sure the energy of that phenomenon does not bypass his presidential candidacy.
Paul’s prescription for America has been consistent for three decades: shrink the federal bureaucracy, unshackle markets, cut taxes. An early oracle of bedrock Tea Party principles, Paul appears to be in a prime position to benefit from the movement’s growing influence.
What, no godfather reference this time?
“Now that there’s a shift in attitude, a country that’s getting in worse shape by the day, all of a sudden the message becomes very appropriate,’’ the 75-year-old obstetrician and 12-term representative said in an interview.
Yet obstacles have hindered Paul’s attempts to harness that momentum in New Hampshire, a state his campaign considers crucial. One major impediment is philosophical: Paul and Tea Party activists may be working from the same antitax, probusiness playbook, but when matters turn to personal rights or foreign policy, their views diverge. For many conservatives, Paul’s libertarian calls for decriminalizing marijuana and US withdrawal from such global flashpoints as Afghanistan are just too radical.
Smells like, I mean sounds like the American people are too radical.
Perhaps of more concern to Paul’s campaign is a practical matter. When he ran in 2008 for the GOP nomination, he was the main proponent of stripped-down government. This time, the candidate no longer has that stage to himself.
“I think that the conservatives who might have gone with him in the past have enough other choices this time,’’ said Fran Wendelboe, a former New Hampshire state representative who is unaffiliated with any campaign.
Most GOP candidates have, to varying degrees, laid a claim to the Tea Party mantle. The early beneficiary appears to be Paul’s colleague in the House, Michele Bachmann. A recent WMUR poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, had Bachmann receiving support from 12 percent of likely New Hampshire primary voters compared to 7 percent for Paul. Among voters who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters, 20 percent supported Bachmann, who started a Tea Party caucus in Congress, while 7 percent supported Paul.
The machine-jiggered rig is already in, huh?
Asked about his strategy, Paul said he plans to “keep campaigning on what I’ve been campaigning on for 30 years.’’
Yesterday, he vowed to devote more energy on the trail, saying he will not seek reelection to his seat in the House, where he has served for most of the past 34 years. One of his first stops after the announcement will be another visit in New Hampshire, Friday and Saturday.
Unlike other candidates, who spend their time in rotary clubs, living rooms, and VFW halls, Paul has been focusing almost exclusively on business visits while in New Hampshire. He meets several dozen voters at a time at a general store or diner and talks about the need to stop bailing out corporations and stop spending so much money overseas....
Those sure don't look like "business" visits to me. WTF, hey?
In many ways, Paul has seemed prescient. He emphasized strict adherence to the Constitution before the Tea Party made it de rigueur.
Well, it is supposed to be the governing document of the country.
Now if only the government would read it.
He warned about the risk of a housing market collapse in 2003....
Yeah, but don't listen to him.
Paul, who ran for president in 1988 as a libertarian, has often focused on obscure details of monetary policy.
Why would they be obscure in a country with a free press serving the public?
He has advocated a return to the gold standard and believes the Federal Reserve should be dismantled because it distorts a free market by creating money and manipulating interest rates.
He is correct about the Fed; however, I break from him on gold. What the American consumer needs is a return to state and colonial script, issued by state-chartered banks at zero interest. Most Americans have meager assets to transfer into heavy metals, and those same heavy metals have been stolen by the same criminals that have gotten us into this mess.
He wants to replace income, capital gains, estate, and gas taxes with either a national sales tax or a simplified income tax with a single rate.
I find that hard to believe about Paul, but okay.
Such an approach resonates with some Granite Staters, yet many voters are looking elsewhere.
Randy Parker, a Republican campground owner from New Boston, N.H., likes Paul’s ideas but worries he cannot beat President Obama. “We’ve got to pick a person who can get elected,’’ Parker said.
Actually, he could. Undecided independents usually side with challenger; of course, that precludes the rigged election boxes.
Paul’s poll numbers and fund-raising put him in line with the pack of GOP candidates behind Mitt Romney. Paul raised $4.5 million in the last fund-raising quarter, compared with $3 million at this time in 2007.
I would like you to KEEP THAT IN MIND for LATER, dear readers!!
His followers still exhibit a fervor that other candidates jealously admire. There’s a fan website for the “Ron Paul ‘Revolution’ ’’ and a “Daily Paul’’ blog....
But SOMEHOW NOBODY VOTES FOR HIM!
And notice the subtle insinuation of a cult-type following there?
Why not take it a step further?
It's a FURIOUS FERVOR, too!
When are you elite stinks going to listen?
Some analysts wonder whether such devotion among a conservative clutch will have an effect in such a state as New Hampshire, where undeclared voters are expected to have an out-sized role in the GOP primary because there will be not be much of a Democratic counterpart.
So they cross over and vote against Ron Paul? They vote Bachmann, huh?
Thanks for the help, Democrats (sigh).
Andrew Smith, director of the UNH Survey Center, said only a small percentage of voters in New Hampshire are Tea Party members or libertarians. Smith pointed to 2008 - Paul came in fifth in the New Hampshire primary - when asked about his chances this time around.
“He had by far on the Republican side the most enthusiastic supporters, and on college campuses he was the only Republican who had any support, but it did not translate into votes,’’ Smith said. “I don’t think there are enough libertarian-minded voters here to get him over the top.’’
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Related: N.H. official says primary will likely be held before Feb. 14
Also see: Ron Paul Wins New Hampshire Straw Poll
And he CLOBBERED the FIELD, 'eh?
Oooooooh. Had it with the AGENDA-PUSHING LIES YET?
(A time in the not-so-distant future imagine Wolf Blitzer announcing the following "And finishing fifth, U.S. Representative Ron Paul with 9%" before throwing it over to some political pundit for the conventional myth.)
And an also-ran ad:
"Romney accused of getting a ‘bailout’; Old ad questions business dealing" July 15, 2011|By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent
Release of an ad left over from Romney’s unsuccessful Senate race against Senator Edward M. Kennedy that takes Romney to task for a $10 million loan forgiveness granted in 1993 to his Bain & Co. by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. prompted Ron Paul’s campaign chairman, Jesse Benton, to say, “This is more evidence that the so-called ‘front-runners’ from the establishment represent more of the status quo that American voters are tired of - people who benefit from government bailouts on the taxpayers’ dime and seek office to help their buddies do the same.’’
Aides with two other GOP campaigns were reluctant to get their candidates in the middle of the issue....
Because they have also benefited.
Related: Romney vs. Ron Paul
As much fun as it would be it is nowhere near happening.
What is a victory this time, letting Ron Paul in the building?
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"Romney, a ferocious fund-raiser who spent weeks on the road, collected more than $18 million during the April-to-June fund-raising period, outpacing his closest rival to announce numbers so far, Representative Michele Bachmann, by a 3-to-1 ratio in banked cash. Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, has about $3.6 million in cash."
WTF?
That is the second time they omitted his take, and still lied about Bachmann being second?
