A surprising Christmas gift from the Boston Globe:
"Romney leads, Paul rises in N.H. poll; Gingrich’s surge muted as 1st US primary nears" by Michael Levenson Globe Staff / December 25, 2011
Newt Gingrich’s surge has slowed and Ron Paul has gained momentum, but Mitt Romney remains the clear front-runner in New Hampshire with a little more than two weeks until the nation’s first primary, according to a new Boston Globe poll.
Romney has the support of 39 percent of the state’s likely Republican voters, a drop of 3 percentage points since last month but a strong indication he is weathering Gingrich’s national comeback in a state vital to his campaign.
In the closely watched contest for second place, Gingrich and Paul are tied with 17 percent each, just ahead of Jon Huntsman, who has the support of 11 percent of likely Republican voters.
But as the race hurtles toward the Jan. 10 primary, Paul has been gaining the most in New Hampshire. His support has risen by 5 percentage points since November, while Huntsman has picked up 3 percentage points in the last month and Gingrich has gained 2.
The momentum for Paul raises the prospect that he, not Gingrich, could emerge as the strongest early challenger to Romney if the Texas congressman can hold on to his lead in Iowa and capture second place in New Hampshire.
In a free and fair election he will.
Heck, maybe he should even win New Hampshire (keep reading).
The remainder of the Republican field remains largely sidelined in New Hampshire. Rick Santorum is in fourth place, with support from 3 percent of the state’s likely Republican voters, followed by Michele Bachmann at 2 percent and Rick Perry at 1 percent.
And they will all start dropping like flies, along with Newt's fake campaign.
Also see: Update: Only 92% of Newt Gingrich's Twitter Followers Are Fake
I stand corrected.
Buddy Roemer, a former Louisiana governor, and Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, who have campaigned in New Hampshire but been ignored nationally, each drew less than 1 percent in the poll....
The survey indicated that, even as Gingrich has rebounded nationally from his campaign’s implosion last summer, the contours of the race have remained largely unchanged over the last two years in New Hampshire, where polls have consistently shown Romney with a sizable lead....
Romney was the favorite not only of New Hampshire’s famously fickle independent voters but also of those who identified themselves as supporters of the Tea Party movement - an encouraging sign for a candidate who has had a strained relationship with Tea Party leaders and activists.
Among self-identified Tea Party supporters in New Hampshire, 44 percent said they would vote for Romney, compared with 24 percent for Gingrich and 14 percent for Paul, who is sometimes referred to as the grandfather of the Tea Party movement.
Hard for me to believe that poll.
The poll indicated that Gingrich, despite hiring staff and opening offices in New Hampshire, has failed to capitalize on the burst of positive attention he enjoyed after the Union Leader, the state’s largest newspaper, endorsed him on Nov. 27.
Indeed, the poll indicated that the former speaker is the most polarizing figure in the race....
And those guys usually don't win.
Related: Super PACs pour $7 million into early-vote states
Gingrich getting $20 million from Adelson, huh?
Paul, Bachmann, and Perry followed Gingrich as the most unpalatable candidates in the field.
Where are they getting that stuff?
Romney was fourth in that category, despite the attention devoted to some conservatives who consider the former Massachusetts governor an unacceptable nominee....
Joyce Conroy, a 72-year retired paralegal and registered Republican from West Lebanon, who responded to the poll and is leaning toward Romney. “As much as I like Ron Paul, I don’t think he’s electable. I just want someone who can beat that guy in the White House right now.’’
Seriously, where is this coming from? The last-ditch ever to stop Ron Paul?
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Paul, with his libertarian leanings, drew even more support from independent voters who identify themselves as Democrats but plan to vote in the Republican primary and from voters who identify themselves as opponents of the Tea Party movement, even though he was also named the most consistently conservative candidate in the race.
Some would call it crossing over to skew the results; I prefer to see it as broad support and the reaching out from the "left" for which I've been screaming.
Despite Romney’s lead, the contest in New Hampshire remains in flux. Only a quarter of likely voters have definitely made up their minds, and nearly half of all voters remain undecided....
In other words, the thing still could be stolen from Ron Paul.
And after such raised expectations that would really be a blow.
Eighty percent of voters said they were either extremely or very interested in the race, a higher rate than in 2007 and an indication that the energy that helped Republicans roll to historic victories in last year’s midterm elections remains alive in New Hampshire.
Unlike Iowa.
Yet voters are not always in tune with candidates on issues.
While most candidates have threatened to use military action to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions, only 16 percent of voters said they would support an attack now. Sixty-three percent said the United States should continue economic and diplomatic efforts instead.
The voters SURE ARE IN TUNE with RON PAUL on that one.
Yes, the AMERICAN PEOPLE are SICK of the DAMN WARS and DON'T WANT ANOTHER ONE!
Do YOU LEADERS and MEDIA FINALLY HEAR US?
Most voters said illegal immigration is a very serious problem, but they were deeply divided over the hard-line stance taken by the candidates.
Forty-nine percent said they oppose giving illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship, and 42 percent said they support that approach.
Yeah, it's an important issue; however, it's a divisive issue at a time when American voters are focused on the economy and the wars.
Asked about closing the deficit, voters in the famously antitax state said they would nonetheless prefer to raise taxes rather than cut Medicare or Medicaid....
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What didn't appear in my printed paper:
"AP Enterprise: Nonprofits aiding Paul blur a line" by Ryan J. Foley Associated Press / December 24, 2011
IOWA CITY, Iowa—The passionate support of an eclectic group of libertarians and young people has Ron Paul in contention to win the Iowa caucus. So has the work of two well-funded nonprofits that for the past three years have kept his aides employed, his volunteers organized and his ideas afloat.
Related: Globe Guarantees Ron Paul Win in Iowa
It's about as close as you can get.
Those nonprofits, including Paul's flagship Campaign for Liberty, blur the line between his presidential campaign and issue advocacy in a way experts say runs afoul of the spirit, and perhaps the letter, of federal tax and campaign finance law.
They are using whatever they can to try and stop this guy.
But unlike a political campaign organization, whose finances are tightly regulated and made public, such advocacy nonprofits can raise unlimited sums of money and aren't required to disclose where it came from or all the details about how it was spent....
Oh, like super-PACS and corporations?
Paul's presidential campaign is thoroughly intertwined with the nonprofits. The Campaign for Liberty calls itself a lobbying group for "individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets and a noninterventionist foreign policy" -- a tidy summation of Paul's campaign platform....
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"Paul is adamant skeptic of US foreign power; Candidate’s views draw fans, fury" by Tracy Jan Globe Staff / December 24, 2011
DOWS, Iowa - He has set himself apart from the rest of the Republican field as the candidate who believes the United States should shed its role as the world’s policeman and focus instead on its internal economic problems. Representative Ron Paul of Texas says he would cut a trillion dollars out of the federal budget his first year as president, in part by ending all foreign wars and foreign aid, including to Israel.
Many conservatives characterize Paul’s foreign policy stance as extremist, isolationist, and anti-Israel, calling it a weakness that caps his support.
He did say all foreign aid, not just Israel's.
Nearly half of those polled by ABC News and the Washington Post said it is a major reason to reject him. But with less than two weeks to go before Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, those views have not stopped - and may have helped - Paul in his emergence as a real threat to front-runners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
During last week’s debate in Sioux City, the Air Force veteran criticized what he considers undue concern in Washington over the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon. “It’s another Iraq coming,’’ he said. “There’s war propaganda going on. . . . The greatest danger is that we will have a president that will overreact and we will soon bomb Iran.’’
Paul has also laid some of the blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on US foreign policy and advocated normalized relations with Cuba.
He only goes halfway on 9/11, but one can certainly understand why.
Paul’s anti-establishment policies resonate with a deep well of grassroots supporters who include a vocal segment of the Christian right here in Iowa who do not believe in nation building at the point of a sword - even when it comes to protecting Israel - as well as college students who have lived much of their lives knowing only a nation at war.
Israel seems perfectly capable of protecting itself, thank you.
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Ron Paul's Crazy Christian Supporters
Young people, traditionally the least likely demographic to vote, let alone caucus, have mobilized around the 76-year-old congressman’s campaign unlike any other candidacy, with Youth for Ron Paul chapters springing up at many college campuses here in recent months. Hundreds of college-aged volunteers around the nation plan to give up a week of their holiday break and descend upon Iowa after Christmas to knock on doors, make phone calls, and motivate voters to turn out for the caucuses.
Must be making Obama jealous.
Yeah, the youth vote and enthusiasm is making Paul unelectable, blah, blah, blah.
“A lot of people my age are rejecting the notion that the US has a right to go anywhere it wants to in the world,’’ said Ryan Lockard, a 21-year-old biology major at the University of Northern Iowa who leads the campus chapter of Youth for Ron Paul. “The Iraq war debacle is a big part of it.’’
Several college student leaders volunteering with the Paul campaign said his bid to end the war on drugs is what initially attracted many of their peers. But it is his strict constitutionalist views and air of authenticity that keep students coming back. Paul’s appearances at colleges routinely draw standing-room only crowds....
College-aged voters also appreciate that Paul would not put men and women of their generation in harm’s way unnecessarily....
Many Christian conservatives, though, see Paul’s policy toward Israel as his greatest liability, in addition to his libertarian views on social issues that keep him from supporting constitutional amendments against same-sex marriage and abortion.
“Most evangelical Christians believe we have a duty to protect the nation of Israel,’’ said Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition.
I find it very distasteful to protect a lying, land-stealing, war-criminal nation.
On Thursday, Gingrich joined in the criticism of Paul for minimizing threats to the United States and Israel in an interview with a conservative radio commentator.
The Rev. Albert Calaway, a retired Assemblies of God minister and influential Iowa pastor who recently endorsed former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, told the Des Moines Register that Paul is “unacceptable to many evangelical Christians in Iowa because he would cut off all US military aid to Israel, possibly creating conditions for a Holocaust in the Holy Land.’’
Hyperbole.
“Imagine singing ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ after a President Ron Paul turns his back on God’s chosen people and Islamist missiles or ovens fill Israel’s skies with blackness,’’ Calaway said.
The charged terminology is a bit much, especially when it is likely to be the other way around.
Paul, who was the only serious candidate not invited to a recent Republican Jewish Coalition presidential forum in Washington because of his views, has said repeatedly that his support for Israel means treating it “as an independent nation and not as a puppet of our state.’’
Paul has that backward: AmeriKa is Israel's puppet.
Paul actually goes farther than I do there. I used to be for the state of Israel; however, now I am for it's dissolution with the entire area being called Palestine once again.
Also see: Romney Responds to Gingrich
RJC forum was part of it.
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Also see: The Globe's Invisible Ink: Ron Paul in New Hampshire
Seems to be a pattern with the Globe.
Paul sparks passion in Granite State
Scrubbed from the web and nowhere to be found -- except in the printed paper.
"Paul sparks passion in Granite State" by Shira Scoenberg, Globe Correspondent | December 25 2011
PETERBOROUGH, N.H. -- David Gay and three of his friends drove six hours each way from Syracuse, N.Y., to Peterborough to hear Texas Representative Ron Paul speak.
The 30-year-old medical interpreter said he is inspired by Paul's "message of liberty that comes from following the Constitution." Gay runs a pro-Paul group in Syracuse and likes that Paul is an anti-war Republican. He believes Paul will win the nomination on the strength of his organization.
That is the key part for me, not the party affiliation.
"People support the message so heavily," Gay said. "Once you become a supporter, you don't turn back."
True.
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As Paul campaigns for the presidency for the third time, the passion of his supporters has become legendary. Voters come to events two hours early to grab a front-row seat. Paul supporters dominate the protest areas outside the presidential debates.
Even Republican candidate Mitt Romney commented in a recent debate in Iowa that Paul ignites enthusiasm. "When I come to a debate like this, the only signs I see are the Ron Paul people out there. In freezing temperatures, they're always there," Romney said. The passion of Paul's supporters has propelled him to within striking distance of victory in the Iowa caucuses and into third place nationally and in New Hampshire.
Well, he's now the favorite in Iowa and tied for second in New Hampshire.
Paul told reporters in New Hampshire recently, "One thing that's characteristic about our campaign -- when people join our campaign, they rarely leave. They're very solid, determined supporters."
Paul supporters interviewed in New Hampshire had diverse reasons for supporting the 76-year-old Texan. He's been consistent in Congress, he believes in the Constitution, he opposes war and supports civil liberties.
I'm with him on all of those, but the war thing is the most important to me.
Traditionally, Paul's supporters have been young and idealistic; today, some are older and disenchanted with the political system.
That's ME, readers!!!
They believe in Paul's libertarian-leaning prescription that includes eliminating five government departments, redefining the relationship between individual liberty and government power, abolishing the Federal Reserve, and staying out of other countries' affairs.
A good idea if you want to fix America's economy.
"These are people who believe the current system is broken, and who are intrigued by Paul's argument that you can really reform government by eliminating departments, redefining the relationship between individual liberty and government power," said Dean Spiliotes, political science professor at Southern New Hampshire University.
In November, a handful of Paul supporters stood in the dark outside a Jon Huntsman campaign event in the touristy town of Conway, hoping to catch undecided voters.
This month, three middle-aged men stood on a Peterborough street corner in 38-degree temperatures, pointing voters toward a Paul town hall. Among them was Jean Couto, wearing a Santa hat. Couto organizes an annual Live Free or Die rally for New Hampshire's libertarians and has been a Paul supporter for 20 years. "He's not status quo. He means what he says," Couto said. "Unlike other candidates, he has an unvarnished record of standing by the Constitution."
Young people form the backbone of Paul's support. A recent Gallup poll found 20 percent of US voters aged 18 to 34 supported Paul, but only 4 to 8 percent of older voters. Brandon and Jennifer Seppala, of New Ipswich, N.H., fit that demographic. He's 27 and works in construction; she's 26 and a stay-at-home mom. When Brandon goes to diners, he leaves cards saying "Paul won't tax waitresses' tips."
"He's the only one who understands the economic system in the country," Jennifer said. "There will never be another candidate like Ron Paul. If we don't get it done this time, we can kiss our civil liberties and prosperity goodbye."
There are those like Jeff Clough-Garvin, 36, a libertarian-leaning stay-at-home dad from Weare, who has never voted. "I never found a candidate who shared my ideals about freedom," he said. Now, Clough-Garvin is making phone calls for Paul -- and he will vote. "He talks about wanting to get rid of the Fed, getting rid of the Department of Education. Things would be run by the states. Not being the policeman of the world," Clogh-Garvin said. "He says things everyone wants to say, but they don't feel like they can."
On one of Paul's recent campaign trips, Shane Engel, 33, drove from Watertown, Mass., to approach Paul outside a Milford, N.H., cafe, and get him to sign a copy of a 1966 essay on the gold standard by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. "I'm not the type to get involved in politics," Engel said. "With Dr. Paul, his record is so consistent, his beliefs similar to mine, so different from the other candidates, it inspires action."
Look at Paul bringing people in!
The Paul campaign encourages its grass-roots supporters. Most of Paul's fund-raising is done through online "money-bombs," where supporters pledge small Internet donations during a defined period. Multiple times, Paul has raised $1 million in 24 hours.
Which means MORE PEOPLE -- voters -- are GIVING HIM MONEY, as opposed to the corporate candidates getting cut big campaign checks.
And some find unusual methods to help. Alex Beltramo, a San Francisco game designer, is promoting his new fantasy role-playing game Dungeoneers by pledging $5 to a Ron Paul group every time a player slays a dragon for the first time. So far, he has donated more than $11,000 to the group. Beltramo, 44, admires Paul's understanding of Austrian economic theory and his limited foreign policy. "I very much wanted to contribute to him but to contribute more I would have had to draw from the money I'd been saving to promote my game," Beltramo said in a phone interview. "To be able to combine the two is a treat."
Just as it has been a treat to type this for you, dear readers.
And now there are questions about Ron Paul.
I admit I have never been in favor of the gold standard, and especially not now. Most Americans can't afford gold with the increasingly worthless paper -- the same gold the banksters control. The currency policy should be as the Constitution stipulates: government should coin the money and loan to the public at no interest. No private central bank printing and loaning money at interest. Of course, that is the kind of thing Lincoln and Kennedy tried to do and you see what happened to them. It's also how Hitler turned around Germany in the 1930s, and we all know how history has treated him.
I also am concerned that Ron Paul is a diversion of time, money, and energy into useless politics if he loses. So many hopes placed in one man -- and that comes from one of his most vociferous supporters. On the other hand, "left-wing" radio has been putting a lot of energy into knocking the man lately. He certainly isn't a savior, and could very well be controlled opposition. The Globe's sudden about-face on the guy has me wondering. Either that or they realize the appeal is vast and deep.
In any event, he is still head-and-shoulders above any of the other candidates (who have spent more time trying to please Israel than the American people). There really is only one choice for president in AmeriKa.
