WASHINGTON — Don’t tell Ron Paul the Republican primary is over. He’s too busy mucking up Mitt Romney’s efforts to accumulate enough convention delegates to officially claim the GOP nomination for president.
Paul’s supporters won control of state GOP conventions in Maine and Nevada last weekend, stripping Romney of delegates in Maine but graciously letting him keep the ones he won in Nevada’s February caucuses. Next up: Republican state conventions in Minnesota, Missouri, Louisiana and Iowa.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to ignore us completely,” said Kevin Erickson, a pastor from northeastern Minnesota who rescheduled a surgery to qualify as a national convention delegate for Paul.
The father of five supports his family on a single income but said he’s budgeted about $6,000 to attend the GOP’s August convention in Tampa, Fla. A lifelong Republican, Erickson said he’s working hard for a platform that denounces what he sees as a weakening of due process when it comes to detentions authorized by the USA Patriot Act. He expects to have plenty of company.
Paul won’t threaten Romney’s hold on the GOP nomination — Romney’s delegate lead is so big he is likely to reach the 1,144 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination by the end of the month. The former Massachusetts governor is already in general election mode, focusing his energy on uniting the GOP and defeating President Barack Obama in November.
But Paul could have enough supporters in Tampa to cause trouble if they don’t get what they want. And what do they want?
At the very least, they want a prominent speaking role for Paul at the convention, said Marianne Stebbins, who has coordinated Paul efforts in Minnesota. More broadly, they want a platform for their message of limited government as they work to reshape the Republican Party, one state at a time.
“I hope they’re smart,” Stebbins said of the Romney campaign. “Those margins, Romney versus Obama, are so thin that I hope they don’t shove an entire constituency out of the party that they will need in November.”
The Romney campaign treads lightly around Paul, careful not to offend his supporters but insistent that Romney is the nominee.
“Gov. Romney has a lot of respect for Dr. Paul and the energy his supporters bring to the process,” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an email. “We look forward to working together to help Mitt Romney defeat President Obama this fall. As for individual state conventions, make no mistake that the Tampa convention will nominate Mitt Romney, and it will be his convention.”
Romney has 856 delegates — 288 shy of the number he needs to clinch the nomination. Paul, a Texas congressman, has 94, according to an Associated Press count.
There are 107 delegates at stake in primaries Tuesday in North Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia.
Primaries have not been Paul’s strong suit — he hasn’t won a single primary or caucus. But Paul’s supporters have successfully navigated the convention process in a number of states, adding to Paul’s delegate total while gaining influence over state parties.
In Iowa and Nevada, Paul supporters were elected to lead their state Republican parties. In Maine, two Paul supporters were elected to the Republican National Committee. In Massachusetts, Paul’s supporters denied a delegate spot to Kerry Healey, Romney’s former lieutenant governor, even though Romney won the state’s presidential primary with 72 percent of the vote, according to The Boston Globe.
“I’ve urged people to take the ‘over’ in terms of how many delegates they think Paul will have at the convention,” said Josh Putnam, an assistant political science professor at Davidson University who writes the political blog Frontloading HQ.
Paul’s supporters are likely to make similar inroads in Minnesota, which holds its state GOP convention May 18-19. Paul has already dominated the state’s congressional district conventions, winning at least 18 of the 24 national delegates selected, even though he finished a distant second to Rick Santorum in local caucuses in February.
“Republican Party activists with Paul leanings are affirming the campaign’s delegate-win strategy and making lasting inroads into the party infrastructure, broadening the Republican footprint and strengthening the GOP base that suffers from a dearth of enthusiasm,” Paul’s national campaign manager, John Tate, said in a statement.
Many of Paul’s libertarian views dovetail nicely with mainstream Republican ideas on limited government and low taxes. But Paul breaks with much of his party when he rails against American intervention abroad and government efforts to fight terrorism at home.
Paul will probably get a speaking slot at the convention but his influence over the party platform and power will be limited, said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist and former Newt Gingrich aide who is neutral in the 2012 race.
“If Ron Paul gets more delegates than Newt Gingrich, then he gets at least as good of a prime-time slot to speak at the convention,” Galen said. But, he added, “Ron Paul’s not going to be vice president, and he’s not going to get a plank in the platform that Romney doesn’t want.”
Bakst reported from St. Paul, Minn.
Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Ross Perot! Ross Perot! Ross Perot! As one morphs into the other the hopes and dreams of the GOP and Tea Party dwindle into obscurity.
Just as the Romney supporters were completely taken aback, surprised, an upset by the unexpected Ron Paul victory over the weekend, you too will be standing there asking “what happened?” on November 7th.
You just go ahead and continue parroting the misinformation-media lines “Ron Paul cannot win the nomination”….”the GOP will be divided at the election”…..the longer you continue to accept this misinformation, the easier you will be defeated in the fall.
Nope. We’ll know exactly what happened come November. Obama will be reelected because another whack job from Texas couldn’t get the hint and go home.
Wrong…Obama will get re-elected because folks such as youself continue to insist we vote for individuals who have an extablished record of saying one thing and doing another…Bush I, Bush II, and now of course, Romney.
The shame falls on the Romney faction for insisting we continue voting for flip-flop candidates that openly work against our best interest once elected to office.
The “hard-right” faction only think in terms of “If you’re not for us, you’re against us.” Nothing rational comes from blind compliance, and there is never a good reason presented to vote for Romney instead of Paul. I can’t think of one. The most the “hard-right” can come up with, is chant “USA! USA!” While invoking the name of Israel, and mostly because of Paul’s ill-perceived foreign policy views.
A sucker is born every minute! I’m not ashamed to say, that I used to be one. The system is rigged, and Paul probably will not win. Not because he isn’t a good candidate, but because we have to compete with people who think it is “Okay” to cheat just to win, just to dethrone the “other guy”.
This “anybody but Obama” crowd is a dangerous one, and just as dangerous as Obama and his camp. Business as usual, sadly.
For such a whack job, Paul’s certainly outsmarting Romney in the caucus process. Gee, what does that say about Romney’s intelligence, organizational, planning and leadership abilities?
BINGO. or, for the more cynical/experienced among us, paul is helping obama by draining votes from romney.
Romney and Obama are helping each other by radicalizing their respective factions. We citizens are not the winners in this fight, THEY are.
Good luck to Charlie Cragin (who made his money lobbying for insurance companies) in his challenge to Ron Paul delegates. How will he get a job in a Romney administration if he can’t even get a seat at the Tampa party?
Charles Cragin is STILL out of order!!
United we stand divided we fall. Ron Paul will divide the Republician party
Only if the Romney voters continue to not accept him. They will ultimately realize they have no choice but to support him, unless they would prefer Obama win in the fall.
Romney as nominee, Obama wins handily.
Ron Paul as nominee, Obama is defeated in a landslide!!
Boy, are you a dreamer! I love what Ron Paul is doing right now, because it is dividing the Republican Party. Lovin’ it!
ONLY Ron Paul 2012
Better put on the brakes, Paul is yet again proving that Alzheimers is in effect here.
Just another symptom of a crazy GOP. When will the American people Wake UP and accept affordable health insurance for all citizens–
Or are we going to continue to be the most selfish, petty-seeming people on the planet Earth?
What?? Crazy GOP, health insurance for all citizens, petty-seeming? There appears to be some confusion out there as to reality and insanity, and it appears to not come from GOP.
The only way you will ever achieve affordable healthcare is if you address the failed monetary system in this country…..sadly misinformed citizens such as yourself just refuse to take the time to get educated in the truth regarding economics and the origin of market prices for goods and services.
Misinformed citizens don’t expect anything but perpetual wars for their tax donations to a corrupt govt. long out of touch.
That is why we like Ron Paul. He will stop the wars and bring our troops home. He doesn’t believe in nation building. He believes in trade with other countries and letting them govern themselves without our interference. That is why so many disenfranchised Democrats and independents, unhappy with Obama’s failed promises, support Ron Paul and reject the warmongering Republicans.
Take note of the comments such as these Cragin, et. al.
This is the common, emerging sentiment across this great nation. Your faction of the GOP is dwindling in numbers and ours is gaining both independents and democrats.
Your ONLY choice for defeating Obama this fall is the acceptance of Ron Paul as the GOP nominee.
Exactly!
Do you feel Hitler should have been allowed to do as he pleased?
Your question has no bearing the current discussion. Whether or not we like or agree with a situation, we must follow the rule of law founded in our Constitution. Our Constitution stipulates that we must get congressional approval to declare war. The US Congress formally declared war against Germany twice to engage in WWI & WWII and Japan once for WWII. These wars were legally and justly declared. I hope that assuages your concerns.
Ron Paul has stated many times (although the MSM refuses to acknowledge it) that he would have no problem going to Congress to request a declaration of war should we be attacked. In addition, Ron Paul was in favor of going after Bin Laden. In fact, he wanted to issue articles of Marques & Reprisal in order to specifically target Bin Laden and known terrorists. What he didn’t want was to invade the country as a preemptive war against that nation which would kill thousands not involved in the situation.
Unfortunately, our government thinks it’s okay to just invade a country anytime they want for any reason. That is not part of our Constitution.
If he were not so radical in other ways he would get a lot more traction…
Couldn’t agree more! This is one Obama Independent who will be voting for Ron Paul!
Oh, we understand “economics and the origin of market prices for goods and services” alright. Conservative millionaires and billionaires have made the world their oyster at the expense of the middle class. It’s time to take back this country for the middle class. GO-BAMA! GO-BAMA!
“Conservative millionaires and billionaires have made the world their oyster at the expense of the middle class.”
Oh really? Hmmmmm….and I thought it was Wilson and the progressives who instituted the federal reserve bank back in 1913.
Without the central bank and its monopoly on our currency, the wealth transfer you refer to could never have occured. Therefore, history clearly shows us that your statement should read as follows:
“progressive millionares and billionaires, who support the federal reserve system, have made the world their oyster at the expense of the middle class”
This makes no sense. The weathiest among us did fine before the Fed was enacted (remember, the gilded age?). It has very little to do with the fed and much more to do with the progressivness of the tax code. In the period from 1945-1972ish, wealth distribution was much more level in this country, dispite the existance of the Fed.
If by that you mean that the middle class received 60% of the new wealth created in this country and the investors received 40% up to 1980. You are right and that since then the middle class has received not one penny out of the new wealth and all of it has gone to the investors (the top 10% and in particular the top 1%) you are right again. But how did they do it. They changed the laws. Again, they changed the laws. The income tax was progressive and now its regressive (Romney pays 14% the middle class pays 20+%. Romney pays 1/4 of what he would have in 1956 under President Eisenhower. But much more that that the whole legal system has been changed to let the rich loot the poor and middle class. Paul has simply provided a new scapegoat – the Fed. Thirty years ago it was blacks, immigrants, women, jews. Now its a silent bureacracy (easier to hate). How did they change the laws. They bribed the lawmakers. They created a lobbying machine. They lied. They took over the Republican Party.
Yup. I agree. The conspiracy hounds in the Paul camp like to blame the Fed for everything, but it’s the very policies that they are advocating for (low, or even non-existent tax rates for the wealthy) that are the main driver of the current dangerous wealth inequality in this country. They love to point out stuff that happened in 1913, but tend to ignore most of the twentieth century and the lessens that it teaches.
I think the lessons the twentieth century have taught us is that the “boom-bust” economic cycle, and inflation of our currency at the hands of a central bank will one day bankrupt this nation. Are you looking around the globe? Do you see what is happening in other nations who have plunged themselves into unsustainable debt crises? How is our path any different? How is Romney going to solve this problem, when he doesn’t even talk about it? Income taxes are not the problem, they are immoral to begin with and should be outlawed entirely. If this was done, your argument about tax rates would be moot. The real problem is the current monetary system and its full dependence on rapid expansion of bank credit. Debt is not wealth….true wealth is savings…we need to move back to sound money
Romney would not solve the problem at all. His and Paul’s views on the tax code seem very similar. There was no “boom-bust” cycle post World War II through the 1970’s because income was distributed more evenly, lowering the percentage of wealth that went to speculation. There was plenty of “boom-bust cycle” in the ninteenth century before the fed, however. See 1837, 1839, 1872 and most of the 1890’s to start with. “Income taxes are immoral” goes far too down the rabbit hole for me to follow.
We also had “sound money” (I guess you mean gold) in the 19th century too. Plenty of boom bust cycles, inflation, and all of the other things you claim that it would solve. Did not work in the past, at all.
The 16th amendment (Income Tax) was ratified in 1913 by the progressives in power at the time. Curiously, this is the very same year the fed was initiated.
Yes the wealthy of the guilded age did fine before the fed, so to did the rest of the people. The guilded age was period of rapid economic expansion and technological advance unlike anything the world had ever whitnessed, producing new products such as the telephone, steel production, refrigeration, widely distributed electricity and light bulbs, the typewritter, electric motors, and the beginnings of aviation.
“So did the rest of the people” Completely, totally 100% inaccurate. During that time, 1/8ths of the country owned 7/8ths of the wealth and 95% of the land. While there were many great technical innovations, a vast majority of Americans did not enjoy them at all. Your contention is factually inaccurate. Not a shread of truth to it.
Do not try to enlighten them with the facts! I can see the glazed look from here.
Simply refer to the ubiquitous, nauseating and nonsensical Cialis and Viagra ads for “the truth regarding economics and the origin of market prices for goods and services.”
Your last sentence pretty well nails it. It might just be the course for our entire species, for that matter. I don’t know whether you’re a reader of E.O Wilson, but his latest “The Social Conquest of Earth” is well worth a read.
Conservative principles have been under attack now for a number of decades even though President Reagan offered a brief respite from the encroaching mayhem in 1981. The process of compromise vis a vis core values like fiscal accountability and an unwavering moral compass have eroded America to the point that Mother Teresa’s words concerning abortion resound ominously: “America need no words from me to see how your decision… has deformed a great nation”. We have been forced to accept Republican offal with unpalatable servings featuring George Bush and John McCain in recent years… and now Mitt Romney. Like paltry table scraps, these candidates were coerced upon the American public under the ruse that a vote for the opposition would be unconscionable. The deeds of Bush, McCain and Romney are all too well known. Each in their own inimitable way has contributed to the decline of America by refusing to stand for the truth: each, in an instance of compromise, has contributed to our financial and social demise because they were beholding to a political entity and not to the American Constitution and the people whom they pledged to represent. In Revelations, Christ offered an insight into this malaise, saying: “so then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” Perhaps that is why Romney was resoundingly rejected by Ron Paul supporters in Maine. A bankrupt nation that is aided and abetted by a social class of dependents who continues to elect lukewarm candidates will surely come to no good.
Indeed and until the Romney supporters uderstand that it is their actions which have allowed the erosion of our republic and begin to support constitutionally principled candidates that have demonstrated actual integrity, our country will continue on its current march toward economic collapse and massive social unrest.
There isn’t a single Paul supporter who understands anything about the Constitution. Letting them highjack it as they highjacked the Maine GOP convention this past weekend will spell the end for this country.
Ridiculous, Ronald Reagan couldn’t be nominated by any Republican convention today. He’d be called just another big government liberal like Bush was. So follow the cult leader. if you’re lucky he’ll have all of you picked up by spaceships when he departs to Jupiter.
My personnel experience with Paul supporters has been troubling. I found them to be more than a bit nut’s, and they seem to have an underlying need to prove something,a selfish game of one ups-manship going on. I found them to be troubling people with odd views ,some boarding on disturbed. I have done my best to be polite to these folks but interact with them a little as possible,hoping that they were just the nutty folks in the neighborhood and not indicative to the larger group of Paul supporters. I think my hopes in this were misplaced, and what went on this weekend seems to confirm this.
Do you think that they are Dems hiding under sheep’s clothing?
Dems and repubs like Ron Paul. Get used to it. WE have a winner.
Sorry, this democrat cannot, and none of my friends will either. He is a winner allright, a legend in his own mind kind of guy.
Really? How many actual Paul supporters did you talk really talk too? Maybe Paul supporters see people like you as someone who denies reality by sticking your head in the sand refusing to see what is in plain sight. Maybe they are frustrated by the apathy of the “regular” voters who keep voting in the same old, same old status quo, establishment politicians and then expecting to get something different. Doesn’t make much sense to me. But then again, I’m entitled to my opinion just as you are entitled to yours.
“someone who denies reality by sticking your head in the sand refusing to see what is in plain sight”Do you mean like someone who says that the things written under someones name 20 years ago were not really written by him in his news letter and that he never read or agreed with his own newsletter?
It was his magazine, but Lew Rockwell actually did the writing. Paul was not even the editor at the time. He has already accepted resposibilty for them and has disavowed them. I guess if you can’t find any real faults you just have to make them up.
Those are real faults and he can not disavow himself of things written in his name 20 or 30 years ago. If he was against them then he should have stopped it then not years later after people point out his beliefs. He is no different than Obama in that respect. Nothing is his fault right?
They were not written in his name. Many magazines and written articles have the disclaimer that the views are not necessarily the views of the publishers.
Many I have known for years and more Ive spent some time with in the last few years. Just ask a moderately sized group of Paul supporters about 911 or Israel and wait for the fun to begin.
The problem I see is that Ron comes off as a little nuts at times. Mostly his delivery when he gets rushed or excited, he does seem to have a few odd views,but they are not insurmountable. But add the tinfoil hat types he has attrached in mass and now we have a problem with electability.
Of course they we cannot tell them its over, they are like Paul himself, he won’t listen to reason, further dividing the party.
I agree Mit Rommey has divided the party, trying to take away the peoples right for represention.
The primary ? Someone should tell them that the election is over !
Someone should tell the main stream median that people are catching on to stolen elections. From the 14 points of fascism.
14. Fraudulent elections
Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.NOTE: The above 14 Points was written in 2004 by Dr. Laurence Britt, a political scientist. Dr. Britt studied the fascist regimes of: Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile).Does any of this sound familiar? As America sinks deeper and deeper into corporate greed will this country continue to be a democracy by the people and for the people or will it be ruled by the few? Will the trinity of money, power and greed over come one of the greatest countries in the world? Only we, the people, can keep it free. SPEAK OUT AND LET YOUR THOUGHTS BE KNOWN…ONLY BY SILENCE WILL WE BE DEFEATED!”What no one seemed to notice. . . was the ever widening gap. . .between the government and the people. . . And it became always wider. . . the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting, it provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway . . . (it) gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about . . .and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated . . . by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. . .Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’. . . must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. . . .Each act. . . is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone. . . you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ . . .But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. . . .You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father. . . could never have imagined.” :From Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free, The Germans, 1938-45 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955)back to Contents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGVxmXBy9jQ&feature=related
The primary election is not over until all states have held their conventions and the national convention is held in Tampa. I am so tired of people and the MSM saying the primary is over. It’s not. Just because the establishment GOP and MSM say it’s over doesn’t make it true.
There are not enough total “bound” delegates to secure Romney the 1144 delegates he needs. There are at least 800+ “unbound” delegates who can vote as they see fit both at the state conventions and national convention. Nothing is a sure thing until the end. That is precisely why the RNC is in such a panic mode about Ron Paul’s last two weekend wins: LA, MN, MO, ME, NV. That is why Romney is sending his high-powered lawyers to ME and NV to try to disqualify the Paul delegates. That is why the RNC sent a threatening letter to Carl Bunce (The chairman of the Paul campaign) in NV prior to their convention. That is why the RNC is threatening not to seat the NV and ME delegates that were just selected this past weekend in NV and ME. They claim there are too many Paul delegates. Why in the world would they worry about this to the point of not seating delegates if Romney has it in the bag? THINK people!
The RNC is terrified that Paul’s garner of “unbound” delegates will deny Romeny the 1144 he needs by convention time. You must realize that every time Paul wins a plurality of delegates, he is actually taking them away from Romney’s estimated delegate wins.
Even FOX News has reluctantly admitted that Ron Paul now has enough “wins” (meaning Paul actually won at least 5 states by winning the delegate process) to be placed on the ballot at the Tampa convention. This was not supposed to happen folks, but it did.
The only people in panic mode are those of us who see you fools handing the election to Obama for the sake of some senile old racist.
I don’t like Romney either, but I wouldn’t call him a racist. The Mormons allowed blacks to hold the priesthood way back in the 90s.
Unfortunately you don’t realize that Romney is Obama. They are both supported by the same donors. Don’t believe me? Look it up. For heaven’s sake, do some actual research and learn that it is these donors who control the presidency. We need to get someone who is not bought and paid for in the presidency. That surely isn’t Mitt Romney. Unless, of course, you want to continue with the same failed policies.
Don’t tell the GOP but Americans will vote for Ron Paul but not mitt romney. That is why the GOP has been busy stealing primaries all over the country for their favorite, mitt. Look what happened here. Couldn’t have a primary because of snow. haha. So they just said mitt was the winner.
True, Charlie Webster really screwed Ron Paul supporters.
Charlie Webster messed with the race for Senate. The Dems will have a field day with his antics
His antics were foisted upon his fellow Republicans.
Charlie’s clown show is a family affair in an ever-ridiculous GOP meltdown of their own making.
Your right.. Elected and appointed public officials show be humble servants of the people, Not strutting around like a peacock with it’s feathers stuck out saying look at me I’m all that.
Hate to disagree, but if you really read what Ron Paul stands for, you would not vote for him. Not only does he play to the tea party types, but he is further out to the right than the t baggers. I followed his career, and his voting, and it is somewhat erratic. He isn’t the tight fisted conservative a lot of people have been led to believe that he is.
He is really out there on some of his basic principals. In the America of today, he just can’t get elected. If he gives the Republicans heartburn, think of how he is thought of by the democrats and independents!
It is a shame that those who became delegates by the same process as the ones who are complaining about being “commandeered”(a strong word chosen to be divisive, but is untrue) at the ME GOP convention are getting the bad rap Let this be a wakeup call to the “insiders” who have had their way much too often in the past conventions.
Articles like this just show what kind of liberal hacks and sell outs run rags like the Bangor Daily News.
Those who feel threatened always attack the messenger.
“Before you speak Persian, know that in Sparta, everyone, even a kings messenger, is responsible for the words of their voice.” – Leonidas
Who died and made him King? :)
Viva la Revolucion ! Viva Ron! Great vaudeville, Paulistas! Just remember – revolutions tend to eat their children.
Proof that Romney is not a shoe in for the nomination:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEhFbDflWmw
Romney is a flake. At least when Ron Paul speaks, he hasn’t already promised someone else something entirely different. Ron Paul is consistent and his voting record proves it. It’s a shame most people are “wow’d” by all the pomp and ceremony, which is much speaking for nothing; meaningless words meant to lull you into a sense of security so you throw away your vote with Romney.
Romney isn’t going to change anything, just like Obama didn’t change anything. It’ll just be more of the same “Paint the voters into a corner, and then convince them they now need to vote for us again so they can get out of the corner.”
There is no “right” or “left”! It’s just one political party, masquerading as a choice, just so you think that your vote actually counts.
For all those Republicans who think that Mit Rommey is the man to beat Obama and that all Republicans should stand behind him are wrong.. Everyone including yourselves know that Mits antics to get deligates is highly questionable.. How can you stand there and say we must stand together when I think he has no morals or values. I refuse to vote for either Mit or Obama, I will not vote for the less of two evils.. I will write in Ron Pauls name on the Ballot..
I have remodeled a few houses in my day and I have always started with the fondations, It’s worthless to redo a whole house if it is caving in from the old stone basement.. all that work is for nothing.. I would rather see Obama win and start rebuilding the Republican party from the basement on up than continue to plaster cracked walls… The power of the party is courpt.
You will put Obama back in the same way Ross Perot gave the Oval office to the Democrats.
You might as well pledge your support to Obama and skip the middle man.
Obama/Mit are the same. sometimes rebuilding takes time.. With Mit in there the same old republican foundation remains.. This is my personal opinion.. We can’t allow them to be in power until it is fixed. They will not change if allowed to remain.
Thank you for your service to the country. we need our service men to come home now, the corporate war needs to be over today..
No need to thank me, it was my pleasure.
There are many positions that RP takes that I like but there are too many things about him that make me not trust him with that much power. Some of the younger up and comers like the younger Paul or Rubio have potential and do not have the same sort of tainted background as RP does. I can be patient and express my displeasure often enough I think so that I don’t need to go to this extreme to make a point.
So far I’m enjoying the GOP’s version of SNL, moreso at the State level (Go Charlie !). As an Independent I can, and will, vote for who I see has an actual Plan, out there on paper, and with a Candidate’s signature on it, that tells me just what the Candidate proposes, how it’s gonna start given what we have right now, how they propose to do it both economically and legislatively, what the objectives are in the Plan and what the Plan’s end goal’s are in ‘hand’s on, in your face and wallet’ term’s.
The only part of Paul’s platform that I can agree with is the auditing of the Federal Reserve. Given the recent shenanigan’s of bailout loan’s to AIG and the rest of the Financial Service’s Sector, and at the same time screwing the American Homeowner by giving these same bank’s money to help them in re-financing their homeloan mortgage’s, and seeing that money still, 3 years + later still sitting on their Corporate cash balance sheet’s, not out on their mortgage loan balance sheet’s, tells me that the Fed needs to give these Fed Governor’s a good swift shot in the butt and either get the money outta the ‘bank’s’ and into the housing market or pull it back and let these so-called ‘bank’s’ go under. The Bank’s want to claim and play Free Market, fine. Then they play, good or bad, by the same rules as the rest of us. Can anyone imagine the benefit of that Fed money, instead of being tied up in the ‘bank’s’ vault, being out there in the small business community for start-up’s, expansion and hiring ? It’s bad enough that the SBA (Karen Mills, please take note !) is sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the current SBA Funding to dry up to try to go back to the well. Nut’s to that nonsense ! The SBA should be at the White House, every day, in Obama’s face, demanding that the Treasury take that money that the Fed has in the ‘bank’s’ right now out of them and sending it to the SBA for start-up’s and business expansion and development. It also needs to be tied to a American Job’s provision as well since we all know that the 1st time that Big Business gets their mitt’s into this their gonna do it thru a Minority Business shell company and get the money out of the country into an offshore business where they don’t have to pay taxes on it. So much for business development for the Country and the economy. Paul want’s to get serious, fine. Here is where it start’s !
I guess you didn’t read the GAO report that the Fed made a 15.1 billion profit off the bailout loan to AIG!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-usa-financial-aig-idUSBRE84705U20120508?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Business+News%29
I saw it. What’s more interesting is the fact that it’s not going toward deficit reduction. That alone gives me serious pause to ask just who is running the nuthouse ! If the economy is that much of a priority then split it between the SBA and the deficit by legislative direction and with oversight. Even the White House wouldn’t argue that. At least then we invest and reduce, all in one shot. Right now all I’m seeing is a an octopus trying to decide which arm to use to open the pop-top on a can of clams ! What’s also not so funny is that this has been out there for the last 3 days and no where is Paul to be seen or heard over a subject that he is supposedly all hot and bothered about. If he’s so concerned about the deficit and The Fed then it’s about time that he got off his keester and said so !
I guess Ron Paul supporters want Obama to win?
Paul can’t win, but his supports rightfully believe Romney can’t win either.
So why does anyone want 4 more years of this administration? Time for a Change. a change for the Better. and HOPE is what most Americans need. It sure has NOT happened in this administration.
romney, obama, whats the difference? if it comes down to one of the two it really wont matter one bit.
Clinton years were not so bad. His Scandal topped the cake. Most people I know today are far Worse off financially than when Obama began his term. My Point was to show the obvious, that to vote for Paul at this time, is a greater chance to give Obama another term. I find NO humor in this countries economic near collapse.
though that plays into Obama’s hands.
FLIP Romney can’t win either. Way too many LIES. He is an empty suit that stands for nothing.
That’s my point though, neither could win. Neither of them appeal to the Republican base as a whole.
Apparently Ron Paul supporters forget the H.Ross Perot vote and what the result was.
Yeah, those Clinton years were really bad for the country, LOL!
“Paul will probably get a speaking slot at the convention but his
influence over the party platform and power will be limited, said Rich
Galen, a GOP strategist and former Newt Gingrich aide who is neutral in
the 2012 race.”
So it would be the establishment and not the people that will restrict his activities?
Where is the America that says if I get votes I participate?
Is it democracy if those in power prevent alternatives from participating?
It is almost like they are saying we will tell you who you should be voting for.
No, what they are telling you is that if you want to beat Obama, Romney is your guy. Whether you like it or not. They are going to support him and Paul, and Newt will be even further isolated.
is it really going to matter if you beat out obama with someone who is practically the same as him?
Give it up people! Ron Paul is too far out there to get elected. All he is doing is destroying the unity of the party. I don’t buy that give him a voice in the platform of the party stuff either.
There is no way a moderate, independent, or republican leaning democrat can vote for this guy. All he is doing is giving cannon fodder to the Democrats. Who would vote Republican, when even the Republicans are at war with each other.
The far right wing of the party is killing its chances of getting elected. I don’t know why I care, as I am a democrat, and I see this from a whole different perspective. Don’t get me wrong, we have some left wing nuts out there too. You have a lackluster candidate who is more chameleon than policitian, now throw a nutcase into the convention and you have chaos. I can only imagine how puffed up all these guys will get when they get a chance to speak to large crowds.
I can just tell you that Paul just needs to fade away, that America as a whole will not support some of his zany ideas, no matter how good the sound bytes are. You can be that the Democrats are laughing about the Chinese fire drill of the Maine convention. Any other state that does thing kind of thing should be sanctioned by the party. It smacks of being exactly what Republicans stand for. Cloud the issue until no one really knows what you said, then blame the Democrats for everything that went wrong.
At one time I was leaning toward Romney, but after he kissed some serious rear end in Wisconsin, no way can I vote for him
Sorry to dissapoint you, but this Obama Independent is definately voting for Ron Paul! I do agree that some of his ideas are a bit extreme, but he will not be able to dissolve the Dept. of Education without congress. He WILL bring our troops home and cease our constant interventionist policies worldwide, that’s what Pres Obama claimed he was going to do from the start.
Simple math isn’t their strong point either.
Republicans here in Maine have proven that they put special interest (Insurance Companies, Banks, MHPC) ahead of ordinary people. They have proven that they can’t be trusted to run honest caucuses. They have proven that they can not run a State Convention. The Republican currently living in The Blaine House has a problem telling the truth and has never since being elected said one single positive thing about the State of Maine. Why on earth would we elect them to run our State?
Romney has the same exact agenda as Obama. If we get either we will not be any further ahead.
this is why i dont understand those who say we must support romney to beat obama. do these people do any research on those they want to support?
FLIP Romney? No one knows where this guy stands on anything. Romney is a Pathological Liar and has serious mental and moral issues.
The corporate “persons” created by Citizens United decided they wanted Romney, as did the corporate “persons” who run the national news media, so what real people want is irrelevant.
The GOP needs a real Lincoln today: Government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE and for the PEOPLE.
Lifetime Dem because indep cannot vote in the prim. This is the year we are voting Ron Paul. I lived in Michigan when Mitt’s dad was governor, what a mess. Obama is in way over his head and his cabinet is as bad. We need help and I see Ron Paul as the best. Its never the party only the person of merit.
I haven’t ever had so much fun watching primaries. Seeing Republicans
eating each other alive amidst a national implosion. Who’d a thunk?
You reap what you sew.
Of course Ron Paul isn’t going to be VICE president. He WILL be THE PRESIDENT!!! Ron Paul!!!
Sorry to the republican party but voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. In this case that means I’m either voting for Ron Paul or Gary Johnson as the Independent/Libertarian nominee. R’s can rant and rave about how their ‘house is being divided’ but it’s their own fault. As far as I’m concerned Romney is no different than Obama and either or them getting elected is going to be bad for the country. While I may have to accept that one or the other is going to be President, I don’t have to lose sleep at night knowing that I supported them. Many people have fought and died for my right to vote and I will not give up that right. However, to not vote my conscience would be just as bad. Perhaps if everyone followed this ideal, rather than listening to the talking heads, our elections would have some different outcomes…