Bradley in DC
08-09-2007, 02:35 AM
http://politicalinsider.com/2007/08/paul_the_stature_of_liberty.html
Paul: The Stature Of Liberty
Rep. Ron Paul is not going to be the Republican nominee for president in 2008. Some of his fans expect he will, envisioning an upset win in Ames this weekend followed by a continued rise in early primary states and the collapse of the party's other candidates. This is not going to happen. Still, Paul has to be pleasantly surprised by the reception his insurgent campaign is receiving.
Paul -- who received 432,179 votes as the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1998, the party's third-best showing ever -- considered a GOP protest run against President George H.W. Bush in 1992 after Bush agreed to a tax increase. This did not materialize, and Paul's national fan base had to go back to quadrennial wishful thinking about another Paul run. (In 2004, a coalition of Libertarians, Constitution Party members, and remnants of the Reform Party tried to get Paul to run, but he passed.)
When Paul entered the race for 2008, he was probably hoping to influence policy by getting into some debates and challenging his party's frontrunners on Iraq, the war on terror, and domestic civil liberties policy. He seems a bit amazed by the boomlet that has formed around him after the first debates. A generally positive 5,000-word New York Times Magazine piece on Paul appeared in late July, and he has out-fundraised candidates like Sen. Joseph Biden, Sen. Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Last weekend, Robert Novak wrote that Sen. Chuck Hagel is still considering seeking the GOP presidential nomination, saying a "major reason for the unexpectedly strong professions of support for Rep. Ron Paul's libertarian-conservative candidacy is that he is the only announced Republican presidential candidate opposed to the invasion of Iraq," and Hagel hopes to tap that base. Perhaps, but Paul also gets a lot of support from those upset by the party's big spending and continued support of federal programs. He will not be pushed aside that easily.
The question for Paul is, what happens after the GOP nomination is settled? Would he run as a third-party candidate, possibly on the Unity08 line or again as a Libertarian?
Paul: The Stature Of Liberty
Rep. Ron Paul is not going to be the Republican nominee for president in 2008. Some of his fans expect he will, envisioning an upset win in Ames this weekend followed by a continued rise in early primary states and the collapse of the party's other candidates. This is not going to happen. Still, Paul has to be pleasantly surprised by the reception his insurgent campaign is receiving.
Paul -- who received 432,179 votes as the Libertarian presidential nominee in 1998, the party's third-best showing ever -- considered a GOP protest run against President George H.W. Bush in 1992 after Bush agreed to a tax increase. This did not materialize, and Paul's national fan base had to go back to quadrennial wishful thinking about another Paul run. (In 2004, a coalition of Libertarians, Constitution Party members, and remnants of the Reform Party tried to get Paul to run, but he passed.)
When Paul entered the race for 2008, he was probably hoping to influence policy by getting into some debates and challenging his party's frontrunners on Iraq, the war on terror, and domestic civil liberties policy. He seems a bit amazed by the boomlet that has formed around him after the first debates. A generally positive 5,000-word New York Times Magazine piece on Paul appeared in late July, and he has out-fundraised candidates like Sen. Joseph Biden, Sen. Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
Last weekend, Robert Novak wrote that Sen. Chuck Hagel is still considering seeking the GOP presidential nomination, saying a "major reason for the unexpectedly strong professions of support for Rep. Ron Paul's libertarian-conservative candidacy is that he is the only announced Republican presidential candidate opposed to the invasion of Iraq," and Hagel hopes to tap that base. Perhaps, but Paul also gets a lot of support from those upset by the party's big spending and continued support of federal programs. He will not be pushed aside that easily.
The question for Paul is, what happens after the GOP nomination is settled? Would he run as a third-party candidate, possibly on the Unity08 line or again as a Libertarian?