Biggest Threat to Ron Paul

[Pseudolus]

I don't think Michele Bachmann is likely to win the GOP nomination, but I do believe she is the person who might steal the most anti-status quo votes from Ron Paul. We need Bachmann out early.

Newt has self-imploded.
Pawlenty is too milktoast to beat Romney.
John Huntsman, Jr. and Santorum are going to get lost in the mix against Romney.
Romney will be the most successful of the traditional establishment candidates.

The fight for the nomination will be between establishment and tea party candidates, as it was in the 2010 primaries.

Gary Johnson has no momentum and a charisma problem.
Herman Cain has charisma, but lacks tangible plans.
Sarah Palin likely won't run.
Michele Bachmann is embraced by the media & yet has also nurtured a Tea Party image.

If Romney is the Establishments guy, we need to make Ron Paul the Tea Party guy. To do that most effectively, we need Bachmann out.

All efforts should be focused on winning those voters who would otherwise go to Bachmann.

[robertwerden]

Bachmann will soon realize that the tea party rally crowd will soon start asking her direct questions and she will have difficulty answering those questions. If you have watched the interviews she did on Freedom Watch, she really is clueless about the Constitution.

[rp08orbust]

Ron Paul must trounce her at the SRLC straw poll in June.

[dude58677]

She'll fall flat on her face given that she was a tax attorney. Ron Paul would need to make it clear that tax attorneys want the Income Tax to remain afloat and complex so they can have alot to litigate from. The profits made from this non-free market system is huge.

[FrankRep]

Charles Krauthammer: Michele Bachmann Has Little Chance to Win Nomination (http://www.therightscoop.com/krauthammer-bachmann-has-little-chance-to-win-nomination/)



I’m not convinced that Bachmann can win the vote of independents as I feel she doesn’t answer questions directly enough and with enough candor. How she would do in a debate remains to be seen.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNeRn1IwggQ

[Pseudolus]

I’m not convinced that Bachmann can win the vote of independents as I feel she doesn’t answer questions directly enough and with enough candor. How she would do in a debate remains to be seen.Yes, a debate would be a good way for Ron Paul to pull from Bachmann's base. It would help if a Tea Party group hosted their own GOP Tea Party candidates debate, so that we could better assess Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain without the distractions of Romney and Co.

[Mahkato]

I think most people who like Bachmann like Bachmann and don't care what she says or does as long as she gets in enough conservative buzzwords per minute.

[gaazn]

Hard to knock out someone who can raise the money she can raise.

[CaptUSA]

Personally, I'd be more interested in gaining her support than defeating her. I'm not really sure how she did it, but she was able to co-opt the Tea Party movement without them realizing she's just patronizing them. I know the temptation is there to discredit her and reveal her ineptitude, but there's going to be more peril in store for the one who does that than there will be for her.

So, is there any possibility that she would support Paul? Rand's cornered the Tea Party movement in the Senate, could that be an avenue to gain her support?

I agree that she's the biggest threat to Paul, but she could also be the biggest advantage. I really don't get her appeal, but for some reason, she has it. I wouldn't try to dismantle that, I'd try to capitalize on it.

If you hope she'll lose support because she's not answering questions directly, forget it. Remember Palin? She'll get more of her fans pissed at the questioner than herself. Out-debating her won't work either because her supporters won't be swayed by logic - if they were, they'd be Paul supporters. The best I think we can hope for is to talk to her about supporting Paul. If she thinks this will help her gain influence within the Tea Party movement, she may go for it.

[dude58677]

Yes, a debate would be a good way for Ron Paul to pull from Bachmann's base. It would help if a Tea Party group hosted their own GOP Tea Party candidates debate, so that we could better assess Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain without the distractions of Romney and Co.


That is a good idea.

[Pseudolus]

Personally, I'd be more interested in gaining her support than defeating her. I'm not really sure how she did it, but she was able to co-opt the Tea Party movement without them realizing she's just patronizing them. I know the temptation is there to discredit her and reveal her ineptitude, but there's going to be more peril in store for the one who does that than there will be for her.

So, is there any possibility that she would support Paul? Rand's cornered the Tea Party movement in the Senate, could that be an avenue to gain her support?

I agree that she's the biggest threat to Paul, but she could also be the biggest advantage. I really don't get her appeal, but for some reason, she has it. I wouldn't try to dismantle that, I'd try to capitalize on it.

If you hope she'll lose support because she's not answering questions directly, forget it. Remember Palin? She'll get more of her fans pissed at the questioner than herself. Out-debating her won't work either because her supporters won't be swayed by logic - if they were, they'd be Paul supporters. The best I think we can hope for is to talk to her about supporting Paul. If she thinks this will help her gain influence within the Tea Party movement, she may go for it.I agree with much of this, I didn't mean to imply that we'd have to tear her down to erode her base.

[Pseudolus]

That is a good idea.Thanks. :)

[Paul4Prez]

After voting for the Patriot Act, she's toast.

[S.Shorland]

GOP establishment 'pressing Bachmann not to run'.Who knows if it's true.5:00 and after:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao4WgLCE4k4&feature=related

[Crystallas]

IDK if this has been posted before, but it's pretty funny to see a blog THIS deep with hate for Bachmann.

http://www.dumpbachmann.com/

[satchelmcqueen]

so mitt has romneycare
bachman was a tax person
palin quit alaska
cain was in the fed and supported the bailouts


seems paul needs to nail them all on these direct points! he will win!

[goRPaul]

If Bachmann doesn't win enough delegates to threaten to win at the convention, she would endorse and give her delegates to Paul, if she is truly a Tea Party candidate. I may be wrong later, but I trust her to do this, more so than if Palin were in the same situation.

[acptulsa]

Your typical republican would love to pit her up against Obama. But she couldn't win. It isn't that our standards are too high, it's that the independents and crossovers we're courting (and have been for a few years) who can be enticed to vote for federal candidates won't vote for her on a dare. As someone said, she voted for the PATRIOT Act. Among other things. And they just got betrayed by their preferred party.

She could win the primary. But the key is that she won't win in November. And, honestly, I believe that the only one in the G.O.P. that can is Ron Paul--and us.


If Bachmann doesn't win enough delegates to threaten to win at the convention, she would endorse and give her delegates to Paul, if she is truly a Tea Party candidate. I may be wrong later, but I trust her to do this, more so than if Palin were in the same situation.

I might agree with you on the last point, but don't trust either one. Only if we can demonstrate to her that her political future lies in a more principled direction would Bachman do that.

[Brian4Liberty]

As someone said, she voted for the PATRIOT Act.

It seems that the Patriot Act is non-issue now that Harry Reid is it's fiercest supporter. With most Dems and Reps in full agreement, (almost) no one cares.

[Feeding the Abscess]

Yes, a debate would be a good way for Ron Paul to pull from Bachmann's base. It would help if a Tea Party group hosted their own GOP Tea Party candidates debate, so that we could better assess Gary Johnson, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain without the distractions of Romney and Co.

Ron wouldn't be invited to such a debate.

Bank on it.