WaPo: Continues attacks against Ron Paul - spins him as dead last in "Vote Probability"

[bobbyw24]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/behind-the-numbers/StandingArt/GOPconsider0607.jpg?uuid=Qp3NRJEOEeCwUg_iGsSEPg

By Peyton M. Craighill

Mitt Romney sits atop the field of potential Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential nomination in more ways than one in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Numerically, he garners the most support in candidate preference and he is the most competitive with President Obama in hypothetical 2012 match-ups.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/behind-the-numbers/post/poll-ranking-the-gop-2012-presidential-field/2011/06/07/AGquvALH_blog.html

[xapis]

Something sticks out to me about this poll data. The 43% that would consider (adding both "consider" columns together) voting for Ron Paul must not include very many of his avid supporters if only 11% of total polled would consider voting for Gary Johnson.

Granted, Ron Paul is hated by neo-cons and GOP establishmentarians. But their votes are split between 10 other candidates so this fact really doesn't concern me all that much.

[specsaregood]

must not include very many of his avid supporters if only 11% of total polled would consider voting for Gary Johnson.


Many of Dr. Pauls "avid supporters" would not consider voting for him for the same reason that Dr. Paul would never pick him as a VP.

[xapis]

Many of Dr. Pauls "avid supporters" would not consider voting for him for the same reason that Dr. Paul would never pick him as a VP.

Why do you think that is? Has Dr. Paul spoken to the question of Johnson as VP?

[specsaregood]

//

[xapis]

I am 100% pro-life. That's one of several reasons why I support RP over GJ. But the abortion problem is not something a President or Vice-President can realistically do much to solve at this point. While it is very much a defining issue in our culture, I (sadly) don't see it being an issue that should carry a lot of weight in our vote for President. Gov. Johnson is a far better choice than any of the other current GOP candidates (besides RP of course) who give nothing but lip service to pro-life matters.

[wgadget]

Does anyone do a poll of the INDEPENDENT voters? These Republican voters really don't constitute our entire electorate, do they?

[sailingaway]

Bobby, I changed the title, I don't know if you are aware that the titles are tweeted out by two guys multiple times and show up as 'headlines' in google search. While they may make more people click this link here,they also serve to push the meme WaPo is desperately trying to spin to the larger world. Obviously, it doesn't matter who someone's second choice is so long as they are going to vote their first choice. If Ron gets more first choice votes he wins, and by head to head with Obama polls we already know that any neocons who would never vote for him from the GOP are more than made up by the independents and even some Dems who would.

Notice that comments, never opened, are closed so we can't comment on this fact and on Ron's head to head numbers against Obama which absolutely come from SOMEWHERE. The fact is, they really are scared of him. He erodes the base they count on.

What this says is that even at the height of Bachmann's post good entry debate performance, with the GOP dying for a white knight to save them, she is only one point ahead of Ron. Does that one point piss me off? You bet. But the question has always been if she will have legs.

I was getting twitter questions about her suggesting that the benefit of the doubt people are giving her is massive. Some hope her to be just like Ron but more telegenic. Others hope her to be just like Palin but smoother. They don't really know her yet.

so we will see how it goes.

The thing is, this is the LEFT spinning this meme. Why? Wouldn't they want the weakest against Obama to win?

[specsaregood]

I am 100% pro-life. That's one of several reasons why I support RP over GJ. But the abortion problem is not something a President or Vice-President can realistically do much to solve at this point. While it is very much a defining issue in our culture, I (sadly) don't see it being an issue that should carry a lot of weight in our vote for President. Gov. Johnson is a far better choice than any of the other current GOP candidates (besides RP of course) who give nothing but lip service to pro-life matters.

What you say doesn't matter, it is what it is. Many pro-life people won't even consider voting for somebody that does not even give lip service to the issue. And i can't see Dr. Paul picking a VP for which he has such a fundamental disagreement.

[randomname]

I bet a lot of the "definitely not" are due to recent MSM spin (heroin & prostitutes), hostile pundits and character assassination.

They can still be converted as he counters the spin and clarifies his positions.

[xapis]

What you say doesn't matter, it is what it is. Many pro-life people won't even consider voting for somebody that does not even give lip service to the issue.

This is true. They're too myopic to recognize that the failing Keynesian-run economy (rooted in the out-of-control Federal Reserve), the endless imperial wars, and the police state (war on drugs, hemorrhaging of civil liberties) are the true moral/humanitarian issues of our time that actually can be addressed politically at the federal level in the short run.

[Fermli]

This polling data concerning voter approval (would consider voting, would not consider voting) should not be surprising with respect to RP. I'm sure many of us here had an extremely unfavorable view of RP upon first hearing of him on TV. Later on, you changed your mind. Many people being polled only think that they would never consider voting Paul. If they knew more about him, they would at least consider voting for him. So the "would never consider voting" is something many falsely believe.

The wrong conclusion to draw is that RP has a low ceiling, and that he won't get more than 10% in any primary. I believe this is false and that he will do better than these favorability polls prove.