Lone voice can still reshape Republicans

[sailingaway]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10757307

You know what's cool about this? Larry Sabato's oft quoted 'ceiling' for Ron, above which he can never go, has gone up to 20% :p

[FSP-Rebel]

The big question is if Paul's small government and fiscal discipline mantra will poll well as the race heats up. Does his surge - the Associated Press suggested Paul was "proving to be a force" - really amount to much? Can the candidate who bills himself as "the leading advocate for freedom in our nation's capital", come in from the cold?

, suggests Larry Sabato, a seasoned observer of presidential contests and head of the University of Virginia's Centre for Politics.




Even his base, says Sabato, accepts this.

"They support him because they believe in his views on the Federal Reserve, or they're glad someone is speaking out against Afghanistan in the Republican Party, or they simply admire the guy's principles. I've seen a lot of young people who are Paulites for many reasons. But this is not a serious movement within the Republican Party. At least not serious enough to come anywhere close to getting a nomination."

Instead, his impact may be in shaping the GOP platform. "If he can demonstrate significant support on the right for a more libertarian perspective, then other GOP candidates will be forced to adapt to that, or at least provide a compelling answer as to why he's wrong," says Vogel.

Paul is stage centre in a seismic struggle between the Old Guard and the Tea Party to recast the GOP as a force for fiscal conservatism, breaking with the social conservatism and national security conservatism that dominated the Bush era.

The lacklustre GOP field and the nation's angry and fearful mood may have given Paul space to push his ideas. But the Tea Party may be ebbing from the high tide reached at last November's seismic mid-terms.

Some say Paul is little more than a spoiler, siphoning votes, air time and money off rivals while his core support is likely a lost cause for other GOP hopefuls.

Ultimately, Paul may become a curious footnote in US presidential history, the lonely voice from the Lone Star state, out of sync with the US political duopoly.
Want to take a stab at this^?

[TexMac]

Wow, our ceiling is moving up. I wonder what our ceiling will be next month?

[TheTexan]

I acknowledge there is a ceiling, but as the OP pointed out, that ceiling is growing. It's just education... Ron Paul is right (on pretty much everything)... and the other candidates are wrong (also... on pretty much everything, lol). So naturally that ceiling will grow with time. I only hope that it happens in time to win the nomination (which seems to be going well so far).

[Standing Like A Rock]

Lol, sounds a lot like our debt "ceiling."