What if - 3rd party run?

[rp4prez]

Just a thought here but do you think the primaries could be just the starting point for RP? What I mean is this gets his message out and his name recognition up. I'm also thinking that this means a 3rd party run! :D He brings HUGE ratings to debates and a point of view that electrifies everyone! I bet if he makes a 3rd party run he'll for sure get more than 15% in a general election or even more!

Any thoughts?

[kirkblitz]

heres a question. Can he run a 3rd party campaign while waiting for the party convention in september or does he have to denouce the repub party?

[John P Slevin]

Absolutely. Paul would make a formidable independent or third party challenger.

I suspect an increasing number of Ron Paul supporters will be looking at this possibility...and they should.

[alexa doherty]

"Plan B". i.e. third party read the whole thing. A strategy has already formed
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=83428

[hueylong]

It's clear this is an issue that he doesn't want to address until the R3volution has played out its hand in the Republican process.

He will need to make his 3rd Party decision by late May, early June. That's an eternity in politics.

Please -- let's take this one step at a time, like Dr. Paul is.

[acroso]

...he should start spending that money.....don't be hoarding it.

[twister5400]

i don't know about the party convention question...

what would be the best situation for ron to run 3rd party?

hillary vs romney vs paul?
romney or ron paul?

obama vs mccain vs paul?
who wins? obama?

hillary vs giuliani vs paul?
i think paul would win this one

obama vs huckabee vs ron paul?
i dunno?

[Bold As Love]

Would he have to give up his congressional race to run as a third party Presidential candidate?

He may have a chance to return to the House with a decent amount of clout after this campaign, I'm thinking.

Of course, I would support him 100% either way.

[billjarrett]

Just posted this over in a thread in the Michigan forum


I agree with this, but I know alot of folks around here don't. I think that if we got him enough money to do it, with a good campaign manager, a good hit man (like Roger Zone), and some slick marketing folks he could be the first independent president.

Reason being is that I've noticed ALOT of hate of Republicans out there now, and that will not be easy to turn around. Also, in the general election, the playing field of funded candidates is much smaller. If he could get on the debates and such like Perot did, he only needs to expose two crooks instead of 5-6.

As disgruntled as the American people are, and is pushing for change as they are, I think a well funded and publicized campaign could work at this point. Only downside is that he has already tried the Republican ticket and the media will then try to associate him with the Republicans (won't that be a switch instead of being a Republican called a Libertarian, he'll be a Libertarian being called a Republican)... But that's a catch 22 in itself, since he wouldn't have built up us grassroots and the cash he has if he hadn't.


Also, I don't think this is all about Ron Paul. And lets just take worst case scenario, and say Ron Paul loses the Republican nod and decides to go spend the rest of his life chillin out in Texas. This should not end here. In just the year or so this has been going on, our movement seems to reach up to 10%. We, the younger folks, need to pick up this torch. We may have to change the name of this forum if we're no longer Ron Paul centered, but I think we need to start preparing ourselves for runs ourselves to push this message on. If we lose, this does not end here.

I'm 34 years old, and don't have a college degree at the moment. In fact, I'm a high school dropout with a GED (long story... but lets just say I dropped out of HS to go to college then partied to much in college). But, I'm a 7 year Army veteran, and have done very well considering my rougher start 14 years ago. I'm back in college now, have two 4.0 GPA semesters under my belt (while working full time) looking for an eventual degree in finance/economics (not my current field, currently in IT) so that maybe a few years from now I can possibly try to run and keep this message alive. And for those that can't be in/won't be in a position to run, those that do will still need all the support they can get.

[AlexMerced]

I'm pretty sure we'll know the case for this after feb 5, we're not doing bad by any means, rmember we used to polling around hunter only a few months ago

[alexa doherty]

i don't know about the party convention question...

what would be the best situation for ron to run 3rd party?

hillary vs romney vs paul?
romney or ron paul?

obama vs mccain vs paul?
who wins? obama?

hillary vs giuliani vs paul?
i think paul would win this one

obama vs huckabee vs ron paul?
i dunno?

We do NOT want racist obama in the mix. If it's hillary, huckabee and bloomberg, we'd have a great chance.

[hasan]

Just a thought here but do you think the primaries could be just the starting point for RP? What I mean is this gets his message out and his name recognition up. I'm also thinking that this means a 3rd party run! :D He brings HUGE ratings to debates and a point of view that electrifies everyone! I bet if he makes a 3rd party run he'll for sure get more than 15% in a general election or even more!

Any thoughts?

this is exactly why i keep telling ppl ron shouldnt drop out of the republican race. u get much more exposure as a republican candidate. he can go 3rd party after tht if he likes

[Wyurm]

If people would stop with the 3rd party talk they would likely work harder to get him the nomination. Look, Dr. Paul is running for his seat in congress as a fall-back if he doesn't get the nomination, not going 3rd party.

[hasan]

We do NOT want racist obama in the mix. If it's hillary, huckabee and bloomberg, we'd have a great chance.

lol the racism line gave u away. ur the journalist arent u?

[B of R guy]

Running as a third party candidate would enable us to outflank the dems on many social issues. We could hit 20% of popular vote easy.

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

I'm pretty sure we'll know the case for this after feb 5

Correct. And RP himself has said the campaign will look at the Feb 5 results and see where we're at.

Either way, we need to have RP run in this year's race. He's 72 years old, so this is our only chance to have him run.

[mstrmac1]

no matter what happens we need to donate or it all for not!

[itsnobody]

Wake up

He's DEFINITELY not running as a 3rd party candidate like he's said a million times before

[MikeStanart]

I'm very hesitant to support a 3rd party because:

This will discredit all RP supporters for future elections as "kooks, tin-foil hat 9/11 truthers."

The entire Republican base will solidify against Paul; naming him the reason the Democrats won the Election in 2008
(Even though thats not the case)

We're winning over Hearts and Minds as we speak; this movement will have a lot more bumps in the road if that happens.

[tcgras01]

Paul would have enough support to make a great 3rd party run. He'd get enough support to compete in the debates much like Ross Perot did, and if that happened he would dominate the debates.

[billjarrett]

I'm very hesitant to support a 3rd party because:

This will discredit all RP supporters for future elections as "kooks, tin-foil hat 9/11 truthers."

The entire Republican base will solidify against Paul; naming him the reason the Democrats won the Election in 2008
(Even though thats not the case)

We're winning over Hearts and Minds as we speak; this movement will have a lot more bumps in the road if that happens.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem I've had talking with people is that he is a Republican. I expected this from the Democrats, but I hear it from alot of "Republicans" right now. Bush seems to have managed to piss off alot of people, and many won't even hear me out that he is the Republican party they long for. I've talked to several who never voted Democrat before who are voting Democrat this time as a protest vote to Bush (whatever sense that makes) :confused:

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

Wake up

He's DEFINITELY not running as a 3rd party candidate like he's said a million times before

WRONG.



I'm very hesitant to support a 3rd party because:

This will discredit all RP supporters for future elections as "kooks, tin-foil hat 9/11 truthers."

The entire Republican base will solidify against Paul; naming him the reason the Democrats won the Election in 2008
(Even though thats not the case)


Who cares about the GOP? Is your loyalty to Ron and his message or to a war-mongering party trapped in the corrupt, broken two-party system? Ron is 72 years old; this is his last chance to run.

[Anti Federalist]

Here's the deal:

Some states prohibit you from running independent or third party if you lose the primary for another party.

The time it takes to clear the petitions and secure ballot access for the remaining states is time that is passing or has already passed.

Ron has said, over and over he would not run third party.

So, it will be on us, completely.

The solution - Write In Ron.

A mass network of Paul supporters writing in Ron Paul.

Would he "win"? No, not at all. But we could use it to spread the message and stuff pepper up the system's ass at the same time.

[itsnobody]

No it's not wrong , Ron Paul is a sincere man, he doesn't go back on his word, and he's said he won't run as a 3rd party candidate

We should instead focus our efforts on making him win the nomination, the race is still wide open, we can still win the race

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

When has Ron ever said he's not running independent? Show me one shred of evidence of this? I can show you a thousand quotes from him specifically leaving open the option of running independent.

Stop lying please.

[billjarrett]

No it's not wrong , Ron Paul is a sincere man, he doesn't go back on his word, and he's said he won't run as a 3rd party candidate

We should instead focus our efforts on making him win the nomination, the race is still wide open, we can still win the race

Can you link me to a youtube or something where he says he will not? All I've seen is "I have no intentions at this time", "I have no plans to", etc...

But everytime he's been pushed for something more concrete than that, I haven't seen him answer it with something like a "Definately not".

[MN Patriot]

I'm very hesitant to support a 3rd party because:

This will discredit all RP supporters for future elections as "kooks, tin-foil hat 9/11 truthers."

The entire Republican base will solidify against Paul; naming him the reason the Democrats won the Election in 2008
(Even though thats not the case)

We're winning over Hearts and Minds as we speak; this movement will have a lot more bumps in the road if that happens.

I hope Ron runs as a Libertarian, because they already have ballot access.

We are already labeled as kooks, so it doesn't matter. Fight the smears with facts and logic, appeal to the smart people.

To hell with the Republican Party. We need to tell every conscientious Republican that it is time to abandon that den of thieves and frauds and help start a new party dedicated to liberty, not to corporate fascism.

If Ron runs as a Libertarian, then the LP should have a candidate for every congressional district, 33 senate candidates, plus governors and as many state candidates as possible. Use Ron's name recognition for all the local candidates.

[Eric21ND]

Just a thought here but do you think the primaries could be just the starting point for RP? What I mean is this gets his message out and his name recognition up. I'm also thinking that this means a 3rd party run! :D He brings HUGE ratings to debates and a point of view that electrifies everyone! I bet if he makes a 3rd party run he'll for sure get more than 15% in a general election or even more!

Any thoughts?

15% wouldn't too hard to do. I know A LOT of people that want to vote for Dr. Paul but they don't vote in the primary season, if his name is on the ballot come Nov they will vote for him. Now as for the 15% thereshold, Perot won 19% of the popular vote (That's over 19 million votes) and he ran a terrible campaign, even dropping out for a period to only get back in later, that really hurt him bad. He was polling in the 35% range before that.

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

To hell with the Republican Party. We need to tell every conscientious Republican that it is time to abandon that den of thieves and frauds and help start a new party dedicated to liberty, not to corporate fascism.


Right on.

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

15% wouldn't too hard to do. I know A LOT of people that want to vote for Dr. Paul but they don't vote in the primary season, if his name is on the ballot come Nov they will vote for him. Now as for the 15% thereshold, Perot won 19% of the popular vote (That's over 19 million votes) and he ran a terrible campaign, even dropping out for a period to only get back in later, that really hurt him bad. He was polling in the 35% range before that.

That is correct. People who say "independents have no chance" are completely out to lunch. That little nut Perot could have won the race had he not flipped out and literally dropped out of the race.

Ron could do better than Perot, especially if the economy really tanks. He will be the only person who has a real message of change on economic issues and slashing government spending.

[itsnobody]

Can you link me to a youtube or something where he says he will not? All I've seen is "I have no intentions at this time", "I have no plans to", etc...

But everytime he's been pushed for something more concrete than that, I haven't seen him answer it with something like a "Definately not".

Right...he says he has no plans and he's as absolute as he can possibly be

You guys are all living in a fantasy world, Ron Paul DEFINITELY will not run as a 3rd party candidate, unless there was some type of amazing miracle

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b8gcIAmjsV8

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

Right...he says he has no plans and he's as absolute as he can possibly be

You guys are all living in a fantasy world, Ron Paul DEFINITELY will not run as a 3rd party candidate, unless there was some type of amazing miracle

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b8gcIAmjsV8

No it's you who are living in neverland. WTF do you think RP would say while he's in the middle of the GOP race???? He has to say "No intentions" or he would be branded a traitor and wose lose support in the GOP.

Learn to read between the lines.

[Eric21ND]

I'm very hesitant to support a 3rd party because:

This will discredit all RP supporters for future elections as "kooks, tin-foil hat 9/11 truthers."

The entire Republican base will solidify against Paul; naming him the reason the Democrats won the Election in 2008
(Even though thats not the case)

We're winning over Hearts and Minds as we speak; this movement will have a lot more bumps in the road if that happens.

The media already labels us whatever they choose to so who cares. A Democrate victory is going to happen anyways, do you think people are really going to be excited for the candidate of change Mitt Romney? :rolleyes:

The Republicans are in for a rude awakening come Nov because they are going to get stomped in the general election. Ron Paul is the only one that I think would have a shot to beat them, that's if he got as much air time as other candidates do. I hope he runs 3rd party and gives the Republican elite something to think about next time.

[Eric21ND]

No it's you who are living in neverland. WTF do you think RP would say while he's in the middle of the GOP race???? He has to say "No intentions" or he would be branded a traitor and wose lose support in the GOP.

Learn to read between the lines.

Exactly. Ron has them over a barrel.

[billjarrett]

The media already labels us whatever they choose to so who cares. A Democrate victory is going to happen anyways, do you think people are really going to be excited for the candidate of change Mitt Romney? :rolleyes:

The Republicans are in for a rude awakening come Nov because they are going to get stomped in the general election. Ron Paul is the only one that I think would have a shot to beat them, that's if he got as much air time as other candidates do. I hope he runs 3rd party and gives the Republican elite something to think about next time.

Thats assuming our country has enough money to print ballots next time :mad:

[itsnobody]

No it's you who are living in neverland. WTF do you think RP would say while he's in the middle of the GOP race???? He has to say "No intentions" or he would be branded a traitor and wose lose support in the GOP.

Learn to read between the lines.

No, you're living in the land of Oz....Ron Paul has repeatedly said he has no plans of running as a 3rd party candidate over and over and over again, he's not going to do it...I guess the only thing that will convince you if it really happens that Ron Paul does not run as a 3rd party candidate

So if Ron Paul doesn't win the nomination, then when REALITY hits, you'll see that Ron Paul was telling the truth....

[Taco John]

I believe Dr. Paul will eventually jump ship to the Libertarian party. That's why I am continuing to donate, regardless of how well he does in the primaries...

In fact, I think he's doing fantastic in the primaries. He's proving that he would be a formidable 3rd party threat.

[MikeStanart]

Why are you people so quick to give up on The GOP? This isn't a dedication to people; this is a dedication to ideas.

Ron Paul stuck it out in the Republican Party for 10 terms. Grow a little back-bone, will ya?

[Taco John]

No, you're living in the land of Oz....Ron Paul has repeatedly said he has no plans of running as a 3rd party candidate over and over and over again, he's not going to do it...I guess the only thing that will convince you if it really happens that Ron Paul does not run as a 3rd party candidate

So if Ron Paul doesn't win the nomination, then when REALITY hits, you'll see that Ron Paul was telling the truth....



You are uninformed.

Watch what Rand Paul says about this:

http://www.thestreet.com/s/ron-paul-needs-votes-more-than-cash/markets/marketfeatures/10398111_2.html

[TownHall08]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8gcIAmjsV8

Ron definitively says in this video that he won't run as an Independent and gives us a reality check on why.

[billjarrett]

I guess the answer to this is:

1. If he stays in GOP, support him in GOP.
2. If he jumps to 3rd party, support him 3rd party.
3. No matter what he does keep this movement going no matter the party. Ron Paul, win or lose, is only the beginning of this. We have gone from 0-10% in a year.

[JustBcuz]

Thats assuming our country has enough money to print ballots next time :mad:

you got it wrong...you mean enough PAPER to print ballots...cuz by they might have used all the paper to print the money... :p








cldn't resist. :cool:

[TER]

If all is said and done come convention time, Ron Paul is voted as being 'out-of-step' with the Republican party, and there is still a lot of money left in the war chest with hundreds of thousands of people begging him to run, there is not doubt in my mind he will make an independent run, if only to spread the message of freedom and prepare to pass the torch of liberty to the next 'Ron Paul'

[TER]

PS: He sure as heck isn't giving whatever money is left to the GOP!

[Paul4Prez]

i don't know about the party convention question...

what would be the best situation for ron to run 3rd party?

hillary vs romney vs paul?
romney or ron paul?

obama vs mccain vs paul?
who wins? obama?

hillary vs giuliani vs paul?
i think paul would win this one

obama vs huckabee vs ron paul?
i dunno?

Hillary vs. Huckabee vs. Ron Paul would be our best bet. Fiscal conservatives would have nowhere else to go. Ron Paul might even get some heavy hitters behind him in that matchup.

Hillary vs. Rudy vs. Ron Paul would have been good too, but Rudy is toast.

You have to be at 15% in the polls to get in the debates, though. A tall order, but with another 7 or 8 months to spread the word, we might get there.

[tfelice]

If he runs third party, he will lose the majority of GOP support that he has. Paul will basically attract the same group that vote for the LP and/or CP candidates every four years. I would say at best he will get 2%

[billjarrett]

If he runs third party, he will lose the majority of GOP support that he has. Paul will basically attract the same group that vote for the LP and/or CP candidates every four years. I would say at best he will get 2%

Maybe not. I'm a traditionally GOP voter (not registered, don't have to here) who would move with him. Those of us who haven't bought into the neoconservative movement are disenfranchised at the moment, and have nowhere to go. All Ron Paul would have to do is show everyone that he is the "conservative" (not necessarily Republican) that they remember from earlier decades.

[MikeStanart]

If he runs third party, he will lose the majority of GOP support that he has. Paul will basically attract the same group that vote for the LP and/or CP candidates every four years. I would say at best he will get 2%

/agree.

We don't want to be a Ross Perot. Look how effective he was.

[godawgs]

Why are you people so quick to give up on The GOP? This isn't a dedication to people; this is a dedication to ideas.

Ron Paul stuck it out in the Republican Party for 10 terms. Grow a little back-bone, will ya?

I was in college republicans. Have and continue to respect Newt Gingrich. Voted for Bush in the last two elections. Subscribed to the Limbaugh letter. Listen to conservative talk radio. Watched FoxNews religously. And then came Ron Paul.

I was okay not winning. I was okay having people disagree about our foreign policy. I was okay with voters not buying into the dire circumstances our country is in financially. I did not and do not mind someone disagreeing politically with Ron Paul. I infact encourage discussion on how to get things done and there is usually more than one right answer to a question.

I watched and waited, I love politics. I was willing to vote for one of the other GOP candidates. I really was.

And then I watched the debates. I watched the laughing from other candidates. I watched my conservative TV shows belittle Ron Paul. I listed to talk radio call me a lunatic. I watched how they ignored Ron Paul, attacked him and felt as if they were doing the same to me. I watched how the entire conservative apparatus turned their back on me. Period.

No, I did not need a tissue. I am a grown man with a great job with a beautiful wife and a great kid. I go to church on Sunday.

I will not be voting for the GOP this election. I have a really hard time voting for the Democrats as it would be the same well... no need for bad metaphors.

Paul can not and should not say he is intending to run as a third party candidate. That would be it. Total media blackout. More than you would see today which is hard to fathom.

So I put a third party run at 50/50 but honestly respect how tiring the campaign trail would be if your 72 years old. I also know (or think I do) at his age how important this campaign is for him. He for the first time has a national voice. The campaign might go down as a footnote to this election but there are hundreds of thousands of politically astute supporters that will move forward and remember this campaign. And from this I believe something very positive will happen.

I hope we have an opportunity to give this another go in the general election. For me it is the message more than the candidate, and I mean that with the upmost respect for Ron. Bring on the general election. Give me someone I can vote for.

[louisiana4liberty]

I'll support Paul in whatever he chooses. He really never had to do any of this. He certainly changed a lot of people with the message.:D

[Rangeley]

I was in college republicans. Have and continue to respect Newt Gingrich. Voted for Bush in the last two elections. Subscribed to the Limbaugh letter. Listen to conservative talk radio. Watched FoxNews religously. And then came Ron Paul.

I was okay not winning. I was okay having people disagree about our foreign policy. I was okay with voters not buying into the dire circumstances our country is in financially. I did not and do not mind someone disagreeing politically with Ron Paul. I infact encourage discussion on how to get things done and there is usually more than one right answer to a question.

I watched and waited, I love politics. I was willing to vote for one of the other GOP candidates. I really was.

And then I watched the debates. I watched the laughing from other candidates. I watched my conservative TV shows belittle Ron Paul. I listed to talk radio call me a lunatic. I watched how they ignored Ron Paul, attacked him and felt as if they were doing the same to me. I watched how the entire conservative apparatus turned their back on me. Period.

No, I did not need a tissue. I am a grown man with a great job with a beautiful wife and a great kid. I go to church on Sunday.

I will not be voting for the GOP this election. I have a really hard time voting for the Democrats as it would be the same well... no need for bad metaphors.

Paul can not and should not say he is intending to run as a third party candidate. That would be it. Total media blackout. More than you would see today which is hard to fathom.

So I put a third party run at 50/50 but honestly respect how tiring the campaign trail would be if your 72 years old. I also know (or think I do) at his age how important this campaign is for him. He for the first time has a national voice. The campaign might go down as a footnote to this election but there are hundreds of thousands of politically astute supporters that will move forward and remember this campaign. And from this I believe something very positive will happen.

I hope we have an opportunity to give this another go in the general election. For me it is the message more than the candidate, and I mean that with the upmost respect for Ron. Bring on the general election. Give me someone I can vote for.
That is exactly as I feel about it. The last debate really solidified it.

[MayTheRonBeWithYou]

No, you're living in the land of Oz....Ron Paul has repeatedly said he has no plans of running as a 3rd party candidate over and over and over again, he's not going to do it...I guess the only thing that will convince you if it really happens that Ron Paul does not run as a 3rd party candidate


Care to place a wager on that? You seem to be clueless. Ron Paul HAS TO say he "has no plans" to run independent. You don't seem to get it.

Rand Paul, his son, has mentioned that an independent run is a real possibility. He seemed enthusiastic about it, actually.

It sickens me to see people who are more loyal to the grand old warmongering party than to Ron and the Constitution. The real traitors are the ones saying they will not support Ron if runs independent.