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Thread: CNN - Ron Paul ponders 2012! "I am very serious about thinking about it all the time"

  1. #1

    Thumbs up CNN - Ron Paul ponders 2012! "I am very serious about thinking about it all the time"

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/08/ron.paul.iowa/

    Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- When Rep. Ron Paul walked into Hy-Vee Hall last month, a single blue sign with a simple message was placed near the escalator that took him upstairs to a fundraiser attended by 300 Republican activists.

    It read: "President Ron Paul 2012."

    The sign was symbolic in many ways: Even as Iowa Republicans are focused on midterm elections, the 2012 presidential contest is not far from their minds. And it was just three years ago that Paul did not receive an invitation to participate in a presidential candidate forum held in this very building.

    The sight of the Texas congressman riding the escalator up to address this group of influential Republicans was illustrative of how he has risen from a little-known congressman and afterthought presidential candidate to the national spokesman on libertarian philosophy.

    All of this comes from a man who has no illusions that he can win his party's presidential nomination, but that won't stop him from running again in 2012 if he decides to do so.

    "It is probably hard to believe, but I look at it a little bit differently than others," Paul said in an interview during his recent visit to Iowa. "I don't expect to be president. I don't expect to be. That doesn't mean I won't run for president, but I am really energized when I think we make inroads ... to broaden the outreach on the philosophy I have been talking about for 40 years."
    Video: Rep. Paul talks about GOP rifts

    His advocacy of limited government, disdain for the Federal Reserve and belief that the U.S. should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan has attracted an eclectic following of young people, anti-war activists and those wary of government intrusion.

    Paul began his 2008 White House run as a third-tier candidate, a gadfly with little support and even less money. Paul was never considered a serious frontrunner for the GOP nomination, but an explosion of support in the fall of 2007, fueled by online contributions, carried him into Iowa. There, he received 10 percent of the vote in the caucuses. He officially ended his presidential campaign in June 2008, well after Sen. John McCain had received enough support to win the Republican nomination.

    "I don't ever take personal credit as much as being in the right place at the right time and maybe saying the right things," Paul said. "I have said the same things for 30 years when it came to financial bubbles. See, the business cycle theory is what motivated me to get into politics."

    On this night in Des Moines, Paul stuck to his talking points. He never mentioned a possible presidential run in 2012. Instead, Paul spoke of limited government and the need for government officials to follow the Constitution, which just so happened to be the theme of the Iowa GOP's fundraiser. Paul's address was bookended by standing ovations.

    "I have been excited about and what he is talking about," John Bowery, a Republican from Shenandoah, Iowa, said after Paul's speech. "I am sorry he didn't get more attention in 2008. I don't know if he is going to run in 2012. If someone like him does, I will be all for it."

    Paul is an enigma in the Republican Party. He champions less government and a socially conservative philosophy, which would seem to play well with GOP base voters such as Bowery.

    Yet Paul, who was the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in 1988, doesn't embrace the Republican brand. Party leaders and the GOP establishment types are not so smitten with him either. This is problematic in a presidential run, where well-oiled political machines are needed in key states to help build support and get-out-the-vote efforts in primaries and caucuses.

    He does credit the Republican Party for sharpening its focus on the economy, but he doesn't speak in terms of "we" but rather "they."

    But Paul does express some skepticism that GOP promises of reforming Washington and cutting government might just be talk.

    "I think they have the subject right, and they talk about it," he said. "I think where they are going to come up short maybe not before the election, but afterwards.

    "Where are they going to cut? Do they have a plan to cut? It is easy to vote against the spending when you are in opposition. But where are they going to cut? And I think that is what I have talked about ... especially these past four years. And that is where we challenged the Republicans."

    Last month's trip to Iowa was his third to the state since November 2009, so it begs the question: Is Paul trying to lay the groundwork for a 2012 White House run?

    "I am very serious about thinking about it all the time," Paul said about his possible presidential aspirations. "My answer is always the same thing: You know I haven't ruled it out, but I have no plans to do it."

    For now, Paul will continue to travel the country to promote his philosophy, while his 2008 presidential campaign operation has morphed into the Campaign for Liberty, a 500,000-member organization that promotes libertarian views.

    Paul also has a small political action committee that doles out contributions to "liberty-based candidates," a spokesman said.



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  3. #2

  4. #3
    Do you think he will pass up the greatest teaching opportunity of all time?

  5. #4
    Other than the line about him championing a "socially conservative philosophy," it's a great piece that's pretty accurate. I'm surprised to see such a positive story without the usual libel and insinuations.
    Last edited by someperson; 07-08-2010 at 04:32 AM.

  6. #5
    Just waitin for the word GO.

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by WorldonaString View Post
    Just waitin for the word GO.
    Why wait?

    http://www.TheRonPaulTeaParty.com
    Definition of political insanity: Voting for the same people expecting different results.

  8. #7
    Great read.

    The last line is:

    Paul also has a small political action committee that doles out contributions to "liberty-based candidates," a spokesman said.
    I understand this to be different than CFL. I don't know anything about this PAC. Anyone have any info?

  9. #8



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  11. #9

    Smile

    Quote Originally Posted by someperson View Post
    Probably a reference to LibertyPAC: http://www.libertypac.net/
    Thank you. Thank you.

  12. #10
    I held a Ron Paul 2012 sign at an End the Fed event in November. I know Ron Paul saw it because it was huge and I was in the front. Lol!

    If he doesn't run, I will be very, very disappointed.

  13. #11
    Looks like our support over at digg dried up. http://digg.com/politics/Ron_Paul_po...12_run_CNN_com
    Last edited by kahless; 07-08-2010 at 09:13 AM.

  14. #12
    Good RP needs to keep calling out party leadership and other big govt republicans to show the American people they are hypocrits--thats why they don't like him. He exposes them for what they are. Atleast the democrats tell you upfront they are for big govt.

    Ron needs to run again!
    In 200 years the American people have replaced 1 dictator 3,000 miles away with 3,000 dictators 1 mile away.


    It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.--Benjamin Franklin

    No man's life, liberty or fortune is safe
    while our legislature is in session
    .--Benjamin Franklin

  15. #13

    Thumbs up CNN: Ron Paul Considers 2012 Run For President!

    Be sure to watch the video on this page:
    http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/08/ron.paul.iowa/









    .
    __________________________________________________ ________________
    "A politician will do almost anything to keep their job, even become a patriot" - Hearst

  16. #14

  17. #15
    And I say we make him win whether he expects it or not.

    But, in the meantime, don't forget to get him some help in that House this year. That's arguably more important.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    You only want the freedoms that will undermine the nation and lead to the destruction of liberty.

  18. #16
    Ron Paul 2012.

    I'm in, no questions asked.
    Another mark of a tyrant is that he likes foreigners better than citizens, and lives with them and invites them to his table; for the one are enemies, but the Others enter into no rivalry with him. - Aristotle's Politics Book 5 Part 11



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  20. #17

  21. #18

  22. #19
    Interesting article! We are going to have a good Liberty candidate this year, no doubt about it.

    I think there's at least 50% chance it will be Ron Paul. A successful $10 million dollar money bomb on 12/16/10 will make it a near certainty.

    I have hardly any money to donate now but I'd be willing to find a part time job just so I could max out my donations if he really had a shot at winning the nomination.

    I'd love having President Schiff or President (Tom) Woods. But they are likely not a possibility before 2016. By then king dollar is gone. We've got to make a serious showing in 2012 and hopefully win. Even though it still seems impossible with current state of mind most Americans remain in.
    "Gradualism in theory is perpetuity in practice." ~ William Lloyd Garrison
    STRATEGY: Three Essential Guidelines for the Liberty Movement

    Liberty Policy Journal
    Striking at the Root

  23. #20
    If Dr. Paul runs again (and my gut feeling that he will gets better every day) than I really hope that he stops the "well I know I can't win" type stuff and really gets in it to win it. I know I am ready to go to war one more time and this time I am not merely fighting to set us on the right course, I am fighting for our national survival. Ron Paul 2012!
    "Governor, if I had foreseen the use those people
    designed to make of their victory,
    there would have been no surrender at
    Appomattox Courthouse; no sir, not by me.
    Had I foreseen these results of subjugation,
    I would have preferred to die at Appomattox
    with my brave men, my sword in my right hand." - Robert E. Lee to Governor Fletcher S. Stockdale (D-Texas), 1870


  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by jdmyprez_deo_vindice View Post
    If Dr. Paul runs again (and my gut feeling that he will gets better every day) than I really hope that he stops the "well I know I can't win" type stuff and really gets in it to win it.
    Know what you mean. It isn't the conventional way to sell someone on the idea you'd be a good, decisive president.

    But, hey. As we learned last time, he's Ron Paul and he'll do what he's going to do. I suppose we should get busy learning to make lemonade, just in case.

    Can we spread the Douglas Adams theory that the best person to put in power is the person who wants power the least?
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    You only want the freedoms that will undermine the nation and lead to the destruction of liberty.

  25. #22
    George Washington did not want to be president either! But their country needed/needs them! Ron Paul 2012!

  26. #23

  27. #24
    This is a great article, but some of the comments are atrocious.



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    This is a great article, but some of the comments are atrocious.
    It's CNN. They think he's a 'repug'. Hilarious.

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Federalist View Post
    Ron Paul 2012.

    I'm in, no questions asked.
    Me too!

  31. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by jdmyprez_deo_vindice View Post
    If Dr. Paul runs again (and my gut feeling that he will gets better every day) than I really hope that he stops the "well I know I can't win" type stuff and really gets in it to win it. I know I am ready to go to war one more time and this time I am not merely fighting to set us on the right course, I am fighting for our national survival. Ron Paul 2012!
    He also needs to stop distancing himself from the GOP by referring to them as "they", and no more Fox News bashing. Yes, they deserve it, but it's politically divisive and it will turn off potential voters on the fence about him. Before I woke up, if I had seen Ron Paul on TV bashing Repubs and whatnot I would have dismissed him.

    I know people will say "but he's Ron Paul, he's going to be the same as he's always been". If the goal is to win, he has to be on his A-game and adjust his approach.

  32. #28
    Its on CNN front page now. The comments are so funny. I love liberals sometimes.

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Chieppa1 View Post
    Its on CNN front page now. The comments are so funny. I love liberals sometimes.
    Wow! It's the Cover Story now. And the headline is awesome.

    "President Paul? He Eyes Another Try"

    I don't know about you, but if he's all-in, I'm all-in. We have to get Ron Paul elected.
    .... in his heart, and in his head, in his character, and in his intellect, in what he has done, and in what he will become, the Thomas Jefferson of our day, Ron Paul is one of us.
    - Andrew Napolitano, Future of Freedom Foundation, June 3, 2007
    For captioned videos of Ron Paul, subscribe to http://www.youtube.com/user/KramerDSP.

    Also, check out http://www.deafronpaul.blogspot.com for hundreds of subtitled political videos featuring Ron Paul and other politicians.

  34. #30
    who was the fundraiser for?
    Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito

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