RSS 2.0 FeedHow To Tell When The Rest Of The GOP Field Considers Ron Paul A Threat
by Doug MataconisAs Rojas states at The Crossed Pond, it will come when one or more of them start to co-opt his rhetoric:
This is how insurgencies change the political landscape. Not by winning, necessarily, but by demonstrating that there’s money and votes to be had by shifting ground towards the insurgent’s position.
Some will say that Ron Paul supporters are too far gone from the rest of the Republican Party to be drawn back in. But the people who say that have been wrong–demonstrably, factually wrong, at every stage–in their predictions about Paul’s campaign. The minds that matter are no longer listening to them.
Paul’s supporters can be Republican voters and Republican donors in November. These people are a keystone element of any winning Republican coalition. It is only a matter of time before some strategist for a top tier campaign realizes this.
Who will move first? Will McCain suddenly rediscover his hardcore opposition to torture and support for habeas corpus rights? Will Fred Thompson reinvent himself as a supporter of genuinely limited government and as an outright opponent of Bush-style “compassionate conservatism”? Will Giuliani endorse the gold standard? Will Huckabee start bashing the North American Union? Will–dare we imagine it–a second Republican candidate come out against the war in Iraq?
Keep your ears open. The moment is coming. Not if, but when.
Of all the candidates mentioned, I doubt it will be Giuliani. He is the front-runner and likely destined to remain so at least until the first votes are actually counted. McCain is too wedded to the neo-cons to be taken seriously as anything else. And Huckabee, well, he wasn’t able parlay a surprisingly good showing in the Ames Straw Poll into anything more than an additional $ 300,000 in the second quarter.
Of all the candidates mentioned, the most likely one to adopt a limited government platform like Ron Paul’s is Fred Thompson. He already has supporters comparing him to Ronald Reagan despite the fact that, while he was in the Senate, he voted more like George H.W. Bush. And the libertarian/limited government strain of Reagan’s Presidency is one that still has support among the conservative wing of the party, especially those who have grown disillusioned with the Bush Administration of late.
Some, if not most, Ron Paul supporters will probably cry foul when this happens, whether it’s Thompson or someone else, but they shouldn’t.
When your opponents start talking the same language you are, it means that the recognize that you have something worth listening to.
This is very true. Read it again everyone.
But it must be said that we’re just talking about rhetoric. We all know better than to think any of those guys are actually going to restrict government to any degree.
Comment by Jeff Molby — October 3, 2007 @ 10:24 pmYou’re right. And Fred has already begun to co-opt some of Ron Paul’s rhetoric.
See, for instance, this story in the Politico where Thompson says he wants to go after independent voters and the so-called Reagan Democrats — just like Ron Paul.
And this New York Times piece where he is profiled as a man who pays more attention to issues than to politicking — just like Ron Paul.
Comment by Michael Hampton — October 3, 2007 @ 10:35 pmBut does Fred believe what he says, will he follow through on his reduction of government or will the siren song of federal policy and national defense make him justify abandoning the shrinking of government and lead to more and bigger problems…I know in my heart Paul could resist that, but the ones who might try and get us to support them, I doubt it.
And Guliani’s dead to me, even to the point where if my vote meant that guliani would win instead of Hillary, I wouldn’t lift a finger, even though I know my wallet is going to hurt because of that and more asinine restrictions are going to be put on what I can say or do. Atleast I believe those trivial issues would leave with Ms. Clinton. With Guliani, I have serious concerns with the damage he could do the the republic itself. His history in New York and totalitarian way of running things gets shit done, but would do more harm than help in the national government. He has a power hungry nature and would be as bad as the Bush administration and liberally applying executive power (for our own good) For that reason alone, he is my least favorite person to see in the White House. He makes McCain and Romney look practically heavenly in comparison, even though I know McCain is halfway insane and Romney is a used car salesman.
Comment by Greg — October 3, 2007 @ 11:05 pmIf we Republicans don’t nominate Rudy Giuliani, Then Hillary Clinton is the next American president. Simple as that !
Comment by Brad Goodsell — October 3, 2007 @ 11:19 pmIf we citizens of the United States don’t nominate Ron Paul then it won’t matter whose the Next President of the United States. Hasn’t Bush taught you yet, Brad? There is no difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Please try and think outside the box and see the entire picture, challenge your own opinions, read the constitution, and ask yourself if you want that or if you want what we have now.
Comment by Johnnyb — October 3, 2007 @ 11:31 pmI agree with Johnnyb. Hillary, Guiliani, McCain, Obama…these candidates are all advocates of big government. The only difference between them is what specific programs they plan to piss your money away on. Even Thompson, who’s paid lip service to states’ rights, believes in a powerful chief executive and continued war in the Middle East. Not to sound like a zealot, but Ron Paul’s the only acceptable candidate in this race for anyone who believes in the Constitution, and if he doesn’t get the nomination you might as well throw your vote away on whoever the Libertarians toss out there. Because there’s not a lick of difference between any of the people who’ll be remaining, Democrat or Republican. And the end result of all their policies will eventually be the same…economic stagnation.
Now that Jeff’s indicated the Paul campaign will be starting its ad campaigns soon, I look forward to seeing if Paul’s ideas can catch on with the mainstream as well as they have with the Internet. And I’ll hope for a day in the near future when our new President gives an inauguration speech like this, and means to follow through on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IleiqUDYpFQ&mode=related&search=
Comment by UCrawford — October 3, 2007 @ 11:57 pmAnd excellent post, Doug.
Comment by UCrawford — October 4, 2007 @ 12:05 am“If we Republicans don’t nominate Rudy Giuliani, Then Hillary Clinton is the next American president. Simple as that !” (Comment by Brad Goodsell)
NO, NOT “simple as that !”
In reality, RON PAUL IS THE ONLY ONE of the Republicans that can easily beat whichever Democrat gets the nomination. MANY Democrats are already planning on crossing party lines to vote for Ron Paul in the Republican primary. And once Ron Paul gets to the general election, an avalanche of Democrats will vote for him. (He is, after all, the only one that has made a firm and definite commitment to get the troops out of Iraq immediately. Not even Hillary or Obama has been willing to say that!)
Ron Paul is the last hope for America. It is no less important than that.
Comment by Bruce Arnold — October 4, 2007 @ 12:08 amRon Paul is the man. $5.1 million, WOW! Fred is a fake. He voted to expand the powers of NAFT and spent more time in Washington as a lobbyist. Ron Paul has spent his time in wasting upholding his oath by voting for the constitution. Who else can say that? I dare say no one. http://www.revotenow.com
Comment by shawn — October 4, 2007 @ 12:14 amBruce,
Let’s not go all apocalyptic here. Ron Paul’s the best candidate in the race, but he’s not the first pro-liberty candidate who ever existed, nor will he be the last. Let’s not confuse our love of the ideas that Ron Paul espouses with fanatical devotion to the messenger. Ideals don’t disappear just because political campaigns do.
Comment by UCrawford — October 4, 2007 @ 12:14 amRon Paul is the man. $5.1 million, WOW! Fred is a fake. He voted to expand the powers of NAFT and spent more time in Washington as a lobbyist. Ron Paul has spent his time in Washington upholding his oath by voting for the constitution. Who else can say that? I dare say no one. http://www.revotenow.com Rudy is only famous because of the tragic events on 9/11, which he has no problem reminding us of.
Comment by shawn — October 4, 2007 @ 12:20 amUCrawford, I respectfully disagree with you. I really urge you to consider what will happen if we get yet another elitist, CFR-backed president in the white house. I really do believe this is our very last chance.
Even if you don’t agree with me about that, consider this: If we are fortunate enough to get to vote for another candidate in 2004 that promises to actually follow the U.S. Constitution… It won’t be someone with the proven track record of Ron Paul. (Remember that George W. Bush promised to reduce the size and scope of the federal gov’t… And ended up increasing it more than any other president before him!)
Comment by Bruce Arnold — October 4, 2007 @ 12:51 amPlease don’t take this as a negative reply UCrawford, since we both seem to be on Dr. Paul’s side. I’m just worried that you haven’t yet grasped the seriousness of the situation. (Too many people haven’t – even among Dr. Paul’s supporters. That’s why we have to work so hard to get him the Republician nomination in THIS PRIMARY – and its just a few months away, so time is of the essence.)
This really could be the last peaceful chance we have to put America back on the right path.
UCrawford:
Let’s not forget, the man who promotes these ideals must have a history of sound principles and the ethics to back this up. While there may be other pro-liberty candidates, how many of them are as outstanding, patriotic, truth telling individuals as Dr. Paul? I have not found too many, and I do my diligence to research these folks. While not “apocalyptic” I would say that if change in the system is not reached soon, we may certainly be at a proverbial apocalyptic cliff soon.
Comment by Lars — October 4, 2007 @ 12:57 am(and Dr. Paul is not getting any younger!) The time is right, the man is right, the message is right…I would say that critical feelings at a time like this are not too unusual to be feeling…I am just as passionate…and I never have been before for any candidate.
True, but there’s some truth to Bruce’s concerns too.
A person with Ron Paul’s combination of beliefs, integrity, and qualifications (and desire to get involved in politics) comes along only a few times in a century. There are not many men that could singlehandedly alter the course of the Republican Party. If Ron Paul isn’t good enough and/or the Republican Party of late hasn’t been bad enough to make this candidacy successful, I’m not very optimistic about future chances.
Comment by Jeff Molby — October 4, 2007 @ 1:12 amDead right.
Comment by Brad — October 4, 2007 @ 1:27 amSenator Fred Thompson is the only major candidate that gets it. He makes decisions based on principles. Principles don’t change. You have to stand for something and not change who you are based on the polls. That is what Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have done and all of the Democrats do it. Give me a leader that will stand by his principles anyday versus someone that stands for everything.
I know many, many Republicans that will stay home if Rudy Giuliani is the candidate. He does not represent our values as Conservatives, and never will. Mitt Romney is a RINO (though a very nice man) that simply has everything else and nothing to do. “I guess I’ll just try to buy the presidency”. Conservatives will simply stay home and the Democrats will pick up additional seats in the House and probably get the 60 seats in the Senate they need to completely destroy our Country. Nice picture huh?
However, I think Fred can bring America back together, if that’s even possible. America needs a rebirth of patriotism and honor. Republicans also need a rebirth. President Reagan was our last rebirth and he can never be duplicated. Fred Thompson will bring his own down-to-earth common sense to this Country and strength back to our party. A little of the good old days of faith and family would do well for this Country. If a Conservative runs as a Conservative, he will win!
Think of it this way: Eight years of another Clinton White House? Now if that is not a sufficient enough reason to pull together as a party, as a Country, and fight this socialist liberal takeover of our government, what is? It is not impossible to take back the House and the Senate. We are winning in Iraq—they know it. The best they can do now is stop our progress and choose defeat, just like they did during Vietnam. We lost because Congress chose defeat. History repeats itself when not learned from.
Folks, we are in for the fight of our lives, just as our young men and women are fighting for our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must fight for our Country right here and now! I truly believe Fred Thompson is the one man who can pull this party and nation back together! Rudy Giuliani will just tear us apart as a party. Liberal is liberal every day of the week.
Really tick off the leftist democrats and contribute to Fred Thompson: https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967-08d864cd0791
Comment by Alan — October 4, 2007 @ 2:10 amRon Paul eloquently and brilliantly states the truth. He is the best candidate because he is the most energizing and honest. Everyone else comes across like an actor with little sincerity. Ron Paul is the real deal. He will lead us away from an escalating economic crisis as well as restore liberty to the citizens of this country.
Comment by Matt — October 4, 2007 @ 2:56 am“Senator Fred Thompson is the only major candidate that gets it. He makes decisions based on principles. Principles don’t change.”
Alan, you’re joking right? You’re going to have to work REALLY hard to hide Fred’s history if you want to make anyone believe THAT about him.
Fred sounds really great, if I thought he actually had a clue about the things he was talking about instead of being prepped with lines.
Just consider his stance on “states rights” one sentence, and then talks about using federal funding to mainpulate states behavior.
The guy is a joke. We already tried a puppet for the last 7 years, no thanks.
Comment by Blowback — October 4, 2007 @ 4:38 amAlan, I think you should work on your typing. You wrote “Fred Thompson” everywhere that you should have written “Ron Paul.”
(Of course, I’m speaking entirely tongue-in-cheek. I don’t actually believe Alan wrote any of that, it’s obviously a cut-and-paste pamphlet post.)
Comment by tejón — October 4, 2007 @ 4:43 amAlan, I think you should work on your typing. You wrote “Fred Thompson” everywhere that you should have written “Ron Paul.”
Hahaha.
Comment by Brad — October 4, 2007 @ 5:33 amFred Thompson is just another CFR member. No CFR member will ever get my vote.
Comment by Tammy — October 4, 2007 @ 6:19 amThese other candidates look so phony standing next to a man with integrity like Dr Paul. The rest of the field should take note. When the corporate elite smear his good name in some sleazy fashion (ala swift boat, outright lies etc etc) Dr. Paul will be acknowledged as a threat to the ruling elite . When the manipulation of facts start we`ll know they are very worried. Now they pretend he isn`t there, but boy howdy is he ever.
Comment by moogsmasher — October 4, 2007 @ 7:45 amUnfortunately it took segregationist Governor Wallace to reveal the truth that “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between” Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats willingly went along with the War in Iraq, suspension of Habeas Corpus, detaining protesters, banning books like America Deceived (book) from Amazon, stealing private lands (Kelo decision), warrant-less wiretapping and refusing to investigate 9/11 properly. They are both guilty of treason.
Comment by Tommy H — October 4, 2007 @ 8:46 amSupport the $5-million dollar man, Dr. Ron Paul and save this country.
[...] How To Tell When The Rest Of The GOP Field Considers Ron Paul A Threat Liberty Papers, CA - 9 hours ago This is how insurgencies change the political landscape. Not by winning, necessarily, but by demonstrating that there’s money and votes to be had by … [...]
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Pingback by Shlrm.org Blag » Blog Archive » Ron Paul For the Win — October 4, 2007 @ 9:51 amBruce:
I consider myself to be an independent but I haven’t actually voted for a republican for president since Ragan. I will definitely vote for Ron Paul should he win the republican primary without hesitation. Although I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton I would rather have her as our next president than Rudi Giuliani or Mitt Romney and I believe the majority of independents and democrats are feeling the same way. Ron Paul is the only candidate that gives us a real option to Hillary that we can live with.
Comment by Eric S. — October 4, 2007 @ 10:16 amThe other republican candiates are equal to the democrats in advocating big and intrusive federal government, eg. “no child left behind” and “prescription drug” programs”. If Ron Paul is not nominated then I will cross the line and vote non-republican to avoid giving up more personal liberties. I am wondering if Chuck Hagel turns out to have enough of the small federal government mindset to join the Ron Paul campaign, what a team that would make.
Comment by Scott H. — October 4, 2007 @ 12:06 pmNo candidate other than Ron Paul cares about stopping the malignant growth of the federal government, which always comes at the expense of liberty, in the form of new restrictions on behavior, possessions, or claiming ownership of the labor of The People through increased taxation. There is no acceptable candidate other than Ron Paul, but if he doesn’t win its back to choosing an evil president. Giuliani and Clinton are of the same tribe. Neither has any understanding of liberty. To quote Giuliani, “Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.” THAT IS NOT THE TYPE OF THINKING AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT SHOULD HAVE. He may as well be telling us that freedom is slavery. To quote Hillary’s husband, “We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.” THIS IS VERY UNAMERICAN and downright frightening. Ron Paul is the only honest candidate.
Comment by Nate E. — October 4, 2007 @ 5:55 pmThe problem is… if any of the other candidates start changing their positions to entice Ron Paul supporters, it will backfire on them due to the savviness of RP supporters. They see flip flopping for what it is, and wont have much respect for it. Many RP supporters are supporting RP simply for the fact that RP has principles that have stood the test of time. The other top tier candidates are wafflers. And all they will do, once in office, is put america under the “waffle iron”… ouch!
Comment by Iconoclast421 — October 4, 2007 @ 7:48 pmI am tired of Washington’s bullcrap, and I am tired of all the fighting between the donkeys and elephants. Ron Paul is not afraid to say what he believes, and then actually do it; not just talk. I was not a supporter of Ron Paul until a couple weeks ago. I just can’t bring myself to vote for another run of the mill politician. I don’t agree with Ron Paul on everything, but he’s about the only real choice out there.
Comment by David Greer — October 5, 2007 @ 12:13 pmWatch Mitt Romney. Fred Thompson’s a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He can’t adopt Ron Paul type positions without losing support in his media and fund-raising base.
But Romney has been more willing to flip-flop on an issue for political advantage than any of the other leading candidates. He’s switched on abortion, immigration, and gay marriage.
So why not Iraq? But don’t look for him to adopt the same position as Ron Paul. That would put him ahead of Hillary on this issue. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see him adopt a position that was virtually indistinguishable from Hillarys.
Comment by Rob — October 5, 2007 @ 5:14 pmSupporters of the other republican candidates have far more in common with Ron Paul supporters than Ron Paul supporters have in common with the other republican candidates.
In such a game of chicken (well, if you guy loses will he support my guy? – well what about if my guy wins – will your guy get behind him?) I believe GOP support will get behind Paul.
Comment by Daniel — October 6, 2007 @ 8:37 pm