That’s how the editorial in today’s Concord (New Hampshire) Monitor newspaper describes the republican candidate. The headline of the piece reads, “Republican Ron Paul livens up GOP debate” and goes on to say that “… he has a Powerball odds or worse of winning the presidency”, and that “… he seems to be running on issues history discarded centuries ago.” It also adds that, though “He is often marginalized as an extremist, …. He is not an angry man, and that’s part of his considerable charm.” How re-assuring. I’d never vote for anyone who was angry. And charm – what a nice way to describe a candidate who resonates with a good part of the anti-war voters in this country, and who has consistently won debate after debate - according to polls that are never publicized - with the other fools in the Republican race who equivocate on every issue, and advocate more war and mayhem.While throwing him a few platitudes about his “fidelity to the Constitution”, and his “passionate belief in small government, the editorial, in effect, resigns his candidacy to the same realm where the newspaper has cast other “fringe” candidates like Dennis Kucinich, who it regards as lower tier wannabe’s that don’t have chance, and are thereby undeserving any serious journalistic coverage.About a month ago it ran a story about Kucinich’s campaign trip to Concord with a photograph of him and his wife shopping at a local health foods store. The article painted him as a quirky vegetarian, while almost completely ignoring his positions on the issues. To top that off, a week later it ran a pathetic syndicated political cartoon, which portrayed the man as a hopeless idealist.This is from the second largest newspaper in New Hampshire, folks – the one which champions itself as the refreshing, liberal alternative to the Manchester Union Leader – long known for its plodding arch conservatism. Meanwhile we’re subjected day after day to article after article about Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Giuliani, Romney and McCain.Don’t forget that the poor misinformed souls here in this beautiful state take their politics dead seriously, and fight tooth and nail to keep the state’s presidential primary the first in the nation, so as to force candidates to campaign here early and often. Too bad the playing field is already tipped before they ever arrive.
BillCain.piczo.com
Bill Cain is a professional travel photo-journalist who writes primarily for the Concord Monitor in Concord, New Hampshire. He's visited all seven continents, countless countries and his travel experiences have contributed to and are reflected in his world views.
Also, Ghouliani fired his fund-raising manager recently, and Thompson's 3rd quarter fund-raising has been described by pundits as "disappointing".
* The NET cash-on-hand for the Ron Paul campaign is $5,300,000.
Ron Paul's fund-raising increased 114 percent in the Third Quarter. This is in stark contrast to the decrease suffered by Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain. Romney's fund-raising was down 29 percent. Giuliani was down 40 percent. McCain was down 55 percent.
This places Ron Paul ahead of Romney, McCain, and Thompson in NET cash-on-hand. Ron Paul spends less money to raise money. I.E. Ron Paul is frugal, just like he votes in congress.
* Las Vegas says Ron Paul is a top tier candidate, he is 4-1 to win the Republican nomination:
So that shoots down the idea that Ron Paul can't win.
* Ron Paul has performed best in the only elections that have actually happened; straw polls. According to straw polls, the top tier candidates are Ron Paul 1st, Fred Thompson 2nd, and Mitt Romney 3rd. All the others are 2nd tier.
* The argument can be made that Ron Paul has a better chance to win a general election vs Hillary Clinton than any other candidate, because of the war issue. Remember, Howard Dean was sunk BEFORE the 2004 Iowa Caucus (and BEFORE the Dean scream) because it was argued that Dean was "too liberal" to win a general election. But the war is much more unpopular now, than when Dean ran. So I do not think the "too conservative" or "too liberal" argument would fly with Ron Paul.
This will be a big drawback if Fred Thompson thinks he can win a general election. Thompson already put his foot in his mouth twice last month which is not a good sign for him. Tommy Thompson did the same thing and look what happened to him.
* McCain & Romney are so radical pro-war that they are both unelectable in a general election.
[I am not providing any links on this, as it is obvious.]
* Christian Right to Support Ron Paul?
Christian Conservatives Threaten Third Party If Giuliani Wins GOP Nomination
James Dobson's group has annual revenues of over $100 million, and the other groups rake in millions from their flocks as well. Ron Paul is right on with these guys on abortion. Maybe some of the $1.2 million raised last week by Ron Paul was from the Christian Right?
Ron Paul also has the endorsement of key Third Party leaders, including Michael Peroutka (millionaire Christian conservative and 2004 Constitution Party presidential nominee), Michael Badnarik (2004 LP presidential nominee), Aaron Russo (deceased, runner-up to Badnarik in '04), Steve Kubby (leading 2008 LP presidential candidate), and the bulk of the libertarian movement. The Green Party is not too keen on Hillary Clinton and likes Ron Paul's war position.
* Ghouliani, the republican front-runner, has major 9/11 baggage that will haunt and spook him in the primaries and general election:
Ghouliani's 9/11 Albatross 9/11 protesters hounding Ghouliani where ever he goes
* Debates: Ron Paul has performed very well, perhaps best, in all the TV debates he has appeared in. This bodes well for the future, and may explain why his fund-raising has skyrocketed this year. Ron Paul certainly performs like a top tier candidate in all debates, and has won every post-debate viewer poll.
* Honeymoon effect:
Fred Thompson (and Obama) are newcomers who have not taken positions on many issues nor have they faced media scrutiny. Their poll numbers will drop as the campaign wears on. Ron Paul has been around for three decades taking positions on major issues.
* Ron Paul is the top candidate on the Internet, approached only by Obama:
MSNBC: Libertarian Ron Paul has become 'an Internet sensation'
Ron Paul spends less money to raise money, because he just sends out an email.
* Ron Paul will not drop out of the race because of money. McCain, Romney, and Thompson will drop out when their campaigns cease to be financially viable. Expect Ron Paul to speak at the national GOP convention next summer.
The only area where Ron Paul lags behind is where it matters most; the Polls.
But these polls may have bias that under-reports Ron Paul's support, possibly because of the proliferation of cell phones and unorthodox support garnered by Paul.
The future looks bright for Ron Paul. He now has plenty of money to run TV commercials and expand his fund-raising. Ron Paul has set a goal of $12 million for the 4th quarter. If he reaches that, watch out!
Here's an example of why Ron isn't polling higher. This is a paraphrase of the Rasmussen tele-polling script:
So check out Rasmussen's "scientific" methodology... Here's a paraphrase of his script:
"For Rudy Giuliani Press 1
For Fred Thompson Press 2
For Mitt Romney, Press 3
For John McCain, Press 4
For Mike Huckabee, Press 5
For a list of other candidates, Press 6"
Nice and scientific.
* Ron Paul has already qualified for about $3 million in federal matching funds. If he hits his 4th quarter fund-raising goal, he would qualify for an additional $6 million. That would project to about $22 million cash-on-hand to spend in January.
* Ghouliani has some other major baggage; he said he was married to his 3rd cousin, but it was really his 2nd cousin. He also has several marriages and divorces which doesn't help in republican primaries. His kids are also on the record as either not liking him, or supporting democrats. Nice dude.
This country is broken. We need a doctor, not a lawyer.
by
Rolf Lindgren (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 22 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 11:55:06 AM
I hope that everything you say is true, but here in New Hampshire, where the primary votes are counted first, campaigns are made or broken. Check back with me right after the New Hampshire primary. If Ron Paul finishes with less that 5% of the Republican vote, which is likely if present trends continue, it's going to be a long up hill battle.
by
Bill Cain (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 258 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 4:36:14 PM
Dennis Kucinich will whip them all. Kucinich and Paul could never run together since they are too far apart ideologically. Kucinich is a leftist. Ron Paul is a far right nut. Only things they agree on are ending the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and supporting the Constitution.
by
Ty (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 587 comments)
on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 7:42:18 PM
