Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Texas formally announced his candidacy for President today. The 1988 Libertarian Party presidential candidate will seek the Republican nomination this time. Here is his website.
Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Texas formally announced his candidacy for President today. The 1988 Libertarian Party presidential candidate will seek the Republican nomination this time. Here is his website.
Full announcement on C-SPAN here:
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v298215hbS8htft
He will get my vote!
Ron Paul has been a truly independent member of congress. I hope that he gets the nomination. If not I hope that he reconsiders and runs as a third party candidate. He all ready has the support of leaders in the Constitution and Libertarian Parties.
Why does Ron Paul get ignored by the national media? Everyone else who announces they are running for president gets a mention on the nightly news. Is it that they are afraid he might win?
One online poll (2008horserace.com) has actually listed Ron Paul as a “spammer” due to the increasing amout of votes he received. They have also lowered his vote total to 30 from well over 100 yesterday.
He gets ignored for the same reason Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel get ignored, the same reason Carol Moseley-Braun got ignored in 2004, and the same reason third party candidates get ignored in the general election every time. If you have zero chance of winning (and Ron Paul has zero chance of winning) the the national media have virtually no interest in you.
I worked on his campaign in 1988 while I was still a libertarian and, frankly, I can’t understand why he’s running for the nomination of a party that can’t stand him; a nomination he has no chance of winning. If it’s all about principles, why doesn’t he run in the general election as a Libertarian again and then go back to the Republican Party, the way Buchanan did in 2000? That way he’d at least have a voice when it counts the most, and his positions on ballot access, two-party system, etc. etc. (on which, presumably, all of us on this website agree) would get a hearing and have some relevance. I can’t see his libertarian mix of positions, which most people don’t understand and find peculiar, attracting a lot of support in the Republican primaries.
David,
You’re right, only not in 2007. This war has cut the GOP a lot deeper than you might think. In 2000, or 1996, a Ron Paul might have faded away unnoticed, but being the only anti-war republican will be a big deal, especially in open primary states.
Assuming that there are Democratic primary contests in those open primary states, Ron Paul likely won’t get many crossover votes there.
I too voted for Ron in 1988– my first non-Republican presidential vote. I hate to sound cynical, but I think it’s far too late for someone as principled as Ron Paul to be elected president. If he starts making headway, his opponents will trot out some of his past statements and positions– which, to most voters, sound outside the mainstream.
Remember how Goldwater was crucified? And that was 43 years ago.
However, Ron Paul is getting alot more interest and contributions than I would have thought. Lets wait and see. He may do better than you guys think.
If we think it’s too late then it certainly will be.
If we think the timing’s right, it might be.
40 years from now, I sure don’t want to be explaining to my grandkids why I could have helped a constitutional president but chose not to because I thought the odds were too slim.
The only way Ron Paul can become president is if he wins the Republican nomination. With the front-loading of the primaries, the nominee will likely be determined on Feb. 5.
Politics is the “art of the possible.”
Please tell us exactly how it’s possible for Ron to win the Republican nomination.