Muscatine

How about if we just call him a goofball?

It is plainly simple. If Ron Paul were elected I doubt he'd misslead this nation. A bit of an unconventional, but how could that be any worse than what we have had these past 12 years.

WaPo: Ron Paul Matters

Whoa, comes this from the belly of the beast. There's a bit of spin attempting to corral Ron Paul into cutting a deal with Mitt Romney in the WaPo piece, but the key point is that it recognizes that Dr. Paul has created a large group of followers who are not going away.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s long, slow fade into political oblivion in this presidential primary race has received lots — and lots — of attention...

In fact, there is a case to be made that Gingrich matters far less in the contest than Texas Rep. Ron Paul. 

To wit:

* In the last two major primaries — Illinois and Wisconsin — Paul has finished third, Gingrich fourth.

* As of the end of February, Paul had raised $35 million for his 2012 campaign. Gingrich had raised $20 million.



* Paul’s ideas on domestic policy — distrust of the Federal Reserve, dire warnings about the massive debt being run up by the government — have clearly influenced the rhetoric (and thinking) of the GOP. Gingrich’s most notable contribution — idea-wise — to the race thus far is his call for $2.50 gas. While that might be a smart strategy, it’s more a goal than an idea.

Based on those three points alone, the Paul-ites could argue their man has been a bigger force in the direction of the race that Gingrich. Allies of the former speaker could push back — rightly — that their candidate actually won two states (South Carolina and his home state of Georgia) and, unlike Paul, had a path to victory. True enough...


But, when it comes to the future of the contest, it’s hard to dispute that Paul matters more than Gingrich. As we have written before, Paul has a group of supporters whose ardor for his message is far greater than any other candidate can boast. Not only that, but Paul’s backers are loyal first and foremost to Paul — not to the Republican party. And that’s what makes Paul potentially influential as the race moves forward.

A Paul third-party candidacy would, barring some sort of unforeseen dynamic, likely hand President Obama a second term. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and his campaign team understand the power that Paul could wield and have gone out of their way to befriend him — and avoid alienating his supporters.

At some point between now an August, Paul and his people will want something — a speaking slot at the national convention? Consideration of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as a running mate? — from Romney World.

They may not get it. But Paul is in a much stronger bargaining position than Gingrich to extract promises from Romney because he can do far more damage if he isn’t placated.

you can hope that romney can take it without the paulbots but I doubt it!!!! ron paul supporters will not vote for the lessor of two evils ever again! ron paul 2012!!!