Ron Paul has decided to shrink the size of his campaign staff, he’s admitted defeat, and says he will now focus himself on holding his seat in Congress. He’s not exactly dropping out, or even formally suspending his campaign, but it sounds pretty close to it.
His Presidential campaign appears that it will be put on autopilot and that he will seek to continue to accumulate delegates to take to the convention. Howard Dean did essentially the same thing when he stopped actively campaigning for President in 2004.
After yesterday’s post where I was repeatedly slammed by Ron Paul supporters for not recognizing that there would (obviously) be a brokered Republican convention, it’s not to see Ron Paul actually say there won’t be a brokered convention. He’s also completely ruled out a third party bid for the White House at this point. Apparently his seat in Congress is more important to him than taking his long-shot Presidential campaign into the Fall.
Now, this could obviously still change once he’s won re-nomination to Congress. He could turn around and accept the the top spot on the Libertarian ticket once again. But for now it seems like he just wants to hang onto his Congressional seat.
His opponent in that primary, Friendswood City Councilman Chris Peden, lays out his case for Republican primary voters:
I am a proven conservative Republican; the incumbent is a self-described Libertarian. I support winning the Global War on Terror and the War on Drugs; the incumbent does not. I think Islamo-Fascist terrorists were responsible for the 9/11 attacks; the incumbent thinks America’s Middle East policy’s were responsible for the attacks. I support fully funding NASA’s budget and the Vision for Space Exploration; the incumbent does not. I will support and vote for the Republican nominee for U.S. President in 2008, the incumbent will not (unless it’s him.)
February 9th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
What Ron Paul actually said was:
If I were to lose the primary for my
congressional seat, all our opponents
would react with glee, and pretend it
was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot
and will not let that happen.
Wow. There’s a man.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
You spelled “opponent” incorrectly.
Anyway, Chris Peden is the exact antithesis of Paul; the latter has every reason to secure his seat for congress.
It is literally impossible for McCain to garner all the delegates necessary to rightfully earn the GOP nomination. He will come closer than any candidate, but will still fall short.
If McCain wins the nomination, the Republican party can kiss this election goodbye.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Good lord there is no end to the moronic idiocy on this internet.
How to completely twist something the opposite of what is true.
Mitt’s people are going to vote for Ron… so there.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
If McCain gets elected we can kiss our country goodbye
February 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Chris Peden is a NEOCON in training. A liberal spender combined with a perversion of conservatism. He is going no where. These Neocons are like viruses and the only way to combat them is with does of freedom and liberty.
February 9th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Who are these people who think they have the right to used their own stupidity to replace the actual words of an even man who is full of integrity? I just KNOW our country’s people will not let us down! McCain (almost)makes Bush look like a decent man. A vote for McCain is truly a vote against democracy. Have people lost their common sense and every bit of intuition inherent in all human beings? Is it not patently transparent that this guy has the emotional intelligence of a 5 yr. old yellow lab? (I was going to say 5 yr. old boy - too smart, though). He is FULL of himself - a false ego that occludes any chance for him to act as a clear and principled person with the country’s interests at heart. We have to figure out a way to get our so-called protectors of our First Amendment “Big time national media” to get the heck OUT OF THE WAY and to allow the American people the constitutional right to be heard. They have their marching orders alright. How can they sleep at night? They do stand right by the Bush administration in abridging our right to be heard - our very freedom.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Let your readers judge for themselves. Your interpretation is pretty biased …
“February 8, 2008
Whoa! What a year this has been. And what achievements we have had. If I may quote Trotsky of all people, this Revolution is permanent. It will not end at the Republican convention. It will not end in November. It will not end until we have won the great battle on which we have embarked. Not because of me, but because of you. Millions of Americans — and friends in many other countries — have dedicated themselves to the principles of liberty: to free enterprise, limited government, sound money, no income tax, and peace. We will not falter so long as there is one restriction on our persons, our property, our civil liberties. How much I owe you. I can never possibly repay your generous donations, hard work, whole-hearted dedication and love of freedom. How blessed I am to be associated with you. Carol, of course, sends her love as well.
Let me tell you my thoughts. With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no third party run. I do not denigrate third parties — just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican.
I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.
In the presidential race and the congressional race, I need your support, as always. And I have plans to continue fighting for our ideas in politics and education that I will share with you when I can, for I will need you at my side. In the meantime, onward and upward! The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me.
Sincerely,
Ron”
February 9th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Get educated!
http://www.c-span.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=corruption%2C+iraq
Get Educated! Watch C-Span
AMERICA’S HACKED VOTING SYSTEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrxaU3BRfA
February 9th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I voted for Bill Clinton twice. I voted for Al Gore. For the first time this year I am voting for someone who I truly believe in, not just the lesser of two evils. I will vote/write in Ron Paul come hell or high water. I DESPISE war-mongering GOP people, so they will NEVER get my vote.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
We Ron Paul supporters have no second choice in this race. If Dr. Paul is not on the ballot in November, we will write him in. No candidate the GOP props up, especially John “100-years-in-Iraq-and-while-you’re-at-it-bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran” McCain will ever get our support, and should not get yours either. It’s Ron Paul or bust. Literally.
February 9th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
‘The voice of americas right’It wasn’t you that wrote that racist stuff which was wrongly blamed on Paul.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
So, now Paul gets to take the millions he bilked out of all those people nationwide (I’ve got to find some way to cash in on that. Ron Paul action figures?), which he clearly hasn’t spent actually trying to get elected president (I’m in a battleground state and have seen more Huckabee ads than Paul, hell, I even heard a Mike Gravel radio spot) and dump it all into his congressional reelection account?
Slick Ronnie, Slick.
The sad thing is, his luddites won’t even raise a fuss about it. “Oh course we want Dr Paul to win his house election so the REVOLUTION CAN CONTINUE” and all that.
If folks really cared about democracy and the Constitution they wouldn’t allow a hammering of millions of dollars of national(federal) money to sledgehammer the due process and rightful choice of the good people of Texas’s 14th, be that choice for Ron Paul or some other option.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:17 am
You need to change the title of this article, its misleading and worst of all suggests something that totally a lie.
February 10th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Actually, Mr. Paul essentially says that he now has another priority - keeping his existing seat. It does, in fact, sound as if he’s suspending his presidential campaign to work on keeping what he already has.
Not that I doubt Ron Paul’s ability to walk and chew gum at the same time…but running for two things at once isn’t the most ideal situation for producing results. His seat in Congress will likely become a higher priority.
The article is not biased - it’s reporting on what the candidate himself has said. There’s really no other way that his statement could be realistically interpreted, except for, “I’m going to be mostly otherwise occupied while I run for reelection.”
The relevant portion follows:
“I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.”
February 10th, 2008 at 5:33 am
I’m glad to see MItt supporters turning their support for Ron Paul. I would do the same as a Ron Paul supporter. At least I know MItt have better knowledge of the economy whereas if McCain is the nominee I will either write in Ron Paul’s name or vote third party. If I were to vote for McCain I would be going against everything I stand for. I hope all Romney supporters will give Ron Paul a second look. At least you can say he will do something about immigration and will cut spending in a drastic way that needs to be done…The way I see it is if McCain is the nominee it will be like having 2 democrats running for president Hilary and a moderate democrat, McCain.
February 10th, 2008 at 5:55 am
You Rondroids are weird and too extreme! I have heard the mans message and he is just not all that amazing, sorry. I wish bloomberg would run.
February 10th, 2008 at 6:39 am
The last breath of the constitution has come. The only candidate who understood the proper role of government and the only candidate who would have signed the constitution himself is fading away and so are the chances of reviving the ideals upon which America was founded.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Peden Shmeden.
Ron Paul is the man!
http://www.ronpaulhive.com/hive/?p=202
February 10th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Chris Peden does not know what a Libertarian is. He is running to be the representative of a district, yet he seems to think that he is running for the nation’s highest office. About this article, it is biased and it clearly shows the dishonesty of the author.