Ron Paul scales back hopeless effort, refuses to back McCain

He's not really quitting. He's not really suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He's not promising victory, just to keep on keeping on. But, in effect, Rep. Ron Paul, at 72 the oldest candidate for president and the only GOP candidate to oppose the Iraq war, is facing reality.

In a statement to supporters on his website, first mentioned here early Saturday, Paul admits, "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." In a new 14-minute campaign video, Paul says he wants to clarify some confusion

His campaign currently claims a total of 42, 1,149 shy of the total to win and some 650 behind the GOP leader, though other estimates give him only 16. He took third in Washington over the weekend and fourth in Kansas behind even Mitt Romney, who'd dropped out. Even if he won every delegate still available, Paul could not capture the party's nomination in September in St. Paul, which is no relation.

Despite ridicule by other GOP candidates, despite getting significantly less time to speak during debates and, in one instance, even being barred from a GOP debate by Fox News although....

he'd collected more votes than those included, Paul repeated his vow not to attempt a third-party bid, which would drain priceless conservative votes from the party's nominee. "I am a Republican," he said, "and I remain a Republican." He did say he'd be reducing staff and offices.

Now, whether the 10-term congressman with the libertarian ideals, actually endorses Sen. John McCain is something else. Paul has said we should bring overseas troops home and invest the saved money in fixing America; McCain has vowed to stay overseas, especially Iraq, as long as it takes for success.

This morning Paul told one of our sister newspapers, "I cannot support anybody with the foreign policy he advocates, you know, perpetual war," said Paul. "That is just so disturbing to me."

In his website statement, Paul then alludes to probably the largest factor for his refocused campaign: He's trying to run simultaneously for president and his House seat in Texas' 14th Congressional District and faces a challenger in the March 4 primary, Chris Peden, a city councilmen from Friendswood. So Paul will be on two ballots that day.

"If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat," he said, "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 a new 14-minute campaign video, Paul says he needs to clarify confusion over his dropping out, that he is just altering his schedule to allow primary campaigning in his home district and he intends to compete fully in all remaining primaries and on to the convention.

Although largely ignored as irrelevant by many media outlets, though not The Ticket, the story of Ron Paul and his thousands of determined, sometimes aggressive, usually good-natured followers is one of the more interesting of the current election season.

Virtually spontaneously, disaffected Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and newcomers to the political process began gathering around the plain-spoken Paul last summer and with their nearly $20 million in smaller donations turned him into the most successful GOP fundraiser in the last quarter. On one day he raised $6 million online and was the only Republican to increase his contributions in every quarter of 2007.

With some 1,400 meet-up groups across the country, letter-writing and sign-waving campaigns and creative publicity stunts, they helped Paul to some second, fourth and fifth place finishes in states such as Nevada, Montana and Maine. He beat Rudy Giuliani in Iowa and Fred Thompson in New Hampshire and financed an eight-state advertising campaign.

His boosters, who worked the Internet assiduously to right wrongs and make Paul's case, maintain that a corporate-media conspiracy to ignore him prevented the former ob-gyn from getting his less-government message out to most Americans. He certainly was ignored and, only recently, included when providing poll results on TV. But additionally, his strict constitutionalist ideas for reducing the federal government and abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve Bank and returning to the gold standard may be just too radical for a country today facing international terrorist threats and the current economic uncertainty.

Even the tone of hundreds of comments left here by Paul supporters changed in recent days from aggressive advocacy to reluctant acceptance of the disappointing reality of continued single-digit poll results.

It would be interesting if those supporters took the time here now to leave comments explaining why they think Paul never caught on to a wider audience (we already know about the media conspiracy) and what they think about his refocused campaign and their spent donations.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[Dennis]

Why hasn't Ron Paul caught on? Because the left biased MSM are scared to death of a real american who has values and morals and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. You people who don't vote for Ron Paul will deserve what you get. Remember, ALL THINGS END.

[John_Cooper]

Ron Paul is the straight talk express. Even committed Democrats, Independents, and some Republicans agree. However, many R's can't possibly cut loose from the failed policies and leaders of the past 8 years...because what would they be left with? Ron Paul or konservative kristian crazies.

[AAAAANDRE]

Write Him In!

Whether he gets the "official" nomination or not, I believe most current Ron Paul supporters will simply Write Him In on their ballots.

Wouldn't THAT be something, the first "Write-In" President! ;-)

[kevin]

It is reall sad that people refuse to look at simple truth and get caught up in cliches and one line sound bites.
Phrases like Change?
it says nothing
or We want to remake america. into what ? who knows.
Ron has many great ideas ,but it is up to the people to keep their republic.
Laziness and caring more who wins the next million or who is gettin a grammy is more important.
it does not look good as America dies and becomes another state in the new world order.

[Aaron]

I believe the media is a reflection of what the people want to hear. I am not a journalist but I am a businessman and I can understand that stories which are ‘entertaining’ sell papers. Stories that challenge the readership do not (for the majority - correct me if I am wrong on this). The sad situation is that Ron Paul is challenging to the current American way of thinking. This will only change when enough people realize that his ideas are a blessing and not a threat. This can only happen through non-commercial channels - the fabulous Internet with its myriad of not-for-profit news sources and of course the un-paid grass roots support.

[Michael Romano]

Ron Paul is a raving lunatic and I'm glad he'll be gone soon. Now if the only remaining lunatic (Huckabee) would bow out, conservatives could get real serious about winning the next presidential election.

[Julie]

I still have a chance to vote as a Republican on 3/4 in Ohio. I plan on voting for Ron Paul as I am still a supporter. I do not like McCain's ideals and do not agree with most of his platform. Probably, the main part of Paul's campaign that has required clarification is the Isolationism stance regarding foreign policy. Wired magazine's online content slammed him on this. Truth is, WWII started due to an Isolationism belief but that didn't stop Japan from bombing Pearl Harbor. He needed to clarify that point a bit better. It's also not going to stop a lot of Islamofacists from coming here to do some damage. I am voting for Ron Paul though because I don't want those people in the country illegally, as much if not more so than the Hispanics. When our grandchildren are wearing burkas because of all this garbage we are putting up with, I'd still like to be the one with an arsenal so when the guys with the beards and the robes come knocking I can protect my life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness in the form of my 2nd amendment rights. At least he's out there defending our constitutional rights instead of handing them over on a platter.

If a Libertarian can get this far in 2012, I have no problem going that route b/c I'm sick and tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. If it's Obama vs. McCain for President, it's a really sad state of affairs for this country. I think the 2 party garbage should come ot an end. It's BS that since I've been old enough to vote, there hasn't been a candidate worth the paper to fill in the box. (able to vote for 20yrs now...yahoos that will respond.)

Worked for the government during the Clinton administration. After that on the job experience, I have NO interest in voting that Southern white trash masquerading as a New Yorker into office either.

[RG]

Legalize drugs. Get out of other countries. Reduce the federal bureaucracy. Get rid of the Dept. of Education. Stop the CIA . Reduce the Military Industrial Complex etc,etc. As long as water is being drawn from the well no one wants to consider these heresies. It's a miracle he has a congressional seat and that's probably because of his Obstetrics Practice. I'm for him but these ideas now seem too radical for the average American still livin' the good life.

[Justin]

Honestly I think Ron Paul didn't catch on because the VAST majority of people in this country are mindless sheep that follow what other people say. And if the sheep aren't allowed to hear the message, they'll never get around to follow it.

[Mary]

I too am going to vote for Ron Paul. If not for the likes of a few rabble rousers we would still be colonies under the British. I consider Ron Paul to be one of those rabble rousers. Hopefully there are more like him out there. HIs ideas just reinforce the ideas set out in our Constitution that a handfull of people with a lot of study and thought put together centuries ago. We have strayed so far away from that grreat doucment that we are more like communitsts in our governmetnts policies than China!

[Gus Spoon]

I think it a sham the way Ron Paul has been treated by the television media, the talk radio meat heads and by his fellow candidates who snickered and laughed as he tried his best to present the ultimate truth.

They tried the same stuff on Mike Huckabee, somehow Mike prevailed through all.

I hope both of these fine brave Americans stay in until the very last delegate.

Hopefully this will help push the greedy, shady, infiltrated, Neocon, GOP, RNC back to the right where Reagan left it.

[BrianF]

I don't believe that it is the media's fault that Ron Paul did not catch on with the electorate. The people will get what they deserve and want in their politicians.
Dr. Paul's values are timeless but also anachronistic. The concepts of self-reliance, personal responsibility and individualism no longer play well in our society. Too many Americans confuse jingoism with patriotism. They fail to support or even to comprehend Dr. Paul's foreign policy of non-interventionism. They confuse liberty with libertine excess. Throughout most of human history, tyranny has been the default condition. We will likely settle into a form of soft tyranny as the power of the state increases its influence over our daily lives.
In thirty-two years of voting for both Democrats and Republicans, I have never supported a candidate with money and effort like I did for Ron Paul. It is unlikely that I will ever do it again.

[marty]

One reason why Dr. Paul isn't doing to good is because he's just too polite. When he was silenced in the debate, he let them silence him because he's too nice a guy.

And who silenced him? Main Street Media Those Phuckers

[Real Republican]

Gee ya think the writer of this article could be a little more condescending next time?

[BetsyRoss]

Thank you for your article. I find the many responses seem to reflect my standings, however, there is one that has not been mentioned.

Although our country has and holds itself to higher education, we still have a huge dropout rate. No matter what race, there are those who are plain uneducated and have no "clue" about the governmental ways or politics in general. Are they the "sheeple"? NO!

The sheeple are those with families who spend the majority of their time in front of the boob tube watching American Idol and Lost. The second show couldn't describe it more perfect...for they are lost. Americans today can tell you who won the Super Bowl or the World Series, but I bet they couldn't tell you who the 11 republicans were running for president. There are those who sit at a slot machine hoping to get rich, while all the while afraid to admit our country is in danger, yet they feel it in their pocketbook everytime they see the bills come in the mail.

How about how many original colonies were there?
How many stripes are on the American flag?
How many stars are on the American flag?
Who was the 16th president?
Name 2 presidents who were assassinated.
Who was Lady Bird?

Basic schooling education should tell us the answers to these questions, yet our youth is so uneducated that to them, they are lucky to even function on a day to day basis due to either legal or illegal drugs.

I was thinking last night, that as we have become a learned society, so is what we teach our children. We learn from our parents and pass on to our generations.

Therefore it is generations of sheeple that are making the USA what it is. You can ask any "elderly" person, who feel it is their civil duty to vote...THEY pay attention to what is happening, simply because they were taught at a very early age.

While our schools now teach socialistic views, they also ignore the facts of governmental policies. The plain and simple fact we need to abolish the dept of education!!

They say that 60%+ believe that 911 was an inside job.
If that is the case, then why aren't more fighting to see that our current administration is IMPEACHED?

Folks who have woken up from the slumber have cable and internet, while the vast majority of the underclass still are in the dark with standard tv and newspapers (who are owned by the corporate conglomerates) and can print whatever propoganda they deem fit.

They've been brainwashed by the media, doped up by the pharmaceutical companies and hide behind a false sense of security. They receive their welfare checks once a month, drinking it up with alcohol or shooting up with drugs.

NOW, Ron Paul wants to eliminate those who are addicted to welfare, so those people won't vote for him. Then all those who have jobs with the IRS, federal reserve, departments of education & energy, the CIA and so forth that will LOSE their jobs who won't vote for him. Our military personnel will be shortened, so where will those people all find jobs? Answer: Eliminating the
350 Billion dollars the federal government spends on illegal immigration (welfare, medical, education) can be generated back here in the USA. Protect our borders and ports. By paying our military here at home we restore our states with better economics and purchases that will stay here.

Ron Paul has the New World Family running scared. Ron has the answers, yet is ignored. But while the media blackouts continue, what is more powerful is
the "voice" of the people, who no longer remain uneducated and use the tools of the internet to gain
insight into our political policies.

Yes, we need to STORM the Whitehouse and show
that there is strength in numbers.

We ALSO NOW need to boycott all those global businesses. Buy from local farmers, local businessmen, Boycott the biggest of them all Walmart. We've been boycotting Ford and it keeps their numbers down. Let them FEEL it in their pocketbooks and stocks go DOWN.

WE are the people, we DON'T NEED the big corporations.
There ARE alternatives. SO>>>Let's start there..today!

Stop your subcriptions to the newspapers and magazines...HIT them hard and let them know!!!

Then we MARCH for freedom!!! See ya in DC!!!

I feel those chains of bondage breaking apart one by one....RESTORE FREEDOM IN AMERICA 2008 & ON!!!

[Steven]

This is not a horse-race. It just isn't. If someone in this presidential race believes in their message, has the support and has the funds to continue...then why wouldn't they continue until it's impossible to go on?? I'm so sick of reading and hearing this ridiculous philosophy in the news that is apparent in the bias as headlines deem Ron Paul "hopeless" or a "long-shot."

I've had my problems with the news for a long time, but this presidential election cycle has really given me the motivation to speak up about how immoral much of the media is. And it is NOT about Ron Paul. I think it's grossly inappropriate to frame any candidate as hopeless just because they can't win the nomination. That IS INSANE!! If a candidate cares enough then they should fight on until they can't fight anymore as long as they have the means. And supporters should not be told by pundits that it's a lost cause. Again, this is not a horse race. It's the opposite of hopeless when someone has a dream and keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

It's not even about winning the nomination. It's about promoting an idea. Jesus, the media is driving the future of our country into the ground as efficiently as the corrupt politicians are.

[Robert Jerin]

Why has Paul not caught on? All I can say is that when the opportunity offers itself I ask people who they think should be our next President. I get an assortment of answers... Hillary, Obama, Hukabee, Romney, McCain... but not once has anyone said Ron Paul. When I ask waitresses why they are not supporting the ONLY canididate who has proposed eliminating income tax on tips... they all look stunned and ask "who is that".. when I say Ron Paul... they say "who is he"? Then I go on to discuss his stance on tax reduction, the war, etc.. and they are amazed they never heard of him. Seniors I talk about his proposal to make SS income tax free... again "never heard of that nor of Ron Paul". To me these are significant proposals. Yet no one has heard of them nor of Ron Paul. If we look at today's political world.... we see huge donations to both the Dems and Reps more often than not from the same sources. So they are all well funded by influencial groups that have vested interests. Then take the media, most of which is run by large companies headed by influencial billionaires. And if one is honest we can see Paul gets little attention... and what he does get is often times belittiling... one example is the trend started by AP reporter Ms Sidoti.... who had much to say about the other candidates even reporting the nonsensical bickering and name calling at the debates (now that is the stuff Jerry Springer show was made of!) yet only commented that Paul was running a Quioxitic campaign. This was picked up by a copy-cat reporter who used the term in a later artice. Then a few weeks again our local newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, ran a headline about contributions to the Presidential hopefuls in Q4 2007. Above the headline were photos of Romney, McCain, Hukabee, Gulianni (who was out of the campaign by this time) Clinton, Obama.... but not Ron Paul. Well he is mostly unknown anyway and how could he be important enough to deserve a photo. The article continued on page 4 where each candidate wass discussed. It was even mentioned which Zip Codes had contributed the most to the then defunct campaign of Gullianni. And then near the last part of the article was a sentence that Ron Paul had in fact been the largest raiser of campaign funds in Ohio in Q 4! But Ms Sabrina Easton deemed that was all the voters were entitled to hear about Ron Paul, the number 2 fund raiser in Ohio in Q4. Could these reporters be so shallow? Or are they all so omnipitent that they will only give readers what is best for them? Or are the sucking up to their monied bosses. I don't know... take your choice, but it can only be one of the above. Then there is FOX, what can one say about a "network" that determines the American electorate is not worthy to hear the man (at their "debate") who had just outpolled Gulianni in Iowa? Even if we do not agree with Paul one must find such things at least strange and at worst... well I won't go there...

Folks the man is a US Congressman and yes he is very different.... but we must all realize by now that the so-called 2 parties are really one.... selling out American workers with NAFTA, WTO and sending our boys to slaughter in war whose aim changes with the wind.... each of the 2 parties taking money from the likes of Enron... both parties usurping the Constitutional power of the people with each passing day.... need more be said.

So go ahead make your cutsie remarks about Dr Paul, who lives what he believes... and all the while our country slides down the slope into a dark abyss of state controll... and your freedoms and hard earned money continue to be taken with each passing day.

[Lori In Nevada]

As a delegate, I don't believe that our work is done, or Dr. Paul's. His message resonates with those who hear it...it's getting it heard that is the problem. Also, many people I spoke with felt like he didn't have a chance to win and they didn't want to waste their vote. I think that it is very sad that people feel like they must choose "the lesser of two evils" instead of believing that their vote will make a difference.

As to my donations...I'm glad I stood I up for not just who but what I believe in. I love this country and have no regret that I made a donation to the one candidate that has ideals and principals that match my own, and a plan on how to make changes.

I'm far from a "fringe" person...I'm just a conservative mom of three who believes that we are each responsible for ourselves and our own. I want to give generously to whoever I choose, without the government making that decision for me.

How crazy is that??

[Victor Crowne]

Ron Paul's candidacy did not catch on because the America he wishes to lead doesn't exist anymore. The America which produced the Constitution (which Ron Paul so reveres) was an America that believed the role of the federal government was to protect the liberties of the citizens at whose pleasure it served. They wrote a piece of law that confined the federal government to just that role and nothing more - a role it confines the federal government to still. The people of America now believe the role of the federal government is to promote the welfare and social progress of the people under its care. And so these people do not revere the Constitution as Paul does, because they do not wish to have the government it proscribes in power. They do not wish to live without its comforting hand, without its numbing luxuries and without its tranquilizing medicines. The America which produced the Constitution believed the role of the military was to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The people of America now believe the role of the military is to "promote democracy". And so these people do not revere the Constitution as Paul does, because they do not wish to have the military it proscribes guarding their borders. They wish to have their military marching across the entirety of the globe, influencing the elites of foriegn nations with the carrot-and-stick of foreign aid and military action. America is not what it was, because Americans are not who they were.

America has what it deserves. We have squandered the liberties the Constitution made law. And we have not earned Ron Paul.

[Bill Geier, Middletown, NJ]

It took 100 years for the socialism to overtake America, and it will take another 100 years to restore freedom & Capitalism to this country. A vote for Ron Paul is the first shot in a long war. Your vote will send a message to future politicians & voters that there is a market for these ideas.

[Regina Griffith]

Did you get the point yet, sir? There IS no other reason why Congressman Paul hasn't caught a larger audience. There are documented instances of his even being completely omitted from newspaper voter's guides in February. It's really nothing to joke about.

[del]

Let's Compare Obama with Ron Paul (Don't Laugh!)

Let's face it: Ron Paul is not dynamic enough and charismatic enough, (or young enough?) to deliver his important message. Don't get me wrong - I love him because I think he is the only completely honest politician who has ever existed. I agree with most of his stands, and of course I voted for him despite feeling my vote wouldn't matter. I decided to vote my conscience anyhow. In fact, because so many would have voted for him -- but didn't because they feared throwing away their vote – this contributed to his poor showing. Many of his supporters said if they didn't vote for Romney, then the more liberal McCain would win, so they had to be “pragmatic” rather than vote their conscience for Paul. This tactic was self-defeating and a self-fulfilling prophecy without which Paul would have done much better in the primaries.

Americans are demanding a dynamic, charismatic, articulate candidate after 8 years of Bush. Obama apparently has more than enough of the needed charisma. His message of “hope” and “change” is woefully vague and short on detail, plus he's inexperienced, so charisma is what he mainly offers. Compare that to Ron Paul's message which is harsh but utterly truthful -- that we are going broke on our current course, that we can't be the policeman of the world, that we must withdraw all troops from abroad, including Korea and Germany. Most don't want to face that message (which was only a part of Paul's total message). It makes Americans feel weak. We'd rather delude ourselves in order to feel good and powerful. Paul did not provide enough “hope” like the other candidates, but I'd rather have complete honesty. However, mark my words -- we will learn in years to come that Paul's prescriptions were the only hope to save America from its path to financial ruin.

I also blame the media for dismissing Paul as a viable candidate because he's supposedly too far out of the mainstream. Anderson Cooper prefaced his question for candidates in the Republican debate with the fact that polls show over 60% of Americans do not support getting into the war in the beginning, then Cooper asked all the candidates if they thought we should have gone into Iraq in the first place. Paul was the only one to say "no." But that is how most Americans feel - so is Paul out of the mainstream? Paul was barely allowed to speak in the last CNN debate (Tues., Jan. 29). Being a polite and deeply thoughtful person, he did not butt in and interrupt although Cooper treated him unfairly by ignoring him. We demand that our politicians be able to almost perform theatrics. So, a shallow nation gets a shallow president.

[DRH]

This means nothing ... the Ron Paul Cargo Cult will endure!

[JP]

I'm sorry to say that most Americans are dumb, lazy and selfish. (except Ron Paul supporters) America doesn't deserve Ron Paul that's why his message didn't take off. The lies fed to us, to our children in goverrnment run learning instiutions has systematically rendered most of us silly (except Ron Paul supporters). We can't think for ourselves. We don't know how to discern truth. We can't see the world outside of the context of a 45 second news clip.. pills not restraint, DVDs not books, venier not authenticity, plastic not gold, control not respect.....greed, excess, arrogance....no, no, no....Ron Paul could not govern this sloppy people. Is there another place we can go? A place of spaciouness, sincerity, a willingness to respectfully invite dissenting viewpoints and discuss them intelligently??? Lead me to the wardrobe in the spare oom.

[jules]

Ron Paul is what the word decency means. The rest of them are all New World Order boys who are puppets of these bunch of thieves and liars who want to turn this world into a communist world. Many leaders have been assassinated because they wanted to make changes and get away from these assassins. One of them was John F. Kennedy and I was 13 years old when he was assassinated and what a shock. I looked at the film and found one of his assassins and many are still around today and some are deceased. These assassins are sitting in office and they also killed JFK Jr. as well because he wanted to expose his father's killers. Hillary Clinton is no candidate either - none of them are they are all mighty evil. The only way to have a decent government is to throw everyone out including the Rockerfellers, the Rothschilds, the monarchy (British and all) and make a decent world to live in otherwise this world is going to be nothing but chaos. Yes minding ones own business and staying out of other people's problems is he way to go. This is exactly what Dr. Paul wants. If one becomes governor there is this shadow government running things like Bilderberger and others and we have to get rid of all this for all our sovereignities and freedoms. Keep fighting to keep this world going or else we will surely lose everything and starting in 2010 with this North American Union. The European Union was in planning since the 50's and was thrown on them without them knowing. This all has to stop - get rid of all this scum.

[Chris]

Have the media just all sold their souls, their loved ones souls, and their children's souls or are they really this clueless? Hopeless? Hardly!

The Ron Paul supporters represent "We the People"! We are your friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters. We work or go to school come home and work our tails off for this man. How can the people in mainstream media have allowed themselves to turn on their fellow Americans.

Mike Huckabee referred to the lastest SNAFU trying to pass as an election as Soviet Union Style. Yep! It does help one get votes when they are not crossed off the ballot! Mike also reminded CNN that this is an ELECTION and people don't need their candidate CHOSEN for them. Conspiracy...come on.

People need to turn off the tube, rip their cable box out of the wall or their satellite down from the roof, read a book, get exercise, do research, and spend time with their families doing something other than being brainwashed by idiot talking heads that think you are too stupid to think for yourself. The media has tried to decide the election. The funny thing is the more they try to cheat, the more ridiculous and obvious they become. It would really be laughable if it were American Idol, but instead you decided to mess with the ELECTION of our PRESIDENT!

You might as well join us now because this revolution is just beginning. Trust me, you will feel the LOVE!

[Michael Grace]

I live in a small county (Craig) in Virginia. I put a good sized Ron Paul sign up on the road by my mail box. The road gets a lot of traffic yet no one knew who Ron Paul was. Today my vet and her assistant came over to check my new puppy and they thought Ron Paul was a new real estate agent and that my house was for sale!!! Somehow we just did not get the message out. I blame myself here. I should have done more.

[DRH]

"Basic schooling education should tell us the answers to these questions, yet our youth is so uneducated that to them, they are lucky to even function on a day to day basis due to either legal or illegal drugs."

Hmmm.... and Ron Paul's support comes disproportionately from "the young people". Those sad, ignorant drugged-up (according to you) young people. Funny how that works.

[tunacan]

Why did RP not get more traction? IMO the reason is simple, people are blind to what truely underlies the world's current economic problems, namely the fiat money system of currency based on the US dollar. If people understood the gravity of the crisis facing the financial SYSTEM it would be the de facto issue. Ron Paul is the only one who brought this up and made it a central message. I think what he said went over most everyone's head. As Keynes said about fiat based money:

"By this means government may secretly and unobserved, confiscate the wealth of the people, and not one man in a million will detect the theft."

RP did better to shed light on this topic than one in a million, so he deserves a lot of credit for waking so many people up!

Tunacan

[Chad_Underdonk]

The biggest problem that the Ron Paul campaign has faced is political apathy among the vast majority of voters. Many do not follow, nor understand the processes which leads to a candidate being chosen. Many are more than willing to wait until November to "make a decision", if they even partake then.

There is a slogan coined from some followers of the rEVOLution..."Dr Paul cured my apathy". It is precisely his ability to wake up the disaffected which has garnered so much attention, fund raising, and support from individuals all across this country. You mentioned the media, and I don't intend to harp on it, but when trying to reach the apathetic it is important to get their attention in ways that hit home in their every day lives. Thanks to media attention everyone now knows who Barrack Obama is, although most had no clue who he was before the media began to spread his name. I firmly believe that Dr. Paul's message is his greatest strength, and it is the inability to freely spread that message to the apathetic masses which has prevented his candidacy from snuffing out opponents who have no message other than the status quo.

[Buckeye]

Andrew,
You certainly know how to spin a story. It seems like you have some vested interest in not seeing Ron Paul get a fair shot. Can you tell me why you are afraid of RP?
"...at 72 the oldest candidate..."
- Lets not forget how old McCain is.
"His campaign currently claims a total of 42 [delegates], [...] though other estimates give him only 16"
- Is there any difference in the other candidates numbers.
Hopeless effort? Libertarian ideals (as if he is not a Republican)?
I'm not sure why his supporters have gone from "aggressive advocacy to reluctant acceptance" or if its even true at all. I think that his supporters have made their point clear and are now showing some reserve after the media has labelled them as overbearing crazies. Apparently, the media are now being proven wrong in this judgement.
If Ron Paul does not win this election, he will at least have succeeded in waking people up to the reality that our democracy, our civil liberties, and our rights are under attack. Its not RP that we are championing, its the ideals that we as Americans need to maintain and fight for.

[DebK]

Besides the blatant media blackout, it's the same ole same ole...people vote for things that sound comfortable and the changes he proposes are not comfortable and sound scary unless you understand what he's talking about. Sadly, the general population is too lazy and ignorant to try and find out more. Instead, they listen and watch the mass media outlets (I doubt many of them actually read more than the front page news, either) and are spoon fed their next president, all neatly tucked in a package that promises much, but offers nothing different at all, just more rhetoric. People have actually said Dr. Paul's VOICE got on their nerves. How telling.

So long answer short, our citizens are too stupid and have never read the Constitution of this great country. Their apathy will be our country's undoing.

BTW, I'm in Colorado and his visit to Denver was one of the most unreported events I've ever seen, despite thousands showing up. I'm proud to be a delegate for this man, not his party.

[Debra]

It does appear as if the Obama machine will be leading our country the next 4 - 8 years. I accept that. I accept that supreme court justices will be placed that will have a negative effect on the lives of our citizens for many years to come and new entitlements will be placed in law that will never go away quietly.

What I do not accept is the fact that I will go down without fighting tooth and claw for my beliefs. I intend to join thousands of other Liberty supporters for a march on Washington DC and demonstrate to the ignorant public the Constitution was drawn up for a legitimate reason - to protect 'We The People'.

You will hear us very soon.

[Chris]

"Hopeless"

"Sheeple" with "I support the RP troops" magnet on their SUV while we are down saving their Country in Washington.

We all live in this Country (including journalists) and it is OUR duty to defend it.

How can you guys look in the mirror?

[Brian in Montana]

I will never give up on Dr.Paul and what he stands for as this is my passionate belief also. This beloved country is going to experience much pain in the months, and years to come, and without Ron Paul at the helm of this country, true revolution is just around the corner. WAKE UP AMERICA!

[Dakota Rosales]

How can you state that he is out? He is refocusing his campaign to ensure that he still has his set in House of Representatives to ensure that someone will remain as a constant voice for the Constitution...I am always amazed at the supposed unbiased news, even this article obviously shows the liberal bias (I know because I too was a liberal before Ron Paul opened my eyes to the perversion of our freedoms). Why don't the media DO THE RESEARCH and really learn about what Ron Paul represents...they should also read the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and maybe some dystopic novels which show how the science fiction of yesteryear is no longer fiction...novels like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World...OPEN YOUR EYES AMERICA TO THE TRUTH! We must support the only candidate who can try to get us out of this economic and subjugative downward spiral....learn and look. God bless America and Ron Paul.

(The item doesn't say he's out. Read it again. It says he's refocusing his campaign. That's not out. It also says it's hopeless and it is because mathematically Dr. Paul cannot get sufficient delegates to win now. Not enough left to get.)

[Fielding J. Hurst]

Hopeless??? Ron Paul has given me a lot of hope that America will one day wake up before we spend ourselves into oblivion.

FJH
http://brushfires2008.com/2008/02/05/dont-blame-me-i-voted-for-ron-paul-bumper-sticker/

[Carter]

This is the beginning not the end. All great movements seem doomed in the beginning, but slowly they grow until they hit a critical mass.

Ron Paul never "caught on" with a majority of Americans, because most Americans are asleep and do not realize that this country is headed for disaster if we do not make some major changes in the way we operate. The hope is that once people do wake up, that it will not be too late.

[Steve]

I'm a Ron Paul Republican, and I WILL NEVER EVER AGAIN FALL FOR PARTY LINE POLITICS. FOLLOW THE DAMNED CONSTITUTION FOR ONCE, or get your asses handed to you like what's coming.

See you in November, neocons.

[matt]

Wow that article wasnt biased...

to all the people that still have hope for this country, Ron Paul is organizing a march on washington in a couple of months.....

www.ronpaul2008.com

check back often to find the date

[summernot]

1. Name recognition.
The candidates who news media and audiences already knew, like John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, Fred Thompson and even Barak Obama had a head start. They got more coverage. It was assumed that they would have staying power because they were already prominent.

2. Polls.
Media is poll-driven. The polls at first included the names people recognized and left off many of the lesser-known candidates, again, because it was presumed that they wouldn't be sticking around. The media then reported poll results for the candidates who were on the list, and Ron Paul, of course, got not coverage. It wasn't until recently that Ron Paul was even listed as an option whom people being polled could choose.

Additionally, the people polled did not include the bulk of Paul's supporters. Paul's supporters are technically savvy enough to use caller ID effectively if they even have land lines. Many of them are young and attend universities. Students on campus don't get polled. Many only have cell phones. cell phone users don't typically get polled. Many just plain aren't home, because they are young and active. They don't sit around watching the TV tell them who to vote for, so they aren't around to answer the phone. And, of course, many supporters are not "likely Republican voters".

3. The GOP.
GOP leadership both at the local and national level runs the straw polls, runs the primaries, influences the debates and controls the commentators who speak on talk shows. They are the old guard network in local communities, and they all support a candidate they can relate to and who they feel can get elected. Their heads are too far up their asses to see that the neocon movement is over, and playing that game isn't going to win them this election. They barely eked out the last two elections. So the GOP leadership is deluded. They also have a network, just like the DNC. Paul doesn't march lock-step with the GOP when he votes. In fact he's totally out of step with them. They resent this, and so they turn a cold shoulder to him.

Just look at some of the incidences that happened at some of the straw polls, like the one in Florida where the GOP let people vote multiple times for Romney, or in San Francisco where the GOP aborted their straw poll when it was discovered that there were more Ron Paul supporters there to vote than anticipated. In Texas Paul supporters were given inaccurate/incomplete instructions with their registration to keep them out of the straw poll. At every turn the GOP has blocked Paul and his supporters, because they're weird, they don't support the "war on terrorism," and they don't have a history within the party.

Later, during the actual primaries and caucuses there were additional shady practices going on to limit the influence Ron Paul supporters would have on the outcomes. Just look at what happened in Louisiana. We never did get a final vote count the caucus there, not to mention the fact that three candidates banded together as "pro-liberty/pro-life" on the ticket to keep votes away from Paul.

4. Registration for Primaries.
Many had to change their affiliation to register in their state primaries so that they'd be eligible to vote for Paul. This had to be done by a certain deadline, different for each state. Even when people did update their registration in time, they often still had to vote provisionally, since the listings of eligible voters were often not updated to reflect recent changes. And god knows what happened to the provisional ballots. Of course, all state GOP offices claim they've counted them. But why would they? Most will be for Ron Paul, and they don't like him. Verifying provisional ballots would be a time-consuming hassle, especially when there are so many, with the large turnout this time around and with so many people changing their party affiliations ...to vote for Ron Paul.

5. The Media.
People in the news love a good war. They love economic crisis. This sort of instability means they get to go to dangerous places, which leads to career advancement for any good newsman or woman. They get to bring on pundits. Or they get to be pundits.

Also, the media is liberal. They like taxes and think you should, too. Fox News is, of course, the exception. But they are essentially the GOP's lapdog, and there's also that close relationship between Ayles and Giuliani...

Then there's the fact that the media likes pretty faces. They look nicer on TV. Hell, I could look at Barak all day. He's really so hot. Ron Paul has a funny nose. His remarks aren't from a script. He hasn't worked with speech coaches to polish his delivery. He doesn't wear makeup or use botox.

Finally, there's a chicken and egg thing. Those with name recognition get covered by the media, and the media builds name recognition. Breaking into this infernal loop is nearly impossible. Huckabee has poked through off and on, but he has to really push to stay in the news.

6. Bad Apples.
Ron Paul wants to change the fundamental way things work. He wants to get rid of the IRS, repeal the Patriot Act, get rid of the Federal Reserve, etc.

A lot of people look at these organizations, like the Federal Reserve, the DHS, etc as part of a grand conspiracy that is continually working to oppress people and prop up a secret society or whatever. Naturally, when they see a candidate who wants to trash these federal departments they hop on board the campaign. Unfortunately their affiliation can mean that some map their crazy ideas onto what Paul believes. Alex Jones is the best example. He's a retarded nutjob who hasn't met a conspiracy he didn't like and will find what he considers definitive "evidence" supporting it in dubious sources. Alex looooves Ron Paul. Ron even shows up on his radio program for interviews occasionally. But for god's sake, Ron doesn't believe the nonsense Alex Jones believes. Hell, no one believes everything Alex believes. But people are stupid and don't think critically.

7. The Newsletters.
That slimy New Republic reporter achieved exactly what he set out to do. I'd love to know why he decided to write his hitpiece. My guess is that Giuliani may have offered him some incentive, as Paul threatened Giuliani's campaign in New Hampshire more than any other candidate.

Regardless, the newsletters have always haunted Ron. It was awful that they were associated with him, and honestly, I believe there's more to the story than what is in the campaign statements on them, because it doesn't make sense that he wouldn't have been aware of the content for as long as he says. I do believe that he didn't write them though. The chairman of the NAACP agrees, too.

Ron deserves to suffer because of his mistake and misjudgment with his publications, and he's taking his lumps. It's a shame that he has such a blemish though.

8. Grass-Roots.
The grass-roots campaign style both hurt him and helped him. It was sort of like guerrilla warfare. It can be more effective than traditional methods, but there are times when it breaks down and when you need a traditional style of fighting. The campaign lacked structure and consistent messaging at times. The campaign was simply too small in the beginning and struggled to grow. More preparation should have been in place to enable for quick acceleration as the money made larger-scale efforts possible.

His campaign leadership were young. Most were first-timers. This again is good in a way, since it meant that no one was attempting to use old formulas that are no longer relevant, and it allowed for out of the box stuff, but it also meant that everyone was learning as they went -- and making mistakes along the way. That's not efficient, and Paul couldn't afford to lose cycles.

9. Personality.
Paul isn't two-faced. He is genuine. He doesn't play the game a typical politician plays. This totally throws off the media and others who expect to encounter a certain level of phoniness and don't know what to do when someone is honest and upfront.

He is also low-key and not the type to get outraged when he receives unfair treatment. Paul believes in winning on his own merits, and any unfair treatment along the way is ultimately more of a reflection upon those doling it out than on him. But during a campaign one doesn't have time to wait for "ultimately" to play out.

Paul's way of living is very focussed on his own actions and choices. He doesn't interfere with what others do or what they choose for themselves. Because of this, I don't believe he's evolved his abilities to persuade and shape opinion. He only tells you what he thinks. You have to formulate your own opinions. But that's not the way politics works. Politicians tell you what you should think. This is sooo much easier for Joe six-pack than having to come up with an opinion himself.

Paul doesn't speak in platitudes. That's useless, in his opinion. He's someone who believes that inspiration comes from one's self and perhaps from their spirituality if they have any, not from someone else. But most people are looking for others to tell them to be inspired and to feed them inspirational phrases to affirm that "I'm okay and you're okay, and everything's going to be okay." ooh, it feels so good to hear, doesn't it? Thus, many people are turned off by the fact that Paul delivers facts, ideas, ideals and concepts. They want to be delivered platitudes and inspiration.

10. Tipping Point.
Right now, half of taxpayers pay 4% of all of the income tax. The other half pay 96% of all of the income tax. This is in spite of the fact that the top half receives only 70% of all the income, and the bottom half receives 30%. What does this mean? Half the people out there are essentially supported/subsidized by the other half. Why the hell would they vote for anyone or anything that would change that? In fact, if one guy (or girl) is telling them that they're going to make them pay even less in taxes, why would they not vote for him (or her)? When you think about it this way, Ron Paul never had a chance with half the voters. Why would they abandon the IRS? It's working in their favor -- and there are several other candidates who are promising to ease the burden they do bear and shift more of it to the other half. For liberal candidates, they have captured half the voters by default. All they have to do is sway a fraction of the "top half", and they win.

So considering all of the above, why do I continue to support Ron Paul? I've always been a fan of Paul but honestly didn't think that there were so many people who agreed with his positions. When I saw the crowd gathering supporting his presidential bid I was really surprised. I saw an opportunity to send a message to established politicians. I'm hoping that they'll see everyone who is disenchanted with the party line and who will step up and be vocal. Hopefully more people will be willing to take a chance and run for office who are willing to vote no when every other member of their party -- and possibly the other party, too -- votes yes.

So right now it's a message. My hope is that it will be a trend.

[Jon]

First off, the meat puppets who broadcast FAUX News are nothing but retarded Neo-Con endorsers who love to ridicule the right, and push the wrong into the lime-light. You want answers to the trouble of our economy, then cut cost and spending. If you need a way to solve the fighting in the MIddle East, then give it up. The Bible says that the Middle East will always be in turmoil, unitl the end of time. These days are the days of the end. Look up Builderberg. They want to kill off 80% of us, fill us with RFID chips, and restrict our privacy to anything but.

Second, if the founding fathers saw what fascism occured in our government, they would be ashamed more than your mother when you got into your first fight. War being decided by the PRESIDENT??!? Where is the Congressional concent? NAU??!? Where was the Congressional concent? The government enjoys our ignorance like a dog enjoys humping your neighbor during the Christmas party. Ignorance is bliss for the government. If America knew the truth, then the government would have no power. It is our Constitutional right to petition the government. They are so scared that they brought aboutthe PATRIOT ACT!! Petition your government! Stand up for what is right! MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR! RON PAUL R[evol]UTION!!

[Dave]

Ron Paul would be running away with the GOP race if the media had not intentionally ignored his campaign.

He is the only candidate in either party who is talking about the cause of America's problems with sound methods of fixing them. All the other candidates are talking about the symptoms with continual flip flopping along he way.

Shame on the media. Shame on all who are responsible for robing America of one of it's potentially greatest Presidents.

[Patrick]

@Rhys

Did you read my whole post?

Although Ron Paul has a huge online support (I am among them, and I donated to his campaign), the polls don't reflect it. I was a libertarian before Paul's campaign, become a big supporter of his for the '08 run, and still believe in his ideas, so it's depressing to me. I just don't think libertarianism has mainstream appeal, because the welfare state is more convenient for most people.

And because the media believed Paul never had a shot at winning (he wasn't a "front-runner" from the beginning), not many people were exposed to him or his ideas. And as I said above, the media don't do well when it comes to reporting on candidates' political ideas, anyway, other than in a superficial labeling manner.

@steven montross

It's not a media conspiracy that is blacklisting Paul from coverage. It's lazy journalism that only considers the few front-runners because it would take more effort to cover more candidates. It's the same reason we never heard about Alan Keyes, Dennis Kucinich, etc. If you want more information about this, I'd suggest looking into an idea called public journalism, which would fulfill the journalistic role I'm talking about. ("What Are Journalists For?" by Jay Rosen is a great starting point.)

I'm not defending the media's presidential-campaign coverage -- I'm criticizing it.

[Mina Soliman]

Ron Paul at this moment wants to keep going to have enough influence in the Republican party, not necessarily to win. He understands he won't win the party at this moment. If he doesn't get the influence of delegates that he needs to rock the Republican party, I do dearly hope he will run Independent. But like we all agree, the fight is not over. Ultimately, I'm looking forward to a Ron Paul 2012 ticket. We should start that campaign now. We should still keep it alive. We should continue to spread the word, and by that time, we will have a stronger campaign.

[truthseeker]

I believe the media blackout was a major contributing factor to RP's APPARENT failure to catch on. But if he had supposedly caught on, what makes anyone think his votes would be credited to him? Seriously, what in the history of the last few elections would ever lead anyone to believe that the process was democratic? Hey, didn't Al Gore mysteriously have NEGATIVE 16,000 votes appear beside his name? Yeah, the revolution is afoot and perhaps we should consider making some noise about the very UNdemocratic electronic voting sytem currently in play. At the end of the day...votes are siphoned off from candidate A and given to B. Why do you think your vote is counted by a machine that's been proven to be very fallible and hackable indeed? And where is the receipt that usually comes with any deposit? Why not issue a receipt confirming your vote? No paper trail=corruption!!!

[UJM]

Well Malcolm, I think you are going to miss Ron Paul more than anyone since after this election is over, no one is going to read this blog anymore. Smart to write about the only guy who will get you internet hits.

The economy will slow down into a serious recession, no one reads anymore, so you'll be let go before the time another election comes around. Good luck and enjoy the National ID card. You won't care but maybe your grandchildren will.

(Gee, a national ID card. How scary! You mean like a passport? Well, I take Dr. Paul at his word. He's not going anywhere. Of course, if he loses the House primary March 4, that would create a new problem. I hear his Republican opponent has a lot of money. Dr. Paul is an interesting story, not quite as interesting as the story of his many followers. Fortunately, there's plenty to write about and, it seems, more people every day coming here, even on non-Paul days. Thanks for reading.)

[John L Gulledge]

"It would be interesting if those supporters took the time here now to leave comments explaining why they think Paul never caught on to a wider audience (we already know about the media conspiracy) and what they think about his refocused campaign and their spent donations.
--Andrew Malcolm"

Congressman Paul to you mr liberal.
Why The Honorable Congressman Paul "never caught on to the wider audience" I think he did, but I also know the votes are being controlled by the neo-cons like yourself maybe? Check NY state, many polling places did not even have Ron Paul on the ballots! GO FIGURE, however people like rudy, and john edwards who dropped out WERE in fact still on the ballots, hmm, funy aint it. So I do really think he caught on much more than you would think. And your a damn idiot sir if you can't see the media's effect on this entire race, you need to wake up pupet.
As for what do I think about MY donations to Ron Paul, well, I just made another one a few hors ago, so IM still doing it, he is the first Presidential candidate to ever recieve donations from me, and I have proudly made 4 (FOUR) now!
What do I think about Ron Pauls focus on his local election KUDOS for him NOT forgetting his state, I think that is very honorable, don't you?
As always I say Ron Paul is the ONLY man in this race, period. He has my support all the way.
God bless Ron Paul, and God bless America,
John L Gulledge
Molino FL USA

[TDA]

'failed to appeal to a wider audience'?

I too have had complete apathy towards our political system . . . and too have been cured and inspired by Ron Paul's message.

What's interesting is that I have taken a lot of time over the past few months to engage various friends and family in conversations about the candidates. Everyone . . . all that is . . . that has taken the time to look into the Ron Paul message deeper than what is served up to them on the easy chair, has identified with, and truly understood his message and become a fan. Many of his ideas have been twisted and turned around and then presented through the Mainstream Media, completely missing or twisting the truth.

I too have been elected a Delegate in Washington State, and in all precincts that I had first hand involvement with, Ron Paul was the highest supported candidate with approximately 7 out of every ten delegates.

Thank You . . .

[CC Rider]

Ron Paul never 'caught on' because 'conservatives' didn't want him.

He offered _real_ conservatism - and not by way of campaign stump speeches, with no meat behind them, but by his _voting_ record. They're somewhat different...

'Conservatives' would rather continue the b!tch tirades with their favorite syndicated (multi-million-dollar-contracted), 'conservative' AM talk hosts, than put a man in office who carries the goods for Real.

After all, if some real conservatism came to 1600, what would there be to b!tch about?

No ladies & gentlemen, the sad, sorry truth is, your 'conservative' brethren really don't want true Liberty and Freedom, because that means no more following a fat blowhard's 3 hours/day of 'Republican-good, Democrat-bad', cult-of-conservative personality nonsense about how our troops are fighting for our freedoms here and if we don't fight them there, we'll have to fight them here - blah, blah...

That's all you 'conservatives' got. You have no-one in that corrupt hell-hole in D.C. You had 6 years of a tri-fecta dream team - Executive, legislative and judicial. And what did it bring you - more 'conservatism'? HA!!!

Fear not though, dear 'conservative', when a Democrat gets elected this fall because you didn't have the Balls for true liberty and freedom, at least you'll have 4 more years of Hush Bimbo, Flannity and Levin-ski to call and b!tch to.

Sorry, just plain sorry.