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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/rand-pauls-struggling-presidential-campaign/394970/
Quote: Paul seems to be flailing, and fighting for space in the crowded GOP landscape. He’s tied for fourth place in the average of national polls, fifth in Iowa, third in New Hampshire. His fundraising isn’t going well—he’s even been frozen out by the top donor to his father, the former Texas congressman Ron Paul.
[...]
A different GOP strategist put it more succinctly to National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar, calling the Paul campaign “a disaster.”
[...]
But polling averages now put Paul under 9 percent in Iowa and around 12 percent in New Hampshire. Paul gets 9 percent of the Republican primary vote nationally, on average, the same amount of support as Carson and behind Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, and Marco Rubio.
So this buffoon's campaign is looking worse and worse, and we haven't even seen a debate yet. Is anyone other than StLucieBengal still stupid enough to think this guy stands a chance?
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(06-05-2015, 01:15 PM)GodHatesBengals Wrote: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/rand-pauls-struggling-presidential-campaign/394970/
So this buffoon's campaign is looking worse and worse, and we haven't even seen a debate yet. Is anyone other than StLucieBengal still stupid enough to think this guy stands a chance?
I never thought he stood a chance in the first place.
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I don't know if he stands a chance, but I like him.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
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(06-05-2015, 01:23 PM)RICHMONDBENGAL_07 Wrote: I never thought he stood a chance in the first place.
Nor did I, nor did I. 
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A bad campaign will do this. In terms of crossover potential, his policies have the most potential of courting Democrats and Independents.
Unfortunately, he has a few issues. For starters, he alienated his father's people by courting the establishment early on. He also keeps making dumb comments that do not eloquently articulate the libertarian leaning viewpoints that he has. He has more to gain by just saying the Civil Rights Act was good than he does for saying "I feel like it is an overstep of the government to force people to not be racist... though they should not be racist for their own reasons", because the few hardline people he gains do not make up for the many average people he loses. And like his dad, he just isn't running his campaign well.
There's a lot of time to recover. The first primary is over half a year away. He could be a good candidate if he could show that he can be a "modern Republican" that can get Independents to vote for him.
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If he does well in the debates and gains support, the money will start flowing. We have no idea how much money is sitting on the sideline waiting to be thrown behind the person who looks like the best shot to beat Hillary. Plus, there are so many in the race now that donors could like multiple candidates, and they're keeping powder dry to see which one differentiates himself - if you like Paul and Rubio, you're not blowing your whole wad (or even most of it) on Rubio only for the race to emerge as being between Paul and Bush.
LOL, there have been articles on Walker's issues and Bush isn't even in the race (yet). At this point, all this stuff makes merely for interesting conversation with no real predictive value.
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(06-05-2015, 03:20 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: If he does well in the debates and gains support, the money will start flowing. We have no idea how much money is sitting on the sideline waiting to be thrown behind the person who looks like the best shot to beat Hillary. Plus, there are so many in the race now that donors could like multiple candidates, and they're keeping powder dry to see which one differentiates himself - if you like Paul and Rubio, you're not blowing your whole wad (or even most of it) on Rubio only for the race to emerge as being between Paul and Bush.
LOL, there have been articles on Walker's issues and Bush isn't even in the race (yet). At this point, all this stuff makes merely for interesting conversation with no real predictive value.
This is very true. I don't think anyone wants to throw too much into the primary this early when they know Hillary's machine will be huge.
Spend smart.
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well it's time for this article ... Bush is announcing... And a Rubio donor (former Romney donor) says he knows no one giving money to rand ....
They cant let a non progressive win.
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(06-05-2015, 01:37 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I don't know if he stands a chance, but I like him.
of all the GOP candidates, he's the one I like the most. Of course, that's not saying much as there's him and a bunch of neocons on that side.
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I knew from the beginning there was not a chance. Even though I have no doubt that he would cozy up to the establishment as soon as he was elected, there aren't enough people actually willing to buck the trend. Sure, we hear a lot from the "liberty minded Republicans" and the actual libertarian types, but they are a vocal minority. Not enough of them are actually willing to vote away from the status quo
I've been watching it happen around here a lot. I have a friend that is a die hard conservative. We have a pretty sizable tea party group and he was a part, but as soon as he started really questioning the GOP mouthpiece for the area that is Bob Goodlatte, he was shown the door. We saw it with the recent gubernatorial election when all sorts of "liberty minded" conservatives were getting all pissy when they were told the Cooch was anything but for liberty.
Sad, really. The right actually has the opportunity to really do something right now, but there isn't enough chutzpah among them to make it so.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
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I'm voting for Paul if he's around when it gets to Ohio. He sold out to the establishment some when he backed McConnell, but he's still the furthest away from status quo.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
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(06-05-2015, 09:33 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I'm voting for Paul if he's around when it gets to Ohio. He sold out to the establishment some when he backed McConnell, but he's still the furthest away from status quo.
I would say George Pataki is as far from the Right as you can get while still being on the right side of the aisle.
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(06-05-2015, 09:37 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I would say George Pataki is as far from the Right as you can get while still being on the right side of the aisle.
I would agree with that assessment.
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(06-05-2015, 08:45 PM)StLucieBengal Wrote: well it's time for this article ... Bush is announcing... And a Rubio donor (former Romney donor) says he knows no one giving money to rand ....
They cant let a non progressive win.
It's a conspiracy, man. 
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(06-05-2015, 09:33 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I'm voting for Paul if he's around when it gets to Ohio. He sold out to the establishment some when he backed McConnell, but he's still the furthest away from status quo.
You don't just spin around the Titanic....too many people wait and wait and wait for the perfect candidate that never comes. Paul has some truly liberal (as opposed to the socialist "liberals" we're more familiar with) ideals, but he'd have to moderate them a good bit to accomplish anything...and that's a good thing.
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(06-05-2015, 09:24 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I knew from the beginning there was not a chance. Even though I have no doubt that he would cozy up to the establishment as soon as he was elected, there aren't enough people actually willing to buck the trend. Sure, we hear a lot from the "liberty minded Republicans" and the actual libertarian types, but they are a vocal minority. Not enough of them are actually willing to vote away from the status quo
I've been watching it happen around here a lot. I have a friend that is a die hard conservative. We have a pretty sizable tea party group and he was a part, but as soon as he started really questioning the GOP mouthpiece for the area that is Bob Goodlatte, he was shown the door. We saw it with the recent gubernatorial election when all sorts of "liberty minded" conservatives were getting all pissy when they were told the Cooch was anything but for liberty.
Sad, really. The right actually has the opportunity to really do something right now, but there isn't enough chutzpah among them to make it so.
People want to vote for that Libertarian or Constitutionist but are afraid their vote will not mean anything so they vote "Close Enough" for the Republican.
This is the way the two party system works. Dominate the media with lackies who will tote the party line while not giving a third party any airtime. Drown the third party out, turn them into nut jobs who want to destroy the military, entitlements and everything else. Some will be all for a third party candidate but they know that if they vote for who they really want, the guy they hate will end up winning so vote "Close Enough"
That is really sad.
Song of Solomon 2:15
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
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(06-05-2015, 11:42 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: People want to vote for that Libertarian or Constitutionist but are afraid their vote will not mean anything so they vote "Close Enough" for the Republican.
Vote for your candidate in the primaries, then in the general vote for the best of the two, or the least worst (which is usually the case). Not that what you said doesn't apply to the primaries, but a "protest" vote in the general will never accomplish anything. Ross Perot took 19% of the popular vote in '92 - hugely significant, and in the following elections it meant nothing.
And for all the whining and complaining about the two-party system, I see no reason to believe multi-party systems in Europe work any better.
The real problem in the US is not the two-party system or money, it's that you have to be a "politician" to be elected. America doesn't want "politicians", but they're too lazy and stupid to elect anyone else.
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(06-05-2015, 11:55 PM)JustWinBaby Wrote: The real problem in the US is not the two-party system or money, it's that you have to be a "politician" to be elected. America doesn't want "politicians", but they're too lazy and stupid to elect anyone else.
Yes.
People are too stupid to vote for one of two names on a ballot as opposed to one of the many, many other candidates with no money or not a member of one of the two major parties.
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(06-06-2015, 12:31 AM)Benton Wrote: Yes.
People are too stupid to vote for one of two names on a ballot as opposed to one of the many, many other candidates with no money or not a member of one of the two major parties.
Indeed they are. Otherwise they'd vote in the primaries and their champion would be on the general ballot. No?
I mean, even trying to be stupid I can't understand you post.
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(06-06-2015, 06:13 AM)JustWinBaby Wrote: Indeed they are. Otherwise they'd vote in the primaries and their champion would be on the general ballot. No?
Problem is that even the primary field looks like crap. :snark:
All we are ever offered are politicians. We don't see statesmen anymore, our political system beats that out of them if they get further than the state legislature.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
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