Ron Paul Forces His Way Into Top Tier Of Candidates - CBS News

[DamianTV]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_...ay-tie-in-iowa-as-ron-paul-moves-to-top-tier/

The Iowa caucuses are just seven weeks away, but Republican voters in the nation's first presidential nominating state seem as torn as ever over the GOP field.


A new Bloomberg poll of likely caucus participants shows a four-way tie in Iowa, with Rep. Ron Paul joining Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain in the top tier of candidates. Underscoring the uncertainty in the race, 60 percent of respondents said they could be persuaded to back someone other than their first choice for the nomination.


The poll, conducted November 10 - 12 by the West Des Moines-based firm Selzer & Co, shows Cain in the lead with 20 percent, while Paul comes in at 19 percent. Romney wins 18 percent support, and Gingrich earns 17 percent. The margin of error is 4.4 percent.


While Christian conservatives have more influence in Iowa than they do in the rest of the nation, only a quarter of likely caucus-goers say social issues are more important this year than economic issues. As many as 71 percent say they're voting on issues like jobs and taxes.


The focus on economic issues has likely advantaged Paul, who is known for his strong libertarian views. The Texas congressman wins the most support, 32 percent, from likely caucus-goers who say they've made up their minds. Romney wins 25 percent of those who are decided, followed by Gingrich at 17 percent. On top of that, 69 percent of Iowa voters who supported Paul in 2008 are once again supporting him.


Just 41 percent of Romney's support comes from Iowa voters who supported him in the 2008 caucuses. More than half, 58 percent, of likely caucus-goers said support for a health insurance mandate (which Romney passed in Massachusetts as governor and which President Obama passed at the federal level) would "rule out" their support for that candidate.


Cain's standing hasn't dipped dramatically since revelations of sexual harassment charges against him from the 1990's came out. Still, 37 percent of Iowans are waiting for more information before deciding whether they believe Cain's denials.

Are they kidding? Ron Paul is the ONLY Top Tier Candidate!

Eye Candy - 2011 Ron Paul Straw Poll Results Thus Far
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/content.php?1128-Eye-Candy-2011-Ron-Paul-Straw-Poll-Results-Thus-Far

2nd – New Hampshire GOP 2012 Straw Poll – (1/22/11)
1st – DC CPAC Straw Poll – (2/10-12/11)
1st – Online Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
1st – Combined Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
3rd – Onsite Phoenix Arizona Tea Party Straw Poll – (2/27/11)
1st – Republican Liberty Caucus of California Presidential Straw Poll – (3/20/11)
1st – New Orleans Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll – (6/16-18/11)
1st – Clay County Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll – (6/19/11)
2nd – Ames Iowa Straw Poll – (8/13/11)
1st – New Hampshire Young Republicans Straw Poll – (8/20/11)
2nd – Georgia State GOP Straw Poll – (8/27/11)
3rd – Maryland GOP Straw Poll – (9/9/11)
1st – Pre-Debate Cincinnati Tea Party Straw Poll – (9/12/11)
1st – Post-Debate Cincinnati Tea Party Straw Poll – (9/12/11)
1st – California GOP Straw Poll – (9/17/11)
1st – DC Values Voter Straw Poll – (10/7/11-10/9/11)
1st – LA County RPLAC Straw Poll – (10/13/11)
1st – Charleston County Republican Party – (10/18/11)
1st – Ohio GOP Swing State Straw Poll – (10/22/11)
1st – Des Moines Iowa Voters NFRA Presidential Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
1st -Des Moines Non-Iowa Voters NFRA Presidential Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
2nd – West Alabama Straw Poll – (10/29/11)
1st – Illinois GOP Straw Poll – (11/5/11)

They act like the Straw Polls don't matter at all. They DO Matter. They matter BIGTIME, especially in states like Nevada, that recently changed its rules so that the results of the Straw Polls determine what percentage of Delegates those candidates get! The rules will vary from State to State, but Straw Polls are THAT Important!

 

[rp08orbust]

I'm not sure where the wording of the thread title came from, but I think it would be more accurate to say that See BS was forced to recognize Ron Paul as top tier. Ron Paul has just been doing what Ron Paul has been doing for 40 years.

 

[DamianTV]

Yeah, even I had some disagreement with the phrasing of the title, and tried to point that out. There is a Media Blackout on the Media Blackout, which has been Blacked Out by the Media.

 

[Exponent]

Yeah, even I had some disagreement with the phrasing of the title, and tried to point that out. There is a Media Blackout on the Media Blackout, which has been Blacked Out by the Media.

Yeah, it's regrettable that it's like that, but frankly, this was what I was (pragmatically) hoping would happen: The media would 1) be forced to acknowledge Paul's significance and chance to win, and 2) would actually see a way to present it while simultaneously saving face. If they couldn't save face, that'd just make them fight it even harder. So as much as I dislike their despicable behavior, I don't want to try to back them into a corner, because that would probably become a lose-lose situation, and our loss would be much bigger than theirs, I suspect.

So if they want to present Paul's status as a "new and exciting development that will shake up the race", let 'em, I say. But of course we'll still need to be on them when they try to spin it as something like, "Oh, he might become king-maker now, but he won't ever be the nominee."

 

[nobody's_hero]

On top of that, 69 percent of Iowa voters who supported Paul in 2008 are once again supporting him.

The other 31% must have died and are ineligible to vote or something. Once you support Ron Paul, you never go back.

 

[acptulsa]

The other 31% must have died and are ineligible to vote or something. Once you support Ron Paul, you never go back.

Yep. Can't help but notice that every time they mention that Paul is right on top of this poll, they immediately mention that sixty percent say they could easily switch. It's as if they're trying to convince people that Paul supporters will switch. But they had better pay heed, because many, many more will be switching to Paul than from him.

 

[nf7mate]

I find it hard to believe that 31% of those who voted for Ron Paul in 2008 now support another candidate. I would have expected that number to be under 10%.

 

[acptulsa]

I find it hard to believe that 31% of those who voted for Ron Paul in 2008 now support another candidate. I would have expected that number to be under 10%.

They don't say much about how they came to that conclusion, do they? But they do make it sound like it's an incredibly high number for that category.

This is a survey. I can't imagine that much less than a third of the Paul voters they surveyed four long years ago either changed phone numbers, moved out of state, or simply missed the call this time...

 

[Rudeman]

Well I know of 2 people who consider themselves Libertarians and voted for Paul in 08 but are supporting Cain this go around, but they would have no problem going back to Paul if they felt that he could win, the recent Iowa poll is a step in the right direction. Both wanted a Cain/Paul ticket, but it looks like they're both waffling on Cain (not as enthusiastic as they were when Cain was surging) and may end up going back to Paul soon.

I also remember reading an article that had Cain with the 2nd most Libertarian support behind Paul.

So yea there are still Paul supporters out there that we can get back. Also don't forget that there were Cain people thinking about switching to Paul before Cain surged.

 

[AGRP]

Every other candidate is ordained "top tier" with absolutely zero credible evidence, yet Paul "forces" himself there

 

[DamianTV]

The other 31% must have died and are ineligible to vote or something. Once you support Ron Paul, you never go back.

Actually, I think the other 31% are Dogs with Credit Cards, or have already left the country.

 

[osan]

OK, I don't get the thread title. Is this your wording? In either case I find the use of "Forces" to be notable in that it implies RP is somehow up to no-good, that his position is somehow not legitimate. I find this wording to be of a timbre and subtext similar to when the asinine tools such as Hannity pull or reset their own polls when RP takes first place, often referring to the voters as "Ron Paul fanatics", when in fact they have absolutely no idea of the precise identity of the voters. Just another clear indication of just how corrupt things are.

 

[klamath]

I find it hard to believe that 31% of those who voted for Ron Paul in 2008 now support another candidate. I would have expected that number to be under 10%.

The anarchists convinced 30 percent of Paul voters to become anarchists and not vote.