Ron Paul hints at Indie Run!

[IDefendThePlatform]

plan 2 ,we dont need ron pauls permission to put him on the ballot so if the gop ignores ron paul .the most pratical thing to do is vote for RON PAUL 2008,or write him in or have another party endorse him,there are many options.
One option i dont have is voting for mccain,it will not happen

Actually, I think we do need a statement of intent from the candidate himself, in addition to the required number of signatures, to get him on the ballot in most states. That's why I think we need to convince him to either declare an indy run ASAP, or accept the Constitution Party and Libertarian Party nominations.

And I agree 100% about not voting for McCain.

 

[Physics]

I think Dr. Paul is trying to tell us that it isn't about this presidential run. It isn't about becoming president, it's about us. This is about waking up America! This is about taking over the party from the inside!

Listen carefully to why he says we need delagates, it's to shape the future party. We have already seen a few of us running for office around the country. Don't you see, Ron Paul's mission is 100% accomplished, he has energized a rEVOLution of freedom. He has motivated a generation of freedom fighters, and it doesn't matter if Ron Paul wins in 2008. It doesn't matter unless we make it not matter. In 30 years, we could possibly be looking back at the time when America was just beginning to realize that the founding fathers weren't wrong after all, and my friends, WE are the ones who must teach our children, friends, family and everyone we meet about the message of freedom, of which Ron Paul spoke so well. We are the rEVOLution, not Ron Paul. You are looking for a leader, so produce one. This is a battle which we cannot lose.

 

[Carole]

Forbes is a neocon and is backing McInSane I believe.

 

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

I think Dr. Paul is trying to tell us that it isn't about this presidential run. It isn't about becoming president, it's about us. This is about waking up America! This is about taking over the party from the inside!

Listen carefully to why he says we need delagates, it's to shape the future party. We have already seen a few of us running for office around the country. Don't you see, Ron Paul's mission is 100% accomplished, he has energized a rEVOLution of freedom. He has motivated a generation of freedom fighters, and it doesn't matter if Ron Paul wins in 2008. It doesn't matter unless we make it not matter. In 30 years, we could possibly be looking back at the time when America was just beginning to realize that the founding fathers weren't wrong after all, and my friends, WE are the ones who must teach our children, friends, family and everyone we meet about the message of freedom, of which Ron Paul spoke so well. We are the rEVOLution, not Ron Paul. You are looking for a leader, so produce one. This is a battle which we cannot lose.

Seems as ridiculous as the notion the other hundreds of neo-con delegates would turn tail and support Ron Paul. Why would they let our 50-100 delegates influence anything? They would just laugh, blow down any resolutions submitted, and go full steam ahead with the status quo. Which truly does represent the will of the GOP base far more than we could've guessed before this campaign began. Face it, a strong section of the GOP, likely even the majority, remains complicit and supportive of both the war and attacks on the Constitution.

 

[IDefendThePlatform]

I think Dr. Paul is trying to tell us that it isn't about this presidential run. It isn't about becoming president, it's about us. This is about waking up America! This is about taking over the party from the inside!

Listen carefully to why he says we need delagates, it's to shape the future party. We have already seen a few of us running for office around the country. Don't you see, Ron Paul's mission is 100% accomplished, he has energized a rEVOLution of freedom. He has motivated a generation of freedom fighters, and it doesn't matter if Ron Paul wins in 2008. It doesn't matter unless we make it not matter. In 30 years, we could possibly be looking back at the time when America was just beginning to realize that the founding fathers weren't wrong after all, and my friends, WE are the ones who must teach our children, friends, family and everyone we meet about the message of freedom, of which Ron Paul spoke so well. We are the rEVOLution, not Ron Paul. You are looking for a leader, so produce one. This is a battle which we cannot lose.

I agree that the revolution is larger than just the presidency. But the best way to continue to grow the revolution, is to continue to run for president as an independent. That is how this got going in the first place and is how it could get even bigger over the next 8 months if Dr. P so chooses.

Look at how much forum readership, not to mention meetup groups, facebook, canvassing, etc... have all dropped off in the last month. An Indy run would completely turn that around, and the energy would spillover into other pro-freedom candidacies. Its win-win.

 

[amy31416]

I do a little of both.

I point fingers because I guess I'm hoping he snaps out of it and becomes a true leader of this Movement. I am clearly doing something about it in the fact that I'm developing a massive grassroots information tool, and donating to every one of these candidates I can find.

Believe me, I do feel the same frustration that you do. The man is 72 years old and I can't claim to know exactly what his notions are with this movement, but I do trust him--and I believe that he's doing the best he can.

That being said, we have very, very high expectations of him--ones that he may not be able to live up to. So, once again...the ball is in our court.

And thank you for helping in the development of that tool. Fantastic stuff.

 

[Knightskye]

"It's not practical. Republicans deserve someone conservative to vote for."

Sorry, I don't see how that's hinting at an Independent run.

Calling Obama a fraud = awesome.

 

[kigol]

 

[Captain America]

I don't understand why you morons keep insisting there's going to be a 3rd party run and grasping at straws to say he's hinting at it. How many times does Ron Paul have to say "it's impractical", "i have no intention", "there will be no 3rd party run", ......... until you accept the fact....... there will be no 3rd party run?

F Yourself cause thats all the good you can possibly do.

Let us all vote for the lesser of evil, we have to push him to run. Go ahead throw your vote away and vote for any of the globalists. Damn this pisses me off. No Ill will but damn, you must not want to change a thing. What other option do we have.

 

[rockandrollsouls]

See, what I don't understand here is the people that condemn an indy run claim they will vote for him anyway, so what's it matter to them? The purpose of an indy run is to physically have him on the ballot so other people can vote for him instead of having to write him in...dumbies.

 

[nodope0695]

Don't hold your breath, bud.

 

[rockandrollsouls]

And what's the harm in getting him on the ballot? Unless you're deliberately trying to keep other people from voting for him...makes no sense to me.

 

[acptulsa]

I agree that I can see little sense of self-preservation in the Republican party .

The rank and file of the party is waking up. They aren't quite the same as the neocon RNC, though they certainly are team players. Ron Paul is playing this the way he has to. He is leading the burrowing from within, and he's downplaying the fact that he has attacked from without (don't forget that he's a life member of the Libertarian Party and was the Libertarian candidate when I first voted for him for president). He knows that the G.O.P. candidate gets a lot more publicity than the Libertarian Party candidate--and so do you and I. If we can get him that nomination, he can no longer be ignored.

If Dr. Paul seems lukewarm, consider that some of us have gotten a little carried away with enthusiasm. He doesn't want us selling our homes for him or getting so caught up that when the neocons black us out we swing into massive despair. He cannot in good conscience promise us a rose garden. I think we can all see by now that's a responsible position.

Dr. Paul doesn't seem to have given up on us hijacking the convention. I think those ballot access petitions would be useful leverage for him to use to move the G.O.P. If they turn out to be the only way to put him on the ballot where I can vote for him in the fall in my no-write-ins state, that suits me. I've "thrown my vote away" on third parties many a time hoping to create enough percentage points to convince people to join us. We may be on the verge of creating such a critical mass--but we have a better chance of swearing him in if we can push McCain aside.

But if we're going to do that, it is critical that Dr. Paul not scare the rank and file Republicans away. We're rocking the boat hard. He must reassure them that he can be a stabilizing influence to get them to join us. Having the young tell the old, "You must join us or you will be the ones splitting our vote is not the sort of thing designed to make people of a certain age happy. Nonetheless, we have the truly conservative candidate and that's our pitch.

We have to step up to the plate. Dr. Paul must play this quietly and carefully, and we must step up, or this game won't work. We don't have the numbers or the positions of power to hijack the party. We must win the rank and file over. We have youth, we offer enthusiasm and hope for American conservatism to have a future, and the neocons can at this point only offer failure and embarassment. Dr. Paul saw how the party came back after Nixon, and he knows what his role needs to be. He must offer conservatism, stability and us. And we must let him.

This is why he can't spout revolution. This is why he can't even bring up the subject of an independent run himself, and must allow himself nothing more than "wiggle room". This is why we must step up, have faith, and attack the flank ourselves. He must reassure the rank and file, and we must both threaten and inspire the rank and file. Can we do this?

I really see no other remotely viable option that will get us a president with libertarian ideals in January.

 

[acptulsa]

Bump for the morning crowd.

 

[mketcher]

Is there a way Paul could run Indy/3rd and still keep his seat?

Anyway, I wish Steve Forbes would speak with him about a potential Indy run.

They agree (as far as I know) on a LOT of issues.

And with Forbes onboard; money wouldn't be an issue.

Plus, Forbes' name recognition would enhance Ron Paul's image in the eyes of the sheeple bigtime.

I don't see any reason why Paul could not run as a 3rd Party and still run for his congressional seat as a Republican. From what I've seen, the law in TX is clear: You can run for two offices at once. LBJ had that law passed years ago, so that he could do so. Of course, he was running within the same party. Until I see a law or party rule that would prevent Ron Paul from running for two offices at once, I'll continue to assume that he can do so. Some people have made unsubtantiated assertions that he can't do so, but I've seen nothing substantiated.

 

[acptulsa]

I don't see any reason why Paul could not run as a 3rd Party and still run for his congressional seat as a Republican. From what I've seen, the law in TX is clear: You can run for two offices at once. LBJ had that law passed years ago, so that he could do so. Of course, he was running within the same party. Until I see a law or party rule that would prevent Ron Paul from running for two offices at once, I'll continue to assume that he can do so. Some people have made unsubtantiated assertions that he can't do so, but I've seen nothing substantiated.

Has more to do with pissing off the G.O.P. rank and file than anything else.

 

[mketcher]

plan 2 ,we dont need ron pauls permission to put him on the ballot so if the gop ignores ron paul .the most pratical thing to do is vote for RON PAUL 2008,or write him in or have another party endorse him,there are many options.
One option i dont have is voting for mccain,it will not happen

That's why he would have to run 3rd Party -- most likely LP -- with the LP having a placeholder candidate until after the Rep. convention, who would then give way to Ron Paul. See my post above where I expand on that strategy.

 

[mketcher]

I think Dr. Paul is trying to tell us that it isn't about this presidential run. It isn't about becoming president, it's about us. This is about waking up America! This is about taking over the party from the inside!

Listen carefully to why he says we need delagates, it's to shape the future party. We have already seen a few of us running for office around the country. Don't you see, Ron Paul's mission is 100% accomplished, he has energized a rEVOLution of freedom. He has motivated a generation of freedom fighters, and it doesn't matter if Ron Paul wins in 2008. It doesn't matter unless we make it not matter. In 30 years, we could possibly be looking back at the time when America was just beginning to realize that the founding fathers weren't wrong after all, and my friends, WE are the ones who must teach our children, friends, family and everyone we meet about the message of freedom, of which Ron Paul spoke so well. We are the rEVOLution, not Ron Paul. You are looking for a
leader, so produce one. This is a battle which we cannot lose.

I think that's part of his strategy. He has a long-term strategy and a short-term strategy. The long-term strategy involves taking over the party. The short-term strategy may involve a 3rd Party run.

Dr. Paul dances around the issue -- not as a normal politican dances around issues, but because he doesn't want to reveal his entire hand to his opponents. He wants to keep them off-balance and guessing. Unfortunately, in order to do that, he also has to keep his supporters off-balance and guessing. So, he drops hints occasionally. It may also be that Ron Paul is considering several options, depending on how things play out over the next few months.

A third-party run in 2008 would not preclude working within the Republican Party. You attack your enemy on several different fronts. A third party run would push the Republican Party towards a more constitutionalist approach. This is the strategy Norman Thomas used as a socialist, in the earlier part of the 20th Century. He ran year-after-year -- from 1928-1948 -- as a socialist. He lost every year, of course, with a paltry percentage of the vote. At the same time, socialists were working within the Democratic Party, so that most of Thomas' platform was eventually adopted by the Democrats.

Ron Paul could do the same thing, using his allies within the Republican Party to push the party towards a more constitutionalist line, and using a Third Party run to force the Republicans to adopt a a more constitutionalist platform. Forcing your enemy to fight on two fronts is a good strategy -- and even if Ron Paul keeps hinting at a 3rd Party run, he scares the neocon wing of the Republican Party, because they know that in a close election, the LP could swing the vote ... and this could be a very close election.

 

[mketcher]

Actually, I think we do need a statement of intent from the candidate himself, in addition to the required number of signatures, to get him on the ballot in most states. That's why I think we need to convince him to either declare an indy run ASAP, or accept the Constitution Party and Libertarian Party nominations.

And I agree 100% about not voting for McCain.

It may not be wise of him to announce that he wants a 3rd Party nomination this soon. That will give the enemy time to counterattack. Keep them off-balance. See my previous posts about how he could go Third Party even after the Republican convention. I realize that many of his supporters want to see him make an announcement, but now may not be the most opportune time to do that. It's better just to continue working, getting delegates, spreading the word, etc. Remember, the general doesn't always tell the troops what the strategy for victory will be.

 

[mketcher]

And what's the harm in getting him on the ballot? Unless you're deliberately trying to keep other people from voting for him...makes no sense to me.

Well, it does cost a lot of money and time and man-power to get on the ballot in most of the states. That could very well be put to better use, especially if he decides to run as an LP candidate.