I think 3rd party is the worst idea possible. Unless he had a much larger following and his goal was to cause the Republicans to lose. I think they will lose just fine on their own. Plus people are forgetting that he is still running for re-election in the congressional race AS A REPUBLICAN.
This is my opinion- the only way a third party run would be viable is if the republican party was in unrepairable shambles and a 3rd party could emerge as the new 2nd major party. We aren't there yet. It would be easier at this point for us to try to take back the Republican party from the bottom up. It's not over until Ron Paul wins the nomination, someone else wins the nomination, or he backs out of the race. Until then, keep your head high and keep fighting. The next step is to start campaigning for people in your local elections. If we all start now, we'll have a good head start on the rest and will have a better chance of getting Ron Paul Republicans elected.
Also, we need to look on the bright side. If the economy falls apart on the Democrats' watch, they'll get blamed for the mess. If the Republicans win the election, same thing will happen and then we'll be that much closer to viability for a 3rd party. I would hate for Ron Paul to overcome all of these odds and win and then get blamed for an economy or any other problems that aren't his doing and then the whole movement loses credibility. We all know that, regardless of who is really to blame, the party that controls the White House is held accountable for whatever happens, good or bad.
