Ron Paul tied for 2nd in WI according to Marquette University Poll

[bizz]

Statistically, Romney and Paul are tied for 2nd place.

Marquette University
2/16 - 2/19
424 RV
Santorum 34%
Romney 18%
Paul 17%
Gingrich 12%

https://law.marquette.edu/poll/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/MLSPFebToplines.pdf

I wonder if this is the same poll that was being talked about on the radio this morning on my way to work. All they mentioned was Santorum over Mitt by double digits. Of course they didn't say a word about RP, big surprise huh? It seems to be par for the couse in the Milwaukee market. The MKE Neocon radio army of Skyes and Belling refuse to even acknowledge Ron is stil in the race.

 

[tbone717]

It also has a lot to do with what FOX News says.

They praise Santorum all day long.

I have a feeling Santorum is going down soon...and hard.

The tendency on here is to blame others for Paul's losses. It's the Fox News's fault, it's the voters fault, it's talk radio's fault, etc, etc. The fact of the matter is that Paul has not won a single primary or caucus. Voters are not attracted to a candidate that has not won. I know many of my neighbors who would vote for Paul in the PA primaries are less likely to do so now because he has not yet demonstrated his ability to compete and win.

Blame needs to be placed rightfully on the candidate and the campaign for failing so far to come up with a strategy that captures the attention of the average GOP voter despite any obstacles that they may have before them. I am still hopeful that they have learned from their past failures and will be able to make the changes needed to win contests. The grassroots certainly plays a part in this, but ultimately the success or failure of this campaign rests on the shoulders of Ron Paul and his staff.

 

[Dublin4Paul]

Man, the Santorum surge really scares me. Perry's surge was obviously going nowhere when it started. He reminded people of bush far too much and sucked at debates. The Cain train was a similar phenomenon, he had no organization anywhere, and all signs pointed to him being a joke candidate from the beginning. Newt's surge was destined to fail due to his baggage and the fact that his favorability ranking in polls show that the country as a whole pretty much hates him.

But this surge of Santorum, gives me reason to be more concerned. People saying 'easy come, easy go' at this point I'm afraid are being a little naive. The guy won three states in a row out of nowhere, and is poised to do very well in the upcoming contests. His fundraising is going strong and he appeals to the social "conservatives" and neo-cons like no one else. If he wins MI, he might very well become the new ''inevitable" anointed one who we "must all unify around" as a party. I ain't saying it's hopeless though. We have some states coming up that are promising, and our delegate game is apparently going strong, so here's to hoping for a major flop by The Froth during tonight's debate, which is certainly possible.

 

[Keith and stuff]

I wonder if this is the same poll that was being talked about on the radio this morning on my way to work. All they mentioned was Santorum over Mitt by double digits. Of course they didn't say a word about RP, big surprise huh? It seems to be par for the couse in the Milwaukee market. The MKE Neocon radio army of Skyes and Belling refuse to even acknowledge Ron is stil in the race.

It should be the same poll.

Sadly, Free Talk Live is only on WI radio stations on Saturday nights.

WCLO 1230 AM Janesville WI Sat 6-9p
WXXM 92.1 FM Madison WI Sat 6-9p
WXXM (WKKV) 100.7 HD3 FM Milwaukee / Racine WI Sat 6-9p

 

[kathy88]

The tendency on here is to blame others for Paul's losses. It's the Fox News's fault, it's the voters fault, it's talk radio's fault, etc, etc. The fact of the matter is that Paul has not won a single primary or caucus. Voters are not attracted to a candidate that has not won. I know many of my neighbors who would vote for Paul in the PA primaries are less likely to do so now because he has not yet demonstrated his ability to compete and win.

Blame needs to be placed rightfully on the candidate and the campaign for failing so far to come up with a strategy that captures the attention of the average GOP voter despite any obstacles that they may have before them. I am still hopeful that they have learned from their past failures and will be able to make the changes needed to win contests. The grassroots certainly plays a part in this, but ultimately the success or failure of this campaign rests on the shoulders of Ron Paul and his staff.

So, if Ron received equal time on the MSM you think his numbers would be the same? I don't. Blame isn't productive, but a media blackout would kill any campaign.

 

[alucard13mmfmj]

I think we should stop calling people "social conservatives" it hurts the image of conservatives everywhere.

A more applicable name is "bedroom-statists" - as opposed to "marketplace-statists" - there is NOTHING conservative about these folks.

They, are statists plain-and-simple, they see no ill that government coercion cannot cure.

Bedroom statist really, really, really makes the GOP look bad for independents/moderates/democrats who would otherwise switch over to vote in open states and in general election.

Bedroom statist should make their own party imo... Being socially conservative is a factor, but we shouldn't make it the defining factor of the GOP. Should concetrate MUCH MUCH MUCH more on fiscal conservatism.

 

[ohgodno]

Bedroom statist really, really, really makes the GOP look bad for independents/moderates/democrats who would otherwise switch over to vote in open states and in general election.

Bedroom statist should make their own party imo... Being socially conservative is a factor, but we shouldn't make it the defining factor of the GOP. Should concetrate MUCH MUCH MUCH more on fiscal conservatism.

Bedroom statism has no place in the republican party - or ANY party IMO - the party that SAYS they stand for small government somehow fights for big government to make sure we don't do "terrible bad bad things that will certainly ruin society."

 

[bizz]

It should be the same poll.

Sadly, Free Talk Live is only on WI radio stations on Saturday nights.

It's on 24-7 on my Iphone. I never even knew real Libertarian talke radio even existed until I got that thing. Talk about an eye opening experience. I thought only the faux libertarians had their own radio shows. Glenn Beck etc

I am really surpised that Santorum is surging like that in Wisconsin. I had always been under the impression that the whole Social Conservative thing was a turn off to people in this state. My gut feeling is that he'll begin to drop in the polls before Primary day here. The sheep will flock back to Mitt but Ron has a real chance at doing well. WI is an open primary so I don't think 2nd is out of the question.

 

[Highstreet]

I think we should stop calling people "social conservatives" it hurts the image of conservatives everywhere.

A more applicable name is "bedroom-statists" - as opposed to "marketplace-statists" - there is NOTHING conservative about these folks.

They, are statists plain-and-simple, they see no ill that government coercion cannot cure.

Yes. Statists or Big Govt Repubs.

 

[tbone717]

So, if Ron received equal time on the MSM you think his numbers would be the same? I don't. Blame isn't productive, but a media blackout would kill any campaign.

Actually, I do not think his numbers would be the same either, because he has not campaigned in a way that excites the average GOP voter. Up to this point, while Paul's policy positions are dead on, his salesmanship of himself and his positions have been poor. You can have the finest product in the world, but if you cannot sell the product in the marketplace you will fail. The same goes for politics and the marketing of ideas and policies.

The fact of the matter is that we knew long ago that Paul would not get a fair shake in the media. So, the campaign should have found ways to overcome that obstacle and to pull out a couple of wins. If and when Paul wins, he will get covered and if it seems like he has a realistic shot at the nomination they will attack him harder than you can possibly imagine. But the candidate and the campaign need to overcome that and deliver the message to the average GOP primary voter.

 

[Liberty74]

I just don't get the Santorum love.

The only thing we can hope for his this satan comment by Sick Santorum gets some legs. Yeah, some will rally behind him, but like Cain, Perry and Newt, give it 2-3 weeks before people bail. It's really the only thing we have going unless Ron pulls something big tonight during the debate or Santorum fumbles.

 

[Ranger29860]

The bandwagon effect... Plus, don't ya know -- socially conservative neocons have been picking Republican nominees for how long now?....

Too long!

 

[badger4RP]

Establishment runs deep in wisconsin. Just ur run of the mill corporatists. But theres room to grow. Weve got considerable delegate prospects.

 

[rpwi]

Hopefully Ron comes to Wisconsin, even though it is winner-take-all (well a lot of states are after march). With Texas being moved back and their being a big gap after the WI election, WI could be a state in focus.

Ron will probably need all the other candidates to remain in the election and for them to cancel each other out. Demographics are favorable...like MN and Iowa we've sent most of our seniors to Florida and Arizona . The anti-bailout message would be effective (Johnson bumped Senator Feingold with it).

What are you guys thinking would be the best campaign stops?

Don't know about Milwaukee... You have high-brow neo-cons in the west burbs, entitlement democrats in the city and a young progressive sliver by the lake. Yeah, its a big metro area, but I'm not sure Ron can get a lot of energy from rallying here. Maybe if he rallied at university of Milwaukee he could get a nice crowd and good energy.

Fox river valley probably has the most voting republicans...campaigning in Appleton would probably reach the media markets in Green Bay to Fond du Lac. No major university system in the area though and the republicans here will tend to be low-bow neo-cons...prime Santorum territory.

I think the Madison area would be the best. Paul could speak at the university or at the capitol (like Obama and Kerry did to MEGA-crowds). Great energy and there is a strong independent and libertarian-left streak in Madison. High percentage of Madisonions have college degrees (bodes well for Paul) and with an open primary the largely democratic learning population would be attracted to anti-war, anti-drug and anti-Santorum messages. He will probably drum up the biggest crowd if he stops by Madison and he should get excellent media coverage from state-wide papers/tv stations and radio stations.

I think the up-north demographics aren't bad...(probably much better than the Fox River Valley)...but the population density will make it tough to justify campaigning outside of our big three population centers. Wausau, Eau Claire, La Crosse and Superior will have the most local TV stations. Ron could be a big fish in a smaller pond... Janesville is decent...but it falls too much under the Madison media umbrella so it would probably be more efficient to rally in Madison.

Hopefully Ron takes advantage of the local popular Wisconsin Public Radio morning call-in/guest show to get his message out (I know my Mom listens to that and she is leaning Romney).

 

[misterx]

The bandwagon effect... Plus, don't ya know -- socially conservative neocons have been picking Republican nominees for how long now?....

I'm really sick of this misnomer. People like Santorum are not social conservatives. They are compassionate conservatives, which just means a liberal who is religious.

 

[thehungarian]

Any idea if Ron Paul will campaign in Milwaukee & if yes, when?

Really hope so. That'll most likely be my only chance to ever see the good Dr. live and in person.