Paul, Hunter Force Leading GOP Candidates to Pay Attention
While Congressmen Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter rank below the other Republican presidential candidates in national polls, they nonetheless hit on key issues for particular blocs and occasionally force the top tier to take notice.
The super-early, front-loaded primary calendar, combined with a mildly enthusiastic Republican base, has enabled these two boutique candidates to energize the field, said Mark Wrighton, politics professor at Millikin University in Illinois.
“We’re really sort of in uncharted territory here and we’re seeing some interesting things occur,” Wrighton said.
One of the unexpected, big moves in the race so far has been the catapult of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, from what was generally considered a darkhorse, second-tier position to frontrunner status in Iowa; he has become the most talked about Republican candidate in the field.
Paul has surprised everyone by attracting what many are saying is the largest grassroots movement since independent Ross Perot in 1992. The limited government, anti-war libertarian raised more than $19 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and he has a legion of avid volunteers knocking door to door and blogging all over the country on his behalf.
While his chances for winning the nomination appear slim, Paul earned 9 percent of the vote in a Des Moines Register survey of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers released Tuesday. An average of national polling puts him at 4.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Hunter may not have the the broad appeal of the current GOP frontrunners, but is certainly generating — and riding — the wave of Republican energy on issues like illegal immigration and border security.
Hunter, a California congressman, has forged his campaign on Republican anger at what he perceives is federal immobility on curbing illegal immigration, incentives that attract undocumented workers and their families here and so-called “sanctuary cities” that do not penalize or pursue illegal immigrants within their jurisdictions.
Hunter, who was chairman of the Armed Services Committee before Democrats took over the majority in the House of Representatives in 2007, is known primarily for successfully pushing through legislation for erecting a security fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. He’s been tough on the outsourcing of American business to foreigners and has been steadfast in this support of the war policy in Iraq.
But his star has been dimmed by the brighter, though in some ways, less purely conservative lights of the so-called “top tier.”
“I’ve known Duncan Hunter since 1980,” said John Gizzi, political editor of Human Events. “He’s one of the most decent people I know. He places ethics above everything else. He’s honorable to a fault.”
But with Hunter polling around 1 percent, Gizzi said the candidate might be looking toward other things.
“If there is a Republican president, (Hunter) would make an outstanding secretary of defense.”
Paul has not been so overshadowed. The 10-term congressman from Texas who was the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate in 1988, has never enjoyed so much national notoriety and support as he does now, mostly because he is the only Republican candidate who has articulated opposition to the war, independence from the GOP machine and a strict constructionist view of the Constitution.
“He’s surprising a lot of people with the buzz he’s getting,” said Sean Evans, a professor of politics at Union University in Tennessee. “There’s a strong libertarian streak in the Republican Party and he’s speaking to that. He’s speaking to a certain demographic that no one has been able to.”
During the GOP debates Paul, 72, offered push-back against the other candidates, particularly on Iraq. Rudy Giuliani, the frontrunner in national polls, was able to make headlines off Paul when he scolded him for suggesting that it was U.S. policy that led to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. But Paul didn’t back down and therein lies his appeal, said conservative political consultant Chuck Muth, also head of Citizen Outreach.
“He’s never worried about the Republican establishment, that’s for sure,” he said. “He means what he says. I think his personality has attracted so many people who may hadn’t heard of Ron Paul before this presidential campaign.”
I would like to add to my previous post, Electronic Voting Machines Control the Votes, Not the People.
Let’s say the voting machine prints out a paper trail to safeguard against tampering. OK let’s examine this scenario.
Keep in mind that software controls the machine. The software program dictates what text is flashed on the screen. The software program keeps a running count for each candidate (and the count is stored in memory as the voting machine is being used). The software program determines what is printed out for a paper trail. (Viruses are software programs too by the way)
So, let’s say a voter sees Ron Paul’s name flashing on the touch screen and he selects him. The software program could be giving the vote to Huckabee’s total count, yet still print out Ron Paul’s name for the paper trail. (I’m just assuming a candidate’s name is printed out for the paper trail). The voter looks at the paper receipt and walks away satisfied that his vote was secure for Ron Paul, when it wasn’t!
Will the voting officials allow all voters the opportunity to look at their paper receipt to verify their vote? Will the voting officials hand count all paper receipts to verify that they match the voting machine’s total counts? I doubt it.
Just Google about hacking E-Voting Machines. It’s interesting that electronic voting machines were forced onto the public mainly because of the Bush vs. Gore election fiasco. Hmmmm. If it wasn’t for that world wide spectacle, I doubt that we would have computerized voting machines installed all over the country. Hmmmm. How convenient.
It all adds up to this simple equation:
Control of Media + Control of Voting Machines + Control of Currency = NO FREEDOM
Again, I have to mention, I am a computer programmer.
RudyMcRomney = Join with Mexico and never ending war.
Like Ron Paul says you can’t fight a war against a tatic- It’s like declaring a war of criminal Gansta ism!
Wake up! No icome Tax = No ressesion!
No war = lower gas prices and peace and respect!
NO NORTH AMERICAN UNION!
If you vote for Rudy your the most brainwashed sheep that ever existed on the face of the Earth!
RON PAUL CAN SAVE US ALL!!!!
Fox, even your ‘You Decide 2008′ logo is so ironic and misleading. Think of something more honest, like ‘Fox Decides 2008′, ‘CFR Decides 2008′ or ‘Bribery Decides 2008′, if you want to be straight-forward. But I doubt you’d want to.
Ron Paul IS a top tier candidate. If you were actually reporting on the race, and not your own misperceptions, you would have seen this a long time ago. Ron Paul is raising more money than any of the Republicans. He has more volunteers than all of the other candidates put together. He has won more Republican Party straw polls around the nation than any other candidate. Just check your own email, text message polls, and Internet comments — does anyone else even come close?
Boutique candidates? For crying out loud! Fox News is a boutique network, for neoconservative warmongers who don’t bother to investigate the truth, and now you’re actively silencing one of the top five candidates by excluding Ron Paul from a forum with other candidates who have far fewer actual supporters, less money coming in, and in the case of Giuliani and Thompson, are actually polling beneath him in the Iowa and New Hampshire (respectively.)!!!!!!
I am a 36 year old combat vet who has registered republican just to be able to vote for Dr Paul in the caucuses. By censoring the forum, Fox News has only solidified my stance and brought unwanted (by Fox News) attention to a campaign they feel isn’t worthy of their attention. This will only help the good Dr’s message about ‘conspiracies’. There you go…it’s right there in your face. Now the question is, how long will Fox News last now that they have been exposed? They sealed their own fate, and I have no pity for them at all. Now all we have to do is make sure that the same people that are pulling the strings for Fox, aren’t going to be pulling any election fraud strings when we get to the polls. Each one of us is responsible to make sure your votes really counts…don’t use the hackable computers that have already been recalled in several states. Insist upon using a method that has a verifiable paper trail, and make sure the votes are NOT counted behind closed doors! It’s the ONLY fair, verifiable way to assure no election fraud. It may cost a few bucks, but if we can spends billions per month to ‘defend against foreign enemies’ in Iraq, then we can spend a few million here to ‘defend against domestic enemies’. Anyone threatened by this method has something to hide, and should be executed as a traitor. God bless Ron Paul…he has my All-American Vote!
If you’re going to invite Fred Thompson to this debate it’s rather hypocritical to exclude Ron Paul, who is polling better than Thompson in the state of New Hampshire.
I think the number of articles here in favor of Ron Paul speaks for itself. Putting him in the same class as Hunter is ridiculous. Fox News… It’s time to recognize Dr. Paul as a contender. He’s got my vote in Massachusetts.
Those that control the aiwaves control the ballgame. Though the airwaves are a public trust, they have been abused by those holding the airwaves in trust , violating the most central values of a free press, the First Amendment, and truly democratic debate.
And since when did being conservative mean that you live in a mansion, smoke 30 dollar cigars, and drive a vehicle that get gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon ? We real conservatives will be voting for Congressman Paul. Along with a bunch of my Democratic friends who feel abandoned by their party too.
Join us & let’s take back this country. I see no real difference between the two parties, anymore.
Every presidential candidate deserves to be heard. It’s funny how history does tend to repeat itself. The difficulty of Rep. Paul to get a fair share of the spotlight in this campaign reminds me of the hardships & injustices that Ralph Nader endured from the Democrats in 2000. Like Nader, Rep. Paul is gathering a loyal group of supporters from Republicans, Democrats, Independents, etc., etc., and I don’t see how the news media, especially FOX, doesn’t pick up on this. Actually, the Radio media hosts have, but have decided to ridicule the Ron Paul supporters instead, insisting that they have been “drinking the Kool-Aid.” I’m starting to believe that both major parties, and the various media outlets would rather maintain the status quo of current American politics. It’s truly a sad state of affairs, and I hope that FOX would reconsider their decision and include Rep. Paul in the debates.
Thanks Fox News for excluding Ron Paul. He’s too leftie even for the Democrats.
VOTE RUDY!!!!!!