Funny, it seems to me he sort of ducked the question. He’s said in the past that he would not, but last night it sounded more like he wanted to sound like he was saying no without actually committing himself.
I can see where he left the door open. I’d like to think that he’s going to stick with the party on principle (i.e., passionately committed to reforming the platform and restoring things to their right order). Besides, if people think he’s going to go independent then he’ll surely lose steam in the primaries (and for some reason I think Americans are “ready” for Ron Paul like others think we’re ready for a woman president). Then again, the rest of the candidates seem so out-of-touch with principles of liberty and classical liberalism that the YouTube questioner is probably right.
But I’d still vote for him if he ran Independent, Libertarian, Constitution Party, etc. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I’m committed to voting my conscience versus “picking the lesser of two evils” or voting for a “viable candidate.”
I thought he did a good job of ducking the question. It was Anderson Cooper who said he would take Ron Paul’s answer as a No. Looking at the field there is only one person who could get my vote, and that is RP. I plan on writing him in even if he does not run. I am not sure who scares me the most Huckabee or Giuliani. I am shocked how much of a Progressive Republican Huckabee is!
@gid: Me too … and at the risk of offending a slew of evangelical voters [and this blog is geared toward that audience], I think that Mike Huckabee is just a pro-life liberal (which is fine if your politics are left leaning … but don’t just vote for the guy because he’s a Christian!). I also confess that I also don’t know a thing about RP’s religious affiliation.
As an aside, I came across a Michael Savage book on a discount table last week and was flipping through it. One reason I didn’t buy it was because it was several years old. For example, one of the statements he made was that the 2002 2000 presidential election (edit: the book was written in 2002) had stopped the steady march toward Socialism in its tracks. Hah! Yeah, right … didn’t even slow it down (sped it up in some ways).
The important thing in RP’s response was that he has “no intention” of running as an independent. I believe that’s entirely true. What he did not say was that he would refuse the nomination from a 3rd party should he receive it. Seeing as 90+% of the Libertarians will probably insist on making him their nominee if he loses as a Republican, that’s a MAJOR loophole he’s left open for himself. Up until last night, I had not believed that he would run as an independent. After last night, I see it as at least somewhat likely, if not highly likely.
Here is the official Ron Paul Statement of Faith. Yeah, in 2004 I voted for GW, but my wife and I were very unhappy about is lack of physical responsibility. Now it is 2007 and government expenditures have increased by %29 since 01. When are we going to wake up?
@mason: I wonder if RP would get more votes as a 3rd party candidate than Ross Perot received? Lincoln was a 3rd party guy, but that was a different time in our history when more of the voters actually thought for themselves. Then again, teh Internets may just be the equalizer it takes to break the two party/media stranglehold on American politics.
@gid: Thanks for the link. It’s a good statement, but I like that he’s not using it as a campaign tool. Just as RP finds “the pandering that typically occurs in the election season [...] to be distasteful,” its also pretty close to how I feel about non-religious businesses (think used cars, HVAC installers, etc.) that overtly advertise that they’re run by Christians (i.e., rather than let the integrity of how they do business speak for itself).
This is a little off topic, but I remember one guy in particular (highly recommended by some church friends) who came over to give us an estimate on replacing our air conditioner. I never called him back after he recommended some security upgrades to my basement in order to keep the “spooks and gooks” out. I just wish I had been able to think quicker on my feet and respond with a question of how that related to the Gospel.
BTW, I figured you meant fiscal, but I’m not so sure you weren’t right to use both words!
Ron Paul simply said during the debate that he is doing so well that he has no need to run as an independent, since he believes he can win the nomination. I think it’s possible to construe his remarks as not ruling out a run as an independent. Even if he said outright that he would never run as an independent, his remarks are not legally binding. I think he did very well to run for the Republican primary, as it has given him national exposure through the televised debates. If he does run as an independent, one can consider the primary race as the booster stage in a rocket launch. How nice! Brilliant strategy!
[...] Paul-The man is going to be a third-party candidate. Unless he’s not. Unless he is. Who the hell knows, anymore? Either way, he’s not leaving any time soon. Published [...]
Funny, it seems to me he sort of ducked the question. He’s said in the past that he would not, but last night it sounded more like he wanted to sound like he was saying no without actually committing himself.
I can see where he left the door open. I’d like to think that he’s going to stick with the party on principle (i.e., passionately committed to reforming the platform and restoring things to their right order). Besides, if people think he’s going to go independent then he’ll surely lose steam in the primaries (and for some reason I think Americans are “ready” for Ron Paul like others think we’re ready for a woman president).
Then again, the rest of the candidates seem so out-of-touch with principles of liberty and classical liberalism that the YouTube questioner is probably right. 
But I’d still vote for him if he ran Independent, Libertarian, Constitution Party, etc. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I’m committed to voting my conscience versus “picking the lesser of two evils” or voting for a “viable candidate.”
I thought he did a good job of ducking the question. It was Anderson Cooper who said he would take Ron Paul’s answer as a No. Looking at the field there is only one person who could get my vote, and that is RP. I plan on writing him in even if he does not run. I am not sure who scares me the most Huckabee or Giuliani. I am shocked how much of a Progressive Republican Huckabee is!
@gid: Me too … and at the risk of offending a slew of evangelical voters [and this blog is geared toward that audience], I think that Mike Huckabee is just a pro-life liberal (which is fine if your politics are left leaning … but don’t just vote for the guy because he’s a Christian!). I also confess that I also don’t know a thing about RP’s religious affiliation.
As an aside, I came across a Michael Savage book on a discount table last week and was flipping through it. One reason I didn’t buy it was because it was several years old. For example, one of the statements he made was that the
20022000 presidential election (edit: the book was written in 2002) had stopped the steady march toward Socialism in its tracks. Hah! Yeah, right … didn’t even slow it down (sped it up in some ways).The important thing in RP’s response was that he has “no intention” of running as an independent. I believe that’s entirely true. What he did not say was that he would refuse the nomination from a 3rd party should he receive it. Seeing as 90+% of the Libertarians will probably insist on making him their nominee if he loses as a Republican, that’s a MAJOR loophole he’s left open for himself. Up until last night, I had not believed that he would run as an independent. After last night, I see it as at least somewhat likely, if not highly likely.
Here is the official Ron Paul Statement of Faith. Yeah, in 2004 I voted for GW, but my wife and I were very unhappy about is lack of physical responsibility. Now it is 2007 and government expenditures have increased by %29 since 01. When are we going to wake up?
I just realized I wrote physical vs fiscal. That darn spell checker…..
@mason: I wonder if RP would get more votes as a 3rd party candidate than Ross Perot received? Lincoln was a 3rd party guy, but that was a different time in our history when more of the voters actually thought for themselves. Then again, teh Internets may just be the equalizer it takes to break the two party/media stranglehold on American politics.
@gid: Thanks for the link. It’s a good statement, but I like that he’s not using it as a campaign tool. Just as RP finds “the pandering that typically occurs in the election season [...] to be distasteful,” its also pretty close to how I feel about non-religious businesses (think used cars, HVAC installers, etc.) that overtly advertise that they’re run by Christians (i.e., rather than let the integrity of how they do business speak for itself).
This is a little off topic, but I remember one guy in particular (highly recommended by some church friends) who came over to give us an estimate on replacing our air conditioner. I never called him back after he recommended some security upgrades to my basement in order to keep the “spooks and gooks” out. I just wish I had been able to think quicker on my feet and respond with a question of how that related to the Gospel.
BTW, I figured you meant fiscal, but I’m not so sure you weren’t right to use both words!
Ron Paul simply said during the debate that he is doing so well that he has no need to run as an independent, since he believes he can win the nomination. I think it’s possible to construe his remarks as not ruling out a run as an independent. Even if he said outright that he would never run as an independent, his remarks are not legally binding. I think he did very well to run for the Republican primary, as it has given him national exposure through the televised debates. If he does run as an independent, one can consider the primary race as the booster stage in a rocket launch. How nice! Brilliant strategy!
I do not think he will make a third-party, especially since “sore looser” laws would keep him off the ballet in some states.
[...] Paul-The man is going to be a third-party candidate. Unless he’s not. Unless he is. Who the hell knows, anymore? Either way, he’s not leaving any time soon. Published [...]