April 13, 2008

Is it time to pressure Ron Paul to run for president as an independent?

I think a lot of us feel this campaign is now sorely missing Ron Paul's voice.

He can't and won't win the Presidency folks - the general American population is nowhere close to listening to or hearing his message. It's just too brutally honest. Deal with it.

But this campaign needs his voice. He needs a bigger platform. He can influence the major candidates, he needs to be in the debates, and his supporters can and should be heard. When Obama or McCain are going on about housing gambler bailouts, he needs to be there to talk some common sense.

So, here's the question - would you support a Ron Paul 2008 run for president as an independent?

If anyone wants some extra credit, go start a petition at petitiononline and I'll get it up here or let me know if a serious one is already underway - I couldn't find it. And enjoy this radio interview with Ron Paul from 2007.

40 comments:

Chris said...

I don't believe he should. I think it's better to do what was already mentioned in the Wall Street Journal --- that he should use his campaign money to help other candidates get elected to Congress that share his views.

Anonymous said...

I doubt he would be allowed into any debates unfortunately. Sorry folks, we're going to be stuck with a housing bailout followed by Weimar hyperinflation.

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul should try a run as an independent. He'll bring in more money that way and so could still help other candidates get elected to Congress.

Ed said...

I second Chris G. If he runs and gets 4%, it won't change anything. If he spends the money to elect a handful of members of congress who share his views, it could potentially have an impact.

Anonymous said...

Either him or the Body. But somebody please jump in!

Anonymous said...

He has my vote...regardless of the party he chooses to be in. I vote for the man and his ideas, not the party.

Anonymous said...

NO.

Anonymous said...

the ron paul revolution was over before it ever began. the american people do not understand the message of ron paul and his campaign was heavily infiltrated by the enemy from the start, so we witnessed what happened. nothing. nothing is all that will ever happen , until the american people wake up from their slumber and realize that citizenship requires being heavily involved in the day to day affairs of government and that we must constantly watch what is going on in washington dc as well as all state capitals. but instead of doing that, they bitch and whine and complain and then go to work. slaves they are and slaves they shall always be unless a small percentage of the people stand up and revolt against tyranny as was done before long ago.

Anonymous said...

If he still has money in his war chest or breath in his body your damn right he should run.

Aaron Krowne said...

Did you hear what he said about "built-in monetary inflation"?

That is really the key here.

So many people think that an economic slowdown will save us from inflation.

But what they forget is we've been printing the money for 20 years without having to pay the price in inflation. Those times are now over.

It is "baked in the cake", and now spilling out, and an economic slowdown won't save us (at least those of us who need the most relief).

Anonymous said...

UNQUESTIONABLY. Especially if he picks a VP that softens some of his stances on abortion and enviromental regulation. Sure, we need less government, but America still see's lack of regulation as a big problem. IMHO we need a LEFT-LIBERTARIAN movement. Less government, more efficienccy and SUSTAINABILITY. These all go together, and RP could pull it off with the right running mate. Paul-Kucinich comes to mind.

Anonymous said...

I believe the population is politically retarded however, the powers to be have determined the final three shills we currently have. Our republic was hijacked some time ago.

Just think about it for a second! Who in their right mind would vote for continuing the status quo not wanting to rid our country of the IRS?

Picture the puppet master with a 2 string puppet, the puppet being our population. The first string is big media and the second string represents electronic voting. Ron Paul could not win if 100% of the population supported him.

Anonymous said...

Whoever gets elected to the oval office in Nov is F@%KED MAJOR! They will be a one-term president (baring martial law, suspension of what's left of the Constitution and declaring him/her self pres for life,) and will forever be associated with the collapse as this thing unwinds.

I don't want Dr. Paul to be associated with this mess. If by some miracle he did win, there's not much he could do except take the heat. Better one of the "housing gambler bailout" imbeciles gets the win,
then they can take over Bush's title of "worst president ever."

I can't think of one who would not deserve it!

Anonymous said...

What is up with these wanna be globalists that talk about peak oil causing inflation. Are they really that ignorant as to how corrupt our gov is. Demand for oil has been dropping for a year, globally. Supply, refinening and futures are being manipulated to like there is no tommorrow. Bushco and or the dems don't care as long as the politicos get their cut. Punch line, YOU WILL NOT GET RICH BETTING ON THE GLOBALISTS, YOU WILL GET SLAUGHTERED. Ask my airline pilot buddy who has always believed he was smart and untouchable. I told him 3 years ago his passive income would implode along with his investments, followed by his job. Well even the dumbest of the greedy free traders/globalists are beginning to realize its their turn to to be financially butchered. Maybe the illegals will buy tickets on their 6 doller per hour income so he has a job.

Signed, Contractor who did things by the book since 1986 and watched a bunch of greedy stupid pigs destroy my country. I greeve for the young ones and hate you soulless animals who supported this. PS Most people on this blog are easy to respect. You have my respect. Keith, you are a patriot.

Anonymous said...

Ballot access laws enforce the Rep|Dem cartel, as pointed out by Paul, Nader and Ventura. We need to work on ending discrimination against other parties in our political system. People need to realize the two parties are the same, aside from distracter issues.

Anonymous said...

I suspect that what we are seeing is the break up of the 2 major parties in US politics.

I for one think that a coalition govt might be better. It would cause certain groups that don't like each other to join up at certain times to get things done. With a socailist Dem Cong and a socailist Dem Exec we will be no better off than the neo-con Repubs of the early 2000s. One party rule never helped any country, just the higher ups of that party.

There are too many identities in the USA. The one party fits all obviously is not working ie HRC v. BHO. The Repugs are more unified, even tho they don't really like their choice.

I could see the Black Liberation party, the Christian Conserv party, the Monetary/ Iso Conserv party , the War party, the Corporate hand out party, etc etc

The battle between Hillary and Barak will leave a deep scar that will never heal. If HRC some how gets the nom, for better or worse, the blacks will go nuts and never forgive the other side. I could see most HRC's going with BHO but many will feel bitter with the media attack campaign against her. And all of the HRCs will never forgive the party if after all of this BHO fails in Nov (like he will).

The one-lever-pull-parties died along time ago, nobody noticed untill now.

gregoryw said...

I think campaign finance rules are very strict about what you can use the money for. RP wasn't allowed to spend a dime of his presidential election money on his congressional campaign. I don't think he'd be able to use it for other people's campaign's either.

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul has no prayer to win the election. He has some great ideas on how govt. should work but he simply doesn't have a wide enough world view to serve as President. He'd be a failure. He's good where he is today and should focus on shaming the Congress into reforming itself. That should be his mission in life...it's a laudable one.

Anonymous said...

Anon: April 13, 2008 4:57 PM

You are right, Keith is a patriot!

Maybe RP/HP 2008??

Anonymous said...

yes, he should run as an independent.

Anonymous said...

Sure, I'd support an independent run for Ron Paul. He'd peel away votes from McCain, and make it that much eaiser for Obama this fall.

That's how Clinton got into office in '92, and we got a balanced budget (for a couple of years anyway) out of the deal.

:-D

Anonymous said...

I would like to see a younger person filled with passion and dedication to beat some sense into the American politicians. Why yes, I am thinking about Jesse Ventura. I would like to see Dr Ron Paul as his VP.
Judge Napolitano as AG.

Don't know folks - we need people that are completely removed from the political chicanery that passes off as our political system.

But...I guess the American sheeple are still under the illusion that we will even have elections in November. HA!

Things are gonna change...just wait and see.

Anonymous said...

It's interesting to note that he was hopeful about getting more transparency from the Fed, but in the past year, transparency has decreased dramatically with the Fed's TAF, Bear Stearns bailout, etc.

Not that I'm faulting him for being wrong about predicting events. I wish he was President.

Anonymous said...

How can you support both Ron Paul and Barack Obama when they are polar opposites on the political spectrum?

Anonymous said...

It is sad to say it, Keith, but Ron Paul can't win this popularity contest. He is right on all of the issues, but the U.S. presidency is (unfortunately) more about image and presentation. Ron blundered badly in the debates on several questions, which he answered correctly but not succinctly.

So before this movement can really take hold, it needs someone with charisma.

Sad, but true.

Anonymous said...

win or not, just running will give people an honest, meaningful option in the election and a reason to show up to the polls.

Another option is Bob Barr for Libertarian Party. Maybe the 2 of them can run together.

Anonymous said...

I think he should jump back in. He needs to do much explaining things. Americans are addicted to sound bites. Did I hear something about him supporting airline passengers bringing guns onto airplanes? I hope this isn't so because that would be stupid.

Anonymous said...

Wonder what the write in percentage will be? Precincts would be wise to but him on the ballot somewhere, just to keep from having to read all that hand writing. He has my vote, whether he likes it or not.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. I'd be happy to send the link to the petition around. Just not that tech savvy myself.

Anonymous said...

I got news for you, Ron Paul is not the answer. If Ron Paul were President during WWII we would all be speaking German. It is one thing to be an isolationist but he brings it to an extreme.

Some of his ideas are great, but he goes too far. That and the fact that half his supporters are Redneck White Supremacist assholes whose money he willingly accepts says a lot.

Pray Jesse Ventura runs

-Rich

Anonymous said...

Keith, you're always asking where the best place to live is. Well, I think we found the perfect place for:

Paulville: the town where rightwingers will be free

At last, some cheering news for downhearted fans of Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican now certain to fail, by some distance, to secure his party's presidential nomination. This month has seen the first meeting of the shareholders in a fledgling community development planned in rural Texas, to be comprised exclusively of Paul's supporters. It is to be called Paulville.

The gated settlement will house freedom-loving folk, living unbound by the shackles of planning regulations. Its founders hope that when complete, it will inspire further Paulvilles around America and, in their own words, "literally change the world, one community at a time".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/14/usah

Anonymous said...

Ron Paul has said numerous times that he will not run as an independent. Why? He never does anything for purely political purposes...and that's what switching parties would be...he wouldn't be Ron Paul if he did that and we should not ask him to.
Our country was extraordinarily fortunate to have had the founding fathers when this country was created. Now, in our hour of need, we've been presented with Ron Paul and few people know who he is. I've never been so depressed.

zapparulez said...

I have a feeling you just want him to run as an Independent because you are now an Obamamaniac. You hoping he will steal votes away from McInsane so your leftist communist can take office and set about to dismantle our 1st, 2nd, and 4th ammendement rights?

I've given hundreds to Ron Paul, but the focus now must be to keep America a free country(as much as possible) and our only chance at that is to keep Clinton and Obama's socialist government control out of the White House.

God I hate McInsane too...but what choice do I have? Obama has shown his true colors and Hillary has always been a known threat. Obama is 10 times worse than Clinton.

Anonymous said...

based on my understanding, I don't see Ron Paul as wanting to be president; however, he likes being a "policy wonk" and/or "explaining the issues" and he does those things well.

Anonymous said...

Rich said:

"Pray Jesse Ventura runs"

...or that the world has changed since WWII. I have yet to see a scare tactic argument outweigh my fear of our unchallenged duopoly. Until the Republicrats fall, I'll always vote for the most viable third party. So it boils down to the question; which is less of a strech - Grandpa Paul or Ventura the Boisterous? By 11/08 I suspect the country will be more in the mood for a nice fireside chat with a soft educated voice.

-$0.02

Anonymous said...

Freeze said...

Americans are addicted to sound bites. Did I hear something about him supporting airline passengers bringing guns onto airplanes? I hope this isn't so because that would be stupid.

Oh, chill Freeze. Actually, if you are stuck on the tarmac for 4 hours for some sort of "on the fly maintenance," (don't these Third World mechanics getting those great outsourced wages understand we have meetings??)a gun would really come in handy if you get one of those occasional passengers in the bathroom washing their hair in that blue water.

Would also be great if you get one of those TSA clowns that is making Grandma strip down to her girdle in front of you while the Sudanese looking guy gets waved through with a smile and free prayer beads to prevent profiling.

I think Ron has a great idea.

-JaneZ

Anonymous said...

Blogger Aaron Krowne said...

Did you hear what he said about "built-in monetary inflation"?

That is really the key here.

So many people think that an economic slowdown will save us from inflation.

But what they forget is we've been printing the money for 20 years without having to pay the price in inflation. Those times are now over.

It is "baked in the cake", and now spilling out, and an economic slowdown won't save us (at least those of us who need the most relief).

April 13, 2008 3:56 PM<<


well aaron, you had better go talk to kd over at market ticker and tell him that you think things are inflationary. he is saying or was saying that we will suffer a deflationary collapse, but now i think he is saying it will be stagflation. oh well. inflation, stagflation, deflation. can it be all 3 at once?

Refuse to buy overpriced said...

I think McCain and Obama are currently polling 50/50.

Ron Paul, running as an Independant, might be able to push both major canidates away from a bailout and away from an excessively interventionist foreign policy . . . if both canidates were afraid RP would take more votes from them than from their opponent.

A large number of Republicans now realise the invasion of Iraq was a terrible mistake, a betrayal of conservative principles.

99% of Democrats don't realize how evil the bailout really is, or they don't care. In the name of "keeping families in their homes", Schumer's bailout is really an attempt to maintain the fictitious value of real estate, stocks and derivatives - at the expense of the dollar, taxpayers, and future homebuyers. At its heart, the bailout is a multi-trillion dollar forced transfer of wealth from the most responsible segment of the working/middle class to the least responsible segment of the upper class.

Why are the congressional Democrats pushing this?

The asset owning classes are concentrated in the bluest states, New York California Massachusetts New Jersey Conneticut. Self interest among wealthy Democrats and blue state independants is a powerful incentive.

"The rednecks will get what they deserve." That attitude is the alleged moral justification for this vast larceny.

If, as a hypothetical Independant, Ron Paul can use the housing issue to take enough votes from Obama to shake Obama's comlpacency on housing, RP's candidacy will serve an important purpose. If RP only divides the Republican vote with McCain, his canidacy will be counter productive.

Anonymous said...

So true Skaven. Ron Paul's presentation has let him down very badly. Extremely frustrating. Doesn't matter to the enlightened beleivers because we UNDERSTAND what he is trying to convey. To the lazy complacent sheeple, it's easier to to view him as the msm does - an odd ball. Maybe he has given it as much as he possibly can, so new messengers are needed to take the message to he next level. How I wish Peter Schiff had some interest in politics...he definitely gets it and can convey same in debates and speeches much more eloquently.

Then again, there is nothing like economic hardship to get people out of there self imposed slumber. The mass transfer of wealth and influenece from the West to the East going on now will mean that the "comfortable" living standards we have taken for granted will become a thing of the past. As Ron Paul always says, the middle class and fixed income earners get wiped out, and you are left with the rich and a much larger population of poor and very poor people. Most will look back and wonder how they didn't see it coming. There will be more than enough time to ponder about that.

Anonymous said...

I hope he stays Republican. Come November I'll write his name in. Imagine if hundreds of thousands of people across America do this. Write in Ron Paul for President. In FL we use electronic machines so I'll ask them for the paper to do it. Send a message that the idiots they try to spoonfeed us by both the dems and reps are NO GOOD!