Question: If Ron Paul runs as independent would he help or hurt Dem candidate?

[DuaneBidoux]

I see a surprising number of Paul bomper stickers (albeit I am in DeLay's old district just next door).

I've always wanted to approach one of these cars and ask the people if they knew what Paul stoof for other than against the war.

In other words, who exactly are the current batch of Paul supporters?

[anniebelle]

1. Ron Paul is a grass roots movement among the

disenchanted knuckle-draggers. I've said before on this board, Ron Paul will pull from the half-smart; Fredrick of Hollywood to the 29 percenters; and the rest of their sorry pack gets the rest. Has to help the Democratic Party. IMHO

[zanne]

4. I've been seeing Ron Paul signs in this area.

They're getting started early.

[txaslftist]

9. I guess I'm a disenchanted knuckle-dragger, too.

Not sure what the "Fredrick of Hollywood" refers to, my wife prefers Victoria's secret. But if I'm "half-smart", at least I'm HALF smart.

[lvx35]

2. Mostly classic conservatives with strong ideals.

The people he'd pull from us aren't really Dems anyway, after Nader got Bush in nobody is willing gamble anymore.

[saltpoint]

3. The Ron Paul mystique has eluded me thus far.

I expect it to continue to elude me for the duration of my life.

I'm just not getting the Ron Paul thing at all.

To your question, I think it would reduce Ralph Nader's percentage, already small, by a slight margin. I don't think there is critical mass for a Ron Paul independent run. He'd draw fewer votes than Nader, IMO, and Nader wouldn't draw enough to change the outcome.

Marginal to downright wispy.

[Justyce]

5. He supports free trade, anti-choice, has

the same views as other republicans on taxes and the economy, etc. He may be likable, but pretty much the only position we agree on is the war, so I don't think he'd be much of a threat to the Dems. I think his main supporters would end up being the republicans who have finally figured out we shouldn't be in Iraq.

[Bitwit1234]

6. What democrat would vote for a republican

for the office of president. Only idiots.

[txaslftist]

7. Consider me one of the idiots.

Lawyer for fifteen years, Merit Scholar, graduated with honors.

But I'm an idiot.

I'm a Democrat who will vote for Ron Paul given a chance (which I probably won't be).

[ProudDad]

11. I'm respectfully, genuinely curious

why? :shrug:

[txaslftist]

14. Primarily his foreign policy positions...

...which have been consistent from the very beginning. It's not isolationism, but non-interventionism, which means not messing around in other countries with our CIA, our military and sanctions. We trade with everyone, (not "free trade" but "fair trade") but we don't have bases all over the world either "protecting" or "defending" or "securing American interests". Because that kind of presence doesn't do any of those things, and can harm us.

I also like his position on the War on Drugs, which he thinks has been an abject failure and needs to be drastically reduced. I've been a fighter (defense attorney) in the war on drugs for years, and I can tell you he's dead-on. We have more people in prison in the US than any other country, and the war on drugs is really a war on poor blacks and our civil liberties.

I like his view on civil liberties and personal constitutional rights, like habeas corpus, the 4th Amendment, the rest of it.

I like his veiws on the surveillance state and getting rid of it.

I dislike his position on abortion, but don't think he can do anything about it (after all, Bush couldn't).

I like the fact that he's been consistent from the start, was against the iraqcle from the beginning, spoke out about it and tried to stop it. The Iraq war has been the single greatest calamity for our nation in at least seventy years, worse for us than Vietnam. I'm not a single issue voter, but for me this is a big, big issue, and I think he's right on it.

If you want to know more about him, google him. There is a TON of information out there on Ron Paul. I have voted straight democratic ticket since I was able to vote. This is the single Republican I can get behind in my lifetime.

Not (I think) because I'm a knuckle-dragging idiot from Fredricks of Hollywood, but because I've thought about it a lot.

[ProudDad]

15. Kucinich holds equal or better positions

on all of those issues.

I too can agree with Ron Paul's positions as you state them.

I have looked at his web site. I've also looked at the web site and platform of the Libertarian Party for which Ron Paul has run for prez -- and they're LOONS!!!

Other than a non-interventionist foreign policy and being anti-phony "war on drugs" and Civil Rights and Liberties I've got NOTHING in common with the Libertarians and their unrealistic, lunatic Randian philosophy...

Check out Kucinich -- he's the real deal and if nominated would have a better chance being elected President than R. Paul does... :hi:

http://www.dennis4president.com/go/issues/

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Hey, Frederick's of Hollywood is a pretty smart outfit!!! :)

[txaslftist]

8. If Ron Paul runs as an independent, Hillary wins the presidency.

[ProudDad]

10. republicans of the most libertarian bent

mostly young it appears from the sign holders on the streets...

A few deluded anti-war non-republicans who haven't checked out the rest of his egregiously anti-democratic positions...

"ME" Society Libertarians...

[Bucky]

12. Ron Paul has pledged not to run as an independent.

In theory any split in the GOP would help us in swing states. But with Paul, it's a moot point.

[AZ Criminal JD]

13. Ron Paul can't run as an independent

Most states have "sore loser" laws which prevent candidates who run in the Democratic and Republican primaries from running as a third party candidate later on. If Paul is on the ballot in the Republican primaries he legally can't run in the general election as an independent.