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The Decider · Feb 10, 2008, 12:25 pm

Doesn't sound good....

From Politico.com:

Ron Paul pivots to his reelection

Ron Paul appears to have had a Dennis Kucinich moment.

Just as the liberal Ohio congressman realized last month that his long-shot presidential campaign was imperiling his prospects for keeping his House seat, Paul appears to be choosing the comfort of incumbency over a continued effort to win a nomination that he has virtually no shot at capturing.

Last night, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman sent a message to his supporters signaling that he was scaling back his presidential bid.

The most telling passage:

"I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen."

Same as Kucinich, Paul has seen a real primary threat emerge back home. In both cases -- and see my colleague Josh Kraushaar's piece as a primer -- the challengers have made the case that the local congressman is gallivanting around the country on a quixotic quest, has lost touch with the folks back home and has taken stances out of line with the district.

The key difference, of course, is that Paul has millions of dollars socked away and could be a significant threat were he to run a third-party campaign in the fall.

But Paul reitereated in his message that that won't happen.

"Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican Party, so there will be no third-party run," Paul said. "I do not denigrate third parties -- just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican."

Ron Paul pivots to his reelection - Jonathan Martin's Blog - Politico.com

GHook93 · Feb 10, 2008, 02:34 pm

As I did recently warm up to Ron Paul, the better question is; Was he ever really in the race? Comparing his campaign to the non-campaign of Kuninich speaks volumes about the Ron Paul campaign!

The Decider · Feb 10, 2008, 08:38 pm

Quote:

Quote by: GHook93

As I did recently warm up to Ron Paul, the better question is; Was he ever really in the race? Comparing his campaign to the non-campaign of Kuninich speaks volumes about the Ron Paul campaign!

According to the article, Paul and Kucinich share one unfortunate similarity: both must fight for reelection in their own congressional districts. Wouldn't that be ironic if, after all the Ron Paul hoopla and fundraising, his own Texas constituents fire him?

GHook93 · Feb 10, 2008, 10:31 pm

Quote:

Quote by: The Decider

According to the article, Paul and Kucinich share one unfortunate similarity: both must fight for reelection in their own congressional districts. Wouldn't that be ironic if, after all the Ron Paul hoopla and fundraising, his own Texas constituents fire him?

It would be extremely ironic! I wonder if the Ron Paul conspiracy theorist would blame it on Hannity, Rush and Fox news!

Chaossaber314 · Feb 10, 2008, 11:12 pm

Quote:

Quote by: GHook93

As I did recently warm up to Ron Paul, the better question is; Was he ever really in the race? Comparing his campaign to the non-campaign of Kuninich speaks volumes about the Ron Paul campaign!

Considering how well Huckabee and McCain have done, I think Ron Paul stood a better chance than I personally gave him credit for initially.

Feb 10, 2008, 12:25 pm	#1 (permalink)
The Decider Hot Lava Posts: 1,667	Is Ron Paul Preparing to Get Out? Doesn't sound good.... From Politico.com: Ron Paul pivots to his reelection Ron Paul appears to have had a Dennis Kucinich moment. Just as the liberal Ohio congressman realized last month that his long-shot presidential campaign was imperiling his prospects for keeping his House seat, Paul appears to be choosing the comfort of incumbency over a continued effort to win a nomination that he has virtually no shot at capturing. Last night, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman sent a message to his supporters signaling that he was scaling back his presidential bid. The most telling passage: "I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen." Same as Kucinich, Paul has seen a real primary threat emerge back home. In both cases -- and see my colleague Josh Kraushaar's piece as a primer -- the challengers have made the case that the local congressman is gallivanting around the country on a quixotic quest, has lost touch with the folks back home and has taken stances out of line with the district. The key difference, of course, is that Paul has millions of dollars socked away and could be a significant threat were he to run a third-party campaign in the fall. But Paul reitereated in his message that that won't happen. "Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican Party, so there will be no third-party run," Paul said. "I do not denigrate third parties -- just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican." Ron Paul pivots to his reelection - Jonathan Martin's Blog - Politico.com

Feb 10, 2008, 02:34 pm	#2 (permalink)
GHook93 BANNED Posts: 4,976	As I did recently warm up to Ron Paul, the better question is; Was he ever really in the race? Comparing his campaign to the non-campaign of Kuninich speaks volumes about the Ron Paul campaign!