Ron Paul Realism: Question 1 of 7
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Ron PaulIn a recent post, I asked Ron Paul supporters 7 questions. I’ve written posts about Paul before, but I had no idea that I’d get such an overwhelming response. Over 80 Roniacs responded, and most answered all 7 questions.
The only problem? It’s a mammoth list, and most of you will never be able to see their answers. But since they spent the time commenting, I feel it’s only fair to organize and post their answers. We’ll have 7 posts in all.
Question 1: If Ron Paul doesn’t win the nomination, who will you vote for?
- Jim: I will write Ron Paul in as long as he is in the race.
- Mike: probably still ron paul ;D
- James Maynard: It depends - if he doesn’t win the nomination, I would hope he would run (preferably with Mike Gravel) on an I ticket (maybe Unity 08 if they can really deal with the ballot issues). If not, I’ll probably vote for the Libertarian candidate.
- Spirit of ‘76: If Ron Paul does not get the nomination, I will still write him in when I vote. I cannot bring myself to vote for any of the current Democratic candidates, nor can I bring myself to vote for any of the other Republican candidates. Besides, if the Republican Party is so clueless that they reject the one candidate who can restore them to relevance, they don’t deserve my vote.
- Chad: who will I vote for? well it depends on whom else gets the nomination, but it certainly will not be a republican. if its hillary on the democratic side i will write ron paul in anyway, lol. actually i will write him in regardless, why should some committee choose who we can vote for?
- bbartlog: I’m not sure who I’ll support if Ron Paul doesn’t win. Most likely I’ll look at the third party offerings, but there are some Democrats I could support if third party efforts look needlessly quixotic. Staying home and drinking is also an option :-). There are no other Republicans I would be likely to vote for.
- Jordan: Whoever the Democratic candidate is.
- Ellis_Wyatt: Vote for RP as independent.
- James Aragon: Someone not Mitt Romney or Benito Giuliani. Of course Ron Paul if he runs independent. Otherwise it is to be determined. Someone with libertarian values.
- meatwad: If the nomination comes down as prescribed by big corporate media, then it won’t matter who I vote for unless there’s a viable 3rd party candidate.
- Matt C: I’ll write in “Ron Paul” if I can. If not, most likely HRC.
- Vicky: Ron Paul supporter are from all walks of life with a common bond of wanting to get back to the constitutional principals of the founding fathers. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents are finding Paul’s message of freedom and peace appealing. The Republican party is blessed to have him on thier ticket. The loyalty is to the man, not any party. Your question is unanswerable and not even worth considering.
- Edward Keithly: I will most likely vote for the GOP nominee. If RP runs third party, I will probably vote for him.
- meinaz: I will write him in. I had dropped out of national politics after 2004’s media-engineered lesser-of-two-evil election, only to be brought back by Paul. I don’t mind “wasting” my vote on someone whose views matches my own. At this point, a vote for a “Top Tier” Republican or Democrat is a vote for AIPAC policies. I don’t support AIPAC and subsequently won’t vote for their candidates.
- Jeanette Doney: If Ron Paul does not win, I’ll write his name in.
- Corey Cagle: I’ll either vote Libertarian or simply not vote, depending on who the LP nominates.
- Dan Warner: I would write in Ron Paul. I refuse to throw my vote away on anyone else. I cannot vote for someone I don’ believe in. I don’t believe in any other candidate republican or democrat.
- Buckwheat: Nobody. The rest sell influence openly.
- Jonathan Bennett: Ron Paul.
- NH: No one.
- Aaron: If Obama wins the nomination, I may vote for him simply because of his age and the fact the he is an outsider (at this point). Although, I may not agree with his economic policies I will risk their discussion for a little honesty and an interesting tenure. [...] I think he will be another Carter or Kennedy. He will not be too successful and will probably remain for only one term because if he like Carter or Kennedy remains an outsider and independent, he will be besieged by his own party as well as the obvious opposition. [...] But this kind of paralysis in the executive would be healthy for our country.
- John Campbell: The Libertarian nominee, unless Ron Paul is running on another ticket.
- Doofus: I will sit out the 2008 general election and change my party registration.
- Corky: Probably no one.
- Jody: Any other candidate will result in the same old …, so I won’t bother to vote if Dr. Paul or someone like him is not available.
- Scott: John Mccain.
- PC: Ron Paul.
- Iconoclast421: I’ll write his name in.
- Lex: I was leaning to Bill Richardson as a backup candidate, but then he proposed expanding Medicare to age 55! I guess George Phillies is the backup plan now.
So then…conclusions?
Well, you all are definitely a loyal bunch. And to that point, I think my guess that Paul is pulling in a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise vote in this election ring true since the majority of people in this list say they’ll still vote for Paul or nobody is Paul doesn’t get the GOP nod.
What does this mean? Well, I think it certainly gives any more credence to the viability of a 3rd party run for Paul, so Roniacs…don’t discount that.
Again, thanks for all your responses everybody, seriously. And if I didn’t get your answer in this list, I hope to get it in the next one.
Stay tuned!
This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 and is filed under 2008 Election, Ron Paul. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Definitely only Ron Paul. Vote for any other candidate would only endorse their agenda hurting all of us, the people of America.
Is there any one from GOP or Democrats, who offer any chance of stopping the growth of government power, size and spending and could save us all from certain bankruptcy?
Only other candidates, who deserve any respect are Mike Gravel and D Kucinich, but they would ruin the economy with socialist policy.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Lex — RICHARDSON? My god he’s a racist with welfare on his agenda….and he’s a CFR member. Very unaccpetable.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Thanks for doing this series of posts. It’s nice to see someone objectively asking questions, and respectfully presenting the answers.
August 17th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
I think Vicky said it best “Ron Paul supporters are from all walks of life with a common bond of wanting to get back to the constitutional principals of the founding fathers. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents are finding Paul’s message of freedom and peace appealing.”
Don’t you see he could unite this country! we’ve been divided for far too long!
August 17th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I will write in Ron Paul if he is not on the Ballot.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
If by some chance Ron Paul does not enter as an independent (even though I hope he does), I believe we should ALL stay united and still write him in for the general election. Remember, this is a rEVOLution! Please do not throw your vote to someone you are not as enthusiastic about. That just encourages the corrupt two party system that is making it so difficult for respectable men like Ron Paul to get elected. The least we can do is stand behind him, make some noise, and keep his message of freedom and liberty alive for future generations.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Richardson WAS the best of a bad lot of major party alternatives. His fiscal record in NM was better than that of Republican governors like Huckabee and Romney. He isn’t an enemy of the Second Amendment, like Clinton or Giuliani. He wants a complete withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, unlike Clinton, who would leave tens of thousands of troops. He is an accomplished diplomat who wouldn’t turn to war as a first option, unlike Romney or Giuliani.
Then he completely blew the libertarian-leaning independent vote he might have earned, by promising to spend the savings from a less belligerent foreign policy on a disastrous expansion of Medicare under the guise of a universal health plan. So, don’t worry, he won’t be getting my vote.
August 18th, 2007 at 4:10 am
I may be too tired at the moment to properly express my gratitude for this series but thank you, Justin, for doing it.
I truly lost all faith in American voters — and our future — when they fell for the assassination of Howard Dean. Ironically, it was that campaign, and my utter disdain for the MSM, that lead me to watch CSPAN often, where I discovered Ron Paul. Whereas Dean was a refreshing alternative to a frightful field, Paul stands alone as the manifestation of our most idyllic hopes of what a politician is supposed to be. Obviously, I agree with neither of them on every issue but Paul is the only living public person that I have ever enduringly considered to truly be a hero.
To understand this level of respect might require the many hours of watching him champion our rights and freedoms on the house floor — as the other representatives file out to panhandle in the lobby before their ears begin to burn — but it will only take a fraction of that commitment and respect for many to comprehend that Ron’s participation negates the usual concept of “choice”. This time there is an apple in the basket of oranges and that is something we’ve only read about in history. Oh mighty mo, how we dooo want that apple.
I got my fat-tip-Sharpie-pen ready to write in Ron’s name before I even imagined he would actually run. The responses in Justin’s post gave me a great comfort that filled an emptiness I had ignored. Thanks to all the responders with steady hands and sturdy constitutions who would not stoop to support anything less (McCain?!? I poured my heart and soul into McCain when I was deathly afraid that G.W. Bush would get the GOP nomination. Straight talkin’ Johnny rolled up like a bug! He shouldn’t even be allowed in the Daily Show studio, much less the Oval Office. Take your pen with you and do the “wrong” thing the one time you’ll get the chance. It’s a minor task compared to our forefathers who had to do the “wrong” thing at both ends of a bayonet).
Anyway, again, my thanks to Justin and the responders (if that’s the name of a band, I did not intentionally infringe upon your trademark! :P)
Goodnight.
August 18th, 2007 at 5:22 am
We should all get behind the Libertarian candidate if Ron Paul doesn’t get the nomination. He is a libertarian and if you believe in his ideas and not just the man you have no other choice. All of the other candidates belong to the CFR and will take us down the same road to socialism and the new world order.
August 18th, 2007 at 7:06 am
I’m writing in Ron Paul whether he’s on the/any ballot or not.
I’ll probably vote Zombie Murray Rothbard for everything else. ;)
August 18th, 2007 at 9:48 am
We will only vote for Ron Paul! If he’s not nominated/elected, the new American Revolution will likely begin!
The defense department loses weapons and trillions of unaccounted dollars!
Eminent domain says that my property may be taken by private developers..WTF!!!
Ok the democrats are going to play word games and call the “DRAFT” compulsory service!!!
Our government is sacrificing our soldiers in this military industrail complex for a broken entitlement system! Lazy americans should starve not recieve “Blood money welfare!”!!!
Join The revolution! Vote for Ron Paul!
August 18th, 2007 at 9:49 am
if you choose not to post my comment, you truly don’t love your country!
August 18th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I have a question: Once Ron Paul loses the Republican nomination (badly, I expect), will the cult of the Ronpaullians continue to spam this website?
August 18th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Thank you for making this series of posts, you just gained a new reader.
anyway, one thiing i just realised is that the majority of people in this country are not very interested in politics, that being said i think it safe to assume that voter turn out for this election will be very poor because people think that it doesn’t matter whom they vote for in the first place.
So, if there is a low voter turn out from the general public, and 100% turnout from every ron paul supporter (which i guarantee there will be if he gets the nomination) um, see what i’m getting at? mitt had to pay for peoples tickets and bus them across the state to get them to the straw poll in iowa, ron poll supporters drove themselves from all over the country, and their numbers grow every day. yes it is a revolution.
August 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
I have said before, both here and on my blog, that I support Paul’s candidacy, see nothing but good coming out of it both for the country and the Republican party, support the effort to get moderate/libertarian leaning voters to register for Republican party primaries, and encourage people to contribute to his campaign.
That said, if/when Paul loses the nomination, and if Chuck Hagel gets into the race, I hope Dr. Paul’s supporters will give him serious consideration. While Hagel is not as doctrinate a libertarian as Dr. Paul, he is closer to Paul’s positions than any mainstream candidate in either party.
Plus he has the practical advantage of being likely to be elected President if he can get past the Republican nomination process. As President, he would actually influence the issues that matter to Ron Paul supporters.
August 18th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I also have my sharpie ready to write in Ron Paul in the (unfortunately likely) event that his name does not appear on the ballot.
August 18th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
We got to stop this global corporate slave state!!!!
Ron Paul can save us all!!!!!!
August 19th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it. But overall, I feel that none of the other candidates offer anything new. Without Ron Paul as President, it will be business as usual. More government, more taxes, more illegal immigration, more war, etc.
August 19th, 2007 at 9:10 am
@Jimmy the Dhimmi
Please explain to me how the Ron Paul comments are SPAM?
So you have thousands of Americans excited about voting FOR a candidate for the first time, or first time in a LONG time and you view that as a bad thing. How sad.
August 19th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Another “I think VIcky said it best” post ….
August 19th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I think you’re missing out on a big story w/r/t the Paulaholics’ second chocies: they’re disillusioned, yes, but *diverse as all hell. Should appeal to a site called “Donklephant”. Second-choices I’ve heard include F. Thompson, Kucinich, Richardson, Tancredo, and Gore. Think about that for a bit…
August 19th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I was going to start a meet-up group for Ron Paul in my town, but I was surprised to learn someone beat me to it. Even here! in smallish town S. Illinois. Oh, how I love my country.
Ron Paul R3VOLuton! I will write him in if the republicans steal the nomination from him. At this point, no matter what the elite polling says, Ron Paul has the numbers.
Meet-up groups top three: #3-DraftGore (70) #2-Obama (77) and #1-Ron Paul with 741!!!
August 19th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Spam is when one person sends a lot to a site, this is many people supporting one person and that person is Ron Paul.
Ron Paul speaks the truth. The other candidates from both parties say what they think their party constituents want to hear. Ron Paul says what they need to hear. A leader should not be afraid to speak the truth. Others flip flop and change their opinions depending on who they are talking to or what office they are running for. Dr. Paul stands by his record because his values haven’t changed. The first time I ever heard Dr. Paul was at the first Republican debate and he won me over then. It was so refreshing to hear the truth. I would not consider voting for any other candidate.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:44 pm
If he doesn’t pull the nomination for the GOP he will be forced to run independent. There is no way his supporters will let him off the hook that easily. He will be so overwhelmed with pleas that we will be unable to ignore them. Ron Paul, in whatever party, 2008!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
[...] If Ron Paul doesn’t win the nomination, who will you vote for? [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 10:54 am
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