Some other notes from other comments here:

The CP and LP will not combine anytime soon for one reason: religion. The CP tends to bring it into the equation while the LP tends to leave it out, and that will keep them separate.

Greg M is right in that Paul going third party puts his House seat in trouble. Twits like Eric Dondero would love that.

Nice to see Steve Dasbach around. Steve, what have you been up to since you left the LNC-EDship?

Paul-Kucinich would never work as they are polar opposites when it comes to power of government and its use.

Ditto Paul-Lieberman. Rumor has it that Lieberman may be tapped to be the new AG for Junior to swing the Senate to the Rs after the R CT Governor appoints a R in his place, thereby shutting down all investigations in the Senate into the Bush regime.

Keep up the good fight, all, and victory in Texas Saturday!

I’ll take his advice rather than yours about what is a ‘waste’.

Rather than Unity 08, combining efforts with the the two political cousins, the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party, their ballot lines would make baloot access possible for most states, but there are still a few that present real challenges. Oklahoma could be achieved via a non-partisan run, however its petitioning requirements are steep by anyone’s estimation.

Assuming Dr. Paul did not make such a decision before the primaries, there are also other obstacles in the few states that consider “sore loser laws” still to apply to presidential races. (South Dakota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas) However, most experts think that previous historica election precedent would likely be upheld over those state’s attempts to block his ballot position – although it is not guaranteed.

Unity 08 also blissfully ignores the fact that candidates of entirely different philosophical approaches to governance would not find it easy, if even possible to run together. Some have bandied about the idea of a Paul/Kucinich Unity 08 run as they both are against the Iraq war and find some agreement on issues petaining to civil liberties – but considering that Paul is a Constitutionalist limited government type and Kucinich is a progressive socialist type, their policy positions diverge sharply from there in opposite directions. They both seem like nice men, personality wise, but how they could run for office together on a presidential ticket escapes my imagination.

Unity 08 seems built for candidates who would stand for practically nothing – together. (But don’t we have that already in good measure in the two major parties?)

Bottom line is the supporters of Ron Paul and constitutional government need to use every moment now to build support for his candidacy regardless of what he chooses to do. Right now, as much as I am not a eager devotee of the elephant shrine, the GOP run provides him the best platform for his message.

Did I also mention that his re-election race for his House seat would likely be threatened if he went Third party and/or Independent? Assuming his bid for the White House fails, the loss of him in the U.S. House as well would not be insignificant to the cause of liberty.

Sometimes it seems there really is no easy (or even moderately hard) path. Nevertheless, giving up is not an option if our nation is to have hope for the future. Dr. Paul is the best candidate I have seen running for the office of president in my lifetime. He is a far better candidate than he was in 1988. His many years of constitutionally dedicated public service, his example of faithfulness to his oath of office and his proven dedication to the cause of liberty is simply unmatched.

Ron Paul will win the nomination – there is no other Republican candidate out there that creates enthusiasm like Ron Paul.

Every day the campaign gets more votes, more support and more money. Everyone else is losing support and sure the heck is not getting any money.

Ron Paul 2008

Dr. Paul should stay right where he is. So many years of Republicans and Democrats writing the rules of elections, not to mention incumbency, name recognition and free press coupled with the winner-take-all election format have put institutional barriers in place such that make a third party win all but impossible unless a significant percentage of ELECTED Democrats and/or Republicans jump ship in favor of the new party. Even then, the new party will eventually replace one of the old two partys and you once again have a two party situation. What ever happend to the Whigs?

I have no illusions of Dr. Paul winning the nomination. But the message is more important than the individual. As a republican Dr. Paul receives some measure of legitimacy to libertarian ideology. He is already elected and established at the national level and as an established national party member, is poised in the best position to bring attention to the all important message of liberty that has been forgotten over the 20th century.

Dr. Paul took 9% in Iowa as a Republican. While this doesn’t mean he should start making plans to move into the White House, it does now make us a force that the Republican establishment must recognize. Contemporary presidential elections are won by a slim majority of electoral votes and 1 to 2% of popular votes. We are an unruly and unyeilding bunch most of whom will not support another republican if Paul does not get the nod. If the republicans want us (they need us!) they are going to have to dance to a few more of our tunes and I believe this was one of the primary reasons for Dr. Paul running knowing full well the entire contest would be uphill.

Because unlike nearly every other candidate from both parties, Dr. Paul’s campaign is not about an attraction to power or stroking his own ego, it’s about the message and while we may not like the Democrats and Republicans, it is only through them that this message can reach it’s full potential.

Honestly, would any of us, or the media, or myspace or You Tube be wasting this much time and brainpower on the rantings of Libertarian Candidate Ron Paul?

I suspect you’re perpetually puzzled, poor thing.

Why doesn’t McCain run on a 3rd party ticket, or Guiliani? Neither has a chance to win on the GOP ticket.

Conservatives won’t vote for them.

If Dr. Paul doesn’t get the nomination, I doubt very seriously if he will elect to run on a third party ticket again. Been there, done that. He knows full well that the stonewalling he’s getting from the media these days is absolutely nothing compared to the universal ignoring that is inflicted upon third party candidates. Remember, he ran as a Libertarian in 1988. He had the same ideas then as he does now, but he couldn’t get himself heard. Our best chance is to get him heard and to do that he needs to be affiliated with one of the Big Two. He has worked for the past long and hard to get himself into this position. Switching parties and then running immediately would have effected his credibility. But now he’s a longtime Republican.