With Ron Paul formally ending his Presidential campaign and focusing on promoting libertarian-oriented candidates in the Republican party, the question worth looking at now is what happens to Paul’s supporters. While they might not necessarily be large in number, they have an enthusiasm that you don’t always see in politics.
But, will they last beyond the candidacy of one man ?
The most logical home for Paul supporters in November, it would seem, is the Libertarian Party’s nominee, former Congressman Bob Barr, a fact which Congressman Paul himself acknowledged in an interview yesterday on CNN:
John Roberts: There’s another politician who’s in the race who’s made some changes, as well: Georgia Congressman Bob Barr. He was a faithful Republican, supported a lot of their conservative policies. Now he’s the leader of the Libertarian Party. They would have loved to have had you. You wouldn’t run as a Libertarian. Let’s listen to what Bob Barr told me back on May the 26th about his chances in this race.
[VIDEO ARCHIVE] Bob Barr: There are millions of voters out there that are not going to vote for Senator McCain and we aim to reach those voters with the message of smaller government and more individual liberty.
John Roberts: Congressman, what do you think of Bob Barr? Does he faithfully represent the values of the Libertarian Party?
Ron Paul: I think so. It doesn’t mean that you can look at his voting record like you look at mine and say there was never any infraction. That doesn’t mean that he can’t represent these values. He’s saying the things he should be saying. He’s joined the Libertarian Party and he presents these views and he talks our language. So I do really believe that he can have a very positive effect in this campaign and let the people know that limited government is a very, very important message and that people will have a chance. That gives everybody a choice in the matter.
Here’s the video:
Barr, who introduced Paul at the CPAC conference back in March, had this to say regarding Paul’s announcement last night that he was ending his campaign for the GOP nomination:
“Congressman Ron Paul has fought tirelessly in both the Libertarian Party and the Republican Party to minimize government power and maximize individual liberty. I want to thank him for all that he has done for liberty in this nation, and encourage him to continue his fight through whatever avenues he sees fit.”
Although I don’t know that we’ll ever see a formal endorsement, it’s clear that these two guys respect each other alot.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hopefully, Bob Barr’s Facebook, meetups and other social media sites will start filling up with former Paul supporters.
June 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
I think Ralph Nader is a fine alternative for Ron Paul supporters.
Paul speaks against BIG GOVERNMENT. And contrary to what news bites and propaganda would have you believe, Nader is also against big government. Consider the enormously bloated military budget which accounts for nearly half of the government’s total operating budget. This is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money going to imperial wars based on lies.
And as part of this war, we have more BIG GOVERNMENT in the form of citizen surveillance. The PATRIOT Act (which Barr VOTED FOR) grants the government unprecedented powers to watch over American citizens without the need to prove probable cause in the court system.
Nader is against big government when it is fraudulent, wasteful or illegal. He calls for end to the intrusive PATRIOT Act and a massive reduction in the military budget. He wants to put an end to the excess of corporate welfare and put and end to the intrusive, failing drug war.
Nader is against maximizing government and sees its role as simply protecting the rights and interests of citizens and society as a whole.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
William,
Nader is a socialist. Ron Paul believes in free markets.
Anyone who thinks that they have anything in common doesn’t understand what either man stands for.
June 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I myself personally have a great interest in The Constitution Party, and their candidate Chuck Baldwin. Before entering the race he supported Ron Paul. I’ve read many comments from Paul supporters saying that they will most likely go with Baldwin. Barr has a problem with many (including me) for his work with the ACLU. He also has some pretty big personal baggage that will be talked about ad nauseum. Yes, it’s true that I have not seen much in the news about Baldwin, and Barr is squeezing himself onto every show (radio and TV) in order to get the all important name recognition. I really like the policies and platforms of the Constitution Party, mainly, we don’t need to police the world nor to have our military at the beck and call of the UN. We need real change back to smaller less intrusive government that was at one time great.
I now embarassinly admit to having been a Republican for far too long, and played the good cop bad cop games for way too long. I realized that the Republican party is like a broken bicycle. If it just had a flat tire, fix it and move on. If you have crashed and totaled the bicycle, it is more prudent to buy a new one. I see the Republican party as not even admiting that they have broken the bicycle, therefore that can’t admit that it is trashed, they will keep on doing what they always have. McCain is not the good cop to Obama’s bad cop- they are both lying, deceiving perps.
Sandy