Posted by
Andrews on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 10:07:14 PM
I have found one very simple reason Ron Paul will not win.
Now, my wife, as I have mentioned, is conservative in general, but not terribly political. She keeps up on the big headlines when work doesn't demand her attention, but she doesn't remember all the names of those running in the primaries, nor does she keep up on the minutiae of every bit of legislation sitting in committee. She knows, in general terms, the positions of the front runners and the names of most of the major political players, but that's it. In short, she is pretty much your average voter. (As opposed to the political junkies on Townhall.)
She saw me writing furiously tonight, and asked what was going on. I told her I was debating with some Ron Paul supporters. After a few minutes of watching me type, she asked "What has you so worked up?" I replied that I thought Ron Paul was wrong, that withdrawing our troops to the borders of the US, and staying out of all foreign conflicts, would not make us safe.
She thought for a moment and replied "He's crazy."
And that is why Paul will never win. His supporters may say he REALLY doesn't mean he wants to withdraw all troops to the borders of the US, or he doesn't REALLY mean we should never get involved in any foreign conflicts, but that sure is what Ron Paul seems to be saying. If his own words sound like that to most people, they can certainly be sold that way by his opponents.
And if his opponents can convince the average voter that Ron Paul wants to withdraw the troops to the borders of the US and never use them except if Canada invades, then the average voter will respond the way my wife did:
He's crazy.
And that, in a nutshell, is why Ron Paul will never win. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the merits of his position, no matter how carefully he thought it out, his policy comes across as insane to the average voter. And that is a sure ticket to defeat.
(By the way, it doesn't help that Ron Paul himself comes across as a bit "off" when speaking. Nor does it help that his followers spend so much time telling everyone that he really didn't mean what he seemed to say -- that he isn't a 9/11 truther, that he isn't an isolationist, etc. And the endorsements he is getting from white power and "Christian Identity" [read as "skinhead"] groups don't help either. In fact, except for a knack for fund raising, and having so far avoided any scandalous behavior, it seems Ron Paul's campaign has every negative one could imagine.*)
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* Some will consider this a cheap shot, but Ron Paul is starting to remind me of someone else. A skilled fund raiser, who came out of nowhere, had a strong internet following, fanatical supporters, a sudden surge in the polls, ran a campaign that seemed to be all wrong but still pulled ahead right before Iowa... and then burned out and faded away.
Now all we have to see is if that last comes true. Will we see Ron Paul promising followers "We're going to Florida, going to California, going to Ohio... YEARGH!"?
I can't wait to see Ron's take on the "Dean Scream".