Congratulations Ron Paul!

Ron Paul scored a big upset today, coming in #2 in the Nevada primary.  It is bracing to see him whup McCain, Thompson, Huckabee, and Guiliani in convincing fashion.

The race between Paul and the winner, Romney, may have been closer with a little bit of luck.  The Nevada GOP continually changed the rules and changed the locations for the caucusing; the Paul campaign formally protested yesterday.

Paul’s margin may have also been hurt because of the clock.

Nevada has a large Mormon population, and many of them turned out to vote for Romney. 

Nevada has many libertarians, and plenty of them turned out for Paul.

But the caucusing started at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning – a time of day far more conducive to Mormons than to libertarians. 

(hat tip to Vin Suprynowicz)

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20 Responses to Congratulations Ron Paul!

  1. Eric Dondero January 19, 2008 at 10:28 pm #

    Actually Mitt Romney clobbered Paul with 53% to Paul’s 13%, and Romney hardly even campaigned in the State. Paul spent days there campaigning and made major radio ad buys.

    A very pathetic showing for Paul indeed.

    Just breaking…

    Paul placed 5th in SC with 3.6%.

  2. Jim January 20, 2008 at 12:10 am #

    The fact that Paul came in second was a big shock to the Mainstream Media – and probably to McCain as well.

    Nevada’s finish helps Paul stay in the fight at a time when other former frontrunners like Giuliani will momentarily sink beneath the waves.

  3. Silva January 20, 2008 at 1:08 am #

    Oh come on. Ron Paulnutz percentage is representative of a low turnout in a meaningless caucus that nobody but Romney even bothered to remember existed. Of course Paul did well. His supporters are dedicated loons who love lost causes and board games that don’t require booze or members of the opposite sex.

  4. charlie January 20, 2008 at 1:30 am #

    Eric Dondero’s ability to troll the Internet for every blog posting the least bit sympathetic to Ron Paul is simply amazing. His ability to reason and post cogent arguments is, however, somewhat lacking.

    So if Ron Paul’s showing today is so bad, what does that say of “Mainstream Libertarian” Rudy Giuliani, who has now lost to the “very pathetic” Paul in four out of the give contests?

    And according to the New York Times, Romney was in Nevada about the same number of times as Paul — and campaigned heavily in the state the last week. You may have noticed that he received nearly all of the Mormon votes too. But wait, let me guess, Romney’s victory — gained almost entirely because he is a Mormon — was another win for “mainstream” libertarianism, right?

  5. Ray January 20, 2008 at 1:39 pm #

    Dondero should change the name of his group to Authoritarian Libertarians.
    It still makes me break out laughing when he calls his boy Giuliani a libertarian.

  6. Jim January 20, 2008 at 2:08 pm #

    Has anyone pulled together a list of all the libertarians and @libertarians who have endorsed Giuliani?

  7. Tom Blanton January 20, 2008 at 5:51 pm #

    Jim, I put together an exhaustive list of all persons claiming to be libertarians who support Giuliani. Here is the list in its entirety:

    Eric Dondero

  8. Tom Blanton January 20, 2008 at 6:01 pm #

    Giuliani’s foreign policy advisor, Norman Podhoretz, who might be considered a libertarian by Eric Dondero, apparently supports Giuliani. However, I don’t think Podhoretz calls himself a libertarian.

    His latest article in Commentary Magazine calling for war on Iran might indicate that he is a liberventionist.

  9. Jim January 20, 2008 at 10:20 pm #

    Podhoretz is a hoot. The fact that he is esteemed in DC – practically a sacred persona at AEI and probably a few other think tanks – says volumes about how DC ‘intellectuals’ will mindlessly defer…

  10. Jim January 20, 2008 at 10:21 pm #

    Tom – I have heard other self-designated libertarians gush praise for Guiliani. Some of the people heaping the praise may have hoped for high-ranking appointments in a Guiluiani administration…

  11. Tom Blanton January 21, 2008 at 7:32 am #

    There actually are some libertarians acting as advisors to Giuliani now who, as you observed, are probably hoping to hop on the gravy train if Giuliani is elected.

    They may also want to check out Yellow Cab for a gig – I understand they are always looking for libertarian policy wonks.

  12. Dirk W. Sabin January 21, 2008 at 9:59 am #

    Watching the media harlots attempt to ignore Paul’s # 2 showing in Nevada was rather humorous. It’s not surprising that Romney won , after all Nevada is a Great Basin State and despite it’s growth from all points as well as its’ reputation as sin city, there is a huge Mormon population there. Las Vegas was founded by the Mormons , who evicted the Digger Shoshones. Paul likely got the vote from the small towns where a weird assemblage of society’s
    outcasts have retreated to be left the hell alone.

    What we are watching here is a real shelackingdeveloping where this Republican Party will likely have their asses handed to them by the Democrats which, after 8 years of Big Government Conservatism will be uniquely suited to turn a reckless government loose on the citizenry.

    This little reprise of Hooverism will be a bigger hole to dig out of because the so called “adults” went on a real bender this time, thinking debt somehow no problemo and printing presses as an instrument of fiscal policy. We have not seen as much stupidity in service to bad economic oversight since that Harvard Educated Mexican President, i forget his name, tanked his economy. Norte America is the New Banana Republic and an Evita character like Hellery is just the ticket. Then again, with another terrorist attack, some leering daddy ticket just might squeak in. Whoever gets in will rue the day they sold their souls to assume the Presidency……unless, it’s the kind of personality that enjoys watching the lapsed Republic twist and her people bend over for a good old fashioned hoo-hawing.

    Rudy as a “Libertarian” eh? Who makes this stuff up?
    Any Libertarian that supports Rudy must have simply been charmed by those batting eyelashes and beauty mark of his Mae West ensemble.

    He worked as a mayor but as a President he’s unimaginable…but only slightly more so than the rest of these Rabid Narcissists.

  13. Jean January 21, 2008 at 6:24 pm #

    Hello Jim. Took a little time off, and hit the slopes in New Hampshire. Anyway, just went and checked out the exit polls from Nevada, and South Carolina.
    Well, as in previous campaigns, Nevada held to form about who supports Dr. Paul. Young people, and people who aren’t religious. Also, in Nevada, Dr. Paul won the independent votes. Then in South Carolina, what a different story.
    Huckabee won the young vote, and McCain won the non-religious vote. Dr. Paul only got 10% of the that vote in SC. It’s a sure bet that the Bible belt will not go for Dr. Paul.
    However, it’s still mind boggling to me that people are voting for McCain over Paul when it comes to the war and the Bush Adminstration in general, and they vote for Romney when it comes to the economy. Me thinks people don’t time to read their records while in office. Romney when Gov. of Mass raised state spending over 25%, and increased taxes, and shoved down the throats of people health insurance that they didn’t need, and forced them to pay for it.
    Guess that’s the free market at work. And finally, what can you say about the MSM.

  14. Ryan January 21, 2008 at 9:12 pm #

    There was a caucus in Nevada this weekend? Damn! That’s what I get for watching Fox News.

    Seriously, it is funny in a sick way to watch all these idiots on the radio and Fox play a political version of “Twister” in an attempt to avoid mentioning Paul’s name. I guess that exchange where Carl Cameron was shown up as an ass by the good doctor was the last straw for Fox and the rest of the media. Paul is on double secret ignore again.

    “Eric Dondero’s ability to troll the Internet for every blog posting the least bit sympathetic to Ron Paul is simply amazing.”

    I’ve notice that too, Charlie. He reminds me of Bill O’Reilly in this regard. Someone or something obscure like the Daily Kos can say or write something negative about Billo and for the next week he is on the warpath raising hell about the offender.

    Maybe Eric and Billo are twins seperated at birth.
    ========
    Eric,

    How’s that race going?

  15. Jim January 21, 2008 at 11:09 pm #

    This presidential campaign has been good for flushing out the sheer pimpery pervading the establishment media.

  16. Jim January 21, 2008 at 11:11 pm #

    Jean – glad you survived NH. I reckon their mountains have a lower attrition rate than the Colorado ones. I recall passing through the Denver airport in February and seeing endless folks with busted legs being wheeled out to the planes…

  17. Mike Walsh January 22, 2008 at 12:32 am #

    We actually had to take Dondero’s IP address off our spam filters to allow him to post a while back. Seems like his hobby is flaming Ron Paul on every blog he can find his name mentioned.

  18. Adam S. January 23, 2008 at 7:04 pm #

    Dondero is now the Clown Prince of politics this season. What little I have heard of him reinforces Shakespeare’s point that an idiot’s wisdom is easily quashed, but a sage’s foolery is true entertainment. Between him and Fox News , I don’t know who to laugh at more. This is one campaign season that is worthy of commentary. I swear to God that Dondero and Fox News live on the astral plane and report news not just from an ivory tower, but wearing rose colored glasses.
    Ron Paul could get an endorsement from Jesus Christ himself and Fox News would somehow fail to mention it. Faux News would only discuss him if he started promising $5,000 dollars to every American and the internment of all Muslims upon taking office.

  19. Jim January 23, 2008 at 7:55 pm #

    I thought Jesus had already endorsed Huckabee.

  20. Adam S. January 23, 2008 at 9:06 pm #

    Jesus is on everyone’s side except your enemy’s. In fact I am convinced that when the revolution comes, I will be forced to strangle Iraqis with piano wire to show them how Christian and pacifist I am.
    I am so tired of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and their “Kool-Aid Konservatism” Every issue is draped in Jesus and oozes Holy Blood. And all this from two men, who along with Ann Coulter, are the most spiritually ambiguous commentators on the political scene today. Nietzsche’s comment on Britain is equally applicable to America: “They want Christian morality without the Christianity” Think what you will of Christianity, but I won’t have it shoved down my or anyone else’s throat. Make me take a big bite of the feces sandwich if I must, but don’t give it to me with the cherry and whip cream of hypocrisy on top!