Ron Paul to bow out ?

Paul isn't going to drop out. Aside from Romney he has been getting more financial backing for his campaign than the rest of the GOP contenders. He can probably hold out longer than Santorum or Gingrich financially. Perhaps until a nominee is crowned. From day one Paul never expected to get elected as president or possibly even become the nominee. His campaign has also been more about spreading a libertarian message and "educating" today's republicans about what conservatism really means. He knows that the only way he can do this is running on the republican ticket. Now that candidates are dropping out left and right, his platform in which he speaks from is getting bigger every day. He pushed on through the 2008 election until it cam down to him, Romney and McCain. I suspect he will hold out just as long again this year.

 

Good post, and you may even be right!
I still believe he has left the door open for an independent run for a reason. He knows there is no "next time" for him, and will maximize his influence in any way he can.
But I might be wrong. It may be wishful thinking on my part, as I am pulling for Obama.
Welcome to PF. You seem fairly reasonable at first glance. That may ultimately chase you off of here. LOL.
Love the avatar.

 

Thank you.

But I don't think Paul will ever run as an independent. Ever. He has already stated that if he loses the nomination (which everyone expects) that he will sit back and support who ever campaigns against Obama. Nor will he ever run again in the next election on a third party ticket. Third parties always lose elections and are never invited to debates alongside republicans or democrats.

 

Not true.
Ross Perot appeared in the debates between Bush and Clinton, and his VP debated as well, and effectively killed the duo.
He has repeatedly said that he would "never say never" as he eschews "absolutes", leaving the door open for that third party run.
We'll see.

 

Yes Ross Perot was an exception. But that was a LONG time ago. Not since then have there been any strong Third Party candidates with a voice or platform that rallied a significant amount of support to shake up an election. And even before Perot, the only other third party ticket that was successful by any means was a hundred years ago when Roosevelt ran against Wilson and Taft.

 

exactly.I think Paul is going all the way this time.Much more people are behind him this time than last time.

 

another great point.He also seems to forget that Paul is a doctor which is why he is in better shape than most people in their 50's.

 

Maybe it's an age thing, but Perot was not THAT long ago. It is certainly part of Ron Paul's frame of reference and it may serve as a model for what he does next. Paul has the same kind of support base that Perot had grown back then, and is better known because of having been around the Washington scene for so long. The media would support his inclusion, too, I think.
But we'll see.

 

Are you serious?
He looks like hell!
The only place he's going all the way to is Texas.

 

Yeah, definitely desperate wishful thinking from our resident Romney fan. Paul is going to be one of the last two standing.
But to answer the question, if Paul were to drop out, his supporters would go to Johnson.

 

If he drops out of the race im betting he gets the VP pick from Johnson.

 

I don't think he'll run 3rd party or with Gary Johnson as VP. He's going to watch the GOP hang themselves by electing a crony collectivist to represent the party...they won't be able to blame him for splitting the vote.

Obama will be the president for 4 more years. Eat it up, MnBillyGoat.

 

I doubt he will run on a third party ticket. It could/would kill any chance for Rand Paul, who in my honest opinion has a real shot of going much further than his father in politics, and really isn't all that weird.

 

Ron Paul isn't weird and he is much smarter than his son. Of course, that does make Rand appeal more to your typical republican...being sort of dumb that is.

 

Paul has already stated he will support whoever the republican nominee is. I don't know why everyone is even talking about third parties or independent runs. It won't happen and Paul has already stated that it will never happen. If he ever believed that a third party ticket would do any good for his message he never would have signed up as a republican. Paul understands how biased the political landscape is and realizes that in order to get a different message across you HAVE to subscribe to one of the two major parties. One thing is for sure, Paul does not want to see Obama get another 4 years. And he realizes an independent run could jeopardize that goal by splitting votes between him and the republican party in this year's election.

 

Ya, nobody cares about those potatoes.

 

I heard the opposite, what I heard him say was "it depends who the nominee is", if you have heard different let me know where he said it.

 

Ron Paul holds a mirror to both of these parties to show them how worthless and off-the-track they have gone.

Hey republicans, this is what fiscal conservatism and the constitution look like.

Hey "liberals", this is liberty.

Thank God for Ron Paul.

 

I haven't heard this either. I have heard him specifically deflect the question by saying he doesn't like "absolutes" and "never say never". When did he state it would never happen? I follow this pretty closely, but I could have missed it.

 

Doesn't sound like the Ron Paul I know.

 

I think you guys may be right. After looking this up on my own it appears that Ron Paul has publicly announced that he may or may not support whoever the republican nominee is. Granted this was back in November when he last addressed this so maybe his position has changed? Maybe I thought I had heard him say otherwise recently. Regardless, I still think an independent run is not likely.

 

Props to you for admitting your error.
It's a rare commodity around here.

 

Dr, Paul actually does the people's business while campaigning...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg69QM1yXQQ&feature=player_embedded"]NDAA Floor Speech Jan 18 2012 - YouTube[/ame]

 

I posted 6 pages of his missed votes ..funny you dont show a clip of all those missed votes..

I LOVE THIS .
Ron Paul has a 18 % Humane society voting record ?
WHY ?

He voted to allow the wild Mustangs on the far western plains to be gathered and killed for human consumption.
One of the few to VOTE YES to allow it.

Horse lovers and the far west could never vote for someone so STUPID.

 

Being truthful is something the media finds difficult to do. As well the sheep that follow them.