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Ron Paul Wins Over the Tea Party Movement: Why Incumbents Should Worry

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What sort of off-the-wall stuff does Paul say? I suppose ending imperialist wars, demanding fiscal responsibilty from the government and protecting civil liberties are pretty crazy and weird ideas!!!

Will C. of FL 2:17PM March 05, 2010

Ron Paul is more loved by the tea party movement then any of these phonies that have been trying to hijack the movement.

auto of CO 8:51PM March 04, 2010

For once Mary Kate sees that the CPAC was a disaster for mainstream Republicans. Ron Paul is the Anti-Republican contrary to all the notions of the smug corporate routines of the establishment GOP. Paul is threatening because he is actually an ethical guy who represent his constituents and cares about average Americans. No way the GOP will stoop to that. We know already all the US News opins only talk about the Republican Party for the most part, and with Zuckerman running for Republican office, we can expect only Republican babble here discussed anymore. Nonetheless Mary Kate is right that the CPAC marks a further demise of the GOP after failing to convince conservatives that they have anything to offer.
The CPAC straw poll is a signal to the GOP that conservatives are not buying their shady perverse cronyism going forward.

Pete of GA 1:23AM February 25, 2010

To use someone else's analogy, you are like a slinky. Your opinion like a slinky is of no use but it is fun to watch as you push it off the top step.
Ron Paul won because his message resonates with those who love freedom and liberty which you will never understand. I can see why you were a speech writer for Mr. Bush. You are entrenched in the mind set of the establishment. The Belt way drive by media. Just about as clueless as they come.
To you everything has a spin and that is why your opinions are "off the wall".

jeff of WI 6:29PM February 24, 2010

I attended the spawning of our modern day Tea Parties which began on July 14th 2007 in Charleston Park, right next door to Google HQ in California's Silicon Valley.
Tea Party groups have taken on a life of their own. I find this refreshing compared to the Marxist central planning style of the current political parties that churn out mind numb campaigners who have no idea their leaders are picking their pockets and stealing their freedom.
Tea Partiers may not be as organized in some areas as the RepubliCrats but this is the beauty of individualism over collectivism. I find most Tea Partiers to be very educated about economics, foreign policy and other issues involving rightful liberty.
After all, this IS a Liberty issue.
This is why we will see more Liberty minded candidates such as John Dennis http://www.johndennis2010.com and BJ Lawson http://www.lawsonforcongress.com do well in elections.
Campaign for Liberty has done an excellent job and is very organized. C4L has supported candidates that were elected to Congress in 2010. This is not a flash in the pan operation.
As more Americans discover how the current and past power elite have sold them out and fleeced their savings, this revolution will grow.

Ken of CA 2:39PM February 24, 2010

I've been to a few tea parties and each one is different. I attended one that was put on by a local candidate for mayor. The attendees were mostly older, mostly white (but not exclusively), and many were veterans. There were a few college-aged kids, but these events are still not generally considered "cool" for them to attend. The promoters put on the event to get their names and political platform out. To be fair, this message was of fiscal responsibility and limited government, which is in-line with the sentiment of the tea party.
The second tea party I attended was part of the "Tea Party Express" tour. There was no doubt in my mind that the organizers of this event did not come from the grassroots. Still, the citizens who showed up were REAL people with viable complaints about the reckless spending and expansion of the federal government. I didn't stick around at this event long because the tone was negative and I prefer a strategy centered on solutions, rather than pointing fingers and placing blame.
At both events, the most impressive presence was Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty, whose volunteers seemed to be everywhere. They were focused on taking real action to educate participants on sound money, civil liberties, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. They collected hundreds of petition signatures for the Audit the Fed bill. They really captured the spirit of what these events are (supposed to be) about.
These tea party events are an unavoidable phenomena, as the GOP is learning. The CPAC straw poll IS significant, regardless of what its "also-rans" now claim. There is a genuine revolution of ideas occurring at tea parties, on college campuses, and in the hearts and minds of Americans everywhere in-between. The GOP doesn't get it. Fox News definitely doesn't get it. Look to groups like the Campaign for Liberty, We The People, Oath Keepers, and Downsize DC for real grassroots action and to measure the pulse of America.

Patriot of FL 11:13AM February 24, 2010

But the comments are pretty shabby.
Ron Paul won because he is a principled conservative with a spotless voting record. After electing 'change' that ended up following the entire Bush doctrine the left has abandoned the supporters than landed BO in the white house. The right is just trying to hijack what Paul started and gain seats. Trouble is that whole internet thingy. People are better educated, more reluctant to listen to the parrots on MSM and have witnessed the hit pieces and shady political practices.
Then hearing that the left is going to cram healthcare down our throats even though recent polls show that we Americans dont want what they want to force.
There are many more conservatives in America than liberals.. I mean progressives.. I mean half commie, green worshiping evirowhacko's.
Keep all that smugness. Come 2010 elections I think this Liberty movement is going to hand more incumbents their arse... and I cant wait to see that happen.
Change is coming.

PJ McFlur of MS 10:40AM February 24, 2010

I will respond to your points:
1. By cutting taxes, a $2.11 trillion deficit was added. The tax cuts were made with borrowed money from China, India and Japan.
2. All the monies for the wars were done as emergency appropriation bills and, if you remember, if you didn't vote for them, you were considered unpatriotic and didn't support the troops.
3. The recession started in March 2001 while Bush was president; so, he had two recessions under his belt (December 2007).
4. Yes, Bush began warning of a recession in 2001 because we were in one already.
5. The Congress and the UN approved a use of force, but did not declare war. Obama may be for the war in Afghanistan, but I was against both invasions. By the way, the invasion of Iraq was done with bogus claims made by the Bush Administration. Treason in by book.
6. Bush wanted regulations alright. He wanted to regulate Endangered Species Act our of existence, he wanted guns in National Parks (a law that Obama just signed), he wanted to regulate taxes on the rich and corporations out of existence, he wanted to either weaken or do away with just about every regulation that had to do with keeping people safe from drinking water, food inspections, etc. How many episodes of Ecoli and recalled products did we go through during his terms? As for banks and corporations, he didn't try to regulate them, in fact, it was just the opposite. He undid the banking regulations that Clinton put into place while in office. How about Enron? You know with Kenny Boy?
You can keep reading the Heritage Foundation, Grover Norquist, watch FOX News, etc., but it won't change the facts that Bush/Cheney (waterboard man) were a disaster for this country and we will be paying for their follies for a long time.

Tree Hugger of CO 10:34AM February 24, 2010

So I guess the writing is on the wall; the Democrats are going to get hammered on Election Day, right? I wouldn't be too sure about that. There are far too many monkey wrenches that are ready to be thrown into this engine. The most amusing thing to observe during the CPAC orgy last Thursday was their subtle attempt to disassociate themselves from the so-called "Tea Party Movement" without flatly rejecting it. What is going on here?
Here's what's going on: The cooler heads within the Republican National Committee know damned well that the Tea Partiers are a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. It's not merely the fact that most of these people are dumber than doggy dung, it is also the ugly reality that so much (although not all) of that movement is based on the nasty philosophy that has embodied the white supremacist movement for decades. You could hear it in the remarks made by the protesters at the September 12, "March on Washington". You could see it in the signs they carried. Most of these twits refuse to even acknowledge the fact that the president of the United States is an American citizen!
Like Neville Chamberlain appeasing der fuhrer at the Munich conference in 1938, the RNC is frantically searching for a "peace in our time" moment. They have quite a dilemma before them to be sure. On the one hand they need to keep these jackasses "inside the tent pissing out" - so to speak. On the other hand they have to avoid alienating the moderates. Like the demented uncle living in the attic, they must do everything humanly possible to make sure that any contact with the neighborhood kids is limited if you know what I mean.
The Tea Party people are already claiming credit for Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago. They are determined to steer the course of the GOP in November, come hell or high water. If they are allowed control of the party, their extremism will only turn off a huge segment of the voting population. If they are denied that opportunity, they will splinter off into third and even fourth party uprisings. Have you ever watched an elephant try to walk a tightrope? It's more fun than a barrel of donkeys.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

Tom Degan of NY 9:43AM February 24, 2010

I checked out your link and it was interesting! Check this one out too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTWY14eyMFg
Hey - not to say that there aren't racists in this "so called" movement, I also think that many black people practice reverse racism on whites as well...many of them supported Obama.
But that may be ok, as long as it's done under the banner of the African American Movement.
Please before you assume that I am someone from and organized group and attempt to "label" me in a "demeaning" fashion (LOL), please understand that I try to stay above labels and pack-driven ideologies because they are limiting and in no way define me as a person...I am more complex than that, as I could only hope you that you might be too! If you need a label, call it "Adultism"!
Please also consider this with an open mind...if your are called a "liberal", even if you are proud of it, especially amongst like-minded individuals, when a "conservative" calls you that, you look at it as an attack and your natural tendancy might be to strike back at the one who "labelled" you as such, in a negative way! After all, the gall of them to do that! Transversely, if you were a "consevative", and a "liberal" did the same, your reaction would be exactly the same. But if those who find these labels important for distinguishing themselves from others would ever STOP...COUNT TO TEN...and think rationally about it, they might realize that the terms liberal and liberty are related and that conservatitve means "one who saves". Neither of those are actually bad things but our lovely media (FOX, CNN, and all other forms of corporate elite controlled thought devices) have succeeded in convincing millions of us that good meaning words are really bad, and even hateful words to some!
I don't know about you, but I take exception to those who's intentions are to manipulate my thoughts and feelings in a dishonest, self-serving way! Realistically, they really can't have your or my true interests at heart! Do you think they would?

Bajabeamer of TN 12:15AM February 24, 2010