I'm with Len. I think it was a fair question/assertion. Maybe presented badly, but if we're honest with ourselves, it's what most of us think - he's not electable. That said, I liked Paul's answer. I like Ron Paul, but would not vote for him. He represents a lot of things I value, but sadly, a lot of these things don't work today. Republican political ideals have changed over the years. I still call myself a Republican, but I have as much in common with today's typical Republican as Paul does unfortunately.

The only reason he's not electable is that the media has told you he's not electable.

So we agree he's not electable, that we differ over why is unimportant.

No, the media told you the same thing about Huckabee.

When people said FU to the media and gave him some love in Iowa, the media did a 180.

Same thing can/should happen with Paul.

You can be apathetic and sigh and say you wish you could vote for him but he's not electable, or you can make him electable. You can write letters to the editor, you can support his campaign with a donation or your time or a fricking sign on your front lawn (laser beams optional), but it's complete BS to sit back and say he's not electable and gnash your teeth while considering the current lot of buffoons running.

This country is fat, dumb and stupid and deserves the politicians it elects.

I'll tell you why Paul is unelectable to most outside of PPOT. He talks about things that the avg. voter knows nothing about. The avg. voter wants to know how the president is gonna make gasoline and heating oil cheaper, how he's gonna bring the troops home, how he's gonna get universal health insurance. Those aren't my top issues and maybe they're push-polled by the media. But you ain't gonna stop random people on the street and get them into a discussion on how the 10th Amendment has been perverted or why the Fed. Reserve or Dept. of Education should be abolished, let alone, why doing those things would eventually improve everyone's life. Most Americans probably think the Dept. of Education is responsible for all public schools! Our society is so dumbed down that Ron Paul looks like that unfrozen Army guy in Idiocracy trying to make a rational, cogent argument in court while everyone laughs at him. Sad but true.

Perhaps someone can answer for Ron Paul. He wants to get rid of the IRS and the Federal reserve and go back on the gold standard. Maybe he could tell us how he plans on having any sort of financial operations in this country or how we would be able to trade with any other country in the world. Maybe just some quick insite on how the federal govt would get paid?

The other point to be made is that NONE of Paul's wacky ideas would actually happen. It's not like he would be able to accomplish anything at all with congress.

He would be the protest President, which would be great in many ways but he would unite congress against him and possibly do more harm than good in all reality.

There's that word again "reality".

Yep

The gold standard doesn't go quite far enough. Eliminate wire transfers and ship the gold around on steam ships and rail cars.

LOL

LOL. Ron Paul isn't electable because he comes across as somewhat of a kook. He also simply does not project the image of a leader. He doesn't market or project himself as being "Presidential" material.

That's not the media's fault. He's been in every debate. He can make and run media commercials just like anyone else.

Being smart, or having great ideas, isn't what gets one elected president. It's marketing and vote getting. Maybe that's not the way it *should* be, but that's the way it is. And it's nothing new, been that way for a long time, probably always been that way.

Those are the rules, and Ron Paul isn't electable because he doesn't know how to effectively play within the reality of the rules of the game. You can go ahead and spraypaint "Ron Paul for President" on your bedsheet and hang it on a freeway overpass, and that may make you feel better, but won't get anyone elected president.

The ideas have to have to be viable in some form or another. Yea its easy to say do away with this or that but what alternative is he offering? Okay you want to do away with the federal reserve? What are you going to install to handle their finction instead?

I see Ron Paul not a president, but as the current representative of the libertarian view in the GOP. If he or another libertarian can demonstrate that there is a significant number with libertarian views, then the party will need deal with those views in some measure. This is not any different than deciding on how/what to include for the religious right, the neo-cons, environmentalists, pro-lifers, anti- lifers( that cracks me up), imigrant groups or any other faction in our system.



I do not like the other choices very much either.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone actually verified that the racist newsletter with Ron Paul's name on it was real? I'm not normally a conspiracy freak. But I saw the disgusting smear campaign that Bush did in SC in 2000 against one of the finest Americans alive today. And more recently, it has been revealed that the big story about Rudy hiding his security expenses for the romps in the Hamptons with his mistress were also not true...

http://boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/22/review_disputes_politicos_report_on_giuliani_expen ses/

The story against Rudy appears to have been a political hit job which sounds an awful lot like the story about Ron Paul's newsletter. So has anyone actually verified that this claim is true?

Yes, it's true. But Ron Paul claims that he didn't know what the editor was writing at the time.

http://reason.com/blog/show/124288.html

Tell me if you get rid of the Federal reserve how do you plan to run the economy?? Should we withdraw from the global capital markets and become a barter society?

and that is the sad truth..we are manipulated in evbery way so often that we are numb to it. The guy makes me proud to have a ron paul sign on my front lawn.

you do know that the FED is NOT a federal government institution, rather it is an independant that makes finasncial decisions that are in the best interests of those they serve? (IE: their inversters)
our dollar has consistently diminished in value since we went off the gold standard, hence the average Joe has seen less value for the same work..the deprciation of the dollar is much more that the amount earned by the generations of people since. Ever wonder why a car was $200 and now it is comprably $30000?
the value of the dollar has gone down as the working man's wage went up and more, to the negative effect that he makes less now than in adjusted past wages. (kinda like hearing that gold JUST edged over corrected 1980 figures)

I fully understand what the Federal Reserve is and I also understand the effects of the dollars global value and inflation. I spent 10 years of my career working for some very large institutions trading complex currency products.

I'll ask again, what alternative is offered for monetary policy and international trade and access to the global capital markets?

a central government institution..like say chinas?