Ron Paul Voters
I was reading Captains Quarter’s this morning and saw a post where Ron Paul rose four million in a single day. Ed Morrisey pointed out that this hardly will make him a top tier candidate because he’s pretty far out there in a lot of things that he says. But the conclusion caught my eye:
What does this tell us? The libertarian impulse may have stronger legs than anyone recognizes. It certainly seems more individually vibrant than the “values voters” segment of the Republican Party, which hasn’t even produced a candidate in this election, let alone this kind of impromptu grassroots effort. It could also complicate the primaries if Paul manages to turn this fundraising into actual poll strength.
Beyond Paul and his flaws, the Republicans had better start paying attention to these voters. Like it or not, they represent a passion that seems to have left the GOP in recent months, and even if they skew young and may not vote as promised this cycle, they will eventually. Rather than continue to write them off, Republicans have to find a way to address them outside of conspiracy theories and allusions to blowing up buildings.
I think many of us wish that Paul wasn’t a kook. I don’t want to see a Hillary or Obama in the White House, but I don’t have all that much enthusiasm for the Republican candidates.
