Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who’s making his third run for the White House, is at 12 percent. Every other candidate is in single digits.
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Ron Paul third on CNN Poll
Perry stung by Paul
In the HuffPo commentary section of last night debate there were two interesting comments worth mentioning. First, it was Ryan Grim’s observations that Audit the Fed has become largely mainstream in the Republican Party. He writes:
The bruised relationship between the Republican Party and the Federal Reserve was on dramatic display in response to a question about whether the Federal Reserve should be audited. Such a look-see into the workings of the central bank was considered radical just a few years ago; it was only over the staunch opposition of Wall Street and the leadership in both parties that a watered-down measure to partially audit the Fed became law in 2010. But the policy now seems to be uniformly backed by the GOP’s presidential contenders.
“Of course we should see what the Fed is doing,” Romney said.
Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum all backed a Fed audit, as well, while arguing that it should no longer focus on increasing employment, restricting its focus to inflation.
Rick Perry stood by his controversial Fed comments from earlier in the campaign, when he said that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would be treated “ugly” in Texas and that his monetary policy was “almost treasonous.” Perry slightly softened the charge, saying that Bernanke himself wasn’t a traitor, but that using the Fed for political purposes was “almost treasonous.” Bernanke is a Republican.
Secondly, was John Ward’s summary of Paul’s critique of Perry’s job growth program:
The second key moment in the debate tonight, as it relates to Rick Perry’s fortunes, came when Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) went after the Texas governor. Paul was asked if Perry should get credit for Texas’ job growth. Not only did Paul say no, he said that under Perry, his taxes have doubled, the state’s debt has tripled and 170,000 of the state’s new jobs were government jobs.
That came moments after Romney had gotten in a nice jab at Perry, saying that under the previous two governors, Democrat Ann Richards and Republican George W. Bush, job growth per year was higher: 2.5 percent for Richards, 3.5 percent for Bush and 1 percent for Perry.
Perry is looking good overall, but the shots from Paul will bloody him a little. Maybe a reason why Perry should have avoided going after the Texas congressman in the last debate.
Overall, this was a fine debate for Paul. Paul took the opportunity to make some salient observations on a variety of issues and once again had the opportunity to defend his consistent record against the interventionist foreign policy.<>
Ron Paul, a Strong Contender
Rick Perry made Ron Paul a strong contender over night. At least, this is what this fantastic piece observes:
Something interesting happened in that moment during the Republican presidential debate when Texas Governor and GOP front-runner Rick Perry turned to Ron Paul during a break, continuing a spirited exchange while physically grabbing him and pointing an index finger toward Paul’s face.
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Ron Paul is 10 Points Head of Obama with Independent Voters
This is a great piece ultimately revealing the failing policies of Obama:
The polls for a one-on-one match-up with Obama are climbing for the GOP candidates as the approval rating for the current occupant of our White House continues to dive into dangerous territory.
Perhaps the most revealing spread of polling numbers comes from the latest Rasmussen poll on Tuesday showing that among voters that do not identify themselves as Republican or Democrat, Ron Paul is now in a 10-point lead over Obama (43% to 33%). This means that Paul is picking up a significant portion of the all important Independent, Decline-to-state and 3rd party vote. These 3 categories represent the fastest growing segments of registered voters today. This trend is largely being fueled by rapidly increasing voter’ discontent of traditional, establishment candidates. Only God knows what these numbers may grow to by November of 2012.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Ron Paul soars to 10-point lead over Obama among fastest growing voter segments – Washington DC Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-washington-dc/ron-paul-soars-to-10-point-lead-over-obama-among-fastest-growing-voter-segments#ixzz1XTCrVJUD<>
Ron Paul, Reagan, and Foreign Policy
Excellent summary of Reagan and Paul’s foreign policy…not identical, but no so different in comparison to Santorum and McCain:
<>Rick Perry “Threatens” and Grabs Ron Paul
Apparently, Paul got to Perry during the debate break. Drudgereport.com and several other news are featuring these pictures. Update: The Ron Paul staff say that the conversation was cordial.
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Ron Paul’s Consistency Mentioned in the Telegraph
Things were settling down to a two-man fight when the anchors finally let Ron Paul speak. Interestingly, they used him to attack Perry from the Right. It was probably a cynical move (“Let’s unleash the old crazy guy on that smug SOB,” said someone in the control room). But in the long run it’ll do Paul a lot of good. It let him show off his conservative economic credentials against a field of career politicians. Perry talks like a Tea Party man, but he’s secretly a big spender and used to be a centrist Democrat. Ron Paul exposed that deftly and moved on to make his unique pitch as a libertarian who won’t yield on anything. The thing I love most about Dr Paul is how many wild ideas he fits into a thirty second answer. Last night we got abolish airport security, shut down disaster relief and end the war on drugs. As the field rearranges itself following the psychic shock of Perry entering the race, this kind of unhinged consistency sets Paul apart as the real candidate of the Right. Perry and Romney will get torn apart by their records. Ron Paul’s running on rhetoric, and it sounds mighty fine so far.
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An Open Letter to Gov. Rick Perry by Jesse Benton
An open letter from Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton
Dear Governor Perry,
After our campaign’s first ad highlighting your Big Government record and support for liberal Al Gore, your campaign is attacking Dr. Paul – missing the point of why your past is important.
We don’t think the fact that you used to be a Democrat is the big problem here. The real problem is that, too often, you still act like one. Even you yourself, Governor Perry, said of your party switch, “I will still vote the same principles, only with an R after my name.”
That’s the kind of thinking that has our country teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. We cannot afford to nominate someone who thinks the letter next to their name is more important than what they believe.
Governor Perry, let me be clear: It is not that you supported Al Gore that worries us.
It is that you supported Hillary Clinton’s health care plan.
You pushed for a federal bailout and stimulus funds.
You support welfare for illegal immigrants.
You tried to forcibly vaccinate 12-year-old girls against sexually transmitted diseases by executive order.
You raised taxes twice.
And, state debt has more than doubled in your tenure as governor, pushing Texas to the brink of our constitutional debt limit.
It’s that you supported ALL of these bad ideas that are inconsistent with how most Republicans understand conservatism, yet you now try to swagger your way into the Tea Party.
Governor Perry, with all due respect, you have used great rhetoric. But you will have to answer to the voters of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and across the country as to why that rhetoric does not match your record.
Truth indeed. By the way, here’s the ad again.
For Liberty,
Jesse Benton
Campaign Chairman<>
