I didn’t attend the press conference(s) today, but I’ve read reports from a variety of sources (with varying points of view). Here are some random observations:
- Did the McCain campaign really think that having Phil Gramm ask Ron Paul to endorse McCain was a good idea? (From what I can gather it was the dirty tactics by Republicans in favor of Graham over Dr. Paul, when they both ran for the same Senate seat from Texas in 1984, that was a significant factor in Ron Paul running for President as a Libertarian in 1988.)
- Bob Barr’s campaign did itself a great disservice today.
- Because of the Barr campaign’s last minute pullout, the point of the “We Agree” statement will be missed. That point, in my view, is that there are four fundamental principles that most Americans agree on, but the the two major candidates we have to choose from largely or completely reject.
- The big winner today was the Baldwin campaign.
- I was surprised that Nader and McKinney signed on to the statement, but I’m pleased that they did.
- I am always skeptical of “strange-bedfellows”projects for the reason that Richard Spencer aptly points out: “in all these Left-Right, “strange-bedfellows” coalitions, the Left always ends up on top.”
- If Bob Barr was willing to offer Ron Paul his VP slot, why not offer him the top of the ticket? (Barr could then take the VP slot.)
2 Comments Received
Patrick, is it strange for me to be feeling a bit let down with this “Major Announcement”? If you were to read the Campaign for Liberty website, you would have thought this was going to be the second coming.
“Vote for third partys”, was what I heard.Great messege, but haven’t we heard this before, for how ever long? I know, a good majority of Dr.Pauls suppoters are 18-20, so this is all new to them. But for someone like myself, it sounds like a broken record.
And to see McKinney and Nader standing beside Dr. Paul and Chuck Baldwin was a bit of a mind blower. Being that McKinney and Nader pretty much are the opposite of what Paul and Baldwin believe in. So they signed a “pledge”. Big deal.
As well as seeing people like Nader and McKinney there, and “Ron Paul supporters” cheering them on, makes me think that the Leftist elements of the Paul supporters have taken over. And no, I am not, in anyway shape or form a Leftist. Quite frankly, I don’t even want to be near people like this.
So, as Richard Spencer said…The Revolution is over.
Patrick, I completely agree on your points, especially that Baldwin came out the big winner as a result of yesterdays events. I had decided to vote for Baldwin before the press conference, so Barr’s behavior did not sway me, however, judging the reactions of HARDCORE Libertarians, Barr has sadly, caused the party to implode. There may be a very small faction of Ron Paul supporters who might vote for Barr, McKinney or Nader, but I do believe the vast majority will now vote Baldwin.
It is rather ironic if you think about it. Many supporters were begging for direction so we could all vote as a block. In a very unforeseen way, we got just that. It is disheartening to see Bob Barr destroy the LP in one election cycle, and my hope is that the damage can be repaired in the future.
Thanks for your insight; I appreciate it.
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