Rep. Ron Paul a surprising contender
JAY ROOTMcClatchy NewspapersFriday January 25, 2008
CLUTE, Texas He spoke out against putting dope dealers in federal prison, opposed a bill to crack down on child pornography and voted against the Iraq war.
Then Ron Paul announced that he was running for president — as a Republican.
If that sounds like a recipe for failure, or perhaps a political fantasy, consider this: The Republican congressman from Texas has frequently had more money in the bank than Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee combined.
He has become an Internet sensation and, as the only Republican contender who favors an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, has posed a distinct contrast to his rivals in televised presidential debates.
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Paul, 72, is also the runaway favorite for re-election to Congress in his district, where an old “LBJ law” allows him to run for president and for Congress simultaneously. Democrats are so used to losing to him that they haven’t even fielded a candidate yet, and probably won’t.
“He’s definitely an enigma,” said Allen Cumbie, the head of the Democratic Party in Matagorda County, Texas. “I don’t even think he tries to get legislation passed that benefits this district … and yet he continues to be elected year after year. I don’t really know how to explain it.”
Paul’s bedrock supporters have a ready answer: He is authentic.
They may not agree with or even understand all of Paul’s views, which range from bringing back the gold standard to abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. But at a time when slick packaging and scandal have soured many people on politics, voters are attracted to Paul’s grandfatherly, if uncompromising, honesty.
“You always know where he stands,” said Texas gun dealer Alan Jones, whose engraved .22-caliber rifles have become popular auction items at Paul fundraisers. “The thing you wish for is that there were more politicians in Washington that voted the way that they really think instead of doing it because of politics.”
A soft-spoken obstetrician who’s delivered more than 4,000 babies, Paul has managed to strike a chord both with little old ladies — his “Granny Warriors” — and dope-smoking libertarians. When he ran for president in 1988, High Times magazine ran a cover story titled, “Ron Paul: Pro-Pot Presidential candidate.”
His views on abortion also have found common ground where usually there is none. He is resolutely against abortion but, as with illegal drugs and anti-pornography laws, he thinks that the federal government should butt out and let the states decide what to do.
JAY ROOTMcClatchy NewspapersFriday January 25, 2008
CLUTE, Texas He spoke out against putting dope dealers in federal prison, opposed a bill to crack down on child pornography and voted against the Iraq war.
Then Ron Paul announced that he was running for president — as a Republican.
If that sounds like a recipe for failure, or perhaps a political fantasy, consider this: The Republican congressman from Texas has frequently had more money in the bank than Sen. John McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee combined.
He has become an Internet sensation and, as the only Republican contender who favors an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, has posed a distinct contrast to his rivals in televised presidential debates.
(Article continues below)
Paul, 72, is also the runaway favorite for re-election to Congress in his district, where an old “LBJ law” allows him to run for president and for Congress simultaneously. Democrats are so used to losing to him that they haven’t even fielded a candidate yet, and probably won’t.
“He’s definitely an enigma,” said Allen Cumbie, the head of the Democratic Party in Matagorda County, Texas. “I don’t even think he tries to get legislation passed that benefits this district … and yet he continues to be elected year after year. I don’t really know how to explain it.”
Paul’s bedrock supporters have a ready answer: He is authentic.
They may not agree with or even understand all of Paul’s views, which range from bringing back the gold standard to abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. But at a time when slick packaging and scandal have soured many people on politics, voters are attracted to Paul’s grandfatherly, if uncompromising, honesty.
“You always know where he stands,” said Texas gun dealer Alan Jones, whose engraved .22-caliber rifles have become popular auction items at Paul fundraisers. “The thing you wish for is that there were more politicians in Washington that voted the way that they really think instead of doing it because of politics.”
A soft-spoken obstetrician who’s delivered more than 4,000 babies, Paul has managed to strike a chord both with little old ladies — his “Granny Warriors” — and dope-smoking libertarians. When he ran for president in 1988, High Times magazine ran a cover story titled, “Ron Paul: Pro-Pot Presidential candidate.”
His views on abortion also have found common ground where usually there is none. He is resolutely against abortion but, as with illegal drugs and anti-pornography laws, he thinks that the federal government should butt out and let the states decide what to do.
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