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Shaping up to be the most hypocritical election year yet for republicans. Tea Party makes national headlines campaigning for small government yet they are about to choose one of two big government republicans. What a shame. A vote for anybody else but Ron Paul is a vote for the status quo.

Brandon,

You are over simplifying things. Any time a partisan tells me that their candidate is the "only one", I stop listening. The GOP has several good choices. If your guy is the best, then make your case, but please stop calling folks who disagree with you "hypocrites". It makes you sound small and hurts RP.

Do personal weaknesses really affect leadership ability? Some of the best business leaders I know are SOB's in their personal life. Some of the best leaders in history were far from saints at home. Cain may or may not have had an affair. Newt has had more than one wife. Who cares? If you listen to the national media, all they seem to focus on is the candidate’s personal issues instead of proven leadership ability.

Brandon, the first rule of thumb in electing a nominee is if that person could be elected at the national level.

Ron Paul will never fit that description.

Ever.

Brandon. There you have it. The oracle of truth, the all knowing, the Wizard of Forsyth, Dave Richard has spoken.

Pray he doesn't forecast that you are going to undergo a sex change operation.

Concerned Citizen, David is correct. This election is about electability, NOT principle...and definitely not the about faux republican platform of limited government. The same thing happened in 2008 with McCain. A non conservative who was the chosen nominee as everybody thought he'd be best at going against Hillary...who didn't end up getting the nomination, and we all know the end of that story.

Am I not correct in that the Tea Party campaigned for limited government? Examine the current candidates' records and see just who is the most limited government. I would argue it is Ron Paul. Every other candidate supports the status quo. Romney, Gingrich, Cain all supported TARP. Romney and Gingrich supported an individual health insurance mandate...the very thing that Tea Party folks despised. Do any of them have plans that compare to cutting 1 trillion dollars and 5 federal departments from the budget in the first year like Ron Paul does? Nope, they just nibble at it and want to keep spending around 2008 levels. I could go on and on...just poke around a little and you'll see for yourself.

Where Ron Paul loses republicans is on foreign policy. I happen to agree his foreign policy is more in line with our founding fathers while it's looked at as radical by the republican party. Thomas Jefferson said, "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with no one." George Washington said, "My policy has been and will continue to be … to be on friendly terms with, but independent of, all nations on earth. To share in the broils of none." John Q Adams (though not a founding father) said "But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." With all that being said, Ron Paul is indeed for a strong national defense and NOT opposed to wars that are actually DECLARED by Congress. Even Ronald Reagan, whom republicans love, said, "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense."

David, while I know you disagree that polling has showed Ron Paul and Obama in a virtual tie in a head to head competition, putting that aside....Ron Paul would be electable if republicans actually supported someone who shared their supposed platform of limited government.

Brandon: Ron Paul loses Republicrats, not Conservative Republicans. The Republicrat/NEOCON believes in American Empire, because they believe worldwide domination is strength through peace. What they forget is that worldwide domination puts enormous strains on our military forces.

In an all volunteer force it wears down our people. The constant use of the equipment wears it out. The cost goes up-and-up, because the Federal Reserve spending and printing of money to buy all this equipment. This is inflationary.

The Republicrat/NEOCON believes Iran is a threat and would pre emptively bomb them into submission. Shoving our Declaration of Independence and Constitution down their throats with our bombs. Yet, we allowed the Soviets, Chinese, N. Koreans, Pakistan, India, Isreal, France, etc to build test and maintain atomic weapons.

Ron Paul is very electable because the vast majority of Republicrats/NEOCONS like almost everything he stands for, except foreign policy.

I can tell you having been stationed on fighter bases all around the world. S. Korea does not need our help. Japan does not need our help. Germany does not need our help.

Bring em all home.

Now old Bascomb don't live in Forsyth county and folks down here in Nankipooh ain't got much use for either party, but there is just one question. How can you trust a man whose own wife can't trust him? Of course that asks one more question. Would you trust him around your wife? Now that blanket covers a whole mess of professional politicians! Maybe you need to think about that before you vote.

Brandon, ignore Bill Evelyn. Most people do.

The issue with anybody who claims they're going to cut $1 trillion and eliminate 5 departments in their first year is that they are not speaking from a reality-based position. Ron Paul should know better, as he is serving in the very Congress that would have to pass his plan.

Everything sounds good when sitting in coffee shops discussing ideology and when stumping on the campaign trail, but the serious voter knows that only about 30% at most of what's being said on the campaign trail has any hope whatsoever in getting past Congress, especially in an era of a diminished Executive branch as we are currently in.

Believe what you want. Vote how you feel. But Ron Paul will never get the GOP nomination, and will never be elected President of the United States.

And Bill Evelyn will never make any sense.

You can take all that to the bank, Brandon.

Dave,

I would agree that getting such a large spending cut through Congress would unfortunately be very difficult, and that many things on any candidate's wish list are tough to get through our broken Congress. I'm fairly certain Ron Paul knows that. You could also apply that same logic to Cain's popular 999 plan. It would be demogogued as raising taxes on the poor amongst other things.

Ron Paul is the only one to stick his head out on the chopping block for "real" change regardless of how unpopular he may be amongst republicans...and he's consistent. He's got much more traction than he did in 2008, and even many republicans are warming up to a lot of his views. If he were elected, it can be assumed he has the backing of the people who support his platform, and pressure could be put on Congress to act. Even then of course, it's not guaranteed that Congress will even act on the will of their constituents, but for goodness sake, the status quo is killing us. One thing Ron Paul would have is veto power, and I would bet many things that come to his desk would be vetoed.

Voting for the status quo and a comprimising candidate so "things can get done in Congress" is why we are in the mess we're in, and why we will continue on the path of destruction from within. If voters would start voting on principle and not electability, we'd be much better of. You spoke of the Constitution and limited government during your own campaigns. Unless your views have changed since then, vote for the principles you believe in.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” John Quincy Adams

Paul moves into 2nd in Iowa...

http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/12/04/iowa-poll-newt-gingrich-most-popular-gop-candidate/