Could Ron Paul Really Fall?
Forget about the GOP Presidential nomination. Ron Paul never had a chance at it and never will. Why he remains in the race (other than ego) is a mystery to me, since his “message” is being almost universally ignored at this point anyway.What was also being largely ignored by many was Paul’s bid for re-election to the U.S. House in Texas’ 14th Congressional District. After all, given the success rates of incumbents and Paul’s repeated re-election to the House, Chris Peden’s challenge to Paul seemed, at best, quixotic.
But Dr. No’s return to Washington in 2009 just might not be a sure thing - at least according to the folks at Pajamas Media (PJM):
Now, polls show Dr. Paul falling behind relatively unknown challenger Chris Peden in his 14th Texas District endangering his congressional seat in the Texas primary.
In fact, the website claims that internal polling of both campaigns shows Peden holds a double-digit lead over “the taxpayer’s best friend.”
While Paul has been a hugely successful fundraiser (and not so succesful vote getter) in the Presidential race, that may not help him in the House battle:
With reports for January 2008 not yet out, Congressman Paul has spent (according to OpenSecrets.org) $20,262,084 on his presidential campaign - well over a million dollars per delegate (he has 14 to John McCain’s 903). Paul still has nearly eight million in his presidential war chest, possibly more when the new report comes out on Feb. 20, but cannot use any of it in his contest against Peden unless the OBGYN-politician drops out of the presidential race.
Over a million dollars per delegate? That’s an interesting example of efficiency and fiscal conservatism. (While Paul continues to count the ways he can vote “no” on legislation, his presidential website curiously brags that he “introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress,” though we are not told how many of them pass.) Paul has spent three times the money as Mike Huckabee, yet Huckabee has over 200 delegates to Paul’s 14 (or 16, depending on the source).
Challenger Peden, whose views overall seem much more in tune with this conservative district, suggested to PJM that Paul couldn’t make himself give up the national race because he so dearly wanted to deliver a speech to the GOP convention (ego, maybe?).
That preoccupation has apparently taken precedence over mending fences at home. For example, Peden points out that the current 14th District includes many residents who work at NASA, while Paul consistently opposes funding of NASA on constitutional grounds. I will leave it to the pocket-Constitution carrying experts to determine the validity of Paul’s position legally, but it doesn’t take much acumen to see that it doesn’t sit well politically down around Clear Lake.
Peden told PJM that, in the remaining days before the primary, he intends to take other matters to the voters, such as the “yet unsolved mystery of the racially controversial newsletters authored under Paul’s name during the nineties.” He also is reminding voters in this conservative district of Paul’s position on funding of our troops in a time of armed conflict. (He also might want to mention Paul’s 9-11 delusions and his belief that mall security guards were providing better security than our troops in Iraq.)
It appears, though, that the Paul Congressional campaign has awakened and is ramping up its efforts to keep the seat:
Paul’s supporters themselves seem to be worried. They have switched fund-raising efforts on their website The Daily Paul in recent days from the presidency to his congressional race.
So Dr. Earmarks seems to have a bit of a tussle on his hands after all. But Peden may well wish Paul’s re-election staff had remained asleep at the switch. It is well-documented how Paul can call upon his devoted followers, on short notice, to deliver the cash (from whatever source) and Paul is likely to swamp District 14 voters with his congressional pitch between now and March 4. That and the power of incumbency combine, in my book, to keep Peden the underdog in this race. On the other hand, how many would have predicted that Peden would even become a serious threat to the Lake Jackson physician who has “delivered more than 4,000 babies”?
At least the next 12 days might be interesting down yonder.
http://lonestartimes.com/2008/02/20/could-ron-paul-really-fall/
yet my vote is not based on skin, sex or religion. I want the meanest summabithch to kick ass of our enemies
.
