Ron Paul Crushes Palin in C-Pac Straw Poll
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In the biggest upset since the last big upset, a final day Presidential Straw Poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Washington D.C., the not quite a Republican Ron Paul won with 31% of the vote.
Desperately Seeking The Presidency candidate, Mitt Romney trailed in a distant second with 22%; the I’m Leaving The Door Open candidate, Sarah Palin came in a bruising third with 7%; Minnesota Governor, the charmless Tim Pawlenty fourth at 6%; Indiana Rep. Mike Pence at 6% and Gingrich and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee at 4%. Another question in the poll was “Are you satisfied with the field of contenders for the 2012 nomination to run against President Obama” the majority said NO. In the past three years the silver tongued, rap-hating Mitt Romney had easily won the poll.
It would be silly to take these results too seriously, all the delegates are hard-core Conservative activists and Ron Paul is right up their alley, a no tax, no government, no nothing type of guy. But it does make for a nice headline: “Ron Paul Crushes Palin In Straw Poll . . .”
Here are the official results:
Texas Rep. Ron Paul – 31 percent
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — 22 percent
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — 7 percent
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty – 6 percent
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – 4 percent
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — 4 percent
Indiana Rep. Mike Pence – 5 percent
South Dakota Sen. John Thune — 2 percent
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels — 2 percent
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — 2 percent
Mississippi Gov. Hailey Barbour – 1 percent
Other – 5 percent
Undecided – 6 percent
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
Isn’t calling these modern day Pharisees nuts a compliment? 😉
TomCat – Yes it is, I know a few nuts that OK people.
I hear ya, Gwen. I hear ya. I was actually waiting for a far right-wing Christian conservative to find my comments and tell me I just slammed their faith by calling them a nut. I was looking forward to explaining to himm/her that it’s not their belief in God per se that makes them a nut. It’s their belief that their diety somehow wants them to go out and make me, you, and everyone else on the planet live by their religion’s rules that makes them a nut. A holier-than-thou-self-righteous-judgmental-hate-based-value-legislation-seeking nut.
What I’m enjoying is that Pawlenty is below Palin in percentage points! And just on the side, SkyGirl, I think that’s a good protocol, I try not to slam anyone’s faith or belief’s either. (it’s a bit hard when they are placing all that tinder around my bound feet holding a lit torch…) but I try! LYAO 🙂
GWEN – It’s very well letting people believe in whatever religion (or not) they want to, as long as they don’t start making laws that favor their beliefs over everybody else.
to be clear, I wasn’t slamming the Morman faith…I try not to slam anyone’s faith. I just meant to point out that the nuttier far-right Christian people will not support Mitt Romney if they take the time to learn how different his beliefs really are from theirs. Because the really nutty people believe that no one except others who are just the same as them can possibly do a good job leading the country. And those really nutty people make up a signficant part of the Republican base.
SKY GIRL – I understand that you are not slamming the Mormons, no matter what they believe. But, nutty, far-right believers of any faith, don’t believe they are the nutty ones, they think everyone else is nutty, and you are right about the really, really nutty ones being a part of the Republican base. Where they be without them. Nowhere. That’s why they pander to them.
This is a big part of why Romney didn’t get nominated in 2008 and probably won’t be in 2012. Mormonism isn’t any nuttier than mainstream Christianity, but it’s different. Christian fundamentalists, who make up the base of the Republican party, don’t regard it as a form of Christianity, and so they won’t support nominating a Mormon.
He’s probably the Republican most able to win a general election for President, but he couldn’t get the nomination because of the base’s religious hostility. Unfortunate for them, fortunate for Obama’s re-election chances.
INFIDEL – Agreed, plus Mormonism is a newer sect/cult and hasn’t had centuries to hypnotize and hard wire the people into submission. For such a relatively new organization it has quit a lot of customers.
Great point by Sky Girl-does anyone really want a President who wears Magic Underwear? Postum is bad enough.OTOH they believe Indians are a lost tribe of Israel, perhaps some of that AIPAC money may filter down to the reservations.
Are most really right-wing super conservatives familiar with the Morman belief system? I think they cannot possibly be. It goes against the grain for me to slam on someone else’s belief system (and that’s not what I’m trying to do here), but I think that if Romney got the nomination, and a lot of facts about the Morman belief system came to the fore-front (I’m not talking about polygamy here. I’m talking about getting your own planets and such and becoming god-like in the afterlife), the Christian right goes shopping for an independent candidate. And with their base split…
SKY GIRL – The Mormons do have things that need faith to believe, becoming a God, getting your own planet, golden tablets, Arch-Angels talking to Joseph Smith, Jesus visiting North America after the Resurrection, Native Americans are really Israelis? But when you think about it other cults and religions believe some pretty incredible stuff too. Noah’s Ark, talking snakes, Jonah living in a whale, talking burning bushes, raising from the dead, reincarnation, eternal virgins if you die a martyr, there is some weird shit out there, the Mormons are in good company.
I agree with you and Will: Other and Undecided are my favorite candidates.
TOM – Lets hope that “other” and “undecided” are the Republican ticket.
Holte,
I may be wrong, at the time it seemed to me that Obama was waffling on the war.Not really standing against it.I think he said it was dumb. There may have been anti-war statements that I don’t recall though.
OSO – When the vote was taken in 2002 to invade Iraq, Obama was not a Senator, but was a candidate, read this HERE
Well? Come on then! Who really got the short straw?
Inquiring minds want to know…;-)
Mr. DINNERS – Well if Ron Paul or his supporters, thinks he will get the nomination because he won the straw poll, he did.
I think it shows that the GOP has no real leadership.
Paul’s foreign policy is quite progressive. Unfortunately, he would dismantle the safety net, revoke a woman’s right to choose, and allow unrestrained corporatism.
Worst of all, he has a long term record of racism.
TomCat – With all Ron Paul’s failings it sounds like he is a Republican at heart.
Holte Ender: Romney is the one, he is cynical enough to choose someone who he does not like to please the base,
Just so long as it’s not Palin again.
INFIDEL – If Romney is nominated along with Palin, he will need every thread of his magic underwear.
Say what you will about Paul, he and Dennis Kucinich were the only 2008 candidates who were anti-war.
OSO – I am assuming you mean the war in Iraq? If so, when a Senator, so was Obama.
See my comment on this over at TC’s blog. I don’t want to puke that all up again.
LISA G. – I read your comment over at TomCat’s, you made some excellent points.
Ron Paul calls himself a Republican to get elected to Congress, no matter who he would choose for a a running mate, I think he is pretty much unelectable nationally.
Romney is the one, he is cynical enough to choose someone who he does not like to please the base, because he is desperate to be in the White House.
I’m throwing my support to “other”.
WILL – For me it was a toss-up between “other” and “undecided”.
We have quite a few of those Paul supporters in my area. If that chicken necked little bigot ever were to get nominated, I’ll be projectile puking for months.
BEE – Paul’s supporters are vocal and many, but I don’t think have they grown in number since the last election. The activists at CPAC are not that representative.
it does make for a nice headline: “Ron Paul Crushes Palin In Straw….. — what the heck is going on at these Republican shindigs anyway?!
Oh. Never mind.
Seriously, the Republicans had better hope that this poll isn’t representative of their broader base. The top three nutjub candidates — Paul, Palin, and Huckabee — attracted 42% of support, while the top three non-nutjobs — Romney, Pawlenty, and Gingrich — won only 32%. If this predicts the actual Republican nomination process in 2012, they will sail into battle led by a candidate who could not be elected in any cuircumstance short of Obama being unmasked as an ax murderer.
Of course, it’s far too early to make such predictions, but there are some otherwise-quite-sane people out there who think Ron Paul could be President someday. Add them to the Palin-worshipers and the Republicans have a real problem.
INFIDEL – McCain finished 5th in the Poll the year he won the nomination, so it’s not really indicative of the mob in general. I think if the process started this week Romney would get a lot of support. He has kept a pretty low profile in the past months, managed to distance himself from all the shouting and bawling, until he burst a blood vessel after being forced to sit in Coach, which resulted in the brutal attack on the poor Rapper.