Time magazine, the weekly paper embodiment of conventional wisdom, sees what's in front of its own eyes and names Ron Paul, congressman, presidential candidate, and topic of my out-soon book Ron Paul's Revolution, one of the 100 Most Influential people. Very interestingly, it does so via an encomium from left-prog hero and scapegoat, Ralph Nader. Ralph saith:
In the debates, only he called out the American Empire's meddling in the business of countless nations around the world. He assails the Pentagon's bloated budgets and has worked with liberal Democrat Barney Frank to shrink the military-industrial complex. He wants to end our boomeranging wars.
Paul, 76, draws a distinction between libertarian conservatives and those corporatist conservatives entrenching a corporate state in which Big Business merges with Big Government. That's why he is against bailouts. His defense of privacy and civil liberties and his opposition to the war on drugs endear him to people beyond his libertarian base. They even include some progressives who cannot abide his views against health, safety and economic regulations or his denunciation of the Federal Reserve's fiat money and social-welfare programs like Medicare.
*In the long slow slog to rack up delegates for the Tampa Republican convention, the Paul campaign is fighting back against shenanigans and shifting deadlines in Alaska that are stymieing Paul's delegates. Details from a Paul campaign press release. (Our readers first got wind of Alaska deadline troubles in this blog post by me from last month)
The Alaska Republican Party state convention is set to be held from April 26th-28th, and all previous communications to would-be delegates have stated that a delegate fee of $250 would be accepted up until the convention registration deadline, which is 2:00 p.m. Alaska Time on April 26th. However, on Monday the 16th state party chairman Randy Reudrich called a state committee meeting at which he stated that delegate fees would be accepted no later than 48 hours from the time of the meeting, which would be Wednesday, April 18th. However, on Tuesday the state party said that delegate fees had to be paid by 6:00 p.m that evening. As individual delegates and campaigns scrambled to pay delegate fees, the state party erected bizarre and allegedly extra-legal obstacles in front of Paul, prolife, and other non-Romney delegates, and communications between self-identifying non-Romney delegates and state party personnel degraded.
One example of the state party trying to frustrate Paul delegates was in exactly when and how delegates could remit their $250 fee. Acceptable methods of payment ranged from online credit card payment on the state party website – although the link to such had been inexplicably removed – to personal checks that were later said to be unacceptable, to money orders that in at least one case were termed unacceptable and returned. The state party, the Ron Paul campaign argues, capriciously moved its payment deadline and modified its acceptable ways of paying the $250 delegate fee expressly to frustrate Paul delegates and in general any delegates outside the tight circle of party-sanctioned non-Romney delegates.
The Party's Rules and Convention Call are designed to facilitate the protection of voting rights and ensure the full and fair participation of Republican voters the delegate selection process. Indeed, paragraph 7 of the Convention Call states: "District committees shall take action to achieve the broadest possible participation of all Qualified Republican voters in the delegate selection process." Clearly the actions of Party officials described above are at odds with that statement. The rights of Alaskans to participate in the political process are being violated by the actions described above.
We are therefore demanding that these political shenanigans cease immediately and that people be allowed to pay their delegate fees in the timeframe as contemplated by the 2012 Convention Call and Party Rules. We further demand that the Party accept payment for these fees in reasonable form, i.e. check, cash, credit card, or money order….
Should the Alaska Republican Party fail to appropriately address these issues immediately, and conform its behavior, the Paul Campaign will pursue all of the legal remedies available to ensure that the process is fair and legal and that the rights of citizens participating in this process are not violated.
*Another set of polls shows Ron Paul running strong in a one-on-one matchup against Obama. From Public Policy Polling:
Ron Paul actually does just as well in a head to head with Obama was Romney, trailing by 3 points at 47-44. Newt Gingrich would be down by 9 at 51-42.
And yet:
there are the potential VP's who hurt Romney- if only slightly. Ron Paul as running mate expands Obama's lead to 4 points at 48-44, Paul Ryan ups it to 5 at 48-43, Rubio to 6 at 49-43, and Palin to 7 at 50-43.
