Ron Paul on an Independent Run: "That doesn't make sense to me to even think about it, let alone plan to do that"

In a wide-ranging interview on FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Rep. Ron Paul laid to rest any and all expectations that he will run as an independent if he doesn't get the GOP nomination. "I have no intention (of) doing that," Paul said. "That doesn't make sense to me to even think about it, let alone plan to do that." 

The independent run question begins at 11:50 in the interview: 

Comments

[Suki]

Does he still want to deploy the military to the Mexican border to keep them from getting our welfare or not? Eliminating welfare should come first.

[Welfare is in the Constitution]

[.]

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.

Problem?

[Debt, Welfare, it's in there!]

...just like Ragu sauce.

[Quit Trolling Reality!]

We want to sip cocktails.

[GW]

Apparently, some people have a problem with the term general. General welfare benefits society as a whole, not one specific person.

Food stamps are not general welfare; they're about as specific as it gets.

Example (even though it's not federal): Police. The police are there to generally keep order in society (in theory anyway). You are guaranteed NO specific benefits from the police, and they're not responsible if you're the victim of a crime, and the SCOTUS has ruled exactly that.

[When starving hoardes of poor]

...threaten to burn down your city, food stamps are general welfare.

Bread and circuses placate the victims of city-Statist enforced privation property.

[?]

Ah yes, burn down the city along with the stores housing the food. Brilliant!

[GW]

Abuse of the general welfare clause, meet proper use of the 2nd Amendment.

The good thing about people too broke to buy food is that they're also too broke to buy guns and ammo.

[Colonel_Angus]

If food stamps were eliminated this instant, no one would starve as a result, unless they consciously made that choice.

[45,000,000 Americans disagree.]

[k2000k]

Good example of the general wellfare clause. That also mens that the US federal gov't does have the right to maintain an active military and a few security related agencies for general protection of the United States from attack or espianoge.

[GW]

The military and its role are specifically authorized anyway. The general welfare clause should really not apply to that much.

I think if the founders saw what it's being used for today, they would have worded it differently.

[Suki]

+ the internet

[Real Politik]

Bread and circuses placate the victims of city-Statist enforced privation property, so they don't burn the whole place down.

How's that city-Statism working out for you?

[Suki]

+69

[Suki]

Rep. Ron Paul laid to rest any and all expectations that he will run as an independent if he doesn't get the GOP nomination.

That still leaves open running as a Libertarian!

[Robert]

He already did that with Andre Marrou in 1988. Don't the results show he does much better as a Republican?

[robc]

So far he has gotten more votes for president in the general election as a Libertarian.

[Pro LIbertate]

He should stay right where he is. It's not like there's some obvious golden child running ahead of him. In fact, the competition is entirely unimpressive.

[Suki]

RACIST!

[Child of Au]

Absolutely RACIST. I should know.

[Proprietist]

Unless he has a cunning plan to grow from 8% to 25% over the next eight weeks or so, it's actually pretty logical to think about and plan for, because he ain't getting the GOP nomination. Sorry. Fact.

[Pro LIbertate]

While Paul still is a long shot, that's not really true. Not a vote has been cast, and there's not some huge amount of satisfaction in the more prominent candidates that he has to overcome. Quite the reverse, really.

[sarcasmic]

If Ron Paul is elected heroin will be made legal and everyone will become a junky!

If Ron Paul is elected he will abolish the Department of Education, and there will be no more education.

If Ron Paul is elected he will abolish the Department of Energy, and there will be no more energy.

If Ron Paul is elected he will withdraw the troops and the terrorists who we have been fighting there will all come here.

If Ron Paul is elected he will end all social programs and all the poor and elderly will starve to death.

If Ron Paul is elected he will shut down the government and turn this country into Somalia!

Somalia I tell you!

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDZZZZZZZZ11!!!11!!1!1

[RoboCain]

Piracy is a jobs program.

[T]

Issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal to the unemployed and ship them abroad! Genius!

[Suki]

Piracy gets you beaten with a belt.

[Trooper Jones]

"If Ron Paul is elected he will withdraw the troops and the terrorists who we have been fighting there will all come here."

Remember when the terrorist were going to "follow us home" if we "cut and run" in Iraq? Were they going to fly military out of Ali al Salim or commercial from Kuwait City?

If Paul is elected, I bet he won't give them a free flight on a C-17 or a wet-lease charter. They want to come over here and blow us up, let them pay their way like anyone else.

[k2000k]

Depends on the poll. And here is the funny thing. Last election cycle John McCain was in the exact same position as Ron Paul was. You'd be surprised at how fast these things turn. When President Clinton first ran he was a complete and utter dark house who managed to break through at the very end of the democratic primary cycle. We've already seen Perry self destruct, he is done. Bachmans deflated. Sanatorum just flashed in the pan. Only reason Romney is still considered a contender is because there is this general idea that it is his turn now. Cain might have some staying power owing to the fact that he is a successful black businessman that does a very good job giving soundbytes. But he has made some major gaffes that could cost him. Fact is any poll on Ron Paul is circumspect for many reasons. What happens come primary elections if a bunch of independents or disillusioned democrats decide to register as republicans and vote for him? I think his chances are stronger than many realize, especially if the economy gets worse or if the dollar collapses.

[Proprietist]

I think there's a huge difference between Paul and McCain. Paul is polarizing. Moderates and hawks find no appeal, and unfortunately most people voting will be moderates and/or hawks. That's why McCain was an easy fallback for people who liked Huckabee or Romney or Thompson. The differences weren't enough to matter. I just think even if Gary Johnson drops out today and endorses him, Paul is near his ceiling of support.

The one thing that might help Paul would be the EU suddenly collapsing, the stock market plummets to 1940 levels, the dollar's value plummets and all the media credits Paul with warning this was going to happen. It will take something drastic for Paul to get the nomination.

[John]

All of that is possible except all the media credits Paul with warning this was going to happen. I am sure your universe is a lot more pleasent than mine. But it my universe that would never happen. The media will tell us it was because the stimulus wasn't big enough.

[Proprietist]

It would be up to his campaign with their millions to force the media to accept this logic. Of course, I'm doubtful it will happen as well - the Krugman defense will take precedence, "obviously the government didn't do enough."

[CE]

Unless he has a cunning plan to grow from 8% to 25% over the next eight weeks or so, it's actually pretty logical to think about and plan for...

Actually, he's at 12% in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and probably ahead of that in Nevada -- all of the early states. Mitt Romney is probably topped out at 25-30%, and 2nd place Herman Cain appears to be in a bit of trouble right now.

The plan doesn't have to be all that cunning. Keep reminding people that Ron Paul has the most credibility on fiscal issues (plan and record), advertise heavily in the early states, and build on that momentum as the primaries develop.

[Proprietist]

12% might be good for third place. Even assuming Cain collapses, Newt, Bachmann, Perry or some other un-Romney candidate will benefit from that, but not Paul. He might get a 1% bounce from a total Cain collapse at most. I'm assuming Gingrich will rise to take his place. Paul might get a 1% bounce from Johnson withdrawing and endorsing. So that's 14% in his highest polling states, 15-20 points behind Romney. Romney's got New Hampshire and Nevada, two must-win states for Paul, more or less in the bag. Best case scenario would be getting second place in 10-15 states, maybe even pulling off a lucky win in Alaska or something after all the candidates but Romney and Paul drop out. That's about as close as Paul will get.

If he's not going to consider an indie run, I hope Johnson will and Paul will endorse Johnson instead of Romney. Actually this might work out for the best all around, because Johnson could invite Paul to be his VP, and Paul can bring all his name recognition and electoral success to their campaign without running into sore loser laws in some states that won't let you run for the same position in a different party in the general if you lose the primary.

[sarcasmic]

A third party run by Paul would guarantee an Obama victory, and I think he knows it.

[Zuo]

And not running third party guarantees either an obama or romney victory. Who happen to have the exact same policies on every single issue as each other.

If not Ron, who can run that will have enough name recognition and can build more than a few rabid supporters?

[RoboCain]

It's always moderate vs. moderate.

I didn't see how McCain was all that different from Obama, either.

[Poet Laureate sloopyinca]

I didn't see how McCain was all that different from Obama, either.

McCain would have been better on torture. Other than that, you're right on the money.

[k2000k]

McCain also would've increased the troop levels in afgahnistan sooner than Obama. And maybe he would look a little tougher when speaking, I mean to the guys credit he did acquit himself while a pow, but other than that yeah not much difference.

[sarcasmic]

If it comes down to a choice between Obama or Romney, I just won't vote.

[k2000k]

Im writing in Ron Paul either way. Might as well make a symbolic gesture you know?

[sarcasmic]

If I do a write in it will be for Zaphod Beeblebrox.

He's already president of the Galaxy. Might as well be president of the country as well, right?

[PS]

I think Obama would be better than Romney--at least it would leave the door open for someone like Rand Paul in 2016.

[Proprietist]

Plus, divided government. Possibly. A vote for Ron Paul for President doesn't mean not voting for Republicans for Congress. A Romney presidency will likely just return the GOP back to its Bush-era ways.

[Colonel_Angus]

I barf at this "less bad" shit, but a first term president is not as scary as a terminal term Obama. Worse yet would be a third term Obama.

[Martin]

Oh no!!!!!!! You mean Obama might win instead of Romney. Oh the humanity. Wait a minute, what's the difference between Romney and Obama?

[sarcasmic]

Unlike Romney (and most any Republican for that matter), Obama does not try to pretend that he will shrink or limit government.

[Joe M]

No, the media analysts told me that really means he hasn't ruled out an independent run. It's all a cover!

On a related note, I present you with: Pinups for Paul (more or less SFW)

[Realist]

Ron Paul will not be elected under any party or as independent. This is a democratic republic and it will never elect an honest, intelligent person to office.
When everyone can vote, everyone loses.

[Brandon Magoon]

LOL! Paul didn't lay anything to rest. He said what he always says "I have no intention of doing that".

I have no intention of going to Paris next year either but if somebody handed me a plane ticket, I might change my mind. He's leaving his options open and it's the smart thing for him to do. As long as it's an option he has a loaded gun he can hold to the GOP's head.

I don't know if Paul could beat Obama in a head to head match up but I'm pretty sure the GOP can't win if the Ron Paul people don't support the GOP nominee and I don't see them supporting any body else except maybe Johnson and lets face it, he won't get the nomination.

The power to destroy a thing is the power to control a thing.

[Joe M]

Occupy Arrakis?

[robc]

1% of the Harkonnens get 99% of the spice!

[k2000k]

I really don't think he is going to run. The reason being is he has an up and coming son who largely shares his political views, is a senator, and a much better public speaker. Ron Paul might not win, or ever get the respect he deserves from the media, but his son Rand could very well be a serious contender someday. If Ron runs third party though it would ensure that Rand would never get a chance in hell.

[smz]

the elephant in the room is Rand. He will not bolt the GOP because it would hurt Rand's political future. End of story.

[Suki]

Ayn is dead. Deal with it.

[sarcasmic]

Anyone else catch the new Beavis and Butthead?

Hehehehehehe Awesome!

[Proprietist]

Beavis and Butthead and Mad Men are the only two reasons I wish I had cable. (South Park is freely streamed luckily.)

[Zeb]

You can freely stream B&B on the MTV site sometimes at least. I highly recommend it. The addition of commentary on stupid reality shows was a great idea.

[sarcasmic]

Back when B&B was originally on the majority of MTV's programming was still videos.
Now that it's all "reality" garbage, it makes perfect sense that the commentary reflects this.

Holy shit, did I just apply critical thinking to Beavis and Butthead?

Shame on me.

[Fulton]

My assumption is he's imagining Rand Paul running a campaign in 2016, so just from a personal viewpoint he wouldn't want to poison the well for his son. And from a less cynical/selfish perspective, promoting his ideas from within the R's gives those ideas a lot more attention and potential traction (e.g. look at the partial Fed audit he managed to get). So either way, I'd be very surprised if he opted to run as an independent - I have a higher opinion of his intelligence than that.

[Zuo]

Fuck Rand. Fuck political dynasties. And if Ron is the type to put the political ambitions of his pussy, Tom Hanks-looking son ahead of liberty, fuck him with a broken chianti bottle.

[jj]

I think your reasoning goes like this:
1. Fathers have helped their sons, and bad stuff has happened
2. I don't like bad stuff
3. I don't like fathers helping their sons

Have you seen the incredible job Rand is doing in the Senate? Wouldn't you want a similar person in the White House?

[Zuo]

No, my reasoning goes like this:
1. There are 535(congress)+ say, generously, 500 (executive + ambassadorsships+ federal court appointments. So we'll say 1,100 federal positions of power manipulation.

2. There are around 315,000,000 people in this country.

3. It is fucking dispicable that there are multiple members of a single family have held or have been contenders for any of these positions.

4. Ammendment that says nobody whos ancestors have held ANY federal office within 4 generations is not eligable for any federal office position. That would be in order.

But I guess where many TEAM RED, TEAM BLUE, and even TEAM LIBERTARIAN (regretably) come to agree is that dynastic nepotistic politics is totally kewl. Fuckin lame, man.

[Zuo]

Fucked up my double negatives in [4.] I'm sure you get the gist though.

[Eduard van Haalen]

There's always John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Would have been a pity to lose his services, especially as member of the House of Representatives (as member of the Anti-Mason Party - if it wasn't for him, the Masons would have have installed a military dictatorship by now.)

[k2000k]

I definelty think its a mixture of both. The fact is there has never been a long term viable third party in the history of our polity. Just a fact. The republicans came into being out of the self destruction of the whigs. The bull moose party and reform parties pretty much folded after the disapperance of their founders. There is a liberty caucus in the republican party and I think Ron reasons that it would do more good to try and slowly turn one of the parties from the inside rather than repeatedly run into the wall as an ideologically pure independent.

[Joe M]

On the one hand, I don't think Paul would run outside the GOP because of Rand, but on the other hand, he's said he won't endorse the GOP nominee if he isn't it. That's about as bad as running independently for the effect it will have on the vote totals. Paul has an absolute lock on at least a million votes nationwide, which is enough to flip plenty of purple states blue.

[CE]

A million? I'd put it closer to 8 million. John Anderson got 6%, and he had nowhere near the credibility or popularity that Ron Paul has. They did let him in the debates, though....

[MNG]

The only motivation behind Paul running would be to get his message out, but you know, that seems to have been the purpose behind his GOP runs so I'm not sure it is that goofy.

It's far better for Johnson to run as the LP candidate and maybe Paul could endorse him.

[jj]

"It's far better for Johnson to run as the LP candidate and maybe Paul could endorse him."

a GREAT idea.

[Proprietist]

I'm thinking the way to go would be Johnson as coalition indie/Reform/LP/Constitution/Pot Party candidate with Paul's endorsement. He doesn't have to worry about his effect on Rand (which is reason enough for Paul not to go indie), and its exceedingly obvious Johnson has no chance at the GOP nomination, thanks to the complete media blackout.

[Groovus Maximus]

Occupy Arrakis?

Stone Burners. It's long overdue.

[Poet Laureate sloopyinca]

Paul's name will be on my ballot whether the state of California puts it on there or I have to get a pencil with my ballot again.

[CE]

I voted for him in 1988, and in the 2008 primary, and wrote him in for the 2008 general election. I'll keep voting for him in the general election, running or not, as long as he's alive, and maybe for a few elections after that.

[Marilyn]

I could listen to Ron Paul all day. Sweet music. "Can't stand our guts" takes me home again.

[R C Dean]

If I'm Rand, I'm not so sure that having Dad run a third party campaign necessarily hurts me 4, 8, 12 years from now.

It sends a message to the GOP establishment that still has too much control on who the nominee is. That message is "Fuck with me, and I'll kill the campaign of whatever limpdicked RINO you prop up onstage."

[John]

But maybe he doesn't want to do it. I know it is hard to believe. But maybe for once a politician is telling the truth. All of the reasons to run as an independent were there in 2008. And he didn't do it. In fact, had he run as an independent, he would probably be a bigger player today. But he didn't do it. And he is now four years older and unlikely to run again. So if anything there is less reason to run now than there was in 2008 because he won't be around in the next election to reap the benefits.

[Joe M]

Interesting point. Because Rand could easily torpedo the GOP again next time, if the Paul faction is devoted enough.

[Groovus Maximus]

It sends a message to the GOP establishment that still has too much control on who the nominee is. That message is "Fuck with me, and I'll kill the campaign of whatever limpdicked RINO you prop up onstage."

I'm fascinated by your analysis and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[Groovus Maximus]

1% of the Harkonnens get 99% of the spice!

CHOAM will never permit this. Too many lobbyists.

[John]

And the guild needs at least 30% of the spice to operate the highliners. That is just Freeman propaganda.

[Pro Libertate]

Fremen propaganda? What, they're publishing their message of deceit by writing in the sand?

[John]

They have their ways. You really don't believe all that silly mumbo jumbo about killing words do you? There was someone behind the jihad and it wasn't the freeman.

[Pro Libertate]

You mean the Atreides? But they're such nice people.

[chris]

There's no reason to start thinking about anything other than winning the Republican primary.

[Pro Libertate]

Absolutely. This pre-anointing crap is ridiculous.

[Joe M]

Since they can't ignore him, asking about a non-GOP run is how they marginalize him now.

[Eduard van Haalen]

I hadn't thought of that. And I fell for it!

[Proprietist]

His poll numbers say otherwise. And straw polls are relatively meaningless in determining breadth of support, only intensity. Paul's got the most outspoken political campaign in the world (via commenters across the internet), taken in millions, etc but his poll numbers haven't risen in months - in fact, they've dropped. Let's be realistic here, barring a miracle or a complete economic collapse, Paul won't be the nominee, much less President.