Ron Paul: ‘Hard to Say’ When He Will Win a Caucus or Primary
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Coming off of a back-of-the-pack finish in the Nevada caucus Saturday night, Ron Paul said Sunday morning that it is “hard to say exactly when” he expects to score a victory in an upcoming caucus or primary.
“Of course you set [your target] for victory, but you have to live within the real world,” Paul told me on “This Week”. “But we have three or four caucus states that we believe our numbers are doing pretty good and we have to wait and see and keep doing exactly what we’re doing.”
Paul, who is the only 2012 GOP presidential candidate who has not won a primary or caucus, said despite his losing record, he has already achieved his goal igniting a “big change in this country.”
“There is an intellectual revolution going on with the young people,” Paul said. “It has not been translated into an absolute political change, but, believe me, there is an intellectual revolution going on and that has to come first before we see big political changes.”
The Texas congressman criticized his GOP rivals, particularly frontrunner and Nevada Caucus winner Mitt Romney, for having no “firm convictions.” Paul said Romney’s economic positions were “flawed,” but that the former Massachusetts governor is apt to change his tune if it means capturing some of Paul’s supporters.
“I think Mitt can change his mind,” Paul said. “He’s changed his mind in the past. If he hears from our young people and voters and we continue this, yeah, he’s going – he’s going to change his mind, if there’s a political benefit to it.”
With Romney’s support still hovering under 50 percent, capturing some of Paul’s devout and substantial base of followers could put the wind at Romney’s back going into the general election.
With 71 percent of the votes tallied, Paul sits at third in the Nevada Caucus, about 1,000 votes behind Newt Gingrich, and falling behind his second place finish in 2008.
Paul said his third-place finish in Nevada was a “disappointment,” but that the poor showing would not put an end to his campaign.
“On the positive side, we will get a bloc of votes. We will still get some delegates,” he said. “And we still will pursue, you know, our plan to go into the caucus states.”
Colorado and Minnesota are the next states to hold their GOP caucuses, both of which go to the polls on Tuesday.
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Posted by: butch | February 6, 2012, 11:54 am 11:54 am
Hopefully soon he’s by far the best choice for potus. I will be voting for him even if I have to write him hi. Wonderful man.
Posted by: Matt | February 6, 2012, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
Our greatest internal threat is the rampant drug use in this country, even greater than home grown terrorism. Ron Paul seems to think it’s no threat at all and thinks legalizing drugs is the answer. I’d bet half his support among young people stems from his drug policies.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 6, 2012, 12:18 pm 12:18 pm
Our greatest internal threat is the rampant drug use in this country, even greater than home grown terrorism. Posted by:
Posted by: tmferretti | February 6, 2012, 12:18 pm ————- I disagree. Our greatest internal threat is the completely unregulated casino called Wall Street. Because their detrimental impact on our society is much more pervasive. I don’t agree with Paul about much, but I DO agree that the ‘war on drugs’ has been an abysmal failure. I don’t think we should legalize cocaine, heroin or meth, but I do agree that pot should be legal. That one change alone would free up billions of federal dollars and hundreds of thousands of prison cells. The REAL reason it isn’t legal today is because the tobacco and liquor industries lobby hard against it day in and day out. They do not want the competition for our recreational drug dollars that marijuana would give them.
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 12:30 pm 12:30 pm
How did Ron Paul finish “back of the pack?” He came in just behind Gingrich and almost twice the votes of Santorum.
Posted by: Edward Lee | February 6, 2012, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
The greatest internal threat is NOT drugs LOL. It’s the economy. This country will simply collapse under its own weight. That’s why we need Ron Paul. It’s not that, if he’s president, we’re going to do away with everything…But he’s strong (unlike the other guys) and sticks to his guns. He’s a real leader. The other candidates have no leadership skill nor military experience. They should be in congress NOT the white house. They’re fine, but they aren’t meant to be president. Ron Paul is. We need some cut backs and we need to actually be… wait for it… CONSERVATIVE… Otherwise the spending will continue and the country will be in even worse shape. I guess Americans haven’t lost enough yet to want to change. I sure have. I’m hoping for my kids sake too that Ron Paul makes it. Hell, I wouldn’t even let someone like Mitt Romney babysit my kid.
Posted by: Tom | February 6, 2012, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
Ron Paul will never win a primary, and he will never be president. Period.
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
Ron Paul was robbed in Iowa and now in Nevada (if not elsewhere). The GOP will stoop to any level to deny the country a fairly elected candidate if it’s not their puppet. Paul needs to tell the Republican Party where to shove it and run as an independent.
Posted by: wsjiii | February 6, 2012, 1:22 pm 1:22 pm
Always painting Ron Paul in the negative light. He was in a very close race for second. He has the best shot at beating Obama but it never is mentioned. The higher powers are going to limit us to two choice and both SUCK! We are going to be given the choice of Romney and Obama (the biggest spender in US history). Borrow billions from China to fight oil wars? Does that make any sense? No thanks. I will go with Ron Paul. RON PAUL 2012!
Posted by: Brad | February 6, 2012, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
There are several reasons why Ron Paul hasn’t emerged as the top GOP candidate so far. It’s obvious he is NOT the favorite of the corrupt establishment which happens to own the mainstream media. He is too much of a threat. Romney is clearly able to buy the nomination with support from Goldman-Sachs and other crime organizations.
Too bad Mitt can’t win on his own merits since he has none. Without money, he wouldn’t amount to anything but a guy who lies and promise anything to steal votes. With money, he amounts to nothing more than a rich guy who buys votes – and lies and promises anything to steal the other votes.
Think about it… IF there were limits on media coverage, advertisements, etc. and each candidate’s media exposure were divided equally and completely unbiased, Ron Paul would be the clear choice for Americans.
Sadly, the reality is politics is more about money, greed, and sending our young men and women of the military to risk their lives for nothing more than making rich people wealthier. It’s also sad so many people can be deceived by Romney’s BS to even think about casting a vote for him. He has a history of scandals, cover-ups, racism, double-standards, etc. the media dare not show or print lest their corporate bosses fire them.
You may not agree and that’s your privilege, but I have no doubt America will be totally finished if Obama remains or Romney becomes the new monkey for the establishment to control for their benefit. The middle-class will continue to dissolve and the poor will suffer more than they already do. America’s only hope is Ron Paul, but the establishment stands to lose its grip on big government and its ability to bailout their mistakes with taxpayer money. There’s no way the criminals can allow that to happen.
I strongly urge young people to not enlist in the military, and for people already in the military to get out when they can if Romney manages to buy the presidency or Obama remains. Either way, there’s no patriotic advantage to serve in our military and risk lives for a bunch of greedy rich people who are doing anything they can to do away with the Constitution.
Posted by: Joel Johnson | February 6, 2012, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
Funny – All of the hue and cry about perceived “separation of church and state”; yet, when the – federal govt violates the first amendment by telling military chaplins they can’t read a statement from a church leader under threat of prosecution? Hypocrites! Where are the media and blogs?
Posted by: deanbob | February 6, 2012, 1:44 pm 1:44 pm
I agree, unfettered runaway capitalism (greed) is certainly a threat to our standard of living. Pot, as a gateway drug should not be legalized. More people, including police officers, have been killed in this country by individuals high on drugs than have been killed by home grown terrorists.
We also need a common sense gun control policy.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 6, 2012, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm
DEANBOB
I have no objections to a military chaplain reading any statement he wants as long as it’s not a political statement. There is no room in the military for political divisions among our soldiers and sailors. We have already seen the divisiveness the Komen Foundation has caused in women’s health; we certainly don’t need that kind of behavior in our military.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 6, 2012, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
Paul needs to tell the Republican Party where to shove it and run as an independent. Posted by: wsjiii | February 6, 2012, 1:22 pm.
He ran as an Independent in the 1988 election. He got half a million votes country-wide. He tried for the GOP nomination in 2000, but dropped out of that race in the Spring due to lack of support. What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results……………………..
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
……violates the first amendment by telling military chaplains……Posted by: deanbob | February 6, 2012, 1:44 pm.
Isn’t the very concept of a ‘military chaplain’ a violation of the separation of church and state? (Chaplain = Church, Military = State.) Unless, of course, we also have military rabbis, military imams, military Buddhists, military Flying Spaghetti Monster advocates, etc etc etc…………
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
Paul needs to show them were the power is and go independent. Then there is no romney. no more kicking around us Paulites. Let’s take the whole GOP down if they’re going to keep us marginalized. They underestimate us greatly!
Posted by: Lance Burger | February 6, 2012, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
“Let’s take the whole GOP down if they’re going to keep us marginalized. They underestimate us greatly!”
No, Lance, you OVER-estimate yourselves, and your influence, greatly. However, I wish you well in your efforts to take down the Greedy Old Party.
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 4:55 pm 4:55 pm
Sadly, Ron Paul is among a hand full of representatives who refused to give up Ear Mark spending…he has wasted about 500 Million tax Dollars on his special interests spending…yeah, I want this moron in the White House…
Posted by: RalphF | February 6, 2012, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm
I don’t care what the GOP promises Ron Paul, I’m not voting for Mr. Romney, Mr. Gingrich, or Mr. Santorum no matter what. This party can die for all I care.
Obama wins in a landslide, but at least I know his brand of status quo is coming out in four years.
Posted by: Anson | February 6, 2012, 5:39 pm 5:39 pm
They may cheat the man in Iowa and Nevada then sneak off and laugh about it but come the general election they will laugh no more because we will hand the election to Obama gift wrapped. For any one who says that Ron Paul wants to legalize drugs, that is just completely stupid and just goes to show how uninformed people really are. That is drinking the MSM Koolair but the gallons.
Posted by: Bill Dixon | February 6, 2012, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
“Our greatest internal threat is the rampant drug use in this country, even greater than home grown terrorism. Ron Paul seems to think it’s no threat at all and thinks legalizing drugs is the answer. I’d bet half his support among young people stems from his drug policies.”
It’s kind of ironic that someone that thinks the youth is that simple-minded is so incredibly ignorant! I’m 22, straight-edge, and support Dr.Paul fiercely because of his foreign policy and the fact that he has proven time and again to be more in touch with the workings of the economy than any other political figure.
Sidenote: The legalization/decreased regulation of any substance tends to have the opposite effect and actually LOWERS usage rates. Studies and statistics bear this out consistently. Defy the conventional wisdom, do some research so you can step to us Paulites with a real argument, not some half-assed comment skirting around all the real issues.
Posted by: Andrew McLeer | February 7, 2012, 4:04 am 4:04 am
Ron Paul ride on! They (GOP) will find out at the end of the race that you would have been the right candidate to beat Obama in November election based on your foreign policy and internal stances. The present war-mongering in the middle east will not be sustainable due to serous economic depression world-wide and domestic “hunger” will stare America in the face. The war then will be survival war as there will be no funds to prosecute wars anymore. The “Greenback”, the dollar, { $}, may not be the preferred International Currency of Trade & Standard of Excchange. The current Obama’s Sanction on IRAN would backfire. Most nations will caution investing and saving there funds/reserves in dollar. This Policy will hurt America more than the intended as GOLD STANDARD will result..
Posted by: Anthony Odili | February 7, 2012, 7:06 am 7:06 am
Ron Paul will never win a primary, and he will never be president. Period.
Posted by: A Cynic | February 6, 2012, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
You are most likely correct. He want’s take the power from the banks/corporations and give it back to the people. The banks and corporations will do everything to prevent that.
It’s a shame really….
Posted by: Nunya Biznezz | February 7, 2012, 4:15 pm 4:15 pm
I like Dr. Ron Paul, but we’re beginning to realize a praying America still makes a difference! America has always been a Christian Nation and we’re beginning to see the proof of our united prayers making a difference, so long as we continue! People are crying out to God, asking Him to heal our land and rid ourselves of the momentum of an authoritarian government! And, low and behold, Rick Santorum surfaces! He understands the on going criminal activities in Washington! Mr. Santorum cannot be bought with the illegal gains of the special interest groups, the banking industry or a despotic congress that threatens our Constitution! He’s the one man with any moral character and integrity! We must support him with our finances and our vote or God help us all!
Posted by: Lone Puma | February 8, 2012, 10:32 am 10:32 am
@ TMFERRETTI I really hope your post was sarcasm because you show a complete lack of understanding in all points that you mentioned. The free market creates wealth, it is what created our high standard of living. Crony capitalism (corporatism) is what is siphoning it away.
You mention that pot shouldn’t be legalized because too many people have been killed in drug related incidents. 95% of the time those incidents are directly related to the fact that the drug IS illegal. Legalizing drugs would reduce crime astronomically as well as drug use; as has been proven in Portugal.
Last but not least you say we need “common sense gun control.” The cities/states with the most gun control have the most crime, and the ones that have reduced gun controls have seen a reduction in crime.
Posted by: Trig | February 12, 2012, 1:22 am 1:22 am