The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

When the Story Writes Itself

Posted on | December 28, 2011 | 9 Comments

DAVENPORT, Iowa
Sometimes this job is hard. And sometimes it’s easy. And there was a moment last night that made my job much easier. Watch the video:

And now here’s the lead of my column today:

“Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Ron Paul!” The chants were loud and persistent.
Mitt Romney came to town Monday and a Ron Paul rally broke out. As the Massachusetts governor left one of his relatively rare campaign appearances in Iowa, some two dozen supporters of the Texas congressman lined the sidewalk along outside the Hotel Blackhawk. Romney stepped out the door and heard the crowd expressing their enthusiasm for his GOP rival. Romney chuckled and waved before boarding the bus emblazoned with his slogan, “Believe in America.” As the bus pulled out and turned onto East Third Street, the Paul fans chanted louder and waved their signs, some occasionally yelling, “Liberty!”
In one of the multiplying oddities of the 2012 Republican presidential campaign, neither of the two candidates leading the polls in Iowa is the kind of conservative champion that has traditionally won the Hawkeye State’s first-in-the-nation caucus. Between them, however, the moderate Romney and the libertarian Paul combine more than 40 percent of the GOP vote here, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls. And though they are neck-and-neck in the polls, there is no doubt which of the two current front-runners here generates the most fanatical support. When Ron Paul holds an event in Iowa, no Romney boosters are standing outside in the cold December wind maniacally shouting, “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt!” . . .

Read the whole thing at The American Spectator.





Category: American Spectator, Election 2012, Fear and Loathing in Iowa, Iowa, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul

Comments

9 Responses to “When the Story Writes Itself”

  1. Anonymous
    December 28th, 2011 @ 7:50 am

    Keep up the good work, Stacy.  You are in the zone!

  2. Greg
    December 28th, 2011 @ 8:03 am

    Given that your average Ron paul supporter is an unemployed social misfit living in Mom’s basement, it isn;t difficult to get  a few out to raise a ruckus.  And when they do, they become the story, as happened here in Houston during the last presidential election cycle — http://rhymeswithright.mu.nu/archives/234792.php — two Paul-bots stole the story of a huge crowd for Fred Thompson.

  3. Adjoran
    December 28th, 2011 @ 8:10 am

    Ron Paul supporters have lots of class – all of it low.

  4. steve benton
    December 28th, 2011 @ 8:36 am

    Wonder how many Obama supporters are pretending to like Ron Paul. Must be a ton of them. Ron Paul is Ross Perot number 2.

  5. smitty
    December 28th, 2011 @ 8:57 am

    Ron has all but firmly stated he won’t run third-party. It would be a genuine surprise if he did.
    We can all hate on the GOP, but the only beneficiary from splitting the conservative vote again is BHO.

  6. SDN
    December 28th, 2011 @ 9:07 am

    According to this article, quite a lot of them. If Ron runs third party, he’ll be a lot weaker than he thinks.

  7. ThePaganTemple
    December 28th, 2011 @ 10:11 am

    The idea that if Ron Paul ran on a third party ticket he would sap votes from the Republican candidate is a lot of nonsense. Ron Paul supporters won’t vote for anybody but Ron Paul, which means the GOP won’t get his vote whether he does or does not run on a third ticket. In fact, if he did not run on a third ticket, some of his supporters would be likely to vote Democrat just out of spite, though most of them would vote for the Libertarian candidate.

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