Ron Paul’s latest victory in a straw poll shows ardency of his supporters
2012 Elections, Headlines Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
By Michael Muskal, LATimes.com
Ron Paul has captured another straw poll, at the Republican Leadership Conference, and while that gives him some bragging rights, the victory is just a minor step, though it explains the political muscle of a small but fiercely dedicated group in any political process.
Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas and a favorite of libertarians, captured 612 votes Saturday at the GOP conference that attracted 2,000 delegates to New Orleans. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who did not attend the conservative shindig, finished a surprisingly strong second with 382 votes.
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and businessman Herman Cain placed third and fourth, respectively, with the rest of the fractured GOP field below triple digits.
Straw votes or polls are a special hybrid between scientific surveys and general elections. A scientific poll is based on a sample that professes to offer some insight into how the general electorate will vote. But a straw poll is merely the counting of anyone who shows up at that moment. The number of voters is generally small and self-selected, so there is no way to extrapolate the results to a larger body like the general electorate.
To use an example from the movie “Field of Dreams,” it is similar to the voice that tells the hero, Ray, “If you build it, he will come.” Hold a straw poll and dedicated partisans will come to cast a ballot for their choice, often Ron Paul.
Paul has done extremely well in straw polls, winning twice at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2010 and this year before Saturday’s victory. His supporters are ardent in going to great lengths to express their preference for the 75-year-old congressman.
To read more, visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-ron-paul-straw-polls-20110620,0,1401651.story
Short URL: https://reteaparty.com/?p=2158
I don’t think you would have worded it this way if Romney had won. How can such a large percentage of the “Leadership” of the Republican party be such a fluke. When Ron gets half the online vote you say the same thing. Of course we show up and voice our opinions, because we are the people who have both higher intelligence and drive, and most of us drive this country.
Jimmy James,
I did not catch the sarcasm in the article until I read your comment. You are correct. It is written in such a way that it is saying that the only reason Ron Paul won or wins is because his people come therefore it is not a good account as to how the “real” people around the country see him.
In a different area of thought, obviously the straw polls also indicate how lack of importance the other candidates are to their supporters. If the Ron Paul people can get to the places and they generally are not as wealthy as the corporate minded people are, then they should be able to arrive also. Actually, some of them do. Therefore either they do not have many backers or their backers just do not really care much about their candidate.
You are correct, if Romney had won, it would have been worded differently. Heck, that Huntsman fellow did not even show up and his people were able to give him votes. In that case, what would the reporters and other media people be saying if that happened with Dr. Paul, especially if he still won? Why not? Since those people are going to arrive anyway, the word should just get back to Dr. Paul not to show up since his winning is in the bag.
No, I am sure there must be some people who change their decision during the speeches. Probably what scares the system is more likely that than just people showing up. If they realize that the attendees’ vote is greater than tickets bought for a particular person, if that can be determined by the ticket, that is something that most likely could stem an greater attack against both Ron Paul and his supporters.
Funny how even that turncoat Michele Bachmann was able to be in an official presidential :”debate” on the 13th and not be registered as a candidate while an official candidate, Gary Johnson, was not allowed. Since Bachmann was not an official candidate, then any numbers CNN said they were looking for had to be ZERO with her because in theory, she was not there at all. (Opps, I used the term “theory”, almost sounds like a conspiracy.) So where is the justice of these exhibitions after all in that case?
Time is time for Sarah Palin to endorse Ron Paul as she did for Rand Paul when she used that to get a strong foothold of control of the Tea Party name and the people. Therefore I must create a spell and use my witchcraft skills in getting her to do that and to punish those who speak wrongly against Dr. Paul.
Rhonda
I attended the RLC and talked to a Conference worker and I was told that Ron Paul buys all the tickets and has a hotel room to distribute the tickets to his followers. This is how he got 600 votes. Bogus poll.
Brenda,
Now that is interesting about the ticket information you are sharing with us. If Ron Paul did distribute them as you say, I am sure that it is standard procedure and that all the other speakers were doing the same thing. Heck, Romney was seen last year and this year busing people in from out of state.
Bogus you say? Shoot. I wonder what the Conference worker would have told you if Romney had won as Jimmy James above suggests?
Yours,
Rhonda
Reminds me of the critics loathing of hard rock bands. In the early 70′s, Grand Funk Railroad was at the top of their popularity. At one large concert, after their finale, they were carried out of the stadium on the crowd’s shoulders. Their leader Mark Farmer stated, “Everyone hates us except our fans!”.
Ron Paul does have the best supporters and that is because he is the most honest defender of the Constitution and will take on The Federal Reserve, I.R.S, United Nations, etc. Ron Paul 2012!