Poll shows Ron Paul’s strengths and weaknesses in GOP primary
Activism, Headlines Thursday, January 19th, 2012
By Scott Clement, WashingtonPost.com
Texas Rep. Ron Paul earns 16 percent support for the Republican nomination in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, statistically unchanged from 15 percent in December and in the same range as Newt Gingrich (17 percent) and Rick Santorum (13 percent). Frontrunner Mitt Romney leads with 35 percent.
What are Paul’s strongest groups? He performs especially well among independents who lean toward the Republican Party (23 percent support him), those with a high school education or less (23 percent), attend church less than weekly (22 percent), moderates and liberals (21 percent), and those under age 50 (20 percent).
Paul’s weakest groups? College grads (6 percent), weekly churchgoers (9 percent), white evangelical Protestants and strong tea party supporters (10 percent each).
General election
Paul trails Obama by eight points in a hypothetical general election match-up, 49 to 41 percent in the new poll. He runs close with Obama among political independents, but wins only seven in 10 of self-identified Republicans. By comparison, Sen. John McCain won nine in 10 Republicans in 2008, according to exit polls.
Persistent challenges
Paul’s opposition to military intervention overseas is seen by 49 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents as a major reason to oppose him; about half as many as see it positively (25 percent). Fully half of Republican leaners think Paul, as president, would pursue policies that are unacceptable to most Americans, while fewer than four in 10 think he would pick policies that are acceptable.
Paul doesn’t lead the GOP field on any of the 12 issues and attributes tested in the poll. He does best on standing up for what he believes (19 percent) and being the most honest and trustworthy (18 percent).
To read more, visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/behind-the-numbers/post/poll-shows-ron-pauls-strengths-and-weaknesses-in-gop-primary/2012/01/03/gIQAO4za8P_blog.html
Short URL: https://reteaparty.com/?p=5638
Ron Paul accounts for about 20% of the GOP base. The GOP cannot with without them, and they will not vote for anyone but Ron Paul.
However, the other 80% of the GOP will vote for whoever ends up on the GOP ticket. They’ll vote for Glenn Beck’s shoe if it gets Obama out of office.
Therefore, Ron Paul is the GOPs only chance of beating Obama. Face it, or lose in November.
When you look back – hindsight will confirm everything that Ron Paul has stated to be the TRUTH.
Ron Paul says it’s OK for Iran to have nukes. I don’t think he has ever seen pictures of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Pictures of London after the blitz or Berlin or Dresden after their bombings would give him a good idea of what a nuke could do to Washington DC or NYC. An idiot was recently sent to prison for detonating a “weapon of mass destruction” in a SUV on Time Square NYC. Fortunately the bomb was a dud. Suppose it was a nuke instead and that it had gone off. Nice picture. It would make 9/11/2001 look tame. Ron Paul doesn’t understand how many Jihadists would love to go down in a blaze of glory by setting off a suicide A-bomb. Paul is scart.
Dr. Paul is the only candidate left in the race that served in the military. The military on the front line understand and support him with their cash. Wars are draining the life blood from the country and soon there won’t be a country to defend. Better wake up and understand that defense of the U.S.A. does not mean global intervention.
Fortunately for America, that is not at all what Ron Paul believes. You are a victim of media lies. He says he understands why they would want a nuke, not that it’s OK for them to have a nuke. He wants to know why there is so much saber rattling and inconsistency on other countries in the region that are as dangerous as Iran, such as Pakistan who has several nukes. Iran does not have the wherewithal to even supply their own country with enough gasoline, yet Pakistan does not have our best interest in mind and we give them aid. Is it not appropriate to point out the utter insanity of this inconsistency? Get your facts correct and quit spouting media lies. If you do just just a small bit of research and follow the money, you will find that the people that hate him most – the media, the defense industry and other parasite industries would lose their gravy train if Ron Paul were able to do even half of what he wants to do. To argue the country would be in peril is the only way to keep the masses in fear and keep their money, our tax dollars, flowing into their pockets. Israel has 300 nukes and they, according to Netanyahu, do not need or want our help, they got this. Our saber rattling over Iran is doing the opposite of what our foreign policy is intended – making the people of Iran more afraid of their tyrannical government and they get cracked down on more than ever. We should have a policy that HELPS the people of Iran, not hurts them – according to Dr. Paul and our own CIA completely agrees with the foreign policy of Ron Paul.
I know for a fact that RP supporters will not vote for Romney, while Romney supporters will vote for anybody with an R behind their name. Dr Pauls non-interventionism is in line with our greatest general Washington, and our founding fathers Adams, Jefferson, Franklin et al.
Our war on terror has been a complete failure, Afghanistan belongs to the Taliban still, Iraq still has over 170k “contractors” your civil liberties have been flushed down the toilet. Over 3000 of our soldiers have been killed in vain and yet the American people want to go to war with Iran.
“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare”-Sun Tzu The Art of War
“If tyranny and oppression come to this land it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy”-James Madison
Thanks for stating the truth Mark, this gravy train that we cant afford would stop with Ron Paul as president. I hate to say this but the U.S. is the 800 lb gorilla in the room and probably the biggest bully in history. These defense contractors dont want to see the wars without end stop because so would their profits. Our politicians dont care how many of our children come home scarred and maimed as long as its not their kids and they get reelection money from the contractors. In 1945 we meet the russians at the Elbe river in Germany, then came the cold war. In 1991 the Soveit Union collasped and the red army went home. 20 years later we are still defending our side of Elbe river. Why? Because someone is rking in a bunch of money by us being ther.
Ron Paul has stated recently on national news media that a nuclear armed Iran is a concern and a threat and he stated that should Iran actually obtain aor build a nuke that the “U.S. would have to contain it” or would at least aid in containing it. Alot of what he talks about is based in rhetoric and sometimes playing the role of the devil’s advocate. He isn’t a panderer and he doesn’t waste his words. We need a voice like this in our nation’s highest office or we’ll make dangerous decisons that will greatly affect or nation. Besides, a President Paul would work with Congress to declare most all military actions, anyways, so he’ll not be foolhearted in his actions as commander in chief.. He is a veteran for crying out loud! WAKE UP Tea Party.. you wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for men like Ron Paul! Surely his slightly diffferent ideas on foreign p[olicy aren’t enough to keep you from supporting him.
Also, I don’t exactly appreciate this article highlighting some notion that educated evangelical tea party supporters aren’t supporting him in large number. I DO appreciate the nod to consistency and trustworthiness.. all one has to do is look at the man’s REAL states/individual rights and liberties conservative record and his American story. Ron Paul for Liberty, Propserity & Peace!
Ron Paul’s foreign policy is my biggest reason for supporting him, secondly his returning our gov’t back to the constitution to reaffirm my freedoms and rights. I am more afraid of losing my rights than of going down in a terrorist act. We should ALL be! Because our gov’t has been working itself up to being a police state ever since 9/11. The power any terrorist has is to make you afraid to enjoy your life and country – do you want them to have that power? I don’t. I will vote for Ron Paul.
Where did this spin-doctor get his “facts”? One of of Paul’s strongest “groups” are the youth on the college campuses. Another “group” with overwhelming support for Paul (also conveniently not mentioned in this article) is the active military. He also does quite well with the retired military.
The intellectually astute in every “group” (except those who are heavily invested in the military-industrial complex) are behind Ron Paul’s policies (the Constitution). Those who support Paul can tick of their well-thought-out reasons before reporters without a moment’s notice. Those supporting the other candidates are tongue-tied, and as Texas Chris accurately pointed out, would “vote for Glenn Beck’s shoe” if it gets the nomination.
Paul’s isolationist ideas are dangerous. Paul’s thoughts on stopping abortions is wrong too, you can’t give this decision back to the states, many like New York and Colorado plus others controlled by liberals will NEVER stop abortions. Iran wants to wipe Isreal and America off the map, Paul thinks Iran is like the old USSR. How monumentally disasterous is that type of mind set!!!
Everything the government does is SUPPOSED to be governed by The U.S. Constitution. This is what Ron Paul has been doing consistently for more than 20 years. Abortions can be stopped by using the Constitution, not by the ridiculous dance steps the Congress has been doing since Roe v Wade. Via the Constitution, Ron Paul has authored a bill to define “life” as beginning at conception. The other phony republican candidates do not support this bill. Why not? Because once abortion becomes outlawed, these phonies will no longer be able to dust it off and bring the subject back around every 4 years just to garner support from Christians.
What this country needs, is for Rommney, Gengrich and Santorum to just get out of the way. \We the People\ need Ron Paul in the White House, to not only set things right, but return this country back to the great nation that it can be. The Tea Party must realize, that if one of the other three are nominated, then there is NO hope for this nation. Obama will get re-elected. Ron Paul Is everything the Constitution stands for, including no military outside this country. That’s what \common defense\ means! \Friendly Trade\
is certanly NOT isolationisum. If the Tea Party is to be true to its Namesake, the Ron Paul is the ONLY choice, PERIOD!