"Ron Paul appears to have had a Dennis Kucinich moment.
Just as the liberal Ohio congressman realized last month that his long-shot presidential campaign was imperiling his prospects for keeping his House seat, Paul appears to be choosing the comfort of incumbency over a continued effort to win a nomination that he has virtually no shot at capturing.
Last night, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman sent a message to his supporters signaling that he was scaling back his presidential bid.
The most telling passage:
"I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen."
Same as Kucinich, Paul has seen a real primary threat emerge back home. In both cases the challengers have made the case that the local congressman is gallivanting around the country on a quixotic quest, has lost touch with the folks back home and has taken stances out of line with the district.
The key difference, of course, is that Paul has millions of dollars socked away and could be a significant threat were he to run a third-party campaign in the fall.
But Paul reitereated in his message that that won't happen.
"Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican Party, so there will be no third-party run," Paul said. "I do not denigrate third parties -- just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican."
and i found this in the usa today paper advertising section:
"for sale!
one slightly used blimp....
willing to relocate and provide a new coat of primer paint for your event or organization.....
call jenny @ 867-5309 for more info"......
:SIB
Just as the liberal Ohio congressman realized last month that his long-shot presidential campaign was imperiling his prospects for keeping his House seat, Paul appears to be choosing the comfort of incumbency over a continued effort to win a nomination that he has virtually no shot at capturing.
Last night, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman sent a message to his supporters signaling that he was scaling back his presidential bid.
The most telling passage:
"I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen."
Same as Kucinich, Paul has seen a real primary threat emerge back home. In both cases the challengers have made the case that the local congressman is gallivanting around the country on a quixotic quest, has lost touch with the folks back home and has taken stances out of line with the district.
The key difference, of course, is that Paul has millions of dollars socked away and could be a significant threat were he to run a third-party campaign in the fall.
But Paul reitereated in his message that that won't happen.
"Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican Party, so there will be no third-party run," Paul said. "I do not denigrate third parties -- just the opposite, and I have long worked to remove the ballot-access restrictions on them. But I am a Republican, and I will remain a Republican."
and i found this in the usa today paper advertising section:
"for sale!
one slightly used blimp....
willing to relocate and provide a new coat of primer paint for your event or organization.....
call jenny @ 867-5309 for more info"......
:SIB
