Ron Paul wins presidential straw poll at CPAC

[Eckhart Tolle]

Ron Paul wins presidential straw poll at CPAC
February 20, 2010 6:00 p.m. EST

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul won Saturday's presidential straw poll, outpolling three-time winner Mitt Romney.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/20/conservatives.meeting/?hpt=T1

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: U.S. Rep. Ron Paul bests the field in presidential straw poll
Former U.S. Speaker Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck to wrap up CPAC event
Republicans hope event will be start of GOP comeback in 2010 midterm elections

(CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, on Saturday won a straw poll for president on the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

He got 31 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who won the straw poll the past three years, was second with 22 percent and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin with 7 percent.

The straw poll provides an early window into who conservative activists believe should be the next GOP nominee.

The three-day meeting Saturday that has featured speeches by Republican leaders, training sessions for local political activists and a renewed purpose to stand firm behind their principles heading into the midterm elections.

In the first two days, speakers at CPAC played up voter frustrations and predicted a comeback for the GOP, a little more than a year after suffering political losses.

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana made no apologies for trying to stop President Obama's agenda in Congress, telling attendees that he proudly wears the "Party of No" label that Democrats have tried to pin on Republicans.

"Some folks like to call us the 'Party of No,'" Pence said during his speech Friday. "Well, I say 'No' is way underrated here in Washington, D.C. Sometimes 'No' is just what this town needs to hear."

On Saturday, attendees will hear from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and a host of conservative luminaries. The conference will close with the results of a 2012 presidential straw poll and an address by conservative commentator Glenn Beck.

Follow all the CPAC speakers and reporters: @CNNPolitics/CPAC

Pence, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, used his address to the influential bloc of GOP base voters to promote his conservative credentials further and sharply criticize the president and the congressional Democratic majority.

Pence, who is chairman of the House Republican Conference, predicted the GOP would reclaim a majority in the House of Representatives in November and the White House in 2012.

"Welcome to the conservative comeback and the beginning of the end of the Pelosi Congress," Pence said to applause.

The congressman from Indiana is one of several Republicans said to be eyeing a White House bid who addressed the meeting.

Romney spoke Thursday, the opening day of this annual meeting, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty preceded Pence on Friday morning. Paul spoke Friday afternoon, while Santorum and Gingrich are scheduled to appear on the closing day.

Coulter gives her thoughts on CPAC

Paul ignited the crowd with a scorching indictment of lawmakers in Washington, whom he accused of failing to address the nation's growing debt.

"Debt is the monster," Paul said, condemning federal borrowing to support government spending. "Debt is what will eat us up, and that's why our economy is on the brink."

Particular attention was paid to not only what these potential presidential candidates said, but how their comments were received by the attendees.

Unlike Romney, who delivered a polished, rousing speech to the conservative audience, Pawlenty opted to speak without a teleprompter and riff off his notes.

Having drawn an early time slot for his speech, Pawlenty spoke to a relatively low-energy crowd in a ballroom with scores of empty seats.

"When we were here a year ago at CPAC, there were a lot of naysayers," Pawlenty said Friday.

Get complete CPAC coverage on CNN Political Ticker

"We had all these pundits and smart alecks saying the sun was setting on the conservative movement. ... We had people talking about how the new era of hope and change was sweeping aside our values and principles. Hope and change and teleprompter," he said.

U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa followed Pawlenty and fired up the crowd by declaring that Obama has "lost his mojo."

"He had more mojo than any president that I remember when he was inaugurated a year and a month ago. But now, the master-mesmerizer has lost his mojo," King said. "And if we stand our ground as constitutional conservatives, he's not going to get it back."

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota blasted Obama's economic policies Friday, and declared that the president is leading America into a state of "decline."

During her speech, Bachmann also took aim at Democratic efforts at health care reform and cap-and-trade policies designed to combat global warming, saying such measures will keep the U.S. economy on "an unsustainable path."

The CPAC conference follows a meeting of "Tea Party" activists that took place earlier in February in Nashville, Tennessee. Followers of the Tea Party movement express independence from the national Republican Party, but a CNN Opinion Research Corp. poll shows that these activists would vote overwhelmingly Republican in a two-party race for Congress.

Tea Party Movement activists held a late afternoon reception for attendees that featured patriotic songs, hors d'oeuvres and an open bar.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, spoke out Thursday about the conservative grassroots movement that emerged in the past year out of concerns about certain policy issues and gridlock in Washington.

"The Republican Party should not attempt to co-opt the tea parties," Boehner said. "I think that's the dumbest thing in the world. What we will do, as long as I'm the leader, is respect them, listen to them and walk amongst them. The other party will never, ever do that."

Other opening-day speakers included former Vice President Dick Cheney, Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio.

Conservatives were in a different mind-set a year ago. At the 2009 conference, the Republican Party was still reeling from Obama's victory over Sen. John McCain as well as the additional gains Democrats made in Congress in 2008.

But in the past 12 months, Republicans have seen the political tide turn: Obama's approval rating has dropped below 50 percent, several congressional Democrats have announced they will retire at the end of the year and Brown took the seat once occupied by Sen. Ted Kennedy, the liberal lion of Massachusetts for more than four decades.

[ES]

Ron Paul is poised to kick some ass now. HA Ha I love it. 

[riley martin]

Truly shocking.  These are the same people who booed Bob Barr for calling waterboarding torture.  I bet most of them do not even know Dr Paul's policy stances.

[worcesteradam]

they are still neocons.
Paul needs our support against them if they try to undermine him in any way
we know they are trying to coopt the movement

[RonPaulRocks]

Shit Ron Paul is on the front page of CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/

[worcesteradam]

not when i go there
when i go to the US section i get Kim Kardashian and Tiger Woods

[TheHouseMan]

Now I am very, very suspicious.

Alex said the media is going to build him up, to bring him down.

Is the media really giving the nod to Ron Paul? This is INSANE.

Only problem is this is a poll for Conservative ACTIVISTS. General GOPers will surely go for Romney or Palin. Fox will surely screw over Paul in the election runup, again.

Very encouraged to see Palin so low on the list, by the way.

[Freebird100]

Let`s see how Glen "Gatekeeper" Beck spins this next week.If he mentions it at all.

[larsonstdoc]

Let`s see how Glen "Gatekeeper" Beck spins this next week.If he mentions it at all.

  The Suck Ball Beck was there.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/20/glenn-beck-cpac-2010-spee_n_470356.html

Glenn Beck CPAC 2010 Speech: Republicans Don't Need A Big Tent

Bombastic conservative talk show host Glenn Beck closed a three-day conservative conference on Saturday by demanding that Republicans get their own house in order before re-trying their hand at governance.

In a winding speech that touched as much on his personal turmoil as his policies and politics, Beck had the packed auditorium at CPAC captivated from the start. Using hand gestures, multiple impersonations and his infamous chalkboard, he took the usual swipes at Democrats. "Progressivism," he declared, "is eating the Constitution." Moreover, it "was designed to eat the Constitution."

But the nearly hour-long address was spent not bemoaning his ideological foes, but rather demanding purity among his likely allies. If last year's CPAC keynote speech - delivered by radio host Rush Limbaugh - was defined by urging President Barack Obama to fail, Beck's stood out for his demand that conservatism succeed.

"Dick Cheney a couple days ago... says it is going to be a good year for conservative ideas," he declared at one point, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It is going to be a very good year. But it is not enough just to not suck as much as the other side."

And who, exactly, sucked as much as the other side? Beck didn't really name names - save for a swipe at one Republican (presumably Sen. John McCain) for admiring another Republican, Teddy Roosevelt -- the latter of whom Beck accused of launching the modern progressive movement. But the message was clear: supporting anything that closely resembled the Democratic agenda would no longer fly with the modern GOP.

"I have not heard people in the Republican Party admit yet that they have a problem," he said. "I haven't seen the Come-To-Jesus moment from Republicans yet."

"One party will tax and spend," he added at another point. 'One party won't tax and will spend. It is both of them together."

Story continues below

The plea was made all the more effective by the intertwining of Beck's own story of struggle and redemption Pointing to his time as a recovering alcoholic, the Fox News host urged the GOP to embark on a 12-step program of recovery. "Hello, my name is the Republican Party, and I got a problem. I'm addicted to spending and big government," he declared, reading out the apology he wanted lawmakers to deliver. Reflecting on his own lack of formal education, he railed against government handouts - extending the logic to argue against a right to health care.

The crowd was enthralled, even as Beck took them down winding tales of Calvin Coolidge, the Statute of Liberty and the supposed great middle class explosion of the 1920s.

But was the message what the conservative movement needed to hear? Tradition dictates that political parties out of power do what they can to expand their coalition. Elections, after all, are won when candidates broaden their appeal to the voters responsible for electing them. For Beck and the surrounding CPAC crowd, however, ideological purity was the path to redemption and recovery.

All we've heard, the Fox News host complained, is "we need a big tent. We need a big tent. Can we get a bigger tent? How can we get a big tent? What is this the circus? America is not a clown show. America is not a circus. America is an idea. America is an idea that sets people free."

[chrisfromchi]

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 1/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WId6L_p8-co

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 2/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chq0kQfgur4

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 3/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-yrODwdjU

[Theorist]

Ron Paul Wins CPAC's 2012 Presidential Straw Poll 

http://economycollapse.blogspot.com/2010/02/ron-paul-wins-cpac-2012-presidential.html

[Trypt]

There is a very easy way to win America back from the bankers, environmentalists, neo-cons, war mongers and NWO in general, just VOTE FOR RON PAUL!

He easily won the CPAC poll, although I don't think it was a surprise as CNN says.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/20/conservatives.meeting/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29

(CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, a stalwart foe of government spending, won a blowout victory Saturday in the annual Conservative Political Action Conference presidential straw poll.

With participants naming "reducing the size of federal government" as their top issue, the 74-year old libertarian hero captured 31 percent of the 2,400 votes cast in the annual contest, usually seen as a barometer of how the GOP's conservative wing regards their potential presidential candidates.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney finished second with 22 percent of the vote, ending a three-year winning streak at CPAC. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished third with 7 percent of the vote, followed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 6 percent and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence at 5 percent.

They were followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who tied at 4 percent. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour rounded out the results.

Five percent of participants voted for "Other" and 6 percent was undecided.

The announcement of Paul's win, a surprise victory unlikely to have a major impact on the 2012 presidential contest, drew a volley of loud boos from the CPAC audience.

That discontent could be seen in the poll results: A majority of participants said they wished the Republican Party had a better field of candidates to choose from.

But Paul's victory might be seen, in part, as a result of his support among anti-establishment Tea Party activists -- who turned out in force at this year's conference and expressed some frustration with the Republican Party.

Reflecting the college atmosphere of the annual event, young people dominated the voting: 54 percent of participants were between the ages of 18 and 25.

The poll also contained a bit of bad news for Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who made an under-the-radar appearance at CPAC late Friday.

Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/cpac

Participants were asked to rate their opinions of several top political figures, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader John Boehner, both of whom received a majority favorable rating.

But Steele was the only Republican to garner an upside-down rating, with 44 percent giving him an unfavorable rating and 42 percent rating him favorably.

The three-day meeting Saturday that has featured speeches by Republican leaders, training sessions for local political activists and a renewed purpose to stand firm behind their principles heading into the midterm elections.

[RonPaulRocks]

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 1/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WId6L_p8-co

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 2/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chq0kQfgur4

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 3/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-yrODwdjU

Thanks for the links!

[Volitzar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiKh9Ko3mw4

[Valerius]

I think I heard FOX say that "Romney won the last three" far more than they said Ron Paul won this one which had been hyped before the results but discounted after. Last three what? Then they went into every possible spin to say that it didn't mean anything... after a result that they didn't like of course. Didn't hear any of that before.

[chris jones]

R.P., a great man and leader.

My one cncern, how will the NWO counterattack.

[jofortruth]

He speaks of the traitor Woodrow Wilson in part 2 of the videos:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/The_Great_Deception/index.php?showtopic=3481
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Chq0kQfgur4


If you don't understand what the NEOCONS believe, it's time to learn: (THESE PEOPLE ARE WRONG AND ARE IN OUR PENTAGON AND GOVERNMENT IN A BIG WAY! THEY NEED TO BE ROUTED OUT AND FIRED!)
http://z4.invisionfree.com/The_Great_Deception/index.php?showtopic=695

[Valerius]

R.P., a great man and leader.

My one cncern, how will the NWO counterattack.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

--Gandi

[chris jones]

Valerius
Nice reply, espeicaly so the end note.

[worcesteradam]

i bet Kevin Tracy is wetting himself

[jofortruth]

Ron Paul At CPAC 2010! (Part 3/3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-yrODwdjU

In Part 3 above, Ron Paul said last week in a hearing in Congress the current administration said they had the right to "assassinate" American Citizens: (SAY WHAT?)


Obama Administration: US Forces Can Assassinate Americans Believed to Be Involved in Terrorist Activity
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/9/obama...can_assassinate

One problem with this mentality is that these guys don't even know the difference between right and wrong, or who is and isn't a real terrorist, as shown by their behavior. So how can we trust them to determine correctly if a person is or isn't a terrorist?

EXAMPLE: Remember the MIAC report in Minnesota that called Ron Paul supporters, 911 Truthers, and others TERRORISTS? That in itself should tell you they shouldn't be given the right to determine who is and isn't a Terrorist, because they are calling GOOD PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR COUNTRY terrorists! SICK!


SEE MIAC REPORT:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/The_Great_Decep...?showtopic=6348

Then, Governor Nixon, who supported this ridiculous document was promoted to work for Obama's Council of Governors? This guy doesn't have good judgement at all so why is he being appointed to an advisory capacity? NUTS!
http://www.infowars.com/miac-report-supporter-and-missouri-gov-nixon-to-sit-on-obamas-council-of-governors/

[worcesteradam]

Ann Coulter on Ron Paul and Libertarianism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9XQgSVdIg

[Triadtropz]

It's to bad Ron Paul didn't win the last election, he would probably have this mess straightened out by now..

[worcesteradam]

It's to bad Ron Paul didn't win the last election, he would probably have this mess straightened out by now..

the only way to straighten things out is decades of depression.
The US economy is a giant ponzi scheme

this is the hard truth people will have to face

[Monkeypox]

 Boos as Ron Paul wins CPAC straw poll

 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33225.html#ixzz0gEKZQXdQ


Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican who ran a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, was the top vote-getter Saturday in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll, capturing the support of 31 percent of those who participated in the contest.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had won the CPAC straw poll for three consecutive years, took 22 percent of the vote. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin won 7 percent, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty garnered 6 percent. Pawlenty attended the conference; Palin did not.

Paul’s victory renders a straw poll that was already lightly contested among the likely 2012 GOP hopefuls all but irrelevant, as the 74-year-old Texan is unlikely to be a serious contender for his party’s nomination.

As the results were displayed on twin large screens in the ballroom — and even before Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio could announce who had won — a cascade of boos came down from a crowd that views Paul and his fervent supporters as irritants. Paul’s backers responded with cheers, though, when their candidate was then proclaimed by Fabrizio as the winner.

CPAC organizers were plainly embarrassed by the results, which could reduce the perceived impact of a contest that was once thought to offer a window into which White House hopefuls were favored by movement conservatives.

A spokesman for the conference rushed over to reporters after the announcement to make sure they had heard the unmistakable boos when the screen first showed Paul had won the straw poll.

Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, who heads the House Republican Conference, took 5 percent of the vote. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee each won 4 percent.

Nearly 3,000 votes were cast in the straw poll, the most in the history of the 37-year conference, but that number represented only a fraction of the approximately 10,000 people who attended CPAC.



By finishing well above Palin and Pawlenty, Romney clearly remains well-positioned among the conservative activists who attend conferences such as CPAC. Having already sought his party’s presidential nomination once, and retaining many of the supporters he had in 2008, Romney enters the early going of the 2012 race as something close to a front-runner.

But the results of the straw poll, though imprecise, indicate that conservatives are not entirely happy with the field of likely candidates mentioned two years before the first balloting.

Fifty-three percent of those who participated in the contest said they wished the GOP had a better field of candidates. Forty-six percent said they were satisfied with those now seen as possible presidential candidates.

While Palin’s decision not to attend the conference may have been a factor in her single-digit showing, her modest finish underscores the degree to which she is not seen as a serious presidential contender by the most attuned activists in her party.

Even though he and his aides sought to downplay the poll, Pawlenty’s finish represents a disappointment for the 2012 Republican contender who has worked the most aggressively in the past year to make a name in party circles. Besides Romney, Pawlenty is the only potential candidate with the makings of a campaign infrastructure.

But given Paul’s win and the minimal effort made to contest the straw poll by the mainstream candidates — unlike in years past, there was no campaigning by them to rally support — the results don’t offer the window into the organizational strength of hopefuls offered by past polls.

Forty-eight percent of those who participated in the contest indicated that they were students, and the divergent reaction to the results reflected the outcome.

When Paul was announced as the winner, his many college-age supporters erupted in the corridors outside the ballroom, yelling, jumping and chanting their candidate’s name.

“We came here a long way to support Ron Paul and the Campaign for Liberty,” said Jeremy Henchcliffe, a student at Central Connecticut State University.

Other conservatives, though, voiced their frustration at Paul’s showing.

“I understand their passion, but he’s not the leader of the conservative movement,” said California Republican Phil Jennerjahn, who is mounting an uphill congressional run in the 33rd District.

[bigron]

Fox News scrambles to discredit CPAC after Ron Paul wins presidential poll

By Stephen C. Webster
Sunday, February 21st, 2010 -- 8:09 pm
http://rawstory.com/2010/02/fox-news-runs-damage-control-ron-paul-wins-cpac-presidential-straw-poll/

Remember the big conservative conference Fox News has been hyping over the past 10 days?

The Conservative Political Action Conference's presidential straw poll, a key marker of the mood among conservative voters, apparently didn't mean anything to the network. And if it did mean something, the only real result is bragging rights for the individual candidates who were so well exposed. And hey, even Dick Cheney showed up.

Or, at least that's how Fox News characterized the poll, after it was reported that Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) had won it by a wide margin.

CPAC participants voted for Paul as their favored candidate by some 31 percent, giving him the largest margin of victory in recent years. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who has won the vote over the last three years, was the runner up with 22 percent. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was third with seven percent.

Over 10,000 people attended CPAC this year. Among them, 2,395 voted in the straw poll.

"It is way early, it is unscientific," said a Fox News host, even as the split-screen showed Glenn Beck on stage at the conference. "Perhaps it offers nothing more than bragging rights, uh, through the course of this year. But, it is quite a, uh, enthusiastic crowd. What a difference a year makes."

What a difference a year makes, indeed. Paul himself said something quite similar a day prior, when he spoke before the largest, loudest audience of any other presenter.

He asked if the crowd remembered when he was the guy "off in the corner" predicting doom, and none in the media paid him any serious mind.

"All the sudden, the crash that I had predicting all along: it came," Paul said. "And now, Fox News TV has had me on about 60 times since the campaign was over."

On its Web site, Fox News said that the vote is "not necessarily a good forecaster" of conservatives' leanings nation wide.

Jake Gibson, micro-blogging for Fox News's Live Shots, wrote that Paul's win was "surprising" and caused very audible booing throughout the crowd. Meanwhile, Live Shots writer Kelley Beaucar Vlahos characterized the poll as an annual competition between the Republicans' "bright lights."

Paul is now, apparently, counted among them. Or is he? National Review praised him, jeering "Feel the 'Ronmentum,'" thus triggering a sharp response from Robert Costa.

"Some older CPAC attendees don’t seem to care much for the Texas congressman, sure, but many young activists seem to regard him as a hero of sorts," he wrote. "When he talks about the debt, like he did on Friday, calling it a 'monster' that will 'eat up' our future, it was with a passion that you can’t fake in politics. He also didn’t mind challenging many of the room’s security hawks on foreign policy."

Indeed, Costa touched on a key undercurrent at this year's CPAC: youth. According to the straw poll's detailed breakdown [PDF link], 48 percent of the participants were students. A full 80 percent of respondents said their number one issue is "to promote individual liberty" and "reduce the size of government." Sixty-four percent of participants were male.

Conservative blog Hot Air questioned whether the poll could be taken seriously, adding: "53 percent say they wish the GOP had a better field of presidential candidates. Is that an outlier produced by the Paulnut contingent too, or genuine proof that there’s room for a dark horse?"

Huckabee, now a paid Fox News contributor, joined other conservatives in kicking sand on Paul's victory, telling one of his coworkers that he abstained from CPAC because it had been taken over by libertarian activists.

“CPAC has becoming increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year," he said, according to Politico.

He also knocked the conference's relevance this year in particular, with so much activity around the tea parties.

"Because of the way that it solicits sponsors, it’s almost becomes a pay-for-play," he said, taking a shot at the group's credibility as a whole. "It’s kind of like, who will pay money to be able to be a sponsor and get time in the program. That’s one of the things that has hurt its credibility in the last couple of years."

FireDogLake noted that even Ann Coulter told a CPAC crowd that she agrees with Paul on everything, except his foreign policy. "Or, put another way," wrote FDL user Blue Texan, "Coulter and the neoconservatives that have taken over the Republican Party want Ron Paul’s pre-WWI, pre-Fed, pre-Social Security, pre-IRS federal government — to go with LBJ’s Great Society military."

Among the poll's participants, 98 percent said they disapproved of the job President Obama is doing. Sixty-eight percent said they approved of congressional Republicans' actions.

In 2009, CPAC was arguably the biggest event in conservative politics all year, featuring right-wing all-stars like Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter and many more. In 2008, pollsters were shocked when Romney beat Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) by just one percent of the vote, even after announcing the suspension of his presidential campaign.

That year, Paul tied for third with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 12 percent of the vote. In the same poll for 2009, Ron Paul again came in third place, this time with 13 percent of the vote. He was bested by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, at 14 percent, and Mitt Romney, with 20.

"I believe we are on the verge of something very significant," Paul told CPAC in 2010.

Strangely, in The Washington Post's Monday coverage of the GOP's 2012 presidential contenders, the congressman from Texas was not mentioned once. Staff writer Chris Cillizza instead plugged Romney as the party's "nominal front-runner."

Watch Paul's full CPAC speech here.
http://rawstory.com/2010/02/ron-paul-dominates-cpac-largest-loudest-audience/

This video is from Fox News, broadcast Feb. 20, 2010, as culled by watchdog group Media Matters.
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201002200024

[Dig]

Bilderberg Puppets Boo as Ron Paul wins CPAC straw poll

 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33225.html#ixzz0gEKZQXdQ

Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican who ran a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, was the top vote-getter Saturday in the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll, capturing the support of 31 percent of those who participated in the contest.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who had won the CPAC straw poll for three consecutive years, took 22 percent of the vote. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin won 7 percent, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty garnered 6 percent. Pawlenty attended the conference; Palin did not.

Paul’s victory renders a straw poll that was already lightly contested among the likely 2012 GOP hopefuls all but irrelevant...

FIXED!

[Kilika]

Sixty-eight percent said they approved of congressional Republicans' actions.

Now that is disturbing. How can anyone approve of anything congressional of late?

[Triadtropz]

Now that is disturbing. How can anyone approve of anything congressional of late?

What do they do besides stonewall?...

[agentbluescreen]

It was interesting that although the anti-Obama CPAC religious-socialist cult meeting was covered by all 4 major networks on their Sunday morning Demoblican/Republicrat cult-religion services, only Adrianna Huffington (on ABC) pointed out that Ron Paul had gotten the straw poll presidential nod by this year's attendees.


True American constitutionalists should note that there was to be only one legitimate established religious-socialist "party system" in our system of governance - it was called 'Independence".

[RickT]

I don't get it.  If 31% of those attending supported RP, why would he be massively booed, while Romney, Palin et al got big cheers?  What the Hell was that?

The fact is, though, the American "conservative" movement is still 60+% or more neocons.

[jimd3100]

So these guys at their annual meeting got together and did a straw poll on several issues, and who their leaders should be......
 
America’s Oldest and Largest Grassroots Conservative Organization Founded in 1964, ACU represents the views of Americans who are concerned with economic growth through lower taxes and reduced government spending and the issues of liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values and national security.
http://www.cpac.org/
 
On their survey of members on issues, one of the questions was this.....
 
Thinking ahead to the 2012 Presidential election,
who would you vote for as the next Republican
nominee for President?  page 11/14
http://66.147.244.188/~conserz8/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/2-10-CPAC-Straw-Poll-Final-Compatibility-Mode.pdf
 
Guess who won hands down? Ron Paul. Ha! Of course he's not ever supposed to win these polls even though he always does, so what is the reaction? ......
 
The head of a conservative student group says libertarian hero Ron Paul's straw poll victory at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington "means nothing."
According to the YAF spokesman, the big draw at CPAC is not the politicians and their "canned speeches," but rather the "culture warriors" like Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, and Glenn Beck, who "really inspire the crowd to take action."  Mattera says he wishes Ron Paul would retire because he "has some very wacky, wacky ideas."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=908402
 
Haaaaaaaaa, they hate "weirdos" like Ron Paul(forget that their members prefer him)the members are suppose to consider him a weirdo and worship smart sane people like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter. Another Classic!

[obeybizar]

Does anyone have the link to the video of Ron Paul getting booed?

I read in several liberal rags that he was booed LOUDLY, but cannot seem to find any video evidence of this?

The videos I have seen from him at CPAC are FULL of applause and enthusiasm.
Is this a disinfo campaign because they are running scared on both sides...LOL?
I love IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dig]

I don't get it.  If 31% of those attending supported RP, why would he be massively booed, while Romney, Palin et al got big cheers?  What the Hell was that?

The fact is, though, the American "conservative" movement is still 60+% or more neocons.

The fact is, even with the Romney "double and triple voting" methodology...the truth spoke louder than their lies. And although they still want to promote apathy, we are not falling for it. the world is waking up and anyone with 2 brain cells firing can see clearly that Ron Paul is just saying what everyone already knows to be true...

liberty and freedom are popular!

[Dig]

Does anyone have the link to the video of Ron Paul getting booed?

I read in several liberal rags that he was booed LOUDLY, but cannot seem to find any video evidence of this?

The videos I have seen from him at CPAC are FULL of applause and enthusiasm.
Is this a disinfo campaign because they are running scared on both sides...LOL?
I love IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yup, same as when he supposedly got bood for telling both guiliani and McCain that they are poor students of history.

[Volitzar]

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[Monkeypox]

The thing I find funny is the fact that many Ron Paul supporters are young people, yet the Republican Party, which lacks support among young people, refuses to embrace RP and expand their base.

[worcesteradam]

Does anyone have the link to the video of Ron Paul getting booed?

I read in several liberal rags that he was booed LOUDLY, but cannot seem to find any video evidence of this?

The videos I have seen from him at CPAC are FULL of applause and enthusiasm.
Is this a disinfo campaign because they are running scared on both sides...LOL?
I love IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH-UjDrYRqg&feature=sub

[bigron]

Posted by mattcorley at 9:39 am
February 23, 2010
http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/02/23/ron-paul%e2%80%99s-cpac-win-highlights-raging-rift-between-libertarians-and-social-conservatives/

Ron Paul’s CPAC Win Highlights Raging Rift Between Libertarians And Social Conservatives

This post was originally published on Think Progress.

Though some conservatives are declaring that last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was “wildly successful,” this year’s annual gathering of movement conservatives has actually exposed “lingering divisions on the right.” In a Fox News interview on Saturday, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee questioned the “credibility” of the event, accusing it of being “a pay-for-play” because “of the way that it solicits sponsors.” Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin also criticized CPAC’s set-up, refusing to appear because she reportedly views it as “pocketbook over policy.”



But the biggest rift occurred around the prominence of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and his libertarian supporters. According to the Washington Independent’s Dave Weigel, after CPAC organizers announced that Paul had won the presidential straw poll with 31 percent of the vote, “mainstream GOP activists and traditional conservative thinkers” were looking for excuses:

Just as relieved were mainstream GOP activists and traditional conservative thinkers who were pondering ways to make the party electable again. “I think Mitt Romney’s 22 percent was impressive,” said Rob Willington, a Massachusetts Republican strategist who’d designed GOTV technology for now-Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). He was reflecting on the poll — not too significant, he said — in Murphy’s, a bar a few blocks from the hotel, late Saturday. Romney’s forces, he said, hadn’t lifted a finger; Paul’s had campaigned for the prize.

In another corner of the bar, conservative author David Frum, editor of Frum Forum (formerly New Majority), brushed off the result. “The Paul people all voted and the others didn’t,” said Frum. “I’m hoping it’s a matter of self-selection.”

The importance of minimizing Paul’s win united conservative activists like almost nothing else that came from the three-day conference. Even Brad Dayspring — who, as a spokesman for GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), counts on Paul for “no” votes — fired off two tweets dismissing the result. But the 2,395 ballots cast were a CPAC record, up from the 1,757 cast in 2009, when Mitt Romney scored his third conservative win.

On his radio show yesterday, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh decried Paul’s win as well:

RUSH: All I’ll tell you is that any organization that has a straw poll vote on who the party presidential candidate ought to be and comes up with Ron Paul is not an organization of conservatives. I just tell you. Something’s haywire there. I know the Ron Paul people go in there, but they had been attendees to get in there. Ron Paul winning a straw poll at a conservative conference?

Huckabee also claimed that Paul’s win challenged the conservative credentials of CPAC, saying “that Ron Paul winning the straw poll was an indicator that CPAC was taking a more libertarian flavor.” The tension between Paul-supporting libertarians and social conservatives like Huckabee was on full display Saturday when a Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) activist responded harshly to positive words from a Paul supporter about CPAC’s inclusion of the conservative gay group GOProud. “I want to condemn CPAC for bringing GOProud to this event,” said YAF’s Ryan Sorba after Students for Liberty’s Alexander McCobin praised the American Conservative Union for “welcoming GOProud as a co-sponsor.”

UPDATE

Jed Lewison put together a compilation of Fox News hosts and guests attempting to spin away Paul’s win as insignificant.

VISIT PAGE FOR MANY LINKS

[obeybizar]

Of course the video is from MSNBC..