Interesting results from West Alabama Republican straw poll

[Syrinx]

I know this doesn't mean a whole lot, but I still thought it was interesting.

TUSCALOOSA | Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul dominated the West Alabama Republican Assembly 2007 Presidential Preference Straw Poll held at the Bryant Conference Center Saturday afternoon.

Of the 266 votes casts during the poll, Paul claimed 216 of, landing him an easy victory.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in at a distant second with 14 votes.

“Ron Paul is the first person that is willing to stand up for the Constitution,” Klack said. “He’s about a revolution of love and peace.”

Full results:

Ron Paul 216
Mitt Romney 14
Duncan Hunter 10
Fred Thompson 9
Rudy Giuliani 7
Mike Huckabee 6
Sam Brownback 2
John McCain 2
Tom Tancredo 0

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20070818/LATEST/7...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I think this shows a return to old Republican values,

especially in regards to foreign entanglements. People on both sides want us out of Iraq.

[Mz Pip]

2. Poor Tom

Nobody voted for him.

Mz Pip

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. These are Republicans? In *Alabama*? nt

[krispos42]

4. Sounds like the truth is being appreciated

The fact that he stands at the podium and won't blink or back down when The Macho Manly Mayor or Romney the Stage-Boot spray rhetoric at him.

Hopefully, probably, the voters will side with the Democrats, which have been saying this all along, for the most part.

[maximusveritas]

5. Perhaps the most worthless straw poll ever

What's sad is that those Ron Paul supporters probably think they acheived something with this.

[jody]

6. Alabamians are fed up with neocon Republican candidates and no Dem candidate has presented

a progressive, populist agenda that attracts many Alabama voters.

A recent poll found that more Alabamians said they were Democrats than were Republicans.

[Syrinx]

7. hey jody!

I hope the recovery is coming along well!

[jody]

16. I'm making great progress with my recovery. Cardio rehab has been wonderful and last week I added

exercises at my gym.

Have a great day,

[jillan]

8. Wouldn't that be interesting if Ron Paul became the GOP nominee?

I would actually love to see it.

[Syrinx]

9. I Wish Ron Paul Would Get The GOP Nomination

I agree with him about fifty percent of the time.

I'm for an end to the war, and for a humble foreign policy.

I'm for an end to the drug war and similar "wars" against victimless crimes. Which are nothing more than wars against the American people, the lower and middle classes in particular.

I'm solidly against his socially Darwinist views.

And I'm pro-choice, but I understand and have some sympathy for his anti-abortion views.

His election as president would be a disaster, but in my opinion, it would be less disastrous than the election of any of the other Republican candidates. At least Ron Paul respects the Constitution.

You know what might be fun? A Kucinich/Paul ticket.

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I could support that ticket, but it never will happen.

For reasons unknown to me, these two men with great ideas are considered "outside the mainstream" because they are up front about what they believe and proactive. Actually, I never realized that Ron Paul was a Republican, LOL. I've subscribed to his newsletter for ages, since I admired what he had to say about the war...

[Syrinx]

20. Hi RhiannonLisa!

I haven't run into you lately and it's great to see you around!

I remember when Ron Paul ran for president on the Libertarian ticket a couple times. I think it was in the eighties.

I passionately agree with about half his views, but the other half I find pretty much guano-crazy.

Stuff like totally eliminating all social programs, and privatizing the interstate highway system. Yuck.

I do think he means well, though.

Nice to see you!

[Rhiannon12866]

21. Nice to see you, too, my friend!

And I K&R'd your thread. I really do like Ron Paul, a complete anomaly during the Republican debates, and he's the only reason that I can manage to sit through any of them. The others all say the same meaningless things, invoking Ronald Reagan and 9/11... Ron Paul is a breath of fresh air.

And, as I said, I had no idea that he was a Republican, based on what he has said, especially on the Iraq war, thought he was an independent. Imagine my surprise, since I am a longtime subscriber to his newsletter, LOL.

Hope all, is well with you, my friend...

[saltpoint]

10. I wouldn't have figured Ron Paul to be all that popular in western Alabama,

especially among Republicans.

But there you have it.

I notice John McCain just barely nipped Tancredo, by two votes WITH 2 votes.

Very likely continuing evidence of the downturn in McCain's presidential fortunes.

[Syrinx]

11. I was a little surprised too

I know it was little more than a "get together," and probably doesn't mean much at all, but I was glad to see it. It seems that Ron Paul is running an "insurgent" sort of campaign, and considering his budget and lack of support from the corporate mainstream, it's probably his best strategy. He has a small, but well organized band of supporters. Hell, I'm a committed progressive, but I seriously considered spending the $35 to go vote for him. (I ultimately decided against it.)

I think Congressman Paul is a decent man, though I have serious disagreements with him on a lot of issues. At least he seems to respect the Constitution, which is more than I can say for most every Republican that I'm aware of.

[saltpoint]

12. Hi, Syrinx. Ron Paul. He's an odd duck, that one.

On one hand I agree with you that he's just too far off base on several issues.

But on the other he makes the rest of the Republican pack look even worse than they already do.

I think I'm in favor of his wreaking havoc on the GOP's primary outcomes.

He's far from ever luring my vote.

But I think he might be in a position to teach a few Republicans a lesson or two.

[Syrinx]

13. I agree

And my candidate is John Edwards. I think that's him in your avatar. I just noticed lately that I'm getting far-sighted. I wish I meant that in the best, psychic sense, but in reality it means I'm getting older and can't see up close so well anymore.

All the candidates are flawed, but I like John Edwards best. And I promise it ain't 'cause he's a white dude.

If Ron Paul became the GOP candidate, maybe we could have reasonable political discourse in this country again.

[saltpoint]

14. I'm behind your call for reasonable discourse, definitely.

It's sure been missing from the political stage these last 6-8 years.

I can't wait until January when the first votes for the next president are cast.

[saltpoint]

15. It would be pretty exciting to see John Danforth enter the GOP race for

his party's nomination on the rationale that every one of the pack of Republicans is a pandering rightwing kook.

Danforth likely wouldn't win. But he would give the debate over on the red side a little dignity. I'm not exactly hogwild about Danforth, but it's interesting that he's a minister and was considered a front runner to be Dubya's choice for veep until Dick Cheney in effect shoved Danforth out the train door and took the job himself.

Seems Uncle Dick a little Middle East project he wanted to tend to.

Anyway, Danforth would raise the stakes in formal debates and I think there's be increasing pressure on the extreme nutbags -- Hunter, Brownback, Tancredo, etc. -- to leave the race. To me, McCain is at least as much a nutbag as those others, but GOP primary voters might disagree with me. Given that they would, Danforth's entrance into the race would be a doomed commitment for him (I just don't think Republican primary voters WANT a moderate. They want red meat, dripping and throbbing, and Danforth isn't going to deliver any.).

[trayted]

17. I don't know what I want Ron Paul to do. Since Bloomberg isn't going to run, maybe

Paul might run as an independent. I actually think that he would hurt Democrats and Republicans, but I don't know who he'd hurt the most.

Many people love his anti-interventionalism attitude, which could hurt the Democratic candidate, but many Republicans might like his desire to get rid of so many federal agencies, like the Department of Education and the IRS.

I can't figure out who he'd hurt the most, so I hope he doesn't run as an Independent. As the GOP candidate, I think he'd get crushed, but as an Independent, he could do a lot of damage...to somebody.

[jmp]

19. “He’s about a revolution of love and peace.”

Freakin hippies!