Santorum drops out.

[MMMark]

Thurs. 12/04/12 23:05 EDT
.post #147

[url=Santorum drops out. - #56 by John_James]

@John James

[/url]I thought that’s what I was doing. Was that supposed to be a joke? You’re really confusing.

You were, it was, and I apologize.

@John James

Did you actually just take the time to type that a significantly large number of Ron Paul supporters would prefer Ron Paul to be the GOP nominee than they would Mitt Romney?

No, not “Mitt Romney,” but rather, “a Romney/Rand Paul ticket, with a cabinet appointment to Ron.” Holland suggests this would “get (his) attention.” I’m suggesting a significantly large percentage of Ron Paul supporters wouldn’t vote for such a ticket.

That’s what I typed.

@John James

Again I honestly can’t tell if you’re trolling or not.

I’m not. I’m trying to be precise. Anyway, no big deal.

I’ve been reading, and thinking about, what you said. I thought it was good, forceful, pretty convincing. I appreciate all the energy you put into your posts. I might have more to say about it tomorrow.

One thing, though; you said:

@John James

Here’s a nice piece of evidence. This man has the 4th highest rated program on radio, with an average of more than 1.2 million listeners per day. You don’t get more mainstream GOP Republican than this.

This guy is so angry at the prospect of Ron Paul running 3rd party that he is so desperate to have a way to get back at him that he (a Virginia resident) will “do everything in his power” to stop Paul’s son from getting re-elected in Kentucky, 5 years in the future.

And you don’t see how a Ron Paul 3rd party run could possibly hurt Rand Paul’s chances of becoming a GOP presidential nominee?

Bah. Levin will “do everything in his power” to stop Rand Paul anyway. What Levin implies by this threat is that without Ron Paul and his supporters, Romney will lose, which will ostensibly (I say “ostensibly” because I think neocon Levin is perfectly happy with neocon Obama) piss Levin off, so he wants Ron Paul to stay Republican and (implied but not spoken) throw his support behind Romney.

But, I get your point: If Ron Paul leaves the Republican Party, millions of “die-hard” Republican voters who at least considered him (only because he was a Republican) will now shun him for “betraying” the Republican Party. Levin will attempt to exploit and foment this reaction. Then, the minds of all those potential supporters will be forever closed to what Ron Paul has to say.

Well, this is going to happen anyway. Come August 27, 2012 (and probably well before), Paul will be pressured to “endorse Romney.” If he refuses outright, or even if he’s anything less than fully conciliatory, he’ll be branded “a traitor to his party” - ESPECIALLY if Romney is nominated and subsequently loses to Obama (which I think he will). And I don’t expect Paul to be “fully conciliatory.”

So then what?

There is this possibility: Paul’s delegate count come Tampa Bay might be formidable enough to apply pressure to Romney for his support. This, for me, would be close to ideal. Romney’s “supporters” would be more likely to back Paul than Paul’s supporters would be to back Romney. What could Paul promise Romney in return, I wonder?