General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is anyone else nervous about Ron Paul supporters? [View all]Spike89
(1,569 posts)First, Paul doesn't have the numbers to seriously challenge, he's shooting for enough to force being heard. Even if he had enough delegates to keep Romney out, there is no way that he'd get the nod. Rather, it would be a "new" face. Even Gingrich, Santorum, et al. would be very unlikely in the nearly impossible scenario of a brokered convention.
Paul and Libertarians in general simply don't have real broad support. They are extremely vocal and true believers, but they lack the ability to get the broader support needed to win a national election in large part because they are so ideological and unable to lie/hedge to fool people.
Remember "compassionate conservatism" that was the rethugs lie/hedge to fool people in 2000. Although the Democratic party platform requires considerably less lie/hedge work to appeal to a majority, there are ample examples of candidates "shading" their stands to make it easier for independants to vote for them.
One of the reasons the libertarian fanatics seem to be so powerful a force is that they are "pure". Ron Paul can afford to be because he isn't running to win. The second he actually adopts a platform that specifies all the compromises a legitimate campaign must adopt to win a majority, he'd become even more irrelevent.
In short, his staunch craziness is exactly what makes him popular among a vocal minority and at the same time makes him toxic to most of the electorate.