Folks,
I just heard on the Jer internet radio show (www.rprradio.com) that 60%-70% of LP members support Ron Paul for President.
Can anyone offer evidence for or against this statement?
Best, Michael
Folks,
I just heard on the Jer internet radio show (www.rprradio.com) that
60%-70% of LP members support Ron Paul for President.
Can anyone offer evidence for or against this statement?
Best, Michael
I'm sure it's based on the Stephen Gordon survey several months ago
that said 72% of Libertarians supported Paul.
Of course, that survey has been thoroughly debunked for its major
flaws, not the least of which was that it was a self-selecting
Internet poll with no verification of Party membership or likelihood
of attending the NatCon. This made the poll susceptible to the same
phenomenon as all the other self-selecting Internet polls that grossly
exaggerated Paul's support. (A real poll done by a real pollster
would have phoned LP members and past NatCon delegates.)
So, the short answer is: No, nobody can offer evidence for or against
this statement, because nobody has ever done a proper survey of
Libertarians on this question.
Rob
Does the lp intend to conduct a national survey on this?
Kurt
No. Especially since Paul announced yesterday in the most unequivocal
manner possible that he will stay a Republican in order to keep his
Congressional seat:
"I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party,
so there will be no 3rd party run. I do not denigrate third
partiesjust 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."
http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/02/08/ron-paul-rules-out-3rd-party-run-scales-down-campaign/
He basically said all of that minus the very blunt "there will be no
3rd party run" months ago when he was on Jay Leno's show, but I guess
nobody believed him back then. As LP Founder David Nolan put it quite
well:
"Hey, RP told everyone repeatedly that he had no intentions of running
again as a third party candidate, so why are people acting surprised
and hurt? The man did what he said he'd do, which is what he does."
Short of simply endorsing the Libertarian nominee for President (which
he'd never do, because it would cost him his seat in Congress), Ron
Paul has all but told Libertarians to go back to the LP and pick a
Libertarian to support. I'm not sure what else he can possibly do
without making a huge sacrifice by giving up his seat in Congress.
The important statistic is no longer "How many Libertarians will
support Ron Paul," but rather "How many Ron Paul supporters will
become Libertarians?"
Come to today's LPSF meeting, where we'll be discussing strategies for
achieving this goal.
http://lpsf.org/LPSF_Meetings/Meetings.php
Thanks!
Rob