Ron Paul’s surge in the Iowa state polls is more than just an exaggeration. Surveys now have him taking the state with first place two weeks before the Iowa caucus begins, and that success has the establishment running scared.
During the election season leading up to 2008, a grassroots campaign in support of Texas Congressman Ron Paul posed a serious threat to the other GOP hopefuls during the months leading up to the election which eventually put Barack Obama in the White House. Four years later, the momentum has only amounted to something far stronger and the popularity piling up for the libertarian-leaning politician and medical doctor is causing concern for the men behind the mainstream ideologies of the Republican Party that Congressman Paul seeks to sink if he captures the GOP nomination.Pundits have been quick to dismiss Paul’s success in the weeks leading up to the latest statistics, which include a survey from Public Policy Polling this week that puts the candidate in the lead in Iowa, capturing 23 percent of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney trails Paul in that poll by three percentage points. Despite this proven success, however, the mainstream media and GOP establishment continue to shoot down any chance at Paul capturing the nomination and the legitimacy of his campaign. Fox News commentator Chris Wallace went as far as to saw that a victory in Iowa for Paul “won’t count” as far as the caucus is concerned, although the state’s primary has historically stood as a kingmaker as far as the Republican Party is concerned. Iowan Governor Terry Branstad has even dismissed a win for Paul, even if the polls suggest he has a more than viable chance next month. “People are going to look at who comes in second and who comes in third,” says Branstad, adding, “If Romney comes in a strong second, it definitely helps him going into New Hampshire and the other states.”Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen also added recently that Paul’s urging of state Democrats and Independents to register as Republicans to help the candidate in the coming caucus is “perverting the process” of the election cycle, yet neglected to recognize that many of the ethos encouraged by the congressman are those that the incumbent coming into this race, Democrat President Barack Obama, fails to follow through with. While Obama has admitted supported to the controversial National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, a legislation that allows for the indefinite detention and torture of American citizens suspected of terrorism crimes, Paul has been the only Republican candidate to come out against the bill, calling it “arrogant and bold and dangerous.”“This is a giant step – this should be the biggest news going right now – literally legalizing martial law,” Paul told radio host Alex Jones recently. Is the GOP really that scared of a potential Paul victory? Jones added on his radio program Monday this week that Republicans ware now readying a newsletter campaign and will take to other mediums to attempt to discredit the congressman at any chance. Why the congressman from Texas has some of the same goals as his fellow Republican frontrunner, including the abolishment of several governmental programs, it looks as though the candidate’s libertarian leanings has enough of the establishment scared that his presidential promises could become a reality. Also a possibility, of course, is that putting Paul in the White House will allow for the candidate to come true with his campaign promise of cutting $1 trillion in spending in the first year of his administration alone. “Everybody has the perception that there’s absolutely no way [Paul] can win the nomination, whereas a Mike Huckabee coming out of nowhere at the end to pull out a victory here – he was a serious contender,” former Iowa Senate President Jeff Lamberti tells Politico. “That’s the distinction that has the potential to do real damage to Iowa.”“The establishment has gone all out to virtually sabotage the credibility of the primary weeks before it even takes place, terrified that a Ron Paul success could upset the apple cart of the two RINO [Republican In Name Only] establishment candidates,” adds Inforwars.com columnist Paul Joseph Watson on Tuesday. With polls continuing to put Paul at or near the top of the race, that terror that’s plaguing the rest of the Republic Party will only worsen as the Iowa Caucus nears. For the loyal legion of Paul fans, however, the only thing those people are scared of is a candidate who isn’t fearful of actually bringing hope and change to the United States of America.