Where does Ron Paul go from here?

Tue, 08/16/2011 - 2:00pm | posted by Tom Knighton

Libertarian-leaning Republican candidate Ron Paul finished just second to Michele Bachmann in the Ames Straw Poll. The Ames poll is one of the biggest straw polls out there, and Paul has done well at most of them. So what does this mean for Paul? Well, he’s well positioned to make a splash in the GOP convention, that’s for sure.

To start with, there’s been some speculation that Paul may actually win in Iowa. An early Iowa win in and of itself doesn’t mean a whole lot. However, this builds momentum going into New Hampshire. You know, “live free or die” New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of the most libertarian-leaning states out there, even if you don’t count the Free State folks that have moved there. A strong showing in Iowa would position Paul well for a great showing in New Hampshire.

Now, let’s say that Paul managed to win one of those states and finish strongly in the other. If that were to happen, it would become more difficult for mainstream media to discount Paul’s candidacy like they have been to some extent, and like they did four years ago.

The truth is Paul’s message has always been economics that are extremely popular right now, meaning they can’t hit him with a flip-flop charge. They can’t hit him on a lot of things that will come back to haunt some of the other candidates right now. His consistency through the years, coupled with a media that can no longer ignore him, may bode very, very well for the Texas congressman.

Another thing to keep in mind is that while the Tea Party loves Ron Paul, he hasn’t really gone out of his way to embrace them. This is interesting since the Tea Party isn’t as well loved right now as it has been in the past. While someone like Michele Bachmann has hitched her cart to the Tea Party horse, Paul hasn’t. That means that if the Tea Party takes a dive, Bachmann goes with it while Paul remains unscathed.

None of this is to say that Paul will actually win the GOP primary. It’s to early to tell who will win. But he is pretty well positioned to make some serious waves at the convention, and that might be quality television folks, let me tell you.