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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 ANALYSIS 
30

Ron Paul Fans Return, as Tea Partiers

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(Newser) – If you polled the protesters at Saturday’s tea party protest on who they voted for in the Republican primaries, Tom Schaller of FiveThirtyEight.com has a sneaking suspicion they’d reply, “Ron Paul.” The protesters focus on libertarian complaints and rhetoric, and bear that familiar Paulite intensity. The first protester to tote a gun at an Obama rally is a Paul fan, and the man who brought an AR-15 is an ex-Paul campaign volunteer.

If the groups really do have major overlap, it’s ironic for two reasons: First, “the same ‘mainstream/liberal media’ that ignored and dissed Ron Paul and his supporters are now bending over backward to give them coverage beyond their actual numbers,” Schaller writes. Second, a movement that couldn’t even nominate its preferred candidate is now being asked to drive the Republican agenda.

Ron Paul supporters marching down Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill, July 12, 2008, where they held an all-day rally.
Ron Paul supporters marching down Constitution Avenue to Capitol Hill, July 12, 2008, where they held an all-day rally.   (AP Photo/Medill News Service, Kathryn Grim)
Supporters of Ron Paul rally at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, the location of the concurrent Republican and Democratic debates Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008.
Supporters of Ron Paul rally at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, the location of the concurrent Republican and Democratic debates Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Ron Paul supporters during a rally in Washington, July 12, 2008.
Ron Paul supporters during a rally in Washington, July 12, 2008.   (AP Photo/Medill News Service, Kathryn Grim)
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odowd80
Sep 15, 09 11:40 AM CDT
This just proves how far out of the main stream these people are. Ron Paul got what percent of the Republican vote? So its safe to say that teabaggers are a fraction of the minority Republican party. Reply
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+12
IN RESPONSE:
DontLikeYou
Sep 15, 09 1:25 PM CDT
Ron Paul got well over a million votes in the GOP primaries. That's 1,000,000 people who are much smarter than you. That's 1,000,000 who love their country, not themselves.
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-2
IN RESPONSE:
Toon
Sep 15, 09 3:01 PM CDT
dontlikeyou, Paulites want to reduce the government of the people by the people and for the people to the size where they can drown it in a bathtub. A damn poor way to show how much they love their country, if you ask me. If they were patriots they would stop bitching about paying taxes to make this nation a better place.
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Sep 15, 09 5:01 PM CDT
This actually gives them more credibility in my eyes. At least they're being consistent in calling for government reductions. The loyal Bushies are the ones who have absolutely no business criticizing the President for running up the debt during a recession. They supported such a runup when it was a matter of choice. Not that I agree with the RP supporters. It is good we all know more of who they are now. They'll once again face the necessity of demonstrating their idyllic vision of shifting governance from a democratic organ to one run by Wall Street would be better for the people. Good luck with that!
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0
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Sep 15, 09 5:11 PM CDT
Let me re-phrase that. The loyal Bushies are the ones who have absolutely no business criticizing the President for running up the debt during a recession. They supported such a runup when the goal was not a "band-aid to the economy" but an unnecessary war with immense damage to us and our reputation.
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