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WASHINGTON Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can't escape the conservative "Tea Party" fervor stretching across the county.
Paul, the Gulf Coast congressman whose 2008 presidential run excited libertarians nationwide, even though he didn't get much traction overall, is considered by many to be the "father of the Tea Parties." But he has three opponents in the March Republican primary more than he has faced in his past six primary campaigns combined.
All three have ties to the anti-tax Tea Party movement. And while Paul remains the odds-on favorite to win re-election in his district, the crowded primary highlights the potential conflict between Tea Party activists and a GOP hoping to ride their wave to electoral success this fall.
"The Tea Parties have awakened a lot of everyday people here and across America," said Tim Graney, one of Paul's opponents. "And Ron Paul is worried about getting swept up in the anti-incumbent wave as if he is some exception."
It is hard to know where Paul fits into the Tea Party landscape. Paul supporters say he launched the movement in 2007 when he raised $6 million in a one-day, Web-based fundraiser on the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. His call for limited government and ending the Federal Reserve also resonates loudly in the Tea Party movement.
"Dr. Paul is proud to play a small role in getting this phenomenon going," said his campaign spokesman, Jesse Benton.
That phenomenon has also propelled Paul's protégés including his son Rand, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky, and former Paul campaign volunteer Debra Medina, who is surging in the Texas GOP primary race for governor.
He plans to attend a Tea Party-sponsored candidate forum in Katy this month, but he has distanced himself from the Tea Parties in recent interviews because of the antagonistic tone of some rallies.
"He has a very good relationship with the Tea Parties," Benton said. "But it is very important that these rallies maintain a certain level of decorum and respect."
Tea Party associations aside, many of the challengers' criticisms echo concerns of Paul's past opponents: that he is too focused on his national ambitions; that his views are too extreme; that he doesn't support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that he votes "no" on everything, including federal aid for his district after Hurricane Ike.
Oh this is rich. The amount of irony from this is too good to be true. 
Even GOP conservative Ron Paul draws Tea Party opposition | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Washington News
WASHINGTON Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can't escape the conservative "Tea Party" fervor stretching across the county.
Paul, the Gulf Coast congressman whose 2008 presidential run excited libertarians nationwide, even though he didn't get much traction overall, is considered by many to be the "father of the Tea Parties." But he has three opponents in the March Republican primary more than he has faced in his past six primary campaigns combined.
All three have ties to the anti-tax Tea Party movement. And while Paul remains the odds-on favorite to win re-election in his district, the crowded primary highlights the potential conflict between Tea Party activists and a GOP hoping to ride their wave to electoral success this fall.
"The Tea Parties have awakened a lot of everyday people here and across America," said Tim Graney, one of Paul's opponents. "And Ron Paul is worried about getting swept up in the anti-incumbent wave as if he is some exception."
It is hard to know where Paul fits into the Tea Party landscape. Paul supporters say he launched the movement in 2007 when he raised $6 million in a one-day, Web-based fundraiser on the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. His call for limited government and ending the Federal Reserve also resonates loudly in the Tea Party movement.
"Dr. Paul is proud to play a small role in getting this phenomenon going," said his campaign spokesman, Jesse Benton.
That phenomenon has also propelled Paul's protégés including his son Rand, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky, and former Paul campaign volunteer Debra Medina, who is surging in the Texas GOP primary race for governor.
He plans to attend a Tea Party-sponsored candidate forum in Katy this month, but he has distanced himself from the Tea Parties in recent interviews because of the antagonistic tone of some rallies.
"He has a very good relationship with the Tea Parties," Benton said. "But it is very important that these rallies maintain a certain level of decorum and respect."
Tea Party associations aside, many of the challengers' criticisms echo concerns of Paul's past opponents: that he is too focused on his national ambitions; that his views are too extreme; that he doesn't support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that he votes "no" on everything, including federal aid for his district after Hurricane Ike.
DogBert i hope this isn't a true and common sentiment that runs across the TEA lines that they don't like ron paul because of his war stance. I dont really like his stance in the debates as I though it was dangerous but he is true to his libertarian values and walks the TEA walk almost every time he opens his mouth.
This would be more idiotic than having a $500/seat function to pay a speaker like palin to give a speech.
IMO.
No real Tea Party member would support never-ending foreign interventions. If they do,they're not real Tea Partiers. The name Tea Party may have been hijacked a bit.
DogBert i hope this isn't a true and common sentiment that runs across the TEA lines that they don't like ron paul because of his war stance. I dont really like his stance in the debates as I though it was dangerous but he is true to his libertarian values and walks the TEA walk almost every time he opens his mouth.
This would be more idiotic than having a $500/seat function to pay a speaker like palin to give a speech.
IMO.
I hope not either, but there's not much else reasoning. The guy is The Godfather of the Tea Party movement. This is like turning around in the middle of a battle and shooting at your own general.
No real Tea Party member would support never-ending foreign interventions. If they do,they're not real Tea Partiers. The name Tea Party may have been hijacked a bit.
I think Dr. Paul will be ok in the end. A real Tea Partier would have nothing but respect for the good doctor. He'll come out on top.
i supported our going in to remove saddam at the time we did it but not the nation building that followed.
I had my own personal reasons (nope not wmd....an uncle who patrolled no fly zone was almost killed by aa a few times) which were that i was angry he was violating our cease fire agreement in the 90's and we did nothing about it but play pattycakes.
I also supported eliminating the training camps in afg...but again...like iraq...not the nation building.
This boggles my mind still.....i need to look into this link more dogbert, if this is true i have a bad feeling about the direction of the tea movement.
i supported our going in to remove saddam at the time we did it but not the nation building that followed.
I had my own personal reasons (nope not wmd....an uncle who patrolled no fly zone was almost killed by aa a few times) which were that i was angry he was violating our cease fire agreement in the 90's and we did nothing about it but play pattycakes.
I also supported eliminating the training camps in afg...but again...like iraq...not the nation building.
This boggles my mind still.....i need to look into this link more dogbert, if this is true i have a bad feeling about the direction of the tea movement.
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All this proves is that this whole 'tea party' movement has some puppet strings being pulled by something other JUST a grassroots campaign.
The establishment has its dirty little hands all over this movement, and Paul is about as anti-establishment as it gets. So it stands to reason they would be in opposition to him.
Those of us who are smart know that the best way to control a movement is to BECOME the movement.
All this proves is that this whole 'tea party' movement has some puppet strings being pulled by something other JUST a grassroots campaign.
The establishment has its dirty little hands all over this movement, and Paul is about as anti-establishment as it gets. So it stands to reason they would be in opposition to him.
Those of us who are smart know that the best way to control a movement is to BECOME the movement.
I just figure anyone involved with the tea party movement would be thanking the man instead of bashing him. Which is why what you say is what I suspect to be true.
All this proves is that this whole 'tea party' movement has some puppet strings being pulled by something other JUST a grassroots campaign.
The establishment has its dirty little hands all over this movement, and Paul is about as anti-establishment as it gets. So it stands to reason they would be in opposition to him.
Those of us who are smart know that the best way to control a movement is to BECOME the movement.
I just figure anyone involved with the tea party movement would be thanking the man instead of bashing him. Which is why what you say is what I suspect to be true.
Not necessarily, because there are a lot of RINO's who have the audacity to claim the tea party, but most RINO's don't like Paul.
The RINO's are using the movement just like the establishment is using it.
It's not organized well enough to be successful at anything other than division in the end.
I also suspect that the collective IQ amongst the movement is not high enough to spot the obvious frauds who are using it to their political advantage.
This would normally, on the surface, be the kind of movement I'd be excited in. There's a REASON I never got excited about this, even from day 1. Something just didn't seem right about it, and this only confirms that I was correct.
I just figure anyone involved with the tea party movement would be thanking the man instead of bashing him. Which is why what you say is what I suspect to be true.
Not necessarily, because there are a lot of RINO's who have the audacity to claim the tea party, but most RINO's don't like Paul.
The RINO's are using the movement just like the establishment is using it.
It's not organized well enough to be successful at anything other than division in the end.
I also suspect that the collective IQ amongst the movement is not high enough to spot the obvious frauds who are using it to their political advantage.
This would normally, on the surface, be the kind of movement I'd be excited in. There's a REASON I never got excited about this, even from day 1. Something just didn't seem right about it, and this only confirms that I was correct.
Any truly anti-establishment group wouldn't be promoted by Fox News the way the Tea Parties were.
