I have neither as postive a perception about Ron Paul as some on this thread nor anywhere near as negative a perception as some on this thread.
But Ron Paul, though he could win a straw poll here and there, won't win even one primary and the reason is:
"Because he is an old, less attractive, seemingly Fed-raving lunatic, he wonÂ’t win against a more attractive, more articulate, wide smiling, welcoming American."--Zeke Phillps in the BusinessInsider.
But even if you get past that brutal and unfortunate fact, there are also rather large speed bumps Ron Paul has to get over among those things he is on the record as supporting:
1. Believes that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are unconstitutional, and has compared the failure of federal courts to strike them down to the courtsÂ’ failure to abolish slavery in the 19th century. This is seen as an extremist view on the Left and Right and without some kind of moderating 'soothing' transition, it scares the crap out of those 55 and older.
2. Lay Off Half His Cabinet: Wants to abolish half of all federal agencies, including the departments of Energy, Education, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Labor. Some of these he gets a lot of sympathy from all on the Right and probably a few on the Left. But he does not reassure us in those things that ARE the prerogative of the Federal Government to regulate.
3. Would let states to set their own policies on abortion, gay marriage, prayer in school, and most other issues. He has me on his side with most of that, but loses the extreme right with some and almost all of the Left with the rest.
4. Stop Policing the Environment: Believes that climate change is no big deal and the Environmental Protection Agency is unnecessary. Most environmental problems can be addressed by enforcing private-property rights. Paul also thinks that interstate issues such as air pollution are best dealt with through compacts between states.
Again he is aligned with some here and with others elsewhere, but even I who DEPLORE the heavy handed tactics of the EPA do not want to give one state the right to foul the air, water, soil of its neighbors.
5. Would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it was a “massive violation of private property and contract, which are the bedrocks of a free society.” This one gets really complicated and while those on the Right do strongly support Civil Rights, the suggestion that this was a bad bill loses him massive support on the Left.
6. Paul has said he wants to legalize prostitution at the federal level. I suspect he meant the Feds would stay out of it and let the states do what they want, but he loses the more conservative values segment of voters with this one.
7. Legalize All Drugs including cocaine and heroin. The debate on this one is not yet settled and this as part of his 'platform' would make a lot of voters nervous.
8. He opposed the Bin Laden Raid and instead of authorizing the Navy Seals to take him out, President Paul would have sought PakistanÂ’s cooperation to arrest him. Or at the very least Congress should have declared war. This one is a sticky wicket isn't it.
So hands down, Ron Paul supporters are fanatical in their support, well trained in how to manipulate polls etc., and the old boy really does have some ideas that get us all excited.
But when it comes time to choose the candidate to 'pull the lever' for in the primary, very few will actually do that for him. He is seen as too extreme and holds too many views that have not yet been fully debated out on the national scene.