For Paul, It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
John McCain may be the presumptive nominee, but the Republican race isn't over—at least not to Ron Paul. The Texas congressman remains an official GOP candidate and has about $5 million in the bank, and a mighty band of fanatical followers. Will the fiercely antiwar conservative become a distraction for McCain at the Republican convention? Paul spoke with NEWSWEEK's Daniel Stone. Excerpts:
What kind of presence will you have at the convention?
We'll have a big rally there one of the days. Since they won't give us a spot, we'll make our own spot. We won't disrupt things—that doesn't achieve anything. But we'll have a presence and present views and try to … get in on the committees to vote on platforms. That's not disruptive.
What are your feelings toward [Libertarian nominee] Bob Barr?
We're pretty friendly. We're allies, he's a good friend. He has called me a couple times recently, so it's very cordial.
Even though he has been targeting your supporters?
I can't blame him. I'm sure that's his goal. [Laughs]
What's your relationship like with McCain?
It pretty much doesn't exist. He has his beliefs and I have mine, and they just don't come together very well.
The nomination is out of reach. How does this end for you?
It's always been about changing the party and changing the country. So I don't see things in conventional political terms. I'll continue to do what I started out to do: to change the direction of the party as well as the country.
What will happen to your campaign's leftover money?
It'll be used in an organization that has not yet been decided, to carry on exactly what we're doing in the campaign, to promote these views that everybody comes together on.
After the convention, will you endorse a candidate?
I'm not going to tell [my supporters] what to do. The support was really organized outside the campaign, so it'd be kind of odd to say, "Well, now that you've all come together, I'm going to tell you what you ought to do." They'll figure out what to do.
Most of your supporters are libertarian. Why are you still a Republican?
It affords me opportunities to talk about the Constitution. If I had not been in one of the major parties, I wouldn't have been in the debates. If I hadn't been in the debates, no one would have ever heard of me.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: sharenews @ 06/11/2008 7:52:03 AM
Comment: Posted By: sharenews @ 06/11/2008 6:46:41 AM
Comment: IMPORTANT BULLETIN FOR ALL BLOGGERS ON THIS SITE:
TO NEWSWEEK STAFF:
This is to report that there is a FRAUD going on, on this site, in which bloggers are using the names of various bloggers (Obama supporters are most likely the culprits) who are fraudulently writing blogs that are deplorable and tagging them under other bloggers names (non-Obama supporters names). I officially reported such a fraudulent abusive use of fake postings that I just viewed on this site today that affected me personally. This is what it said in which the blogger fraudulently used my name as the poster:
IT SAID THIS. I NEVER WROTE THIS. SO ALL OTHER POSTERS, ESPECIALLY FORMER HILLARY SUPPORTERS, BEWARE:
Posted By: sharenews @ 06/11/2008 03:05:43
Comment: I agree. So why do so many Obama supporters make him out to be a Messiah?
I NEVER wrote the above comment or ANY mention of Obama being a Messiah. At this point I am ready to bring this abusive process that you are using on your site to FOX NEWS as I have done this before and they are very responsive. I have copied this report to send onto the media if I dont see a stop to the smearing of my name or others on this site moving forward!
Posted By: hillbilly1969 @ 06/07/2008 6:26:14 PM
Comment: I'm not so much a Dr Paul supporter as I am a firm believer that the government is way too big for it's britches and it refuses to hear the voice of Us commoners,of which the government is supposed to be made up. He is the only 1 pushing this truth and he,along with his supporters are being made to look like radical fanatics. The more major media tries to show this as being authentic news instead of the Constitutional violations being committed by the vast majority of Our elected officials, the more they reveal the fact that the government controls what is aired to the public. Those without internet access do not have a clue to what's truly happening in this country.
Posted By: hillbilly1969 @ 06/07/2008 6:25:17 PM
Comment: I'm not so much a Dr Paul supporter as I am a firm believer that the government is way too big for it's britches and it refuses to hear the voice of Us commoners,of which the government is supposed to be made up. He is the only 1 pushing this truth and he,along with his supporters are being made to look like radical fanatics. The more major media tries to show this as being authentic news instead of the Constitutional violations being committed by the vast majority of Our elected officials, the moree they reveal the fact that the government controls what is aired to the public. Those without internet access do not have a clue top what's truly happening in this country.