Ron Paul wins Illinois Straw Poll

[Tender Branson]

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady announced that Texas Congressman Ron Paul won Saturday’s Statewide Presidential Straw Poll with 52% of the vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney carried the state’s in-person voting with 35% of the vote.

“I congratulate Congressman Paul on his victory,” said Brady. “It is clear Illinois Republicans are gearing up tremendous election year in in 2012.”

The final subtotaled results are:

% Online % In Person
Romney: 7% 35%
Cain: 15% 29%
Paul: 66.5% 8%

At 3,649 votes, the Illinois Presidential Straw Poll surpassed large states like Ohio [428 Votes], Florida [2,647 Votes] and California [811 Votes] that held straw polls earlier this year.

http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsDetail.aspx?newsID=12056

[Joe Republic]

As soon as voting by internet is legalized, Paul is guaranteed the presidency.

[Zarn]

Paul wins a decent amount of straw polls, big and small. He is ridiculed and accused of busing. Iowa seemed to be the only poll where he actually had buses.

Cain wins one closed/ insider one, and he is pushed as electable. He also has the tendency to actually bus people.

Am I missing something here?

[Averroës Nix]

Paul wins a decent amount of straw polls, big and small. He is ridiculed and accused of busing. Iowa seemed to be the only poll where he actually had buses.

Cain wins one closed/ insider one, and he is pushed as electable. He also has the tendency to actually bus people.

Am I missing something here?

Yes, you are.

[Zarn]

Paul wins a decent amount of straw polls, big and small. He is ridiculed and accused of busing. Iowa seemed to be the only poll where he actually had buses.

Cain wins one closed/ insider one, and he is pushed as electable. He also has the tendency to actually bus people.

Am I missing something here?

Yes, you are.

Then tell me... why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

[Averroës Nix]

Why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

You're begging the question.

[Zarn]

Why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

You're begging the question.

Have you seen Fox News? Cain is trumpeted. Paul is ignored, unless he is on the program. I just want a straight answer.

[angus]

Why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

You're begging the question.

Have you seen Fox News? Cain is trumpeted. Paul is ignored, unless he is on the program. I just want a straight answer.

It is always this way.  Remember in 2008?  Ron Paul was ignored.  In fact, FNC in particular often omitted his delegate counts and primary vote percentages, showing McCain, Huckabee, and even those who got fewer votes than Paul.  You could say it's because he's cranky, or because he doesn't support Bush's wars (on Terror, on Saddam, on the budget surplus that existed when he came into office, etc.)  But I think the bottom line is that Ron Paul committed the cardinal sin of running under a different party label against the Republicans in 1988.  That makes him a RINO, and a very special breed at that.  Many Republicans, and FNC as well, just won't give him the time of day because they view him as a disloyal Republican, something even more dangerous to their agenda than Democrats.

[Averroës Nix]

Why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

You're begging the question.

Have you seen Fox News? Cain is trumpeted. Paul is ignored, unless he is on the program. I just want a straight answer.

OK, I'll admit that I don't regularly watch any of the cable news channels. But it's one thing to complain about the media ignoring Ron Paul and another to complain about Fox News ignoring him.

That said, Ron Paul was interviewed on Bret Baier's show last week. And he appeared on Fox News Sunday this morning. Paul's campaign was largely ignored in 2007 (less so in 2008), but he's been given plenty of attention this cycle.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Paul: 66.5% 8%

lol

[Oakvale]

Ron Paul winning a poll with internet voting is shocking, just shocking.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

Ron Paul winning a poll with internet voting is shocking, just shocking.

Of course, he also won the recent Iowa one with actual Iowans with 88% and that was in person. Not to mention the other 13 or so straw polls he's won, only one of which besides this had internet voting (though he won the in-person vote for that one, too IIRC)

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.journalism.org/node/26958

Ignoring money raised, straw polls, etc this is still pretty damn blatant.

Paul usually polls about 3rd with anywhere from 8-12% (occasionally he comes between 5th and 2nd depending on the pollster), and almost every poll of Iowa shows him in the double digits. Meanwhile, he gets less coverage than Huntsman (polling about 1%), Pawlenty (Who was getting about 5% for a long time before dropping out), Gingrich (who generally polls a bit below or at what Paul is at), Palin (who isn't even running), Bachmann (who is getting maybe 4% now), and Perry (who is presently doing worse than Paul). I'd say that's not much attention.

[Joe Republic]

In all seriousness, and to address Zarn's point, Paul's candidacy is brushed over because the media does not want to have to add nuance to the black-and-white political landscape in this country.  It's far easier to maintain the 'Democrats=liberal, Republicans=conservative' narrative for the sake of their idiot viewers, than to have to explain why Paul doesn't often sound much like a Republican, yet isn't really a RINO either.  So it's easier just to ignore him instead.

[LastVoter]

As soon as voting by internet is legalized, Paul is guaranteed the presidency.

It's already legal. You are looking for a different word here.

[Jacobtm]

Then tell me... why is one being pushed and the other being shoved aside?

One wants to dismantle the federal reserve system which gave $16 trillion in zero percent loans to financial institutions.

One wants to do whatever the Koch brothers say.

[RI]

In 2000, Arizona allowed internet voting in their presidential primary. I wonder what would happen if they did that today.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I fully agree that Ron Paul and his campaign should receive more attention.

The media should expose that the supporters of his campaign include radical conspiracy theorists, that many of his followers listen to Alex Jones and believe that Bush was responsible for the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

The media should investigate his anti-Israeli viewpoints and bring them to the attention of GOP voters who overwhelmingly support the Israeli people.  The media should cover his quotes regarding "friendship" with Iran.

The media should alert conservative and moderate GOP voters to the Paul campaign's efforts to take over the organizations of the Republican Party at every level.

The media should expose Congressman Paul's support for earmarks that benefit his own district, that members of the Tea Party movement would find appalling.

The media should alert GOP voters that Mr. Paul is not likely to support the eventual GOP nominee if it is not him, and thus he is assisting in the re-election of President Obama.  The media should also make sure that GOP voters are aware that Mr. Paul was the official nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1988.

Yes, the media should do its damn job.  Give this man, this man who revels in the ideology of death, the attention that he so desperately desires and the truth that we deserve.

[Zarn]

I fully agree that Ron Paul and his campaign should receive more attention.

The media should expose that the supporters of his campaign include radical conspiracy theorists, that many of his followers listen to Alex Jones and believe that Bush was responsible for the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

The media should investigate his anti-Israeli viewpoints and bring them to the attention of GOP voters who overwhelmingly support the Israeli people.  The media should cover his quotes regarding "friendship" with Iran.

The media should alert conservative and moderate GOP voters to the Paul campaign's efforts to take over the organizations of the Republican Party at every level.

The media should expose Congressman Paul's support for earmarks that benefit his own district, that members of the Tea Party movement would find appalling.

The media should alert GOP voters that Mr. Paul is not likely to support the eventual GOP nominee if it is not him, and thus he is assisting in the re-election of President Obama.  The media should also make sure that GOP voters are aware that Mr. Paul was the official nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1988.

Yes, the media should do its damn job.  Give this man, this man who revels in the ideology of death, the attention that he so desperately desires and the truth that we deserve.

1) Most supporters are not like that. They certainly are also not anti-Muslim, unlike other parts of the party.

2) There is nothing anti-Israel about Paul. Stopping foreign aid to all countries is a net benefit for Israel.

3) Take over organizations? Do you mean when the Tea Party? Oh wait, you took that from Paul supporters. The Republicans were originally along Paul's line. The theocratic neocon stupidity is recent.

4) That money is spent regardless. His district does pay the taxes, as do all districts.

5) How are the others any different from Obama. We might as well let the Democrats take the fall for stupid policies.

6) The media should do its job, so people like you can be a lot less ignorant on all political matters. You clearly have no clue what is happening. Paul predicted our current economic problems decades ago. He had repeatedly warned us again and again. These warnings become very specific in the 2000s. He is always ahead of everyone else on what is going to happen. If we don't change our tune, we won't have to worry about any foreign enemies, because we will do ourselves in.

[Averroës Nix]

In all seriousness, and to address Zarn's point, Paul's candidacy is brushed over because the media does not want to have to add nuance to the black-and-white political landscape in this country.  It's far easier to maintain the 'Democrats=liberal, Republicans=conservative' narrative for the sake of their idiot viewers, than to have to explain why Paul doesn't often sound much like a Republican, yet isn't really a RINO either.  So it's easier just to ignore him instead.

I largely agree with this - the popular media is in many ways inherently biased against an unconventional niche candidate like Paul. But if Zarn's point is that there's some kind of intentional conspiracy to push Paul aside because his views threaten the status quo, then I have to dissent.

What you see in the Pew study that Modern Bourbon Democrat links to is that conventionally credentialed candidates (Romney, Perry, and Pawlenty) and celebrity-driven candidates or candidates with campaign drama (Bachmann, Cain, Palin, and Gingrich) are heavily covered. Paul fits into neither of these categories.

When Paul has a successful moneybomb or releases a new plan, he typically gets some attention. His second-place finish in the Ames straw poll was undercovered, but with Perry's entrance, Bachmann's victory, and Pawlenty's withdrawal, I think this was largely a case of other stories overwhelming the newsworthiness of Paul's strong performance. Furthermore, there was noticable backlash after Paul was largely ignored and for a couple of weeks stories about Ron Paul (and how the media had snubbed him) were common.

[Zarn]

I do not know why they refuse to do their job, but they aren't. *Shrugs*

[Simfan34]

I fully agree that Ron Paul and his campaign should receive more attention.

The media should expose that the supporters of his campaign include radical conspiracy theorists, that many of his followers listen to Alex Jones and believe that Bush was responsible for the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

The media should investigate his anti-Israeli viewpoints and bring them to the attention of GOP voters who overwhelmingly support the Israeli people.  The media should cover his quotes regarding "friendship" with Iran.

The media should alert conservative and moderate GOP voters to the Paul campaign's efforts to take over the organizations of the Republican Party at every level.

The media should expose Congressman Paul's support for earmarks that benefit his own district, that members of the Tea Party movement would find appalling.

The media should alert GOP voters that Mr. Paul is not likely to support the eventual GOP nominee if it is not him, and thus he is assisting in the re-election of President Obama.  The media should also make sure that GOP voters are aware that Mr. Paul was the official nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1988.

Yes, the media should do its damn job.  Give this man, this man who revels in the ideology of death, the attention that he so desperately desires and the truth that we deserve.

[Zarn]

You are fully endorsing a post that I already countered.

[Simfan34]

You are fully endorsing a post that I already countered.

I know. But your points are invalid.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I fully agree that Ron Paul and his campaign should receive more attention.

The media should expose that the supporters of his campaign include radical conspiracy theorists, that many of his followers listen to Alex Jones and believe that Bush was responsible for the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.

The media should investigate his anti-Israeli viewpoints and bring them to the attention of GOP voters who overwhelmingly support the Israeli people.  The media should cover his quotes regarding "friendship" with Iran.

The media should alert conservative and moderate GOP voters to the Paul campaign's efforts to take over the organizations of the Republican Party at every level.

The media should expose Congressman Paul's support for earmarks that benefit his own district, that members of the Tea Party movement would find appalling.

The media should alert GOP voters that Mr. Paul is not likely to support the eventual GOP nominee if it is not him, and thus he is assisting in the reelection of President Obama.  The media should also make sure that GOP voters are aware that Mr. Paul was the official nominee of the Libertarian Party in 1988.

Yes, the media should do its damn job.  Give this man, this man who revels in the ideology of death, the attention that he so desperately desires and the truth that we deserve.

You are basically saying that Israel is infallible, and that questioning the government on 9/11 (not necessarily believing Truther stuff but questioning) is bad then? And I assume you consider yourself a "Tea Partier. This is not about the party, its about America. Your post is the epitome of partisanship.