Is Ron Paul satisfied to be a thorn in Rick Perry's side?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, during a Republican Presidential debate Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.

/ Mike Carlson

Ron Paul may be running a distant third in the race for the Republican nomination, but he seems satisfied with his role as thorn in the side of front-runner Rick Perry. Stepping off the campaign trail in Iowa to meet with reporters in Washington on Wednesday morning, Paul took credit for getting Perry to pay attention to his objections to the Federal Reserve and other issues.

The Republican House member from Texas has made criticism of the Fed the centerpiece of his campaign. Perry, the Texas governor who leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the polls, "knows that the Federal Reserve is a significant issue," Paul said. "So I'm pleased with that."

Paul has consistently argued that government intrusion into the economy by the Fed causes more harm than good. Although a fringe belief when he ran in 2008, the criticism has become mainstream in the Republican Party in the 2012 election cycle. Perry went so far to suggest that the actions of the institution's chairman, Ben Bernanke, were nearly "treasonous," a criticism that brought blowback from even prominent Republican figures like strategist and television commentator Karl Rove.

Paul said he was pleased the party's politics had shifted in his direction, not only on economic but foreign policy issues. But he made a clear contrast between himself and his opponents: While his positions are based on core convictions about the best course for the country, his rivals are just playing politics.

"[Perry] knows what people are thinking about, that's how politicians operate," he said.

Perry and Paul have each taken sharp shots at each other during the campaign. The congressman has called Perry's record as governor of Texas anything but fiscally conservative, while Perry has chastised Paul for quitting the party in 1987 because of his disappointment with Ronald Reagan, the former president who has become a conservative icon. The two even had what appeared to be an off-camera confrontation at last week's GOP candidate debate in Tampa, Fla., with Perry pointing his finger in Paul's face.

Paul has been campaigning hard in Iowa, and has continued to attract a small but hardcore following of conservatives who share his libertarian views, packing small venues with 100 or more supporters. He placed third in a USA Today/Gallup poll of Republican presidential nomination preferences published on Tuesday, behind Perry, who led with 31 percent and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who got 24 percent. Paul had 13 percent, the only other presidential candidate to score in the double-digits in the poll.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., winner of the Iowa straw poll in August, joined businessman Herman Cain and former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich in the single-digits at five percent.

Paul has also been adept at raising money over the Internet with his so-called "money bombs," so much so that he's hop-scotching Iowa now in a private jet. He is the the third-most successful fundraiser in the presidential field, behind President Obama and Romney.

The Texas congressman said he would not run as a third-party candidate, arguing it would marginalize him as a political force. But, he said, he could envision a billionaire, someone with resources at his disposal, entering the presidential campaign.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it happened this time around," he said, although he did not name anyone in particular.

[liquidify]

Really? You can do better at wasting time than this. Perhaps you should try building up another war.

Perry looked like an idiot at the last debate. He lost the Florida Straw Poll his team put so much money and time into, and he lost to a 3rd tier candidate that wasn't even supposed to be in the same rhealm of competition as him. Somehow we are supposed to believe that Perry is still "top tier?" The media keeps telling us that Perry is poling high, but I see no support from anyone for him. Now that he ate his words even against another neocon like Romney, why would anyone give him the time of day?

The reality is that the top is now Romney and Ron Paul. Perry can pull these mystical poll numbers out, but if he cant produce any results then noone cares. Hell even if he did win a few polls, real conservatives would not care. After all, he used to be a democrat, and he publically stated that he was going to switch parties but maintain the same principles. The reality is there is little difference between him and Romney. They both offer nothing but large government and more of the same. The only difference is that Romney is more polished and his state has failed slightly less.


Perry = no longer top tier.

[JenniferHyatt]

ATTENTION ALL RON PAUL SUPPORTERS....We need you for one day. Oct 19th is the anniversary of day we won the Revolutionary War. We need to win another Revolution, but we can't do it if the media continues to black out Ron Paul. Won't you donate something...anything...on Oct.19th. Spread the word. If we work together they won't be able to ignore us. This is THE one!! Click attend at the link and send it to all RP supporters you know!! We need EVERYONE!!! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181997088537471 and blackthisout.com

Let's show them they cannot shut US up!!!! As always, donate ONLY to the campaign directly on Oct. 19th. But please click attend so we know that we are gaining traction for this. Thanks!!!

[RobbyVonRob]

Haha... I just found out Mr. Hawkins is an intern for CBS since 2009. Lol. I'm guessing unpaid intern. As an employer myself, I wouldn't pay for the garbage journalism that Mr. Hawkins writes.

1) Write CBS to fire this unpaid clown and (2) Find out who advertises with CBS and write them to stop advertising on CBS until Mr. Hawkins and clowns like him are fired.

The only way to change this country is to get to these clowns' pocket books.

[EdouardLuc]

http://www.WhoWouldTheFoundingFathersVoteFor.com/

[thetharms]

Jon Huntsman was right, both of the frontrunners are of questionable character and qualifications. While Mitt "Romney-Hunt", in his three-thousand dollar suits, is unlikely to need to be hawking reverse mortgages in a few years (such as is now the last GOP golden boy), it is certainly easy to imagine Rick "good-ol-boy" Perry kicking used car tires in the near future. Once the average American finds out what Mormon's really believe, there isn't a chance that he'll be moving into the White House. Romney's the Democratic Party's poison pill; their save Obama stealth weapon. Perry's corporatist pay-to-play is simply unacceptable business as usual. We already have that in the current administration.

Gingrich and Paul are probably the most qualified and (by far) the most intelligent men in the race, but Gingrich is as much lacking in character as Paul is overqualified by an excess of integrity. Of course, Huntsmen is very polished, smooth, and diplomatic, but he's also probably CIA, which is the last thing we need in the White House. Cain has some practical ideas, but he is essentially an status-quo insider masquerading as an "change" outsider, and we already have one of those in the White House. Johnson might be an option in 2016, but he simply isn't ripe yet. Bachmann's Israel-First obsession makes her unacceptable to everyone except for the "we're the chosen ones" contingent and their Amen corner. We've already had one religious crank in the White House, and we're mired in war and debt as a result. We certainly need to try that route again.

It really is hard not to conclude that Paul isn't the best of the available choices. He can quote from economic treatises, and literature, as easily as he can quote from Isaiah, he's a man of impeccable, even renown integrity, and even though he's a businessman, a physician who respects life, he also has years of experience dealing with Washington. Perhaps what scares the neo-cons / neo-liberals so much about Paul isn't anything that is truly radical about him, but rather that he is so astoundingly normal and qualified that he's likely to truly be successful at bringing change to Washington.

Oh, and if you haven't notice, Paul rarely ever say anything bad about anyone. His banter with Perry is obviously part of a political strategy worked out with a fellow Texan. Credit Perry for going along with it. Rather than seceding from the nation, Texas may be end up saving the nation.

[patriotforlife]

Mr Hawkins and Mr Roarty,
You do yourselves a mis-service; was this your intent? Your article misleads and is a blatent attempt to marginalize Dr. Ron Paul. Why would we do this to a man of such courage, such conviction?

Dr. Paul "content to be a thorn in the side of Perry"? And TWO rational journalists came to that inane conclusion?!?

Americans believe we are victims of a media blackout on Dr Ron Paul. Obvious attempts to smear only validate that concern and add to the hysteria; and to the MYSTERY surrounding Dr Ron Paul. Why is the media SO AFRAID of this presidential candidate?

Is a smear campaign the underhanded type of "win" the American media is after?

Please protect our media reputation in the future. Report the facts. Report on the great work by Dr. Ron Paul and the other candidates. Compare and contrast the candidates with wisdom, with candor, wiht honesty; not murky comments meant to control the populace into erroneously believing Dr Paul is "content to be a thorn in the side of Perry". We know that is NOT true. Your assertion that it is leaves greater America now questioning your integrity.

US citizens deserve honest reporting. Can you do it? Can you win playing honest ball?

[TroopsSupportPaul]

My dear Messrs. Hawkins and Roarty, perhaps I can assist you in understanding a statesman whose caliber is of a degree with which you seem to be unfamiliar.

No, Ron Paul has not made the Fed the centerpiece of his campaign - he has made it the centerpiece of his CAREER. He even wrote a book about it, and some others related to it. Check him out on Amazon. Did you know that year after year after year Ron Paul has introduced a bill to audit the Fed? Did you know that the Fed is a private cartel of banks that loans our country every dollar we print? (It's no accident that it's called a Federal Reserve Note - a note is a debt instrument.) Or that the reason we got an income tax, which we did nicely without for more well over one hundred years, was just to pay the interest to the banking cartel on the money we print? Look up when the Fed began and when the income tax was instituted. Or that the banking cartel called the Fed holds all our country's gold? We aren't exactly sure how much since they haven't let anyone look at it or audit it since the 70s.

Did you miss the information that, while he was disappointed with Ronald Reagan straying from the party's ideals, it was the party's abandonment of those ideals which lead to his resignation? That is how dedicated to his principles Ron Paul is. For him, and for many Americans, the Constitution is more important than the party. But if you'd like to compare Ron Paul to Ronald Reagan, take a look at "Two Ron's Make a Right" on youtube.

Have you noticed that it has become exceedingly difficult to tell which party is in favor by what gets done - or what doesn't? Left/Right, Dem/Rep, Blah/Blah. We march steadfastly in the same disastrous direction no matter which media-endorsed puppet gets elected.

Perhaps you have not encountered a true public servant before and thus don't understand Ron Paul, who he is or what he's about. Ron Paul is a wise, persistent defender of what he - having first ensured that he was fully educated and informed - believes is the best course for our country. Doesn't it make sense to elect as the man to fix the problems, the man who recognized, understood and predicted the problems for years? Go to youtube and search "Ron Paul Predictions". There are tons of videos with footage of him warning us over the years about what we are now facing. What more could you ask for in a president?

It is a gift from God to our distressed nation that Dr. Paul is willing to serve. And that's all he's doing - offering us his service. He is not vain or pushy. That's all the others, the ones you're familiar with, understand and expect. Not Ron Paul. The question is whether America is awake enough and wise enough to accept the gift of his service.

You can take it to the bank that he will do what he says. (And anything in the bank will be worth more when Ron Paul is elected and given the opportunity to provide the type of leadership this country is thirsting after.) And, in case you hadn't noticed, he will speak the truth, no matter how unpopular or hard to take. Don't you find that refreshing? I'll take an ugly truth over a pretty lie any day.

We of the hardcore following are not as small in number as the presstitutes wish or portray.

Did I miss your mention of Ron Paul handily winning the California straw poll? Or that Perry and Romney decided they weren't "interested" in a Texas straw poll this go 'round? Methinks Perry didn't want to lose a straw poll to Ron Paul in his home state.

Ron Paul is the Change We Wanted.

[goodfite]

Amen.

[Jaaayyy]

Hawkins and Alex Roarty, it took two of you to write this?

Paul is in it to win it; he doesn't care about influencing the meaningless Republican "platform," he cares about the country. Next to Paul, Perry and Romney are mental midgets. No one has any confidence that they will do any more than pay lip service to ideas Paul is making so popular. Both Perry and Romney offer more war and bigger government, no one has yet explained how that is any different from another term for Obama.

Ron Paul did not give us bailout after bailout, unceasing wars, a decaying economy, and an inflated currency. The mushy middle of Democrats and Republicans hung these around our necks. The bloated aggregation of spineless Democrats and Republicans which constitutes the incumbent establishment is not two separate political parties anymore; they are separate wings or brands of the same pro-big government, pro-war party.

No other candidate in the race motivates independents and young people like Paul. No other Republican can capture so large a portion of the voters abandoned by pro-war, economy destroying Obama.

Print media giants of the past are on their death beds, and major television networks are being committed by their former viewers to Hospice facilities. As hard as it tries, the vintage media cannot compete with, or keep up with the internet and social media. The traditional Left/Right paradigm is breaking down. So many people no longer believe in it or in its vintage media propagandists; both have vastly overestimated their ability to still select our candidates and leaders for us.

Criticize and belittle men like Paul all you want; because we no longer believe you anyway. You have grossly underestimated America's hunger for change, possibly for the last time before you fade away.

[electrictooth]

So, if you're prepared to characterize Ron Paul's following as "small but hardcore" when he's at 13% of the GOP, are you then likewise prepared to call the support of the rest of the Republican field at 5% and below as something like "miniscule"? "Insignificant"? "Laughable"? Or perhaps..."LONGSHOT"?

Do you think his support is so "small" that he can't win a straw poll? That he can't, in fact, post the fourth highest total in Iowa Straw Poll history? Do you think he'll have a hard time getting out the vote in early states like some of the other "meh" candidates?

If his support is so "small", how do you explain him polling neck and neck with Obama in a hypothetical matchup? This according to a recent Rasmussen poll.

[jasonsanyoko]

The MSM is only shoring up support for Ron Paul by ignoring, ridiculing, and attacking him while they lose their own credibility. Ron Paul is the only one out of the current lineup aside from maybe Gary Johnson who can begin to put our country back on track and in alignment with the Supreme Law of the Land the U.S. Constitution. Ron Paul has the military's support. Ron Paul has Independents support, and as more and more Neo-conservatives, and Progressive Democrats become disillusioned by their party's inability to follow through with their rhetoric, he will have their support too. He is the only candidate who speaks the Truth no matter how bad it hurts. By exposing the corruption, his ideas of liberty and limited constitutional government are spreading like wildfire among the masses.

Veterans, First Responders, and Police for Ron Paul 2012!