Perot Voters Still Looking For A Candidate

Politico: Former Independent Candidate's Ideas, Appeal Are Rattling Around This Year As Loudly As Ever

(The Politico)  This story was written by Ben Smith.

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Last week, CNN’s Lou Dobbs stirred speculation that he might be the next Ross Perot - and reminded the political world that Perot’s potent constituency is still looking for a presidential candidate to back.

“I believe the person elected a year from now will be an independent populist, a man or woman who understands the genius of this country lies in the hearts and minds of its people and not in the prerogatives and power of its elites,” he wrote in an online column, neatly encapsulating what appears to be his view of himself. He also added that this person would be “a candidate who has not yet entered the race.”

After letting the speculation roil for several days, Dobbs denied that he himself plans a run.

But his hints - not to mention the high ratings for his opinionated CNN show - served as a reminder that while the Texas billionaire may have vanished from the political scene, his ideas, and his appeal, are rattling around this year as loudly as ever.

Perot’s big-eared specter raised its head just last week, in fact.

At the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Dobbs’ CNN colleague Wolf Blitzer asked New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton about the 1992 debate about NAFTA, in which Perot attacked the proposed treaty and then-candidate Bill Clinton defended it. Perot also famously debated the treaty with former Vice President Al Gore in 1993.

“Knowing what we know now, was Ross Perot right?” Blitzer asked.

“All I can remember from that is a bunch of charts,” Hillary Clinton replied, before giving as her answer a qualified yes.

“NAFTA was a mistake to the extent that it did not deliver on what we had hoped it would,” she said.

Though Perot has been off the stage for a decade, strategists in both parties recognize that his supporters remain a key bloc and that voters’ dissatisfaction at the end of the administration of the second President Bush has echoes of the mood when his father was booted from office.

What’s more, neither party has geared up to focus on pet issues of the Perot crowd: opposition to immigration, unfettered trade and foreign wars.

It’s a policy mix that one of the main students of the Perot movement, College of William & Mary political scientist Ron Rapoport, refers to as “economic nationalism.”

“I just don’t know how effective the Republicans will be at dealing with this issue and capturing this constituency as a constituency,” said Rapoport, who has tracked hundreds of Perot activists since 1992.

Their philosophy “has an economic nationalism side, to some degree something of a nativist side - both in terms of not being so involved over there, not spending all this money over there, and not letting all these people in here,” he said.

“But it’s reformist, and that’s where the Republicans can’t put the whole package together in a way like someone like a Lou Dobbs could,” he said.

Democrats, meanwhile, have made their own bid for Perot’s constituency.

“The Democrats should revisit the Perot voters and their concerns, even if Perot himself has faded from view,” Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg advised party leaders in a memo aimed at the 2006 midterm elections.

Candidates like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who are running as outsiders, may capture that desire for change.

Rapoport said Hillary Clinton, with her long history in Washington, would be least likely to appeal to Perot voters.

“Clinton is a very good candidate to run against for a Lou Dobbs type of candidate,” he said. “Giuliani is the hardest one of the Republicans for someone like Lou Dobbs to run against.”

Perot’s former spokesman, Orson Swindle, said Arizona Sen. John McCain, whom he supports, appeals to independent voters tired of politics as usual.

“People are really getting tired of extreme partisanship,” he said.

Also appealing to former Perot supporters is Texas congressman Ron Paul, who is running on a platform that includes opposition to the Iraq war, most treaties and the Federal Reserve

“A big chunk of Perot voters are 'unlikely voters.’ That is, they're so alienated from politics as usual that it takes an unusual candidate to get them to vote. If those 'unlikely voters' are going anywhere this cycle, it's to Ron Paul, because he has such a distinct message,” said Micah L. Sifry, who edited the Perot Periodical in the 1990s and is the author of “Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America.”

Paul, who has posted surprisingly strong fundraising totals in recent months, has not ruled out a third-party run if he is not the GOP nominee.

Dobbs has denied he’s running, and another independent mulling a bid, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, appeals to a different group of independents with his background in international finance and his firmly pro-immigration stance.

But the resurgence of Perot’s name, and the hints of Perot-style politics in recent weeks, do suggest a similar moment for a candidate who can capture the idiosyncratic Texan’s blend of populism, plain talk and disgust with business as usual in Washington.

“Anger and frustration toward politicians is even greater than it was in 1992,” pollster Frank Luntz, who worked for Perot and primarily advises Republicans, wrote recently.

“You get these third-party threats and the rise of third-party threats when people are deeply and profoundly unhappy,” said Democratic consultant Bob Shrum, who blamed voters’ anger on President Bush.

“The metaphor then was the deficit, and the metaphor now is immigration, but it represents a broader sense of dissatisfaction.”

[cfin5]

John Locke wrote in "The Second Treatise on Civil Government" in 1690: Human Laws are measures in respect of Men whose actions they must direct, albeit such measures they are as have also their higher Rules to be measured by, which Rules are two, the Law of God, and the Law of Nature; so that Laws Human must be made according to the general Laws of Nature, and without contradiction to any positive Law of Scripture, otherwise they are ill made.........................Now, does anyone reading and understanding these last few posts of mine regarding John Locke''s way of thinking see what turmoil "ill made laws" create in our country by elected public servants who do not understand why we''re AMERICANS? Not to mention the lack of will to even enforce the ones that are good for justice?........This is "why" we need Ron Paul as a Presidential Servant to help reverse "ill made legislation" against our national heritage and RIGHTS retained by the citizen......Ron Paul, student of the Constitution in 2008! GO USA!!!

[cfin5]

In his work "Two Treatises on Civil Government" he wrote: The obligations of the Law of Nature cease not in society, but only in many cases are drawn closer, and have, by human laws, known penalties annexed to them to enforce their observation. Thus the Law of Nature stands as an eternal rule to all men, legislatures as well as others. The rules that they make for other men''s actions must....be conformable to the Law of Nature, i.e. to the will of God, of which that is a declaration, and the fundamental Law of Nature being the preservation of mankind, no human sanction can be good or valid against it.........(next and last post).........

[cfin5]

.......In 1689, John Locke published something called "Of Civil Government" and part of it said the following......The great and Chief end, therefore, of Mens uniting into Commonwealths, and putting themselves under Government, is the preservation of their property......For men being all the Workmanship of one Omnipotent, and infinitely wise Maker: all the Servants of one Sovereign Master, sent into the world by his Order, and about his business, they are his property, whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one another''s Pleasure.......Those Grants God made of the world to Adam, and to Noah, and his Sons.....has given the Earth to the Children of Men, given it to Mankind in common.......God, who hath given the World to Men in common, hath also given them reason (intelligence) to make use of it to the best Advantage of Life and Convenience.........(next post)

[cfin5]

My search for the reasons why our countries founding fathers thought and lived the way that they did, especially who it was that influenced their ideology, keeps coming back to the likes of one man in particular by the name of "John Locke" (1632-1704). His philosophy on the way a good government for the people should work and act are the root if you will to the "wherewithal" of why we are Americans today. Sadly, I was NEVER taught this nor told of it in all the 12 years that I was incarcerated in the "PUBLIK EJUKAYSHUN SISSDUMB". What a waste of time that was. My learning came about from my own desire to be wise and not foolish concerning my national heritage and the like. I believe according to this history of John Locke that it is possible for a single person to influence (steer) the direction of, even the soul of a nation, to excel straight to the top of the world with a government that people want and need for their happiness. Ron Paul is like John Locke in many ways and this is why I''m voting for him above the others seeing their voting records. I will "next post" a few of the things John said to make my point for Ron Paul......

[forthepeopl1]

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.


UNTIL ALL AMERICANS WAKE UP TO THE FACT WE THE PEOPLE DO HOLD ALL THE CARDS, THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE THE PEOPLE CHANGE WASHINGTON, AS YOU CAN SEE THEY ARE ALL RUNNING AWAY NOW THAT THE HOUSE OF CARDS ARE FALLING.

WAKE UP AMERICA, IF YOU WANT CHANGE THEN LETS HAVE A AMERICAN TEA PARTY(REVOLUTION) AND TAKE ARE COUNTRY BACK. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE THIS OPTION, ITS IN THE CONSTATUTION, IF THE GOVERNEMNT IS NOT RESPONDING TO THE WILL OF AMERICANS, THEN ITS UP TO AMERICANS TO CHANGE IT..AND START OVER. CLEAN AND SIMPLE.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government

[standlee5]

Lou should run. I''d vote for him in a heartbeat. I''d vote for Ron Paul. And actually I must admit I think Clinton''s healthcare plan is the most likely to be a success. As much as I''ve fought against universal helathcare nobody else seems to be stepping up to the plate with a comprehensive althernative.

[simonsez40]

It''s like dictator propaganda with these Ron Paul supporters its frightening - they are worse than the Neocons and Bush lovers!

[simonsez40]

All your RON PAUL SPAMS do is turn people off - you are doing your candidate more harm than good!

[cfin5]

I think that if Ross Perot had the internet support then like Ron Paul has now,......nobody would know the Clinton and Bush CFR problems we have today. Ron''s support , if I''m calculating accurately, is growing at the tune of 100k a day. Us regular dem''s and rep''s on the bottom are sick and tired of the demopublican party shell game that has been quite effective in dividing us in our commitment to protecting our rights each one of us retain.........We need you Ross Perot supporters! You are the closest to our understanding in matters regarding our Constitution and you are with whom that we have to do......RP = RP

[westprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL
RonPaul2008.com

-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more torture prisons
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more erosion of Social Security to pay for militarization
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT (globalist trade cartels)
-- No more North American Union (loss of U.S. sovereignty)
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more national ID cards (Real ID Act)
-- No more government invasion of your privacy
-- No more federal Laws which force you to take unwanted injections
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more unlimited federal government

"Wars are poor chisels for carving-out peaceful tomorrows."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
- James Madison

"When the people fear their government, you have tyranny. When the government fears the people, you have liberty."
- Thomas Jefferson

[eastprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[northprophet]

COULDN''T VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN? REALLY?
Everytime I hear Democrats say "I hate the Republican Party. Look at what Bush has done.," I can''t help but think about all of Bush''s Democratic enablers in the Congress like Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, et. al. who made all of his dastardly deeds possible. They handed him every bit of legislation with which he has used to make himself the dictator that he now is on a silver platter. The Democrats in Congress don''t even seem to express any interest in investigating Bush for the crimes he and Cheney have surely committed against our country even though a vast majority of Americans think they should. What cowards! In fact, Obama and Clinton even voted in favor of legislation which actually allows Bush to pre-pardon himself and his administration for crimes dating all the way back to 9/11. What''s up with that? Look. Do yourself and your country a favor. Focus on the candidate, and the ideas and positions he or she represents, and then study the candidate''s track record of performance with respect to those positions. That''s all that really matters in the end. Elections are not a contest of two teams. Ultimately, It''s the politician who will either serve your interests or betray them while in office--not their party. Finally, Democrats, I ask you this: Would you have voted for Steven Douglas (a Democrat), who was ardently pro-slavery, against Abraham Lincoln (a Republican) simply because Douglas was a Democrat? I think most of you would.

[southprophet]

ONLY RON PAUL CAN BEAT CLINTON
Zogby''s Director of Communications Fritz Wenzel said on November 20 that Paul is the strongest of the GOP candidates to run against Clinton. "Among the larger universe of voters," which includes all parties, "yes, Paul would be a much stronger candidate than any of the other three [Romney, Giuliani, Thompson]," Wenzel said. Zogby recently announced that Paul was their winner in a nationwide blind-bio poll which included voters from all parties. "He is anti-war and the majority of Democrats are anti-war, he has some other ideas and policies and stances on issues more attractive to Democrats, particularly conservative Democrats," said Wenzel. "Even among Independents, he is far and away a more attractive candidate," he added. Paul is the only GOP candidate who is not threatening war with Iran, whereas Clinton vowed to keep that option "on the table." Paul also voted against the war in Iraq, which Clinton has supported. Because Democrats outnumber Republicans, none of the other GOP candidates can win against Clinton, because they simply won''t be able to reach across party lines and attract enough Democratic and Independent voters to beat Clinton. Only Paul can do that. "He''s right on schedule," Wenzel said. "He''s making all the right moves, going in the right direction...at a time when other candidates are not moving." Wenzel based his analysis on recent polls that show Paul could win in New Hampshire and that his support nationwide is intensifying.

[westprophet]

RON PAUL WINS BIG IN NATIONAL POLL
The results of a nationwide telephone poll, announced by Zogby on November 19th, reveals that Americans want to vote for a candidate who protects liberty; who wants to shrink government; and who wants to immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq - positions of Congressman Ron Paul. As part of a blind-bio, spread poll, likely voters (from all parties) were provided with descriptions of four different Republican candidates and asked to choose who they would vote for based on each one''s resume and political platform. 33% of pollees chose Ron Paul, 19% chose Rudy Giuliani, 15% chose Mitt Romney and 13% chose Fred Thompson. The results clearly illustrate that the country is crying out for Ron Paul, which is why mainstream media has launched a public relations offensive to marginalize his accomplishments and suppress the Congressman''s name recognition. In a seperate question, over 49% of pollees said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who would begin an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. In fact, Ron Paul won in every demographic of this poll including, but not limited to, religious voters, NASCAR fans, military families, African-Americans, etc..

[eastprophet]

RON PAUL WILL RESTORE U.S. SOVEREIGNTY
All of the trade deals and world government organizations, which all of the presidential candidates support (except Ron Paul), such as the ICC, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA, are all a major threat to our nation''s sovereignty. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites. The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a prescription to take herbs and vitamins. The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws to meet their needs, and not our own. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs. The NAFTA superhighway, being built by a Spanish company, is just one part of a plan to erase our borders and create the North American Union, a single nation State like the EU, out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new, unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under the NAU scheme. There won''t be any borders anymore, or a free America. Our limited, constitutional government will be gone forever. Let''s not forget the UN either. It wants to impose a direct Carbon Tax on us. Ron Paul successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to rule over us, we need someone in the White House who knows how to say "No." We must withdraw from any organizations or treaty that infringes upon our nation''s sovereignty.

[northprophet]

A FOREIGN POLICY OF FREEDOM
All of the other presidential candidates want to continue our illegal police action in Iraq indefinitely, and they do not rule out a preemptive (nuclear) first strike against Iran. Conversely, Ron Paul voted against our (undeclared) war in Iraq, which was sold to us with lies. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies--the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. The war in Iraq has cost more than 3,500 American lives and almost a trillion dollars. We need a leader in the White House who will ensure this never happens again. Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have 750 foreign bases and troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft. We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing our borders against illegal aliens who are invading us from the South. No war should ever be fought without a Declaration of War voted upon by the Congress, as required by The Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often, we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised.

[southprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE TAXPAYER''S BEST FRIEND
If he is elected President, Ron Paul will work to abolish the Federal Reserve System as well as the IRS, returning our country to the Gold Standard. He believes, as I do, that our current Income Tax System is unconstitutional, because it is a direct tax that is not equally apportioned as The Constitution requires. Whenever taxes are raised by the federal government, it should be done as The Constitution does require--in an indirect way, which is equally apportioned. This system would benefit all of us, creating more individual wealth, and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives. As President, Ron Paul will also work to abolish the Federal Reserve, a group of private banks, run by unelected officials, which loans our government unbacked money which they are allowed to essentially print out of thin air, making each dollar in your pocket worth less all the time, and increasing our national debt to these banks. Worse still. Most of our debt is owned by China (25%) and Saudi Arabia who finance our runaway military spending overseas. This is a threat to our nation. We need to bring our troops home from overseas, and use the trillions we would save thereby to reduce our debt, and to re-invigorate our currency. We can use this money to ensure that Social Security and other essential programs will still be solvent in the future. Vote for Ron Paul. He''s published three books on the topic of sound economics. RonPaulLibrary.org

[westprophet]

RON PAUL KNOWS HOW TO STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. Ron Paul has a plan: (1.) Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals. (2.) Enforce Visa rules. Immigration officials must track Visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their Visa or otherwise violates U.S. Law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired Visas. (3.) No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That''s a lot of people to reward for breaking our Laws. (4.) No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules, but taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services. (5.) End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong. (6.) Pass true immigration reform. The current system, and those proposed by ALL other candidates, is incoherent and unfair, and would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country.

[eastprophet]

RON PAUL WILL PRESERVE SOCIAL SECURITY
Our nation''s promise to its seniors, once considered a sacred trust, has become little more than a tool for politicians to scare retirees while robbing them of their promised benefits to pay for militarization. Today, the Social Security system is both broke and broken. Those in the system are seeing their benefits dwindle due to higher taxes, increasing inflation, and irresponsible military spending. The proposed solutions, ranging from lower benefits to higher taxes to increasing the age of eligibility, are NOT solutions; they are betrayals. Imposing any tax on Social Security benefits is unfair and illogical. In Congress, Dr. Paul introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act, which repeals ALL taxes on Social Security benefits, to eliminate political theft of our seniors'' income and raise their standard of living. Solvency is the key to keeping our promise to our seniors, and he introduced the Social Security Preservation Act (H.R. 219) to ensure that money paid into the system is ONLY used for Social Security. Also, it is fundamentally unfair to give benefits to anyone who has not paid into the system. The Social Security for Americans Only Act, which Ron Paul supported, ends the drain on Social Security caused by illegal aliens seeking the fruits of your labor. In short, if we stop our runaway military spending overseas, there will be plenty of money available to keep Social Security solvent for decades to come.

[oneturdytwo]

RON PAUL IS PICKING HIS NOSE THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the nose way. Not the old way. Not the same nose way, but a NEW nose picking way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our boogers out of South Texas? They''''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about buggers in Iowa but instead, realized that its having a nuclear bugger picker will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our buggers out of the Midwest, and brought them all home on a plate? What if we realistically addressed the National Bugger Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal buggers? These are the ideas of Presidential Bugger candidate, Ron Paul. He''''s a ten term buggerpicker and a gynocologist who has mistaken over 4,000 babies as buggers. He''''s an intellectual dweeb who''''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound bugger economics and one to foreign bugger policy. He was raised on a snot farm in Pennsylvania as a pious snot milker, but now he attends a Baa Baa church. Paul is given to mulling snot over morally. Whenever he recollects the snot he ate as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. The Daily Constitutional, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only flush once in a lifetime, if we''''re lucky.