Ron Paul Adding Some Spice to an Otherwise Bland Primary Season

Suppose they held a GOP cage war and Ron Paul won?

Wow. Wouldn’t that shake up the political landscape? Say one thing about Ron Paul, he’s unique. But he seems to have tapped something. I’m not quite sure what yet, and the Republican primary season has just begun (thankfully that means all the run-up to it is done), but Paul is hitting a nerve with a fairly large group of voters. More than half of those voting for him in the Iowa caucuses were young voters.

I’m going to assume at this point that Mitt Romney will win the delegates and be the one to battle Barack Obama in the fall. Although Rick Santorum came within a hair of taking Iowa, his strong evangelical support won’t carry through upcoming primaries, where the majority of voters are more moderate and less inclined to support his socially conservative views. Bachman’s out. Perry will be out before New Hampshire. Gingrich will probably be out after New Hampshire, as will Huntsman (who has spent weeks politicking here). 

So Ron Paul, who hasn’t flip-flopped, pandered or moderated his views in years. How refreshing is that? I’ll concede he would probably be trounced in an election contest with Obama, but his out-there, government hands-off philosophy is drawing attention and could draw voters. Americans are tired of war, government handouts and tax dollars headed overseas in the form of foreign aid. They are tired of government bungling the budget, the deficit, job growth, tax policy and healthcare reform.

Paul stands as the anti-government guy. And like his views or not, one can’t help but whisper that a lot of what he says hits a chord. It’s all about the money, so if Paul can afford to stay in the race, he will . . . twisting the knife in the side of the GOP through the winter and spring.

In the end it may be a question of just how fed up voters are. Paul’s support will build if people see him as a way to chuck the current suits in Washington and stand the establishment of both parties on their collective heads. And if he can continue to draw young people into his tent, his campaign will, at least, be fun to watch.

Romney may be leading the pack right now, but remember that he drew only 25 percent of the Iowa vote. That means 75 percent of the voters liked someone better. The primary season is a long, drawn out, mostly boring process, but watching Ron Paul may add a little more excitement than usual this year.