Ron Paul wins Conservative Leadership Conference Straw Poll

Political Derby - Conservative Leadership Conference ^ | October 13th, 2007 | Stephen Fountain

[Calpernia]

BREAKING NEWS! Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has won the inaugural Conservative Leadership Conference straw poll. Despite not appearing at the conference, Paul won convincingly with 33% of the vote. Mitt Romney, who addressed the conference in a town hall meeting and during a general session, finished second with 16%. Duncan Hunter, who also delivered a major address during the three-day event, finished third at 15%.

The Full Results:

Ron Paul 32.80%

Mitt Romney 16.13%

Duncan Hunter 14.52%

Undecided 11.29%

Fred Thompson 7.53%

Rudy Giuliani 6.45%

Alan Keyes 3.76%

Mike Huckabee 3.23%

Tom Tancredo 1.61%

John McCain 1.08%

Other 1.08%

Sam Brownback 0.54%

[Calpernia]

Our own SierraScrapper worked this conference. I'm sure she will surf by to fill in details; but great comments to date are: "I was told personally by the moderator of the Straw Poll at this event that Duncan Hunter missed 2nd place by only TWO votes! That right there is HUGE NEWS!!!! His name is Jason Wright and I was also told that they verified and re-verified the results due to the fact that it was so close between the two." and "...this was a VERY libertarian leaning conference. Hence why the results for Ron Paul winning this event are not surprising at all. In fact, if he didn’t win this straw poll, there would’ve been something wrong."

Thank you SierraScrapper!

[Calpernia]

Ping!

[2ndDivisionVet]

Wow! Is Congressman Paul already looking at drapes for the oval office? This is such big news! Wonder why the: Gallup, Rasmussen, Newsweek, Ispos, Fox, ABC, NBC/Wall Street Journal, Zogby, ARG, Insider Advantage, Battleground, Quinnipiac, Mason-Dixon, Des Moines Register, LA Times/Bloomberg, SurveyUSA, Strategic Vision, PPIC, et al keep missing this story? Oh, yeah, all Ron Paul supporters only use cell phones! That’s it!!

[Old 300]

Welcome to the 21st century.

[WWTD]

Calpernia,

Nice job trying to explain away Ron Paul's win at this conference. But, given that Romney and Hunter both attended this conference, and Ron Paul did not but got more votes than the two of them combined, I can draw only two conclusions:

(1) Support for Ron Paul is a lot deeper than most are willing to admit; or

(2) Romney and Hunter's campaigns made a serious error by agreeing to speak at an event that was pre-rigged for Ron Paul. Well, on second thought - this is a huge boost for Hunter. But Romney's stock definitely drops on this news. He avoided Farah and Schlafly at the value voters debate, he avoided Tavis Smiley at the black-oriented debate, but he just stepped on a land mine this time.

[John Valentine]

I have to say, any conference of Republicans where Ron Paul could win a straw poll with over 30%, is NOT a very representative conference, nor could it be particularly conservative, despite its name.

Because the makeup of this group is clearly odd, I can’t give much significance to the rest of the order either.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Sorry:

I worked for President Ronald Reagan, and I abhor the fact that Congressman Paul’s campaign would even refer to him, much less compare Mr. Paul to him! President Reagan was no isolationist or defeatist, no matter how you spin it. Shame on all of you!

[Old 300]

Define isolationist. Define defeatist. And there’s absolutely no shame in supporting a candidate on fire for liberty.

[rideharddiefast]

Define isolationist. Define defeatist.

I can name that tune in five words.
Cut and run Ron Paul

[Old 300]

Nation-building is going nowhere very fast. Besides, we need to defend our own borders. We could do both, but other than Tancredo and Hunter, I don’t see any other candidates taking border security seriously.

[Calpernia]

I think SierraScrapper is pretty familiar with the area she lives in.

Jason Wright and Stephen Fountain run PoliticalDerby.com, where this story is published from. And Jason Wright verified the straw poll results.

So, you can surf over to PoliticalDerby.com to get a feel for the site, story, conference and get questions answered.

[dawn53]

If 2 votes made up close to 2 percent of the vote, then not many people participated in the poll.

[Allegra]

I can name that tune in five words.
Cut and run Ron Paul

LOL!!

[Old 300]

It’s OK to cut and run from the American borders, though. No problem... We’ve definitely got a set of priorities here. They’re all backwards, but that’s no worry: the globalist machine must be kept stoked and rolling forward.

[rlmorel]

Ooooohhh...”the globalist machine”...Ron Paul will save us from that!

Thank God for Ron Paul!
/s

[Old 300]

You’ve got it. Right on.

[mazda77]

Can’t chew bubble gum and walk at the same time? I’ll clear a path when seeing myopic people like you coming. A little history reminder....we were facing off the comminists on SEVERAL fronts around the globe in the sixties, were knee deep in Viet Nam and just somehow managed to go from monkeys in bottle rockets to landing a man on the moon, all at the same time!

The border issue is VERY easy to solve if only we had a government (state and local) with the intestinal fortitude to tackle it. Globalization is not the issue, its vote buying.

[cbkaty]

Define isolationist. Define defeatist.

Jimmy Carter?

[Old 300]

We have an opportunity now to conduct our foreign policy more diplomatically. The Soviets aren't funding global revolution. The Chinese are a threat, but it's an economic one. We should be looking at concluding our undeclared wars or declaring them constitutionally, in any case. This is not myopic. It's a principled perspective.

And it is about vote buying and globalism. Our political system is out of control, and it's time we took it back.

Some very conservative thought on the larger issues of our day by Ludwig von Mises:

• There was no reason whatever to abandon the principle of free enterprise in the field of banking.
• It is extremely difficult for our contemporaries to conceive of the conditions of free banking because they take government interference with banking for granted and as necessary.
• What is needed to prevent any further credit expansion is to place the banking business under the general rules of commercial and civil laws compelling every individual and firm to fulfill all obligations in full compliance with the terms of the contract.
• Imprudent granting of credit is bound to prove just as ruinous to a bank as to any other merchant.

These are the ideas that drive Ron Paul. No other candidate is discussing the dire need we face of returning to sound banking and a principled foreign policy. We simply cannot afford to continue printing money as our dollar weakens to new depths, and foreign creditors nip at our heels.

Duncan Hunter talks about the Chinese threat. But he's not discussing the monetary component of China's meteoric rise. We need a sound fiscal policy to compete economically with the likes of China.

[Allegra]

Yeah, because Ron Paul will wave a magic wand and automatically seal the borders.

Look, I'm all for controlling our borders and I detest the way our government is approaching the illegal immigration problem. And it IS a big problem.

That doesn't make cutting and running from a war that we are winning OK, though. This war has had a lot to do with the fact that the US has not been attacked since 9/11. (Which was a coordinated effort by al Qaeda, not by some independent "thugs," by the way.)

[Old 300]

All of this is incredibly important. The borders are and have been much more critical.

[Calpernia]

The Conservative Leadership Conference was sponsored by:

Exhibitors:

American Civil Rights Institute

Freedom Works

Blog Aught

Avalon Podcasting

NetCompetition

DCI Group

Citizens United

New Media Alliance

Outright Libertarians

Leadership Institute

National Rifle Association

National Taxpayers Union

National Cable Communications

Sam Adams Alliance

Libertarian Party

National Voter Outreach

Maximize Liberty

RunPolitics.com

Blog Talk Radio

Ron Paul 2008

Confirmed Speakers were:

* Mitt Romney, Candidate for President of the United States
* Duncan Hunter, Candidate for President of the United States
* South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford
* Congressman John Shadegg :: Honorary Chair
* Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada
* Grover G. Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform
* Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Freedom Works
* Former Congressman Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party
* Former Congressman J.D. Hayworth of Citizens United
* Former Ambassador Jerry Carmen
* Glen Caroline of the National Rifle Association
* Mickey Barnett, Postal Board of Governors
* Frank Fahrenkopf of American Gaming Association
* Rich Galen of Mullings.com
* Adrian "Good Morning, Vietnam!" Cronauer
* David Keene of the ACU
* Mark Hyman
* Paul Jacob of Citizens in Charge
* Author/conservative fundraising guru Richard Viguerie
* Jo Ann Davidson, Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee (withdrew)
* Bill Redpath, National Chairman, Libertarian Party
* Shannon Reeves of the RNC’s African-American Leadership Council
* Kerri Houston, U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission
* Libertarian presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root
* Rick Berman of the Center for Union Facts
* Israel Teitelbaum of Parents for Free Choice in Education
* Author and syndicated columnist Doug Bandow
* Author Leslie Sanchez
* Mark Montini
* John Berthoud, President of the National Taxpayers Union
* Steve Moore of Wall Street Journal
* John Fund of Wall Street Journal
* Steven Greenhut of Orange County Register
* Erick Erickson of RedState.org
* Documentary filmmaker Evan Coyne Maloney
* “Blogging Tips” author Lorelle van Fossen
* Rick Arnold of National Voter Outreach
* Charles Bell of Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP
* Susan Johnson of National Voter Outreach
* “Blue Collar Muse” blogger Ken Marrero
* “Adam’s Web” blogger Adam Graham
* Jason Wright of PoliticalDerby.com
* Chris Simcox of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
* Richard Nadler of America’s Majority
* Jennifer Gratz of the American Civil Rights Institute
* Amanda Hydro of the Reason Foundation
* Scott Cleland of NetCompetition.org
* Talk show host Andrea Shea King
* Talk-show host Brian Wilson
* Talk-show host Sharon Hughes
* Chris Barron of Maximize Liberty
* Warner Todd Huston

[Calpernia]

Related thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1910857/posts
Duncan Hunter in Reno

[Allegra]

All of this is incredibly important. The borders are and have been much more critical.

Still no excuse for cutting and running.

[Old 300]

But the borders... very important. Critical. Can’t do anything about it? Sad, very sad. Where’s the representation in government? Can’t get it back? Lost republic? Sad... Too bad your candidates don’t have any solutions.

[DugwayDuke]

“(1) Support for Ron Paul is a lot deeper than most are willing to admit; or...”

Not really. Let’s do some math. According to Calpernia, Duncan Hunter missed out on 2nd place by two votes. The difference between 2nd and 3rd place was 0.0151, meaning that two votes equals 0.0150 votes. If that’s true, then only about 132 people participated in this poll. If that’s true, then Ron Paul got about 43 votes. Forty-three votes does not translate to wide support.

I grant you that the RP campaign is doing a fine job in making sure that RP supporters show up at straw polls. One can only wonder just how many ‘straw polls’ an individual RP supporter has voted in. Nothing wrong with that, but having a small, dedicated, and committed group of supporters does not equate to having ‘deep support’.

[Old 300]

Dedicated... to freedom.

[Allegra]

But the borders... very important. Critical. Can’t do anything about it? Sad, very sad. Where’s the representation in government? Can’t get it back? Lost republic? Sad... Too bad your candidates don’t have any solutions.

You don't know who my candidates are, but Ron Paul is not the only one who advocates tough immigration and border laws. And the other guys make sense.

Ron Paul is too lunatic fringe for me. For most of us.

[mad_as_he$$]

"Also, I had the misfortune of hearing Ron Paul and Alan Keyes speak. We all know Ron Paul has, well, walked off the reservation, but DANG, he’s starting to scare me!"

This is from a post by rscully on FR where she says RP did appear and speak. Who is right?

[mazda77]

“Our political system is out of control, and it’s time we took it back.”

So one sawed-off raving dweeb lecturing us from a podium is going to endear himself to the general public while calling them stupid to their faces. That will certainly drive up his chances of attracting voters. The problem sir is how to fix the idget public when they don’t have the capacity to realize they are intellectually broken. The general public was not dumbed down overnight and they won’t be enlightened as quickly either.

[rideharddiefast]

Define isolationist. Define defeatist.
Jimmy Carter?

Two peas in a pod Jimmy the Joke Carter and cut and run Paul.

[Old 300]

Ron Paul is too lunatic fringe for me. For most of us.

What's lunatic about seeking the restoration of the Republic. Even you admitted that our current system will not address border security, didn't you?

Freedom is radical. That's what the founding fathers were: radical for liberty.

[Paulus Invictus]

He has no prayer, no hope, no possibility of ever winning the primaries anywhere. So how can you be so optimistic? He’s a libertarian, not a conservative. One poll does not prove anything.

[DugwayDuke]

“Define isolationist. Define defeatist.” - Old 300

Let me ask you a couple of questions.
Do you agree with Ron Paul that the United States can be defended by a “few submarines” (which Ron Paul stated this week)?
Do you thnk any one who goes on record with such a statement can be considred a believer in a strong national defense?

Even Hillary Clinton is stronger on national defense than Ron Paul.

[Old 300]

So one sawed-off raving dweeb lecturing us from a podium is going to endear himself to the general public while calling them stupid to their faces.

Is that what you think about von Mises, or Ron Paul?

[Allegra]

That's what the founding fathers were: radical for liberty.

I don't imagine our founding fathers would have advocated foreign policy that pretty much invites attack nad would likely bring war to our shores.

Trust me, appeasing the enemy would NOT work.

[DugwayDuke]

Do you agree with Mises that we should return to the gold standard?

[Old 300]

Do you agree with Ron Paul that the United States can be defended by a “few submarines” (which Ron Paul stated this week)?

I didn't hear this comment, but it sounds very reasonable, yes. Our strategic nuclear weapons systems subs make a magnificent weapon of deterrence. Combined with the missile defense system that Ron Paul has continually supported, we are militarily secure. However, economically and in terms of immigration we are more insecure than ever. In terms of our foreign policy, we are made increasingly more insecure by the foibles of our continuous manipulation of the world around us beyond our ability to understand the consequences.

The biggest threat to our national security comes from our economic system, which has been perverted by a command economic system of central banking. With the biggest foreign challenger rocketing to incredible levels of economic growth (China), we simple cannot ignore the damage we have done to our system with fiat currency.

The second largest threat we face in terms of security is our abandonment of the United States Constitution in every aspect of government, in each branch, and in our foreign policy. A non-representational government (which we arguably have now) is simply an engine of tyranny out of control. This will get worse if we do not change our way.

Ron Paul is the only candidate offering that critical change of direction from the executive branch. His election alone will not be enough to save us, but it's a start.

Do you thnk any one who goes on record with such a statement can be considred a believer in a strong national defense?

Ron Paul's plans for our national defense will secure us much better than the current administration. It takes time to understand this, but one only need to consider their position on immigration and border security to realize this is a true statement.

[Old 300]

Do you agree with Mises that we should return to the gold standard?

Absolutely.

[Old 300]

Trust me, appeasing the enemy would NOT work.

But we do appease the Saudis.

[upchuck]

Probably the same folks that trashed this FR poll.

Follow that link and look at Paul's placing in the Member Opinion vs Non-Member Opinion sections.

[KevinDavis]

Plus technology has changed since the 1700’s....

[Old 300]

If there’s a technological implication to our law, then we should change the Constitution to reflect that, don’t you think? That’s what amendments are for.

[deport]

If 2 votes made up close to 2 percent of the vote, then not many people participated in the poll.

---

Those numbers would equate to approx. 100 votes total to be divided between all the candidates... So no wonder they didn’t post the numbers..... [.02 X 100 = 2]

[joseph20]

Is Ron Paul the Ross Perot of ‘08?

[The Duke]

I’m not sure if, economically speaking, it makes a difference whether we all have nice, high-paying jobs with much higher prices for the things we purchase or lower-paying jobs with cheaper prices at the store. However, one things certain, if the US was ever successfully blockaded (which may only require a threat) then this entire nation would quickly begin to look like New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

[rising tide]

It does prove one thing, the uselessness of small sample poling in predicting presidential elections! How could anyone get excited about this ridiculous pole? Ron Paul has no chance at all. If the Republican Party’s membership was truly libertarian in their beliefs he might have a chance, but we aren’t. I think most Republicans find the Libertarian ideas about national defense naive, radical, and dangerous. Ron Paul is way out of the main stream as to how Republicans think on a large host of topics. I’d sooner vote for Hilary Clinton myself.

[rising tide]

It does prove one thing, the uselessness of small sample poling in predicting presidential elections! How could anyone get excited about this ridiculous pole? Ron Paul has no chance at all. If the Republican Party’s membership was truly libertarian in their beliefs he might have a chance, but we aren’t. I think most Republicans find the Libertarian ideas about national defense naive, radical, and dangerous. Ron Paul is way out of the main stream as to how Republicans think on a large host of topics. I’d sooner vote for Hilary Clinton myself.

[mazda77]

Was I not clear? Or did you miss that too? Taking quotes from anyone to justify your point, and a small one at that, without the braoder context to the overall thesis is just as wrongheaded to say that since the Autobahn was such a great thing that we have to accept the horrors that were created with it.

The border issue is critically important but screaming at the people who control the guns and purse strings is not going to solve the problem. It really turns into something like the depiction of the adults voices in Peanuts cartoons and that is only one reason why people are turned off by Ron Paul.

[Old 300]

I’d sooner vote for Hilary Clinton myself.

Doesn't this say something about your political convictions? National defense starts with the economic freedom of individual citizens. Most of the 'front' running candidates, as well as Hillary, see us in collectivist terms.

I'd ask you to reexamine your principles. Hillary will also disarm you. She will also conduct a foreign policy of global socialism. She will also tax and spend. Ron Paul will do none of these things.