Ron
Paul ponders politics, 2012 run By Mark Preston,
CNN Senior Political Editor | July 8, 2010 10:12 a.m. EDT
Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- When Rep. Ron Paul walked into
Hy-Vee Hall last month, a single blue sign with a simple
message was placed near the escalator that took him upstairs
to a fundraiser attended by 300 Republican activists.
It read: "President Ron Paul 2012."
The sign was symbolic in many ways: Even as Iowa Republicans
are focused on midterm elections, the 2012 presidential
contest is not far from their minds. And it was just three
years ago that Paul did not receive an invitation to participate
in a presidential candidate forum held in this very building.
The sight of the Texas congressman riding the escalator
up to address this group of influential Republicans was
illustrative of how he has risen from a little-known congressman
and afterthought presidential candidate to the national
spokesman on libertarian philosophy.
All of this comes from a man who has no illusions that
he can win his party's presidential nomination, but that
won't stop him from running again in 2012 if he decides
to do so.
"It is probably hard to believe, but I look at it
a little bit differently than others," Paul said in
an interview during his recent visit to Iowa. "I don't
expect to be president. I don't expect to be. That doesn't
mean I won't run for president, but I am really energized
when I think we make inroads ... to broaden the outreach
on the philosophy I have been talking about for 40 years."
His advocacy of limited government, disdain for the Federal
Reserve and belief that the U.S. should withdraw its troops
from Afghanistan has attracted an eclectic following of
young people, anti-war activists and those wary of government
intrusion.
Paul began his 2008 White House run as a third-tier candidate,
a gadfly with little support and even less money. Paul was
never considered a serious frontrunner for the GOP nomination,
but an explosion of support in the fall of 2007, fueled
by online contributions, carried him into Iowa. There, he
received 10 percent of the vote in the caucuses. He officially
ended his presidential campaign in June 2008, well after
Sen. John McCain had received enough support to win the
Republican nomination.
"I don't ever take personal credit as much as being
in the right place at the right time and maybe saying the
right things," Paul said. "I have said the same
things for 30 years when it came to financial bubbles. See,
the business cycle theory is what motivated me to get into
politics."
On this night in Des Moines, Paul stuck to his talking
points. He never mentioned a possible presidential run in
2012. Instead, Paul spoke of limited government and the
need for government officials to follow the Constitution,
which just so happened to be the theme of the Iowa GOP's
fundraiser. Paul's address was bookended by standing ovations.
"I have been excited about and what he is talking
about," John Bowery, a Republican from Shenandoah,
Iowa, said after Paul's speech. "I am sorry he didn't
get more attention in 2008. I don't know if he is going
to run in 2012. If someone like him does, I will be all
for it."
Paul is an enigma in the Republican Party. He champions
less government and a socially conservative philosophy,
which would seem to play well with GOP base voters such
as Bowery.
Yet Paul, who was the Libertarian Party's presidential
nominee in 1988, doesn't embrace the Republican brand. Party
leaders and the GOP establishment types are not so smitten
with him either. This is problematic in a presidential run,
where well-oiled political machines are needed in key states
to help build support and get-out-the-vote efforts in primaries
and caucuses.
He does credit the Republican Party for sharpening its
focus on the economy, but he doesn't speak in terms of "we"
but rather "they."
"I think that the Republicans have, whether it is
out of merit or accidental, they are in a good position
right now mainly because they have talked about economics,"
Paul said. "And their talk is good about watching the
spending and watching the deficits and people are concerned
about runaway government."
But Paul does express some skepticism that GOP promises
of reforming Washington and cutting government might just
be talk.
"I think they have the subject right, and they talk
about it," he said. "I think where they are going
to come up short maybe not before the election, but afterwards.
"Where are they going to cut? Do they have a plan
to cut? It is easy to vote against the spending when you
are in opposition. But where are they going to cut? And
I think that is what I have talked about ... especially
these past four years. And that is where we challenged the
Republicans."
Last month's trip to Iowa was his third to the state since
November 2009, so it begs the question: Is Paul trying to
lay the groundwork for a 2012 White House run?
"I am very serious about thinking about it all the
time," Paul said about his possible presidential aspirations.
"My answer is always the same thing: You know I haven't
ruled it out, but I have no plans to do it."
For now, Paul will continue to travel the country to promote
his philosophy, while his 2008 presidential campaign operation
has morphed into the Campaign for Liberty, a 500,000-member
organization that promotes libertarian views.
Paul also has a small political action committee that doles
out contributions to "liberty-based candidates,"
a spokesman said.