Ron Paul: The Tim Tebow of Republican Candidates

The question was posed by Allvoices as to which Republican presidential candidate had run the best campaign to date. If the "best" means beating expectations and turning the predictions of political pundits on their heads, then I think that Rep. Ron PaulRon Paul (R-TX) would have to take the honors.

The consensus all along among the experts and insiders had Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the candidate to beat and perhaps a Rick PerryRick Perry or some other late entry like Chris ChristieChris Christie or Donald Trump to be the challenger. But something strange and unexpected has happened on the road to the Republican nominating process. Ron Paul has managed to capture the interest of many Independents and Libertarians as well as much of the younger crowd who support his stance to end the Federal ban on Marijuana and those that just seem tired of the same old ideological rhetoric from Republicans In Name Only and the handful of other GOP Presidential hopefuls masquerading as Reagan Conservatives.

His success can be traced all the way to his run for President in 2008 in which he deployed a solid ground game and built an impressive network of volunteers ready to get back on the campaign trail at a moments notice. While some candidates were busy traveling to each and every one of Iowa’s 99 counties or staying away completely, Ron Paul was busy behind the scenes building a solid campaign strategy that has been in the making for four years.

Paul has successfully countered the deep pockets & Super PACS of the Mitt Romney & Rick Perry campaigns with a dogged brand of retail campaigning and an infectious rah-rah style that has appealed to a wide swath of diverse & younger voters and the Occupy Wall Street crowd. He has managed to strike a chord with Tea Partiers and his smaller government and Audit the Fed themes which include eliminating at least five government departments, cutting 1 trillion dollars in spending right away and reducing the presidential annual base salary from $400,000 to just under $40,000. Many of his ideas are bold but his contention has been that in order to exact major change in this country, we just have to abide by the Constitution and live within our means.

The 76-year old Texas congressman has also fallen out of favor with many establishment Republicans when it comes to his foreign policy stances and his rhetoric regarding allowing Iran to move forward with their nuclear weapons program. Despite harsh criticism from fellow colleagues and the entire Republican field of candidates, Paul has defended his stance by saying that the real threat to America is the overreaction to the perceived threat of Iranian nukes. Paul has also come under fire for a series of published newsletters some 20 years ago bearing his name that contained racist & bigoted statements. Although Paul claims to have set the record straight on this issue, many still believe he has never apologized or denied making the statements.

Despite all of the controversy, the bold ideas, the negative rhetoric against him and lack of mainstream support, the little man from Texas has continued to exceed expectations and triumph even when the odds are against him. You may say that he has become the Tim Tebow of the Republican field. And if Tim Tebow has proven anything, it’s that if the game is close at the end, never count him out.

Footnote: While I do think that Congressman Paul has run the best campaign to date, I do not support him for President. If he is nominated, only then will I back his Presidency.

Related articles:

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/27/395391/fact-check-ron-paul-personally-defended-racist-newsletters/

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/gop-rivals-take-aim-at-ron-paul/