SURPRISE (YEAH RIGHT) Rand Paul wins 2014 CPAC straw poll ...

One Citizen Speaking...

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SURPRISE (YEAH RIGHT) Rand Paul wins 2014 CPAC straw poll Posted: 08 Mar 2014 04:06 PM PST I personally believe that the dysfunction of the GOP can be adequately illustrated by considering just two of the potential 2016 candidates for the Presidency of the United States. The first one is Donald Trump, the billionaire bloviator whose specialty is self-promoting bloviating and whose view of reality is so distorted that everything he touches is superb, that is, until you look closer and see that the gold-plating is a very, very thin covering over base metal. The second one is Rand Paul, who I regard as being a small-time grifter who has managed to make it onto the national state by the grace of his father’s organization and a corrupt mainstream media that will cover anyone to attract an audience. I regard Rand Paul and his followers much as one would regard Lyndon LaRouche and his cadre of dedicated young La Rouchies … akin to a cult. Let’s begin with the truth and how to make the straw poll report seem relevant and important … The results … Who voted … Complete results of the The Washington Times/ CPAC 2014 Straw Poll from CPAC.org So why isn’t the mainstream media pointing out that Rand Paul, as his father before him, stacks straw polls with supporters and the results mean little or nothing?   Rand Paul wins 2014 CPAC straw poll, Ted Cruz finishes a distant second -- Rubio and Ryan, GOP leaders in Congress all see big drops in support Sen. Rand Paul demolished his competition in the 2014 Washington Times/CPAC presidential preference straw poll on Saturday, winning 31 percent of the vote — nearly three times the total of second-place Sen. Ted Cruz. The poll also found a strong plurality of attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference believe marijuana should be fully legalized, with 41 percent saying it’s time to change the law and tax it. Another 21 percent said it should be legalized only for medicinal purposes, while just 31 percent said it should remain illegal in all cases. Previous versions of The Washington Times/CPAC poll showed that the audience that gathers in Washington leans younger and more libertarian than the conservative movement throughout the country, which likely gives Mr. Paul a boost with this crowd here. Indeed, his father, then-Rep. Ron Paul, won the straw poll twice on a similar libertarian-minded message, though he struggled to translate that support into votes when it came to primaries and caucuses. The straw poll was conducted between Thursday and Saturday afternoon, and 2,459 votes were cast. <Source> I do not believe the results have anything to do with an honest libertarian messages as I believe the poll is rigged. I am waiting to see how many registrations were purchased by the Rand Paul organization and how organized the “get out the vote” effort was in reality. The ACID test … Who among these potential candidates can raise $1 BILLION dollars, has significant name value, and can carry key states? Bottom line … In spite of the fact that this poll is about “conservatives,” or at least those who talk “conservative,” most of the candidates listed are unsuitable for high office based on their past performance. It is most likely that the real GOP candidate is not even on this list. And, while I would like to see a constitutional conservative elected to high office, it really doesn’t matter who the top dog is as long as the GOP can garner a majority in the House and the Senate. In fact, why are all these people on their self-promotional campaigns rather than helping GOP candidates retain the House and win the Senate in 2014. Or are they so self-centered, egotistical, and narcissistic that they are willing to forgo the heavy lifting in 2014 for a chance at 2016? This is yet another example of the GOP playing “small ball” and preparing to rip itself to shreds in the primaries as the democrats keep campaigning 24/7/365. If the GOP is hoping for an automatic victory based on the anti-Obama sentiment in the country – much like the anti-Bush sentiment that worked for Obama – they are mistaken. The democrats will do or say anything to gain or maintain political power; including subverting the Constitution of the United States and its preeminent institutions such as the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the IRS. It will be a dirty fight and only the best of the worst will prosper. Time to consider your options. -- steve