Ron Paul Refuses to Endorse McCain

Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), former candidate for president of the Republican and Libertarian Parties, yesterday announced that he has refused to endorse Senator John McCain for president. Instead, he is asking Americans to vote for third-party candidates. He didn’t cite a preference for any of them, but rather he said it’s time to change the system.

He appeared at the National Press Club on Wednesday with independent candidate Ralph Nader; former Georgia Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney who is the Green Party candidate; and Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party’s candidate. Libertarian candidate Bob Barr declined to attend since Mr. Paul wasn’t endorsing any one of them and held his own parallel press conference.

Mr. Paul said, “I’ve come to the conclusion, after having spent many years in politics, is that our presidential elections turn out to be more of a charade than anything else, and I think that is true today. It is a charade.” He added, “I have no doubt that the majority is on our side. We [third party supporters] represent the majority of the American people.” In addition, he remarked, “If you ever get to the point where you believe the two parties are essentially the same, if the majority is outside of the establishment, it's not very democratic. The process is not working.”

He also stated that Phil Gramm had called from the McCain campaign seeking an endorsement. The reason he gave Mr. Paul was that Senator Obama was worse than the senator from Arizona. He declined to do so saying, “I don't like the idea of getting 2 to 3 million people [his supporters in the primaries] angry at me.” It is important to note that even after securing a majority of convention delegates, Mr. McCain was winning only 75% or so of the vote in the later primaries. Mr. Paul got most of the dissenting votes.

What does this mean politically? Mr. Paul’s non-endorsement creates more trouble for Mr. McCain than for Mr. Obama, but it does threaten both. There will be states where the popular vote is close, and if Mr. Barr secures 2-3% and Mr. Obama wins by 1%, it’s clear that the Libertarians will have cost the Republicans the state. It’s the Perot Effect writ small. The states where this matters include: Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Colorado – more than enough to cancel out Florida, or Michigan or Pennsylvania.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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