There was one thing that needed to happen for several GOP candidates during the last debate prior to the Iowa caucus. They had to pull out a knockout blow. None of them did, including Rand Paul who has now eliminated his chances of being the nominee. Admittedly, he was my choice but now I have to go to my second choice, one who can actually win: Ted Cruz.
Paul’s campaign was looking very strong early last year, but things simply didn’t head in his direction. Some of it was just his miscalculation of distancing himself from his father’s ideology. He declared that he was his own man when he really should have declared that he was everything his father was as a candidate but that the time had finally come for America to start listening to them. He opted to go after conservative voters by being a “pragmatic Libertarian,” thinking that he would get the Liberty voters by default. He didn’t. He won’t.
Now, his attacks have turned sharply towards Ted Cruz, but even there he’s behind. At this point, several candidates and media personalities are lining up to attack Ted Cruz because they believe he’s their path to victory. Donald Trump sees Cruz as his only threat. Marco Rubio sees Cruz as superior to him for the Evangelical and conservative votes. Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum feel like Cruz replaced them in Iowa which both of them won in previous elections. Now, Rand Paul sees Cruz as the beneficiary of the movement that Ron Paul championed.
To make matters worse, he there’s now a valid competitor for Paul in the Kentucky Senate race.
If Rand Paul keeps up his POTUS run, he will lose.#KYSen #Election2016 https://t.co/bLSkmjdY42
— Michael Watts (@mjwatts1983) January 29, 2016
Attempting to support Paul with a vote will only help to get a heavy-spending Neocon like Marco Rubio as the nominee. The worst prospect would be to see Donald Trump take the country in the exact opposite direction from where Paul or Cruz would take it.
It pains me to have to admit it, but Rand Paul represents a wasted vote in the caucuses and primaries. He’s an incredible Senator and if he’s encouraged to continue his run for President, he risks losing his Senate seat along with the White House.
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