Originally Posted by kane

There are a few reasons.

1. He really isn't a republican and many republicans see him as someone who is just trying to use their party as a way to get a nomination.

2. He has some good ideas, but he is also very radical. If you are very radical you are often seen as a "whackjob" candidate and not taken seriously.

3. He seems to be running for president before he even wins the primary. The reality is that right now he doesn't have to convince everyone he is the best person for the job, he has to convince the republicans that he is the best person for the job and so far that isn't working out. The republican party is basically run by the conservative christian right and they have massive influence during the primaries. You can see this influence in the rise of huckabee and the fact that thompson is even running. Ron Paul is all about freedom of choice and many of the hard right republicans are not. They don't want to hear a message other than theirs. They see a guy like Paul giving equal voice to people that don't believe like them and they don't want that.

4. He is opposed to the war in Iraq. The irony here is that I recently read he is the top polling candidate among military personal, but many republicans believe in the war in Iraq and they feel that if we pull out we are admitting defeat and the terrorist win. Paul is for leaving and they don't want that.


Add in the fact that he has raised a nice chunk of money, but I have never even seen or heard a commercial for him and it makes me wonder how well he is running his campaign. Also, while he has raised some nice money, it is nothing compared to what the top candidates have raised. The big boys are spending a ton of cash and are doing everything in their power to get their names out there. It is going to be hard for him to compete with that.