REPUBLICAN INSIDERS PANIC, MOVE TO BAN FRONTRUNNER RON PAUL FROM DEBATES
Ron Paul once again roiled Republican presidential politics on the issue of foreign policy during last night's debate, finishing second in the post-debate poll conducted by Fox News and first in the poll conducted by MSNBC.
Michigan GOP chair Saul Azunis is circulating a petition to bar Ron Paul from future GOP debates. Azunis said on his blog that he's been "approached by many RNC members who offered to sign" the petition and explained his view on Paul:
"I have long respected Congressman Paul's principle position on many issues, regardless if I ever agreed with any specific proposals or conclusions he had come to. However, his statement on why the terrorists attacked America is so out of the mainstream geo-political thought in the west and is increasingly becoming a distraction versus a supplement to the debate, I think we should just come out and say so."
"Congressman Ron Paul does not represent the majority of the Republican Party on foreign policy and his participation in the debate is little more than a distraction."
MR. WALLACE: Now you say we should pull our troops out. A recent poll found that 77 percent of Republicans disapprove of the idea of setting a timetable for withdrawal. Are you running for the nomination of the wrong party? (Scattered laughter.)
REP. PAUL: But you have to realize that the base of the Republican Party shrunk last year because of the war issue. So that percentage represents less people. If you look at 65 to 70 percent of the American people, they want us out of there. They want the war over.