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Rand Paul Becomes The Latest CPAC Straw Poll Winner Destined to Not Be President
The votes are in, and Sen. Rand Paul has defeated Sen. Marco Rubio in the latest CPAC straw poll to determine which Republican won’t be president.
Except for the Iowa straw poll, (Hello, President Bachmann) there may not be a more meaningless political exercise than the CPAC straw poll. Some in the mainstream media will try to read the non-existent tea leaves and determine what this means for positioning within the Republican ranks in 2016, but the reality is that the only time the CPAC straw poll has ever been interesting was when Mitt Romney was so desperate for a win that he rigged the poll last year by buying votes.
The CPAC audience is always full of Paul supporters. It is estimated that 52% of CPAC’s audience was young libertarians, which demonstrates the problem with the CPAC straw poll. It doesn’t reflect who actually votes in Republican primaries. If GOP primary electorate was a majority young Libertarian, Ron Paul would have been a two time Republican presidential nominee. But the people who vote in Republican primaries are actually old and white.
Rand Paul is already more of a mainstream Republican that his father ever was, but the CPAC straw poll is a better indicator of who isn’t going to be president than who is. I suspect that Rand Paul will do equally well in 2014, 2015, and 2016 too, and it will mean absolutely nothing.
Paul finished with 25%, Rubio 23%, Rick Santorum 8%, Chris Christie 7%, Paul Ryan 6%, Scott Walker 5%, Dr. Ben Carson 4%, Ted Cruz 4%, Bobby Jindal 3%, and Sarah Palin 3%.
The two potential candidates that didn’t do well in the straw poll who are the most likely contenders for the 2016 nomination are Chris Christie and Paul Ryan. One can easily imagine Ryan thinking he is next in line for the Republican nomination, but Christie is more of a wait and see.
CPAC is not good at predicting eventual presidents. According to USA Today, “Since 1976, only Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have won the CPAC straw poll and gone on to win the White House.” No one should be surprised if by 2017, CPAC is 2 for 40 in picking winners. The lesson here is that any Republican who wants to be president would be wise to avoid CPAC.
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22 Responses to Rand Paul Becomes The Latest CPAC Straw Poll Winner Destined to Not Be President
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Shiva(Moderator)
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Sanatorium 3rd! Proof the GOP doesnt know why it lost. Ryan way in the back seat, unwanted, unwashed and little less then a fraud.
I hope they run Paul, the Dems will hit him with everything women find unelectable. He has the same opinion of women his dominionist dad has. Knock em up and put tape across their mouth
Annierae
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
He needs to buy a better fitting wig – surely he can afford one with the excessively high salary the taxpayers fork out to him and other members of congress
Just A Dumb Fireman
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 8:31 pm
He doesn’t have to buy them – he can pick them up for free all over the interstate in the early morning hours.
TigerLily
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:12 pm
“He should buy a new wig” What is it with these RW rich people like paul and palin? these conservatives are so greedy they won’t even spend their money on a decent wig! sarah looked like she bought her wig at walmart! cheap as all heck. This is supposed to show us how much they care for the people? and how conservative they are with money? See? We don’t waste money like Pres Obama. We’re just like you. Down to earth common sensical rel amuricans. yeah okay …
Paws
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 7:34 pm
Republicans sure do like picking losers, don’t they?
labman57
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Once again, the CPAC crowd demonstrates how out-of-touch they are with the rest of America by selecting an unelectable politician as their favorite choice to be the next POTUS.
Just A Dumb Fireman
Mar. 16th, 2013 at 8:28 pm
Looks like that road kill on top of his head is beginning to come back to life!
Sally
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 3:26 am
I saw some yahoo CPAC organizer on MSNBC, and the host was saying the same thing; that the conference never amounted to much with respect to pointing to the next successful Republican cadidate. The man, who was getting a little red in the face, responded that , “Oh no. Ronald Reagan used CPAC as a springboard to his political career.” Reagan? Really? Point made.
Barry Roope
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 11:47 am
The CPAC convention is like a Grateful Dead concert, except the fans love hearing the classic great Obama Lies, the way great vibes of peace and at oneness with everything is at a show , the conservatives walk around and enjoy all the mutual hate they all have for President Obama and anybody else that cares about the poor or disabled. Making fun of anyone that has shown love or empathy with the least among us, they walk around with pure smug and confidence that they are literally better people than those who are less fortunate than they are, this feeling bonds them all. It is truly amazing that half of America’s political establishment, Republicans feel beholden to such a completely repulsive group of people. It’s sad our great Nation has to be weighed down with such fools, as they would purposefully destroy our economy to hurt our President, the saddest thing of all is that they have convinced so many people to vote against their own best interests, and are really hurting their very own families, any one that continues to support Republicans are hurting their children’s future, that is a fact, the Republicans have proven this over and over, Voters really need to know what their candidate stands for, not by their speeches, but by their voting record and comments, and who they align themselves with like Beck or Limbaugh or the supposed “Think Tanks” like the Focus on the family, American Enterprise Institute.
knight4444
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 10:19 am
@Barry, I salute you on that 100% spot on post! the republican party is desperate! their use a fear, racism, misogyny, anti intellectual, anti science, religious intolerance to divide us, to set us at each others throats is EVIL!! pure evil, it has crippled this nations reputation by letting the insane bigots have a active part in american politics.
TigerLily
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
perfect! Thank you BarryRoope
knight4444
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Seriously!, whats that on his head?????????
TigerLily
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
definitely not a brain
knight4444
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Rand Paul, Willard Rommey, John McCain & and the MILF Paulin! whats the difference???!! the GOP keeps throwing these unbelievably, outrageous, laughable presidential candidates because it’s a symbolic of the product. The republican party is a JOKE!! Be honest,
if I told you 8 yrs ago an afro american man would be president in 2008, what would you have said???? NO WAY!! not only did Obama beat the MIGHTY GOP, but he actually beat them in historic fashion! Even Saint Ronald Wilson Reagan didn’t win by these numbers, 8 millions and 5 million votes two election cycles!
Sherlock
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Don’t you feel sorry for Republicans that are not EVIL?
Sarah Palin & Co. have just set you back another 100 years. Unless someone has enough brass to counteract the Tea Party the GOP will not win the White House in my lifetime.
Palin, Paul, Cruz, Santorum—- can it get any worse for Republicans? Well there is still Bachmann and Newt!
knight4444
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Do I feel sorry for the republican party? HELL NO!!! LMAO BTW,
Rick Santorum is hopelessly CRAZY! this moron is hoping one day the US becomes a theocracy!!!!!!!!!!!
lm945
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 9:53 pm
I’ve read several articles today which made the same mistake.
Santorum did not come in third place. Yes, he had 8% of the vote.
But there was another candidate who took 14% of the vote.
Anyone But These Moronic Fools. On the tally, they called him “Other.”
Shiva(Moderator)
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Nooooooooo. Santorium was third. The ones who got the least added up to 14%. it was a group of people not one person
Anne
Mar. 17th, 2013 at 10:37 pm
The CPAC is nothing but a huge echo chamber in which the participants spew the same stale, old stupidity that cost them the last 2 presidential elections. People like Rand Paul, Sarah Palin, and Willard Romney are able at least for a while to forget that most Americans view them as a sick joke and to bask in the cheers of other yahoos.
TigerLily
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:06 pm
“Rand Paul Becomes The Latest CPAC Straw Poll
Winner Destined to Not Be President”
LMAO! so true..so darn true. Not a chance in you know where he could ever become President of ANYTHING! His small minded no govt crowd may like him but the vast majority of people with even a high school education won’t vote for this little clown. They liked Romney and his agenda of stripping every citizens of everything. The RW consituency has no idea of intelligence in leaders. None. They just want anyone that is republican to be in office. Why? I will never know. And they know it was and always will be the GOP that will raise our debt every time. They just can’t stand the thought of black man spending what they think is their entitled right to their money! Not America’s but the GOP, the Koch Bros. Alec and Citizens United. This is who the GOP supports and prospers from. To you people out their supporting the real TRAITORS of this country you will soon get a taste of the GOP CONSERVATISM FOR YOU..not the banks, not corps, but YOU the individual will soon see what they have wrought for you in this sequestor. Enjoy while the GOP laughs all the way to the bank again with Alec, KOCH Bros and Citizens United. THEY OWN YOU!
TigerLily
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Michelle Bachman….”we love you..we love all you people. We are the party of caring and compassion and we love you all…black ..brown…latinos asian..what a fricken LIAR! she really thinks everyone is as stupid as her followers.
Shiva(Moderator)
Mar. 18th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
But she dont love the gay, oh no she dont. no gay today for michelle