by James Buchanan

A recent news article reports “Republican Ron Paul trails two prospective Democratic presidential nominees in the United States, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 49 per cent of respondents would vote for New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 election, while 34 per cent would support the Texas congressman.”

Rasmussen has published several polls recently which have been more than a little suspect. Most of their polls show Ron Paul with only two percent of the vote. Why then would Rasmussen do a poll with a choice between Hillary and Ron Paul if Ron Paul -according to them- has no chance? Most likely it’s a less-than-subtle attempt to tell Ron Paul supporters to give up. That -even if they win the primary- Hillary will beat Paul in the general election.

Ironically, the news of this poll has actually energized many Ron Paul supporters. They know that only a minority of Americans are familiar with Ron Paul. Getting 34 percent against a big-name candidate like Hillary in a poll is a great accomplishment this early in the primary.

If Ron Paul didn’t have tremendous appeal and a huge Internet following, I don’t think the mainstream media or Rasmussen would be trying to torpedo him. Even if you believe the suspiciously low numbers they keep giving Ron Paul, it’s obvious that they fear Ron Paul’s potential, demonstrated by a plethora of Internet polls.

The neocons know that Giuliani is a closet liberal and Open Borders guy, who made New York a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens. Giuliani has probably maxed out at 34 percent (if you believe that seemingly excessive number). Once photos of Giuliani in drag circulate around the Internet, Giuliani will lose the support of the mainstream Republicans, who have nothing in common with him. The neocons also know that Fred Thompson isn’t exactly an exciting figure. Despite all the media hype, Thompson is getting an anemic 16 percent in the latest poll. McCain is self-destructing day-by-day and probably won’t be around in a month. Most recently McCain’s media team resigned suggesting that his campaign is literally falling apart.

The biggest threat to all the stuffed shirt candidates and neocons would be a true conservative like Ron Paul. The more Republicans get to know Ron Paul, the more the vote will start shifting in his favor and away from the closet liberal Giuliani.