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Entry: A response to Matthew Roberts Link: http://www.takimag.com/sniperstower/article/a_response_to_matthew_roberts#24549 Post contents: Chuck Baldwin doesn't have the name recognition of Ron Paul, but he certainly has a large internet following. His columns are posted on hundreds sites, and he's one of the few religious "leaders" openly to come out against immigration. He could pick off some of religious voters from McCain, especially if many of the Ron Paul meet-up groups start backing him, which is a strong possibility. (Last night, many Ron Paul supporters, some as young as 19, showed up in droves to defeat Keyes and his strategy of stacking the convention.) The general Ron Paul strategy of steering towards the middle (to pick up disaffected voters from the Left) was not nearly as successful as Buchanan's strategy in 1996 of staying to the Right. Not that Baldwin is a Buchanan (although he sounds more like Buchanan than does Paul), he could attract significant support from the religious right (especially if people like Dobson support him, which isn't out of the realm of possibilities). At least theoretically he could pick up enough religious voters (especially those upset over immigration, trade, and the war) to hand the Democrats a victory. In reality, though, it may be impossible to defeat McCain (although this should be a bad year for Republicans), especially since McCain's strategists are now realizing that states like California could be in play. (I could see a election where Obama only wins 10 or so states.) There are many long-term advantages to a Democratic victory (amnesty is less likely, as Republicans would oppose it out of partisan habit, we could see a healthy right-wing backlash, etc.) but I think that openly supporting someone like Obama sends the wrong message. The media will interpret this as a shift to the Left of the electorate. And, as a matter of conscience, I could never vote for someone like Obama. A promising sign last night was that many of those involved in Ron Paul meet-up groups were frantically calling their contacts to reallocate their resources (websites, etc.) towards backing Baldwin. Sent at: 2008 08 30