Ron Paul

When Rabbi Shea Harlig took in the packed room at a special evening caucus for Republicans who observe a Saturday sabbath, he couldn't believe his eyes. While it was standing room only, few donned religious garb. "I didn't realize there were so many orthodox Jews and Seventh Day Adventists living in Las Vegas," he said wryly. There aren't. Unless "Ron Paul" is a religion. The Texas congressman's "revolution" stormed a special caucus at a private school in a tony suburb on the edge of Las Vegas, set up by Clark County GOP officials for those who couldn't caucus with the rest of the state Saturday morning for religious reasons.

Long before his jump in the polls, Rick Santorum stood out for his debate battles with Ron Paul. The two were back at it on a bigger stage in a morning debate here just days before the New Hampshire primary, with Santorum branding the Texas congressman as an ineffective legislator that would make for a dangerous commander in chief. "He's never really passed anything of any import," Santorum charged. "And one of the reasons people like Congressman Paul is his economic plan. He's never been able to accomplish any of that.

Quietly, and very much under the radar, Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who no pundit believes has a serious chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, is staging a bit of comeback, returning to his position as a solid No. 3 candidate in the GOP race. According to the USA Today/Gallup poll released on Tuesday, Paul was at 13%, displacing Rep. Michele Bachmann, who fell to 5% and into a three-way dead heat with former House speaker Newt Gingrich and businessman Herman Cain.

Ron Paul, the patriarch of the libertarian stream in GOP politics, announced on Tuesday that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee, taking a step to join the Republican nomination sweepstakes. Paul, who will be 76 in August, has served about 20 years in the House representing districts in Texas, most recently the 14th, which includes Galveston. He is a medical doctor by training, having served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force and in private practice as a gynecologist.

Re "Paul's army fights to the end," Aug. 29 Ron Paul and his supporters are just plain delusional. If they think he ever actually had a chance at being nominated I have some beachfront property in Kansas they might be interested in. Sooner or later people must realize that someday reality takes over. Unfortunately for Paul's supporters, that day will never arrive. Scott W. Hughes Westlake Village I think it is shameful that the Republican Party did not publicly acknowledge the delegates won by Paul at the Republican National Convention.

Ron Paul, the Texas congressman who is the darling of the libertarian right, has more earmarks in the pork-laden $410-billion spending bill than any other Republican. That's not according to the MSM, or the liberal blogosphere. That's what Fox News is reporting. In an interview Tuesday night with Fox News' Neil Cavuto, Paul not only defended his own earmarks, he argued that every penny in the federal budget should be earmarked, to improve transparency.

WASHINGTON - Ron Paul, a staunch opponent of federal welfare programs, acknowledged Wednesday that he receives Social Security checks, shortly after advocating that younger generations opt out of the program. Appearing on MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” Paul was asked by Huffington Post's Sam Stein whether he should set an example for younger Americans and opt out of the program entirely. Paul, refusing the notion, compared the program to other common goods such as the post office.

Defending himself against charges of isolationism, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul told voters in Iowa on Thursday that western sanctions against Iran are "acts of war" that are likely to lead to an actual war in the Middle East. Paul, one of the leading contenders to win next week's Iowa caucuses, said Iran would be justified in responding to the sanctions by blocking the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.  He compared the western sanctions to a hypothetical move by China to block the Gulf of Mexico, which Americans would consider an act of war. He also said he would not respond militarily to keep the strait open - because he would not consider it an act of war against the U.S.  But if he were president, he would report to Congress on the issue, leaving it up to lawmakers to declare war if they wanted.

Rep. Ron Paul of Texas turned out his well-organized crop of supporters Saturday and won a presidential preference straw poll with 37% of the vote. Coming in second place in the poll of social conservatives at the annual Values Voter Summit was retired pizza chain executive Herman Cain, who pulled in 23% of the vote.  Cain, who won a surprise victory in a straw poll last month in Florida, delivered a rousing speech Friday afternoon in which he joked about the pressure that comes with breaking into the “top tier” of candidates in the GOP primary race.

With nearly 100% of the votes counted in the Florida primary, Ron Paul trails far behind the leaders with about 7% of ballots counted. And his avid supporters are mad -- on Twitter, at least. The source of their anger appears to be something that took place Saturday in another Southern state, the Tennessee straw poll. In the survey, taken by the Tennessee Republican Assembly, Paul was backed by 63% of the 316 voters who participated. MOOD METER: Track the nation's mood on the candidates Paul's campaign website wrote about the results under the headline: "In Case You Missed It: Ron Paul Wins Tennessee Presidential Straw Poll.