Ron Paul takes the lead in Iowa.

[Jon Miller]

damn, Gary Johnson endorsed Paul and dropped his bid for the LP nomination.

I liked Gary.

JM

[HalfLotus]

Paul up 1% @ 15% reporting.

Paul also dominating the Drudge poll. Leads Romney by nearly 8 points with ~550,000 votes.

[Berzerker]

whew! that report about Johnson dropping was a hoax.

Glad to hear that, I'll have someone to vote for

[kentonio]

Romney back in third with 18% in. The GOP really don't like him that much do they?

[Zevico]

Correct, peasants are usually opposed to the revolution.

My point is not that the peasants were pro-revolution--I can't offer any comment on that--but they did not think they had any kind of stake in the Tsarist political system. Keep in mind that serfdom existed in Russia even up to 1861. To give a basic comparison, consider that in modern day America, many people consider gun rights to be in issue founded in protecting themselves, not merely from criminals, but from the possibility of tyranny. Now, leaving aside whether that's a real possibility, that's an explicit affirmation of their willingness to protect the current system and their stake in it with their lives.
How many peasants died for the Tsar? When the Communists took charge, how many peasants rose up against it? More the point, what would those peasants be fighting for, as opposed to against? Would they even know?
Russia at that time was basically in a state of political chaos. The Communists won not because they were popular; or because their methods were lawful, democratic or peaceful. Quite the opposite. They won because they were organised and committed, on a full-time basis, to their cause, adn they were willing to use every means to obtain power for that committed cadre of opportunists and ideologues that rose to the top of the heap. That distinguished them from their opposition.

It was borne of a disaffected elite and never was actually about the everyman.

True.

Communism is a moral blight. To defend it is to be an apologist for a system that manages to be more atrocious than slavery, a remarkable feat.

Kentonio can blather all he likes about the system being caring. It led to starvation, shortages, poverty and tyranny. I refuse to distinguish between the intentions of such a system and the results.

Very true.

[HalfLotus]

CNN feed conveniently loses its video feed just as an active duty soldier (and Paul voter) criticizes GOP warmongering, and calls out Israel's undue influence on US foreign policy. Only feed disconnect of the entire night.

[KrazyHorse]

OMG, IT'S A CONSPIRACY

Meanwhile, for Iowa caucuses intrade has Romney at 55-55.1%, Santorum at 30-32.6% and Paul at 12.5-14.9%

More importantly, for Repub nomination, 79-79.5% Romney, which is essentially flat.

[HalfLotus]

Santorum voters heading to the polls!

[HalfLotus]

OMG, IT'S A CONSPIRACY

Might be a conspiracy, and definitely is a pattern when it comes to media reporting on Ron Paul. Only the dumbest of sheep manage to miss it.

[KrazyHorse]

Is there anything more predictable than a paultard whining about defeat and referencing sheep?

[giblets]

I didn't know there were that many sheep in Iowa. Don't they mostly raise pigs and cattle?

[KrazyHorse]

Romney 79.1-81.8 (repub nom)
Obama 50.7-51.5 (presidency)

Romney slightly up for nom, Obama down for presidency

[kentonio]

Romney 79.1-81.8 (repub nom)
Obama 50.7-51.5 (presidency)

Romney slightly up for nom, Obama down for presidency

How does that make any sense when Romney is getting embarrased in a three way tie with Mr Magoo and an evangelical gaybasher?

[KrazyHorse]

He's not, you ****ing idiot. He is exceeding expectations. That is the whole point of listening to markets rather than whatever source you're listening to.

EVERYBODY IS AN AMATEUR compared to markets.

[Felch]

Looks like Paul came in third, with just above 20% of the total. It's not my dream come true, but it says a lot that a guy who wants to legalize dope can generate that much support among Republicans.