Rep. Ron Paul is finally being acknowledged by mainstream media as no joke in the Republican presidential primary campaign.
A supporter of Republican Candidate for United States President Representative Ron Paul stands among campaign signs outside prior to a debate for Republican candidates for United States President held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham New Hampshire, USA, 05 September 2007. EPA/MICHAEL IVINS
For nearly a year, Monsters and Critics has been tracking Dr. Paul and his rise in the polls and his popularity with voters.
The Texas true conservative is all for returning to the gold standard - and abolishing the income tax, CIA and Federal Reserve.
Paul, 72, recently set a one-day, online GOP presidential fundraising record, and now the AP reports that he pulled ahead of Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee in a New Hampshire poll, where he had 8 percent of the Republicans' support.
In Iowa, the AP reports he tied John McCain for fifth place, with 4 percent each.
Dr. Paul is the only Republican candidate backing a prompt troop withdrawal from Iraq - and according to the AP, "an airing of possible impeachment charges against Vice President Dick Cheney."
Dr. Paul's support is shared by a wide swath of American demographics: Young and old, rich and poor, and every conceivable mix of people fed up with status quo politics.
Dr. Paul is a frugal and thoughtful public servant, he is loathe to spend taxpayer money on programs he deems unworthy or unconstitutional.
The AP reports that Dr. Paul "was the only House member to oppose an expression of support for Northern Ireland's new power-sharing government, a condemnation of 'the persecution of labor rights advocates in Iran' and a statement citing the importance of 'providing a voice' for relatives of Americans who have vanished."
The AP notes Dr. Paul "was one of two Republicans to vote against funding the Defense Department in 2008, and against urging the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi."
The AP cites the fact that Paul "would eliminate the Fed altogether as an impediment to free markets."
The AP also mentions Paul's desire to eliminate the personal income tax, saying "it provides about 40 percent of federal revenues, which spending cuts could absorb."
Dr. Paul notes to the AP that the American "hunger for smaller government" and a "greater adherence" to the Constitution along with "a pro-American foreign policy" is overdue and needed.
Leaving the United Nations and dismantling and replacing the CIA, an organization which Dr. Paul accuses of blunders and abuses of power, were also noted by the AP.
Presidential debate moderators were noted by the AP as not giving Dr. Paul a fair shake in the Q&A time, yet Paul's answers, when given the chance to speak, have electrified the audiences with applause and loud cheers.
The AP cites a debate in South Carolina, "Paul infuriated Rudy Giuliani and others by saying U.S. troops' presence in Saudi Arabia contributed to al-Qaida's decision to attack the United States on Sept. 11, 2001."
"If we think that we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem," Paul said at the debate. "They don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free. They come and they attack us because we're over there."
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