http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20111226/OPINION03/112260313...

Ron Paul simply can't be allowed to win Iowa

11:45 PM, Dec. 25, 2011

Cagle Commentary

It's time to have a frank conversation about "the one," and we are not talking about President Barack Obama.

The latest round of polling coming out of the Hawkeye State suggests that Texas Congressman Ron Paul could indeed win the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

Should Rep. Ron Paul, who first ran for president in 1988, win Iowa, it may be the last time the state has the honor of being the first state to hold a vote every four years.

We know Iowa GOP caucus-goers are frustrated with the status quo in Washington but casting a vote this January for candidate Paul is beyond unwise for three reasons.

First, Ron Paul will not defeat President Obama.

The most recent general election polling may suggest that Rep. Paul is within striking distance of Obama, but the president will score an easy victory next November if Paul is indeed his opponent.

While conservatives and some establishment Republicans rightly cheer as Paul professes smaller government and fiscal accountability, his outrageous positions on U.S. foreign policy, particularly given the meteoric rise of China and continued saber-rattling by Iran and North Korea on the international scene, will cause most general election voters to double down on Obama before they pull the lever in Paul's favor.

Second, Ron Paul will not win the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, so there is no need to give him momentum. Giving Paul a victory in Iowa can only serve to hinder the eventual Republican nominee's chances in the general election.

His counterproductive behavior was on display in 2008, when he refused to endorse then-nominee McCain and proceeded to hold a protest near the national convention.

Regardless of which candidate not named Paul ultimately wins the nomination, every potential GOP voter needs to be unified if Obama is to be defeated.

Third, voters must not embolden Ron Paul to make a third-party presidential run.

According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News national poll, a third-party bid by Paul would almost certainly doom the eventual Republican nominee's chances of capturing the White House in 2012, as he would draw many more votes from the Republican nominee than from President Obama.

Congressman Paul cannot be allowed to gain momentum in Iowa, either within the Republican field or in preparation for a third-party general election run. Our country's future literally hangs in the balance.

Matt Mackowiak is a Washington- and Austin-based Republican consultant and president of Potomac Strategy Group, LLC. Ford O'Connell is a Republican strategist and the chairman of CivicForumPAC.

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DTOM: Judging by the comments, America says otherwise...The PTB are getting desperate.