Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh slammed Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) for his performance in the Iowa caucus. “You get down to brass tacks, it was a disappointment,” Mr. Limbaugh posited on “The Rush Limbaugh Show” Wednesday. “This was not a big night for Ron Paul,” Mr. Limbaugh added.
Mr. Paul took third in Tuesday night’s Iowa caucus. Mr. Paul garnered 21.4 percent or 26,219 votes. Mr. Paul was bested by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Mr. Romney pulled in 24.6 percent to edge out Mr. Santorum by 0.1 percent. However, Mr. Paul doubled his vote count from 2008.
Mr. Limbaugh’s take on the Iowa caucus is quite different from Mr. Paul’s take on the results. “Last night, you and I made history with our strong top-tier finish in the Iowa Caucus!,” Mr. Paul said in an email to campaign supporters Wednesday. “The establishment media, in their desperation to keep trying to make us just give up and go away, is already spinning this as the best we can hope to achieve,” Mr. Paul added.
Mr. Limbaugh’s thoughts on Mr. Paul’s chances after the conclusion of the Iowa caucus were simple: “It’s over.” However, other commentators have pointed out that Mr. Paul has the support to continue campaigning through the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
During an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” political pundit James Carville posited that Mr. Paul can “keep going. He doesn’t need to win to raise money. He’s not in the confines of a traditional campaign.”
Despite Mr. Santorum’s virtual tie with Mr. Romney in the Iowa caucus, the argument can be made that the former Pennsylvania Senator lacks the organization to pull off a top-tier finish in New Hampshire.
“The simple truth is, there were three tickets out of Iowa, and only two of those campaigns have the resources, funds, volunteers, and organization to compete nationwide – and one of them is mine,” Mr. Paul wrote.
