I actually have had a couple e-mails regarding the subject, so I’ll revisit the Wayne Gilchrest/Ron Paul flap briefly.
I just checked with both the Ron Paul for President and Ron Paul for Congress websites and found no mention of the an endorsement there. Meanwhile, the Gilchrest for Congress site is down for some reason this evening. (Someone will blame it on Andy Harris or the Club For Growth, I’m sure.) So no confirmation from there.
This morning prior to my radio appearance I did get the opportunity to listen once again to that portion of the interview last Thursday and after talking about the endorsements from President Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Michael Steele, Wayne indeed added that he had Ron Paul’s endorsement.
Since both are Congressmen and they do share a somewhat common view on the Iraq situation, it would not surprise me that Ron Paul did endorse Wayne. While there have been situations where Gilchrest claimed endorsements he didn’t get, I believe this one is legitimate.
Politicker MD reports that Paul’s press folks confirmed the endorsement: http://www.politickermd.com/paul039s-endorsement-blow-arminio-1007.
I know the Arminio folks don’t like to acknowledge this fact, but I doubt a sitting Congressman would ever endorse the nuttiness that permeates the Arminio platform. Of course, as we have seen with comments here and other sites, Arminio’s supporters will claim that it’s all a lie and a conspiracy to keep Arminio from winning. I’m sure they’ll also claim that when Arminio loses it’s because the voting machines were tampered with. Some people are so out of touch with reality there is no reaching them.
An additional issue with Arminio and Paul is that as sharp as Arminio is on many subjects, he’s an economic protectionist, a position anathema to Paul’s advocacy of free markets and free trade. Just thought that was worth throwing out there.
Michael:
There’s this thing called Google. It helps you find this type of info:
http://reason.com/blog/show/124902.html
I was trying for first-hand confirmation if I could get it. For a quick line in a much longer post, I guess I stirred up the pot pretty well.
As I noted originally, I wasn’t surprised but I bet Joe Arminio was. I wonder if Joe will be making a beeline to the Board of Elections to file as a write-in candidate for November.
Please learn Maryland’s election laws, Michael. I’m still embarrassed for you in your not knowing how Paul Gilmoor’s seat would be filled in Ohio. Anyway, once your name has appeared in a primary ballot in Maryland, it can’t be there in the general. That’s why Gilchrest can’t run — and win — as an independent. Please Michael, we count on you to know this basic stuff.
If you lose in the primary, you can do the general as a write-in, as one of the Democrat U.S. Senator candidates (perennial candidate Lih Young) did in 2006. I’ll admit there’s the possibility they’ve changed the rules since but it was done 2 years ago, which was why I wrote that.