February 14, 2011
Congressman Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the CPAC conference here in Washington. But, you would expect his brand of libertarian conservatism to be a hit with the kinds of affluent, young conservatives who attend such conferences. It is like reading Ayn Rand in high school: Which teenager does not want to read that the paths of truth and justice are found through self-assertion?
But, those young, affluent activists are not paradigmatic for the average primary voter, who is as likely to be motivated by a sense of populist resentment as by protean, libertarian ideas. The sraw poll win means little in the long run.
