I'd say this is breaking... in his press conference today, Ron Paul declined to endorse McCain and pushed the idea of third party voters of all stripes.
More below.
From HuffPo
Ron Paul Rejected Appeal To Endorse McCain
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas lawmaker who attracted a devoted following in the GOP primaries, said Wednesday he rejected an appeal to endorse John McCain's presidential bid.
Paul said the request came from Phil Gramm, the former McCain adviser and ex-senator whom the campaign jettisoned after he said the country was a "nation of whiners" about the economy. Gramm defeated Paul in the Republican primary for the Senate in 1984.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Paul said Gramm called him this week and told him, "You need to endorse McCain." The Texas congressman said he refused
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Ron Paul urges supporters to vote for a third-party candidate
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas libertarian who developed a big following in his failed bid for the GOP presidential nomination, has rejected entreaties to endorse his party's nominee and instead is urging his supporters to vote for one of several third-party candidates in the field.
Third-party candidates tend to do best when there is significant dissatisfaction with the major-party nominees -- as was the case in 1992, when H. Ross Perot drew enough GOP votes to undercut George H. W. Bush, and in 2000, when Nader drew crucial votes from the Democratic candidate, Al Gore.
Ron Paul touts third-party candidates, sees hopefuls vie for his support
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ron Paul, whose antiwar campaign galvanized an army of young people during his Republican presidential run, is now something of a third-party power broker, with both the McCain team and the Libertarian Party vying for his support.
The Lake Jackson, Texas, congressman held a news conference Wednesday to present a united front of minor-party presidential candidates — independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney and the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin — on issues important to him and to declare his preferred candidate, which turned out to be anyone but the Democratic or Republican nominees.
I'm not going to try to analyze this... I don't have the sophistication of many of you, but I must say that I am relieved. My assumption is that this takes some wind out of McCain's sails--ever so much better than endorsing him, right? Has the potential to draw votes away from him, right? I do wish that Nader would just sit down and shut up, though, and I wish that Paul weren't joining forces with folks on this left.
Editing to add this (tip o' the hat to proud tobeliberal):
Barr asks Ron Paul to be his running mate
Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr, the former Georgia congressman, rejected comparisons to Cynthia McKinney on Wednesday and made a bid for Ron Paul’s undivided support.
Paul, who this year sought the GOP presidential nomination, told reporters at a Washington press conference that the two-party system is broken. He urged Americans to vote for one of the third-party candidates running, including McKinney, who is also a former member of Congress from Georgia.
All four candidates — Barr, McKinney, Baldwin and Nader — apparently signed a statement from Paul pledging their support for limited government, personal liberties, bringing U.S. troops stationed abroad home, and for an investigation into the Federal Reserve.
While Paul ran a distant fourth in the Georgia presidential primary, carrying 2.9 percent of the vote, he has a devoted following and his endorsement has been sought by Barr and by Republican nominee John McCain.
Barr sent Paul a letter Tuesday asking him to be his vice presidential nominee. Barr already has a running mate, Wayne Root of Las Vegas. Root said in the letter he would step aside for Paul.
Paul has not responded to the request, Davis said. Ike Hall, who coordinated Paul’s campaign in Georgia, called Barr’s invitation “terribly interesting,” but added that Paul made clear he has no intention of running as anything other than a Republican this year.
Maybe I'm being naive, but there are folks out there who are disgusted by the Republican Party who are also not going to vote for Obama (sorry, I'm not being nasty; just telling the truth, wish it weren't so). I'm hoping that with McCain going way, way, WAY over the top that instead of holding their nose and voting for him that they file protest votes. One can hope.