Ron Paul

NEW YORK, NY November 07, 2007 —Don’t tell the local Young Republicans that the GOP primary in this state is a foregone conclusion. Yes, many support Rudy Giuliani and are excited that the former New York City mayor is a national frontrunner. But at a rowdy forum and straw poll last night, some of the biggest cheers – and nearly two-thirds of the votes – went to other Republicans. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

EMCEE: Right here, in the bluest of the blue -- you are Republicans, you're active, you're here in this room, and we're running out of seats. That's awesome!

REPORTER: Portraits of Teddy Roosevelt and John Lindsay survey the action, from the wall near the podium, at the Metro Republican Club on the Upper East Side. Both men got their start, to some extent, with the New York City Young Republicans. But the young, unpaid campaign volunteers participating in the debate are trying to link their candidates not to Roosevelt and Lindsay, but to Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

NUNBERG: Governor Romney preaches the Ronald Reagan [three-legged] stool of conservatism. One of them is strong family values. Frankly, gay marriages and civil union do not promote that.

SAUNDERS: It's one thing for some guy who wants to work on a farm to come across our border, but it's another thing for a terrorist to make it across. And Giuliani's committed to securing our borders.

GENOVESE: John McCain's view is that he opposes all back-door attempts to limit Americans' rights to own guns.

REPORTER: Fred Thompson is not represented, but most of the other candidates are – by four men and one woman, ages 22 to 28. They take turns laying out their candidates' positions on 10 issues, all but one of them domestic. There isn’t much sparring, but Dr. Avery Knapp gets one of the evening’s bigger laughs, when he whips out his cellphone and imitates Giuliani discussing the Second Amendment.

KNAPP: Excuse me one second, it's a phone call. It's the NRA. They're saying New Yorkers should be able to carry their own guns.

REPORTER: Knapp and his friends have packed the house on behalf of Ron Paul, the only Republican candidate who opposes the war in Iraq. Paul has been polling around fifth place, just a handful of percentage points in Iowa, New Hampshire and nationwide. But on this evening, his loud, loyal following achieves its goal.

EMCEE: Rudy Giuliani, we have 21 . . . Ron Paul, 26 . . . making Ron Paul the winner with 26.

REPORTER: Straw polls always represent a straw of hope to the supporters of long-shot candidates. Kevin Courtois thinks this one shows there’s newfound momentum for Ron Paul, scourge of the IRS, the Patriot Act, and tax-and-spend Democrats and Republicans alike.

COURTOIS: He's got supporters, and he's got the truth behind him, and . . . . and what’s that guy’s name? The doctor from Vermont? - Howard Dean? . . . . Yes, Howard Dean, the guy that started the revolution on the Internet -- Ron Paul is gonna finish it. And he's going to be the first internet candidate president.

REPORTER: Supporters of Rudy Giuliani are not amused. Their man has garnered the support of 36-percent of the crowd to Paul’s 44. But the Ron Paul rabble-rousers in a way seem to strengthen the conviction of the Giuliani backers. They’re now more confident than ever that the man they call "America’s mayor" has the more mainstream appeal necessary to win a nation-wide general election. Bob Morgan is the president of the Metro Republican Club.

MORGAN: He basically turned around a city, and I think people around the country do understand that, particularly Republicans.

REPORTER: Indeed, "electability" looms large for the Republicans, just as it does for Democrats who wonder whether the country is ready to choose a woman or a black man for president. Speaking only in a whisper, one man who won’t give his name says he loves Giuliani but fears the former mayor’s marital infidelities, criminally convicted colleagues, and sometimes unpredictable statements and behavior could land a Democrat in the White House.