Paul Bearers in Mourning as Ron Paul Calls it Quits

It looks like the Don Quixote of the Republican Party is in effect quitting the presidential campaign to focus on reelection to the House. Though he hasn't formerly withdrawn, I think he's given up the dream. From his statement:

With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. But with so many primaries and caucuses now over, we do not now need so big a national campaign staff, and so I am making it leaner and tighter. Of course, I am committed to fighting for our ideas within the Republican party, so there will be no 3rd party run. ...

I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen.

In the presidential race and the congressional race, I need your support, as always. And I have plans to continue fighting for our ideas in politics and education that I will share with you when I can, for I will need you at my side. In the meantime, onward and upward! The neocons, the warmongers, the socialists, the advocates of inflation will be hearing much from you and me.

There's one more thing that he didn't mention - all that money that the Paul Bearers raised for during those big fundraising days will now go to Paul's House campaign.

I didn't realize it when I was down there but the seaside town of Rockport, TX where I go to sing every January is at the southern end of Paul's district. It's a very Republican area, but apparently he has a tough road to reelection this year as some of the other parts of his district have many more Democrats. Plus, he may have gotten annoying enough to his constituents that they may just be tired of him and ready for someone else.