Ron Paul was campaigning in Nevada today, as the only Republican
who actually showed up to a Hispanics in Politics event.
The LA
Times reports:

The audience — dozens of politically active Latinos who
gathered in an eastside community center –  applauded Paul
the civil libertarian when he slammed drug laws that unfairly
target minorities.  They even cheered his defense of the gold
standard.

Immigration, however, was another story.

The 12-term Texas congressman spent the better part of a
25-minute address thinking aloud about the thorny subject. He
talked about how Americans are more accepting of outsiders when the
economy is good, but when trouble looms there is a search for
scapegoats.

“I believe Hispanics have been used as scapegoats, to say,
they’re the problem instead of being a symptom maybe of a problem
with the welfare state,” Paul told the group….

“Now there’s a lot of antagonism and resentment turned just
automatically on immigrants,” he continued….

Paul said he’s not one of those politicians who believes that
“barbed-wire fences and guns on our border will solve any of our
problems.” That’s not, he said, the American way. And he doesn’t
think that a national identification card is the way to go.

The LA Times also profiles
Paul’s Nevada support base.

*The University of Minnesota’s “Smart Politics” page notices
Paul is the only GOP candidate who doesn’t
wear lapel pins to demonstrate his political beliefs.

*The Independent Voter Network tries to argue that a Paul who
wins the GOP nomination is
so electable:

As is consistently attested by poll results and even the
Republican Party’s most recent primary votes in
Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, the facts are these:
Ron Paul performs
better among independentsthan any other Republican candidate
for the presidential nomination. He also performs
better among young voters under 30 than any other
Republican. Ron Paul also outperforms any of the remaining
Republican candidates among
Democrats, liberals, moderates, and low-income voters.

Independents, people under 30, liberals, moderates, and low
income voters are all key constituencies that helped Obama win his
primary and the general election in 2008. It only stands to reason
that the candidate with the broadest appeal to Obama’s key voters
and the greatest chance of swaying their votes is the most
electable candidate. Even former Florida Governor Jeb Bush realizes
that the Republicans can only win the general election with a
candidate who appeals to independents, which is why
he recently
admonished the GOP’s candidates, saying “You have to
maintain your principles but have a broader appeal.”

*The Examiner on how Ron Paul, the winner of
the last two CPAC straw polls, won’t
be at CPAC this year.

*Ron Paul SuperPAC Endorse Liberty announces support from
futurist and libertarian superfinancier Peter Thiel, to
the tune of $900,000.

*CNN challenges Dick Armey: why aren’t the Tea Party forces
behind Ron Paul by acclamation? Well, they aren’t a monolith, he
says. As to why they aren’t becoming one behind the only guy with a
consistent record as an insurrectionist outsider serious about
taxing and spending and small government, well, I guess the answer
to that is (not that Armey gives this answer) that they aren’t that
serious.

Reason‘s Ron Paul archives. My
forthcoming book, Ron
Paul’s Revolution.