Republican and Conservative political analysis and commentary

New Hampshire political blog Green Mountain Politics thinks it sees signs of a Ron Paul surge in the early-primary state.

Rileys Gun Shop, which sits on the Daniel Webster Highway in Hooksett, New Hampshire, is a candidate photo-op just waiting to happen. Which is why presidential candidates have been dropping by Rileys for the last 2,341 years. No snark.

But, a full eight(ish) months before the New Hampshire Primary, Rileys Gun Shop has decided to endorse a presidential candidate - Ron Paul. And Rileys has put up at least three Ron Paul for President signs at their store to tell the whole world about their decision.

Very interesting. A little thing. But very interesting.

Ron Paul isn't going to win the Republican nomination. He's going to make some noise, maybe even pull some of the other candidates a little more toward the libertarian wing of the GOP, but he's not going to win the nomination...

There IS a libertarian streak in the GOP coalition, and an isolationist streak - often overlapping - and that's what's powering the Ron Paul mini-surge. But the majority of Republicans still want a president who will wage war against Islamofascist terrorists, and when Ron Paul blames 9/11 on American policy in the Middle East, that makes a lot of Republicans wonder if he's the guy to lead a nation at war.

I like Ron Paul. I like his principled stand for constitutional governance. I'm inclined toward the libertarian side of most arguments. But I don't agree with Paul that the Iraq invasion was unconstitutional, and I'm not looking for a presidential candidate who will pull back from the fight. I'm looking for one who will continue the fight, and hopefully lead the war effort with a little more competence than the current administration.

In that, I'm just like many, many Republicans. That's why the Ron Paul surge is, indeed, a little thing.