Who will Ron Paul support?

That is, if Ron Paul, the closest thing to a real conservative - being a right tilted libertarian - in the GOP, weren't in the running?

Last month, during a Republican debate, Ron Paul was asked whether he promised to support the GOP nominee next year, no matter who emerges from the primary process. “Not right now I don’t,” Paul said, “not unless they’re willing to end the war and bring our troops home.”

Apparently, in the ensuing weeks, “not right now” has become “no.”

Paul called his Republican presidential rivals, including frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, “neo-conservatives” whom he couldn’t support in the general election should his own bid fail.

“They think we’re supposed to spread our goodness through force,” Paul said. For example, none will pledge not to wage war on Iran, he said. “How could I support something like that?”

Apparently, he can’t. But it means that of the top seven candidates in the Republican field, Paul is the only one who isn’t prepared to support the party’s eventual nominee. It’s not the kind of thing that will go over well within the party, but then again, Paul’s interest in the Republican Party appears nominal — it’s a venue for him to advance his ideas and agenda, not necessarily an opportunity for him to lead the party.

We know it isn't any republican candidate that is in the running right now. We can take a guess on whom he would support based on past statements:

The conservative Senator Chuck Hagel would be one choice, if he were running (obviously), and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

There is a reason that both, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, enjoy a large base of support from activists on the left and right, and are both derided consistently by the corporate owned media. It is because of their commitments to saying what they stand for and believe, their constant fights against the illegal occupation of Iraq, and actually voting by the standards of their public statements.

But Paul and Kucinich are both labeled wackos and fringe candidates by the media standards.

Go figure?

This kind of populist type backlash from grassroots in the left and right sure as hell isn't because people think that the media darlings and self-fulfilling-prophesied "top tier candidates" are competent, honest, have integrity, or are even relatively sane judging by their patchwork of flip-flops, twisting of truths, and circle-jerk logic demonstrated by their votes and statements and resulting in continued failures for Democracy, and for America.