Posted by JM Ashby
Is any more confirmation needed that the Republicans will end up electing someone too extreme to have any chance of winning?
In a 'presidential straw poll' of nearly 1,600 conservative members of the Tea Party Patriots released on Sunday, 581 voted for U.S. Representative Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, to run against Obama next year
Herman Cain, a Georgia businessman and talk-radio host, came in second with 256 votes.
Palin, a favorite of the conservative movement who was Senator John McCain's running mate against Obama in 2008, trailed in a distant third place with 149 votes.
[...] Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who addressed the gathering as he mulls a run in 2012, came in fourth place with 143 votes.
Ron Paul also won the straw poll at CPAC last year and this year, but even if he doesn't end up being the nominee, the fact that he is the favorite of the Tea Party means that the other candidates in the field will have to swing further to the right to gain their favor. By the time an actual nominee emerges, that nominee will be the consummate right-wingnut.