Rep. Ron Paul‘s message may be starting to resonate more within the Republican party, as a recent poll out of Iowa shows him trailing frontrunner Newt Gingrich in the state by only one point. But Paul is still regarded as a long-shot candidate with little chance of winning the Iowa caucus, let alone the primary race. Ed Schultz took note of the reaction to Paul’s rise on Fox News, where several personalities seemed to be pushing the notion that despite his Iowa surge, Paul still has a very low chance of making an impression on GOP voters.

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Schultz played a montage featuring several Fox News personalities bashing Paul’s chances of winning any contests, and brought on Jonathan Alter to talk about this sudden surge in conservative bashing of Ron Paul. Alter suggested that many Republicans see him as “the crazy uncle in the attic,” and while they may like his views on the economy, his foreign policy views are

frightening to many of them. He added that Paul’s rhetoric on non-interventionism draws younger people to his campaign.

Schultz agreed, giving some surprising words of praise for Paul and his message.

“I think the libertarian position of being socially liberal and fiscally responsible is connecting with a new generation of voters, and I’m told by sources in Iowa he does have the young people on his side down there.”

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Schultz compared Paul’s support to President Obama’s base of support in 2008. Alter noted that Iowa is a better state for Paul than New Hampshire, where his message on foreign policy might not resonate as much, and compared that to Obama’s victory in Iowa and subsequent defeat in New Hampshire. Both Schultz and Alter agreed that Paul could arguably be “the Tea Party candidate” because of his ideological consistency on the question of small government and executive authority. Before going to commercial break, Schultz made sure to note that Paul has been the “number one attack dog on Newt Gingrich.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of MSNBC:
Tags: Barack Obama, ed schultz, Fox News, Iowa, Jonathan Alter, New Hampshire, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul