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As expected in Iowa on Tuesday Democrats and independents who defected to the GOP long enough to cast a vote put their support behind Ron Paul in significant numbers. Electoral statistician, Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com found that 48% of independents and Democrats who voted in the Iowa caucuses, voted for Ron Paul. Entrance polls found he also won 18% of the Evangelical vote, 19% of the Tea Party vote, and 48% of the 17-29 year-old-vote. Joining this conservative cross-section of Paul supporters in spirit, though not yet at the polls, is a surprising number of prominent progressives. Paul has been an outspoken critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is opposed to a war with Iran, and he decries the bloated military budget. For this he has been praised as a “peace candidate” by Just Foreign Policy’s Robert Naiman, who wrote that Paul’s Iowa success indicates, “a coming out party for the new Republican peace movement.” A growing number of progressives including Robert Scheer, Thom Hartmann and Glenn Greenwald have also defended Ron Paul as a figure to be respected for his consistent criticism of US imperialism and economic policy. However there is no broad consensus on the controversial candidate. His long ties with extreme conservatives on social issues and his opposition to the government safety net make him too dangerous for many progressives to flirt with. Paul is on record as opposing the Civil Rights Act, and disseminating racist newsletters. He is also a staunch anti-abortionist and has signed on to Personhood USA’s pledge to back rights for fertilized eggs in women’s bodies. But Sam Husseini, writing at VotePact.org, thinks the entire debate needs to be shifted, because major party candidates will not be saviors of the disaffected left or right. He calls for people of conscience from both sides of the political spectrum to coalesce on common ground electing independent and third party candidates and shaking up the political system.

GUEST: Sam Husseini, founder of VotePact.org.

Visit www.votepact.org.