Can three progressive Power Panelists kill Cenk’s crush on Ron Paul?

Even though Cenk says Ron Paul is right on 50 percent of the issues — especially civil liberties and the war in Iraq — his Power Panel says he’s a terrible choice for progressives. “He’s worse than any candidate in the race except maybe Rick Santorum on civil rights,” Ben Mankiewicz says. “Nobody who cares about equality and moving this country forward in any kind of progressive way would even consider voting for Ron Paul in a billion years.” Political comedian Katie Halper says, “I think if you are a straight, white man who wants to drink raw milk, Ron Paul is your candidate… I assume he’s equal opportunity bigoted.” Ari Berman from ‘The Nation’ gets the last word: “He’s tantalizing, but I don’t think you should fool progressives into thinking he’s a guy who will speak to progressive points of view on a whole range of issues.”