This has been a brave new week for the Ron Paul presidential campaign, as the dear old Doctor Congressman appears to be growing some hair on his chest. He's actually picking a fight with another candidate, Rick Perry. They even got into a little scuffle during the debate last night! Was Rick Perry so angry that he beat the shit out of Ron Paul during a commercial break? The inappropriately protective Ron Paul fan community is concerned.

Paul, who has been running a slightly misleading ad this week embracing Ronald Reagan's legacy while calling Rick Perry "Al Gore's Texas cheerleader," uncharacteristically went after Perry early last night, beefing up his typical debate routine of flailing arms and yelling at the rafters about Austrian business cycle theory. Reuters then photographed a moment during the commercial break in which Rick Perry walked over to Paul, pointed in his face, and put his hand on his arm. What was he saying to Paul? Most likely he was asking, "Where do the high school girls hang out around here?" But whatever it was, the photo, and others, are featured prominently on the Drudge Report.

There's only one thing for the third-party observer to do in this situation: Visit various Ron Paul cult fan pages to watch them react! Was Rick Perry trying to murder Ron Paul with his death grip, as part of the establishment's broader campaign to keep people from hearing The Truth? Hmm.

From RonPaul.com:

During a commercial break at Wednesday's Republican debate, Rick Perry and Ron Paul continued their spirited exchange on stage. Suddenly, Perry grabbed Ron Paul's forearm while aggressively pointing his index finger towards the Congressman's face. Alerted by Perry's menacing gestures, Ron Paul's bodyguard (front left) was standing by, ready to protect the Congressman.

From there, it's but a hop, skip and a jump to the mothership, Ron Paul Forums:

"What's that about? He looks like he's going to assault Dr. Paul."

"WTF is Rick Perry doing with his hands on Ron Paul?!"

"I'm actually getting scared for Ron's safety. I rarely believe conspiracy theories, but like Ron I have to remind us of some tonight. Perry is an establishment Bilderberg puppet and may very well have been chosen to be our next president. Ron is becoming VERY threatening to the status quo as of late and if they can't silence him with the media, they may try a bullet. God I need to sleep..."

"He is assaulting Ron. Put his hand on him and his finger in his face. 'Don't EVER mention my association with Merck, again, old man'.."

"Wow Perry, staying classy and physically assaulting Congressman Paul."

"Perry would do well to keep his hands off Dr. Paul in the future. We do have some less stable members of this movement that may take things like that against Dr. Paul personally. You are not untouchable Rick."

"If there is something to this it could destroy Perry's campaign. The people will see it as the equivalent if he was stepping on puppies."

"this pic makes me scared for rons safety. rick perry has hitler written all over him. except less intelligent and less articulate. very scary. very very scary perry"

"Looks like he really grabbed his wrist there. I wonder if Paul's arm is sore."

"Hey, win the Iowa Caucuses, and Dr Paul gets his very own Secret Service detail."

There are 30 pages of additional comments on this one thread.

The thug Rick Perry beat the crap out of elderly Doctor Ron Paul onstage last night, during a civil debate. Why won't the mainstream media cover this? What are they trying to hide?

[via Mediaite; Image via AP]