ZIP’s email gets flooded by angry Paulbots in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) said that former Vice President Dick Cheney “wants to be the dictator” that decides the Republican race, but believes his campaign is gaining momentum and will surprise him in the GOP primary next year.

“When he says he’ll support all Republicans except some, like myself, which means he wants to be the dictator,” Paul said during an interview with Fox News. “Saying ‘I will decide who is a true Republican or not’ – I say he doesn’t have that authority. The people have this authority. And because we’re gaining our support, he might come up short on his desires.”

Cheney said that “there are nominees that I’m not enthusiastic about” and implied that Paul was unlikely to win the nomination in an interview earlier with Fox. Cheney also criticized Paul for his view that the United States should not interfere with countries like Iran as they sought nuclear weapons.

“Well, I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t want Pakistan to have them. I don’t want any of them to have them,” Paul said. “But I also understand it. And also to put it into perspective, If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, why are they more dangerous to us than the Soviet system was when they had 30,000? And we were able to live with that.”