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View Full Version : My op-ed to my school newspaper urging Republicans to vote for Paul




phrizek
02-03-2008, 07:39 PM
Hey all. Here in California the deadline to register as a Republican has long passed and so focus of our labor has been to convince registered Republicans to vote for Paul. It's not easy, but we do what we can. Anyway, I sent in a letter today that I am hoping will be published tomorrow or Tuesday in my school paper, and I'm going to be pretty restless until I find out if it has been published. The focus of the paper is to convince Republicans to vote for Paul, but I'm nervous as to how successful it may be. Anyway, I'm posting my letter below and welcoming any comments on how effective you think it may be in convincing the Republicans to change their vote.

A Time for Choosing

History is replete with accounts of times where people faced a decision whose ramifications would go on to define their generation and possibly refashion the road of history. The Republican Party is at such a watershed. Fellow Republicans, regardless of whether you defend or protest the actions of the current administration, the reality is that the majority of Americans are tired of the politics of the past seven years and are determined to making sure that a Republican won't attain victory come November. Voting in the early states has consistently demonstrated that the base of the Republican party has dramatically decreased, and polls continue to show that more than 70% of Americans are opposed to the war in Iraq. These signs and others spell trouble for the future viability of our party. If we continue to tread along this same path, the party will suffer a defeat from which it may not soon be able to recover.

This outcome is unacceptable. With so many of our peers anxious to plunge us into an era of socialism, we are confronted by one of the most significant choices we will ever face; do we cede forever the ideas that built our nation and subordinate ourselves to the heavy hand of government, or do we make a stand for the rugged individualism and freedom handed down by our founders that made us the most prosperous nation ever? Do we buckle under the pressure of the central planning of our lives and our economy by corrupt bureaucrats or do we embrace economic freedom and restore confidence that the unregulated market is the most ethical and tenable means to producing greater prosperity? Do we lay our graves under a mountain of spending, or do we reassert the ideals of fiscal conservatism and bring sanity back to Washington? Clearly, our choice is between defeat and victory. The road to victory however must emerge from our willingness to change our ideas on some issues, compromise on others, and tolerate some we may disagree with for the greater good. Thankfully, this decision need not be difficult. In Ron Paul we have a candidate that can revitalize conservatism, restore principle to the party, and unite the country under the banner of individual liberty.

Ron Paul has the most strict fiscal conservative voting record of any of the candidates running for the Republican nomination, never having voted for legislation that would increase taxes or unbalance the budget. More importantly, he is the only candidate that is unafraid of doing the essential task of cutting spending. He is the rightful heir to the Barry Goldwater style of conservatism that others try to claim as their own. And this isn't empty rhetoric; Barry Goldwater Jr. has come out with a powerful endorsement of Paul, saying that he is the only candidate he would endorse for President. Speaking of endorsements, as the other candidates clamored to explain why Ronald Reagan would support them at the last debate, Ron Paul reminded everyone that Reagan DID in fact endorse him, when he campaigned for Paul in the late 70s. Almost all Republicans can agree with his fiscal policies and admire his adamant stance on the Constitution, but many seem to have trouble getting over his foreign policy, which is seen as too soft. I would counter this with the idea that his foreign policy and national defense are in fact the strongest of any candidate.

Having our troops on our soil and adopting a policy of non-intervention would make us more safe, not less. It all boils down to whether you believe that our border guards should be defending Syria's border, or our own borders. Whether you believe that it was acceptable that Seoul was better defended by our military than New York City was on the morning of September 11, 2001. Whether you believe that our exit from Iraq should be necessitated by the cut-and-run defeatism of the other side, or the economic prudence and Constitutional principle Ron Paul espouses.

Ron Paul is the only Republican who can beat a Democrat in November. Show me your commitment to principle and victory by delivering Santa Barbara County to Ron Paul this Tuesday.

phrizek
02-03-2008, 09:14 PM
No thoughts on this?

ForrestLayne
02-03-2008, 09:52 PM
Sounds great - here's my letter to the editor I hope gets published


February 4, 2008
Letter to the Editor

We want to encourage every registered voter to vote in the presidential primary election on Tuesday February 12, 2008. It is your chance to help pick who will be running for the Presidency in November. It is most important to voice your opinion now while there are still several candidates to choose from. That said we want to give our rational for supporting Republican Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.
Dr. Paul has been talking about the constitution and the monetary system the whole campaign. He has written several books on the monetary issue. Ron Paul wants to change our foreign policy to non-intervention (which is very different than isolationism). The war in Iraq and having troops around the world in over 700 bases in 130 countries is bankrupting the U.S. We have to borrow money from other countries, most recently China, to pay for our war. Ron Paul advocates a strong national defense, but sees our current foreign policy as creating a strong national offense. To quote Dr. Paul “The United States should never start a war.” Ron Paul did vote to go after the Al Qaeda after 9-11. He voted against the invasion of Iraq.
Dr. Paul believes, as did JFK, that we need to get rid of the Federal Reserve. It was tried twice before 1913 (as national banks) and failed both times. The current system is no different.
Dr. Paul also has a strict view of the constitution. He believes if the constitution does not explicitly give government an authority to do something, the government should not do it. This is in contrast to the status quo that thinks “If the constitution does not say I cannot, I will.”
Health care is a big issue this election year. With the country on the brink of bankruptcy and the lack of money in social security, where is money for national health care going to come from? How long will China keep lending us money? Or will the Federal Reserve keep printing more money out of thin air driving the value of the dollar down even further? All of the other candidates are running on a platform of more socialism. Take from one and give to another. Can’t you decide for yourself where your money should go? Or do you want BIG government to decide for you?
There is such a difference in candidates this year, We urge each and every voter to check the voting records of all candidates. Ron Paul has been voting the same way for 20 plus years as a congressman. Past behavior is the best indicator of future action. Check out Ron Paul at RONPAUL2008.com and Google “Ron Paul” for more information.
For those that say “He can’t win” We would like to point out that he has beaten every other Republican candidate at least once in the primaries that have been done, including a possible
win in Louisiana and 2nd in Nevada. A vote for Ron Paul is a vote for FREEDOM. A vote for anyone else is a vote for SOCIALISM. Vote Ron Paul.

phrizek
02-03-2008, 10:37 PM
Which paper did you send that out to?

BigRedBrent
02-03-2008, 11:20 PM
I am convinced many people are stupid and will blindly ignore facts as long as they can continue to beleve the alusion of what they want to be the truth.

I hope your readers do not fit into this category, for if they do then almost nothing you say will get them to see the truth.

But if they are to know anything at all, they should know that if Ron Paul does not get the republican nomination we will have a democrat for our next president hands down.

BigRedBrent
02-03-2008, 11:27 PM
We want to encourage every registered voter to vote in the presidential primary election on Tuesday February 12, 2008.

Voting is not a civic duty. You should not be voting unless you know what the issues are and why you are voting for your candidate.

I do not like to promote people to just vote. I like to inform people of what is going on and try to direct them to the best course of action.

Rock the vote is BS and needs to stop. It just gets a bunch of morons out to vote for who ever they got the best impression of from the television.

No disrespect intended. I just hate it. A presidential election is not a taste test. It should be like any other test that you would study for. If you did not study then don't take the test. If you don't know who the best choice for president is then don't vote. I however know for sure who I will be voting for. People need to find out why they should vote in the first place before even considering voting.

pinkmandy
02-03-2008, 11:32 PM
Phrizek- that is a great letter for your school paper! Nice job!!!

BigRedBrent...ita about all the morons voting. If anything we should send out letters telling them election day has been postponed a week, lol.

mdevour
02-03-2008, 11:33 PM
phrizek,

That is excellent writing, mister! This is a college or university newspaper, right? If you tell me you're in high school, I'll be even more impressed. :D

To begin with, your grammar, spelling, and presentation are nearly un-flawed! My copy-editor pen itches at only a couple of strained wordings and one possibly misapplied word. That alone seems to be a major accomplishment these days! Yet, further, your choice of word and phrase is mature and evocative. I would expect to see writing like this from Dr. Paul himself.

If you can adapt yourself to writing with equal power to other audiences -- popular or adolescent, for example -- you have great potential as an author.


... refashion the road of history... lay our graves under a mountain of spending ... a candidate that can revitalize conservatism, restore principle to the party, and unite the country under the banner of individual liberty ... agree with his fiscal policies and admire his adamant stance on the Constitution ... that Seoul was better defended by our military than New York City was on the morning of September 11, 2001 ... necessitated by the cut-and-run defeatism of the other side, or ... economic prudence and Constitutional principle ...


Just a wonderful job of casting these sentiments.

I hope you're published! :)

For Liberty!

Mike D.

phrizek
02-04-2008, 03:12 AM
Thanks for the kind words, Mdevour. Yes, this is for my university paper with a circulation of 11,000. Hopefully it can garner a few more votes that otherwise would have went to someone else.

dblee
02-04-2008, 05:54 AM
this is brilliant. bravo.