RSDavis
02-04-2008, 04:55 PM
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Ron Paul Roundup (02-04-08)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=354718897&Mytoken=A3E6331A-03C1-4F9B-B1A22466A4FC2DE714963106)
Hello Freedomphiles! Well, the money bomb was on Friday in honor of the anniversary of Doctor and Carol Paul. Not a bad amount was raised, especially considering the pledges were to be $51. We ended up raising over a million dollars that day. Carol Paul would like to thank you:
Dear friend,
Wow. What an anniversary present you gave us with all your wonderful donations! Ron and I can't thank you enough. Someone asked me where we would have our special dinner, and I said with box lunches on the airplane. When I saw the person's face fall, I said that I couldn't imagine a more wonderful event--with Ron, and fighting for our country's freedom. What could be better? Then more than 2,000 people came to help us celebrate on February 1st in Denver, and they stood up and cheered every sentence out of his mouth. You know, sometimes I have wondered if there was enough love of liberty left in America. I wonder no longer. We can do it!
With all my thanks,
Carol
Thank you, Carol, for keeping Dr Paul on his toes! The New York Times is reporting (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/us/politics/02donate.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin) that the GOP candidates (which they define as Romney and McCain) are in a fundraising tie. Then, as a side note, they mention that Ron Paul has more than both of them combined:
On the Republican side, the candidate who has recorded the greatest amount of money with the least success in the primaries is Representative Ron Paul of Texas. Mr. Paul has $7.8 million in cash, more than Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney combined.
Mr. Paul also took in $20 million in the third quarter of 2007, again more than Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney combined. For all of 2007, Mr. Paul raised $28 million and spent $20 million, increasing his spending to $17 million in the last three months of 2007.
This year, Mr. Paul's supporters have donated $4.7 million in a fund-raising drive set up to honor his 51st wedding anniversary.
And Businesswire is reporting (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080203005049&newsLang=en) that Ron Paul spanked everyone again in donations from the military:
A search of the FEC database by employer reveals that Dr. Paul has received 1160 donations from military donors, nearly triple that of John McCain, and more than McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee combined.
Dr. Paul's total military donations of $249 thousand are almost as much as the $260 thousand of combined donations received by the other five remaining candidates.
Congressman Paul is no stranger to military support. Former president Ronald Reagan once said, "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country!"
According to the FEC reports, these are the total number and amount of military donations for each of the presidential candidates*:
Ron Paul: 1160 $249k
John McCain: 438 $83k
Mike Huckabee: 126 $37k
Mitt Romney: 126 $24k
Barack Obama: 443 $76k
Hillary Clinton: 154 $41k
Good stuff. I wonder what that translates out to in military absentee balloting, and have those all been counted in all the primary states that have already voted? Could equal a late surge for Dr Paul.
News Long Island is writing (http://www.newsli.com/2008/02/03/ron-paul-message-muffled-despite-record-breaking-fundraising-strong-support-from-military-and-americans/) about Ron Paul's huge fundraising success and the crickets you can hear from the MSM:
Most seem to believe that Paul's interests are out of step with corporate media and establishment interests, many of which either own or support the majority of radio, television and newspapers. These traditional news sources are often referred to as "MSM" or main stream media and they shape and transform public opinion quite easily. But the age of the Internet seems to change the playing field significantly and most Paul supporters contribute precisely this to his campaign's longevity and success.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ron Paul was the biggest GOP fundraiser last quarter raising nearly 20 million dollars, $6 million of which was raised in one day breaking the record for the most money raised by a national candidate in a single day. "That is a significant amount of money from a man who gets the least time on TV debates." wrote the Times. The Ron Paul campaign website currently shows contributions are up to over 5.1 million dollars so far for the first quarter of this year.
So one might ask where all this money is coming from? What's this Presidential candidate have that the others don't have? Besides his consistent voting record, his interest in abolishing the IRS, income tax, and the CIA, and a recent 51 year marriage anniversary, apparently he's also got significant military support. The Paul campaign often boasts that the campaign's money comes mostly in the form of small donations from average Americans, many of which are active military officers. This is quite the contrary to most of Paul's opponents who have significant support from corporate lobbyists.
MSNBC is reporting (http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/03/634195.aspx) that Romney won the Maine caucus:
Romney won Maine's nonbinding presidential preference poll, 53%-22% over McCain. Ron Paul finished third with 19%; Huckabee was fourth with 5%. The voting took place at caucuses Friday and Saturday; the results were announced last night by the Maine Republican Party.
The nonbinding poll will be used as an indicator at the May 3rd state convention to select the state's 21, also unbound, delegates to the national convention.
Typically, at the state convention, all 21 delegates will vote for the winner. This is a "gentleman's agreement," though, and they can go split between two or more candidates. So, Dr Paul could end up pulling four delegates from Maine - possibly more if Huckabee has a late surge and Romney or McCain drop out.
Left-libertarian Digital Bob comments (http://www.nolanchart.com/article2423.html) over at The Nolan Chart:
Maine could have been the state that put the Ron Paul campaign onto the evening news in advance of Super Tuesday. Or not. Looking at the last debate on CNN last week, the focus was clearly on the McCain-Romney squabble over who said what years ago. Huckabee, the media's candidate du jour several weeks ago, has evaporated in the press since his performance in New Hampshire. Ron Paul got very little national press with his second place finishes recently in Nevada and Louisiana. I saw plenty on TV about Rudy Giuliani's multi-million dollar lone delegate. The only way to reverse this trend would seem to finish with the most votes in some states.
With over $5 million raised in January, and nearly $20 million raised last quarter, Ron Paul has the financial capacity to keep going indefinitely. My recent trolling of the blogs indicates that he has some strong support in Colorado, Alabama, North Dakota, and maybe Illinois. I'm not sure if he'll win any of those states, but he will pick up delegates along the way, including a few in California. Unfortunately, it will be hard for him to win some of the bigger states that are winner-take-all, like New York with its 87 of 101 delegates given on Tuesday. Even so, his cash position will allow him to continue to campaign beyond Super Tuesday--as long as his supporters have an available balance on their Visa and MasterCard.
PolitickerME wrote (http://www.politickerme.com/paul-brings-new-faces-maine-caucuses-757) about some of the new faces that Paul brought out in Maine:
Networking among the who's-who atmosphere of "The Maine Event" in Portland, where Republicans gathered after the caucus, were two high school students.
Carrie Paul, 18, and Haley Gallant, 17, both of Manchester, had never been involved in politics before, and had a stereotypical vision of the Republican Party as being a bunch of pro-war President Bush supporters.
Then a friend told them about Ron Paul. They became just two of the many Maine residents who had never been engaged in politics before finding Paul, and two of the many who spoke on the Texas congressman's behalf Saturday.
The two didn't stop at voting for Paul, they decided to engage themselves in the party. Gallant was elected chairwoman of the Manchester state delegates, and both volunteered for the Republican City Committee.
Gallant said seeing all the candidates at the Kennebec County caucus inspired her – now she'd like to run for office someday.
"I want my own bumper stickers," she said.
In other primary news, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is writing (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/349849_camfi04.html?source=mypi) that Ron Paul could win their state:
Paul, a Texas congressman, is running fourth of the four remaining GOP candidates, but he's poised for a dramatic showing -- even a victory -- in Saturday's caucuses, according to a Seattle P-I analysis of campaign finance documents.
Obama, locked in a tough, two-person race with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, has captured momentum in the Evergreen State, even with both of Washington's U.S. senators endorsing Clinton, the analysis shows.
Illinois Sen. Obama and Paul have built the largest networks of local supporters among the candidates.
Campaign finance filings reveal that Obama had 2,600 reported donors in Washington -- more than three times the number backing Clinton, according to Jan. 31 campaign filings detailing the last three months of 2007.
On the Republican side, Paul reported more than 1,000 donors, giving him the edge over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 700 and Arizona Sen. John McCain with 500, filings show. All donors of $200 or more must be disclosed in the filings.
The edge in donors is important because those are the same dedicated partisans likely to spend their Saturday at Washington's precinct caucuses.
And Businesswire reported (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080201005902&newsLang=en) that Ron Paul met with faculty and students last Thursday at the University of Washington:
Dr. Paul mingled with students inside Husky Union Building. Many of the students followed the Congressman outside, where he spoke to an estimated crowd of 700.
"These college students are concerned about issues like civil liberties, foreign policy, and affordable healthcare," said Ron Paul 2008 Washington state coordinator Maureen Moore. "That's why so many are responding to Ron Paul's message of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity."
Moving on to Alaska, Sean Cockerham, who has an odd name (and an even odder ability to actually write that is missing from most of these stories), talks (http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/303223.html) on Anchorage Daily News about Ron Paul's chances in Alaska:
John McCain and Mitt Romney may be the Republican front-runners nationally, but Alaska GOP voters have a history of not giving a damn how it's done Outside.
Pat Buchanan won the Alaska Republican straw poll in 1996, Pat Robertson took the party caucuses in 1988, and Steve Forbes came within five votes of beating George W. Bush in 2000.
It's that kind of unorthodox thinking Ron Paul is banking on for Tuesday...
...Alaska is a small state with a traditionally low caucus turnout. The winner will be whichever candidate has supporters motivated enough to show up. Paul backers are highly motivated.
Paul, who has previously run for the presidency as a Libertarian, has a pro-gun, strict constitutionalist message that his campaign thinks is perfect for the Last Frontier...
The Fairbanks Daily News also commented (http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/03/paul-prepares-alaska-primary/):
The 72-year-old doctor has a strong following in Fairbanks, with dozens of supporters regularly holding roadside rallies for Paul. There have been view polls of Alaska voters ahead of the Super Tuesday caucuses, but an unscientifc poll conducted by Anchorage TV station KTUU in early December found Paul to be the leading candidate in the state, leading his closest rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 29-22 percent.
Paul says Alaska, often viewed as a Republican state with strong libertarian tendencies, is one of the most important states in his campaign.
He praised Alaskans' support of the Constitution, especially Second Amendment rights, and expressed regret that he has not been able to personally campaign in the state.
"It's a shame that you can't get in and out of there very easily," he said.
A win here could bring Paul's campaign the recognition he says has eluded him even after second-place finishes in the Louisiana and Nevada caucuses. Paul said there has been "deliberate suppression" of his candidacy by the mainstream media, particularly Fox News, which excluded him from a January debate.
"The exclusion by them has been rather blatant," he said. He added, however, that local affiliates have been willing to give him airtime.
Lots of news out of SuperTuesday Denver. The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote (http://www.gazette.com/news/paul_32639___article.html/constitution_government.html) of a rally:
Hundreds of supporters greeted Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Friday as the Texas congressman spread his message of small government and strict adherence to the Constitution.
"He is the first candidate I've seen in a long time that sticks to the Constitution that much," said Colorado Springs resident Johnny Cline, who attended a rally at Giuseppe's Depot Restaurant downtown. "I don't see him as being part of the normal political machine."
Paul also visited Denver on Friday as he tried to rally support for Republican primary and caucus contests in 21 states on Tuesday. He's widely seen as a long shot for the White House. He hasn't won a single delegate, and his best showing was Jan. 19 in Nevada, where he got 14 percent of the Republican vote.
Still, Paul has attracted considerable support. Donors have given his campaign $28 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He's stayed in the race even while higher-profile candidates have dropped out.
About 350 supporters met Paul at the restaurant, waving signs and chanting slogans such as "Ron Paul revolution, give us back our Constitution." Others congratulated Paul on his 51st wedding anniversary with his wife, Carol.
The Denver Post wrote (http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_8141602?source=commented-news)about the big turnout for Paul at the Colorado Convention Center:
The alarm in the Colorado Convention Center employee's voice was verging on panic.
"That room is packed so tight it's not even funny," he shouted into a radio Friday night as the Segway he was riding hummed and swerved down a wide carpeted hallway.
The crowd for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was so large it surprised his own organizers. They were forced to hurriedly open partitions to double the size of the ballroom space minutes before Paul's scheduled appearance in the Four Seasons Ballroom. When that wasn't enough hundreds of people stood rimming the hall that sits 1,536.
"I'm just totally dumbfounded," Paul said as he began his speech before a raucous sign-waving crowd. "The enthusiasm seems to be growing. Freedom is popular."
And 9News writes (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=85630) that it may be too early to write off Ron Paul:
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Friday his three remaining GOP opponents are making a mistake trying to write him off while he continues to draw huge crowds and raise millions of dollars on the campaign trail.
Paul (R-Texas) was in Denver at the same time as Mitt Romney, who tried to frame the race as a two-candidate contest between himself and John McCain...
...Paul said he expects to do well in Colorado's caucus because his message appeals to people in the West who believe in less government and states' rights.
"I can sense this is a good state for the philosophy I talk about - a philosophy of freedom, limited government, state's rights, sound money. I think this is a great state for the message of the Constitution," he said.
Moving to another primary state - the winner-takes-all-delegates state of New York - and The New York Times, who report (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/a-quixotic-quest-to-be-a-ron-paul-delegate-from-queens/) on one potential delegate's road to his candidate:
Vijay Rajwani said that he first heard about Ron Paul when he attended a concert given by the folk singer and songwriter Derek Webb. In that concert, Mr. Webb made several references to the campaign of Mr. Paul, prompting Mr. Rajwani to do some research once he got home.
"I looked him up on the Internet and read about his views and his positions of a lot of issues," said Mr. Rajwani, a 27-year-old training manager for a chain of restaurants. "I looked up his voting record and what he stood for. And felt like I was reading about a candidate who was almost too good to be true."
Soon, Mr. Rajwani became an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Paul, a 10-term Republican congressman from Texas whose antiwar, libertarian message has caught on with a committed and generous — if relatively small — segment of the electorate. His agenda includes pulling out of Iraq, doing away with the federal income tax and eliminating bureaucracies like the federal Department of Education.
Mr. Rajwani, who lives in Woodside, Queens, is now running to be a Ron Paul delegate at the Republican National Convention. Mr. Rajwani's chances are slim; under the New York Republicans' winner-take-all rules, the statewide winner is virtually guaranteed to receive all 101 delegates, and Mr. Paul has so far been running far behind the party's two front-runners, Senator John McCain of Arizona and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
Mr. Rajwani is not discouraged. Like many supporters of Mr. Paul, Mr. Rajwani says his support will not waver because it is based on principle.
The Mineapolis Star-Tribune says (http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/15275431.html) Ron Paul is so popular, he had to move his rally for tonight:
Citing an "overwhelming response," Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has moved his caucus-eve rally at the University of Minnesota tonight to a larger venue.
Originally scheduled to be held at Coffman Union, the event has been moved to Northrop Auditorium...
...Alone among the Republican candidates, Paul's campaign has staffed a state field office for several weeks, and he ran large newspaper ads promoting his candidacy on Monday.
And in Tennessee, The Mountain Press writes (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19260627&BRD=1211&PAG=461&dept_id=169692&rfi=6)about one of Ron Paul's most faithful delegates:
Miller will be on Tuesday's GOP primary ballot running as a delegate pledged to Ron Paul. He finds the Texas congressman's message appealing.
Paul is certainly different from the other Republicans running for president. He is, to say the least, a guy who favors as little federal government intervention as possible. Abortion? Leave it up to the states. Gay marriage? Leave it up to the states. Legalizing marijuana? Leave it up to the states.
"I don't believe the vision of our founding fathers needs to change," Miller said. "Their message was strong. The Constitution is such a special document_ The American experience is a deep one. It quickly built us into a super nation. We have incredible potential. I hate seeing that destroyed."
Miller says he never had been politically active, though he's always been conservative. He didn't know much about Paul until, frustrated over leadership in Washington a year ago, he decided to investigate the likely candidates and find the one with whom he had the most in common.
"I believe in what Dr. Paul stands for," Miller said.
So, how does this shake out for Super Tuesday? Well, PRWeb reports (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/2/prweb673873.htm) not well:
Ron Paul is a phenom with a huge dedicated following, but according to the polls at USAElectionPolls.com, does not register in the double digits in any of the Super Tuesday states.
Ron Paul is currently polling the strongest in Tennessee with 9 percent since Fred Thompson dropped out of the race. After that is California and New Jersey, states he is polling about 7 percent, and Oklahoma with 6 percent.
There are a flurry of states that the Texas congressman polls about 4-5 percent and even polls as low as 1 percent in Utah and Connecticut.
This does not bode well for Ron Paul as he goes forward. The mainstream media has already branded him as an outsider with little or no chance of winning the nomination and despite the fact that he is able to out raise his GOP competitors, without much support at the polls, it is tough to see how Ron Paul can brand himself as more than just an asterisk.
Well, I guess we should just pack our shit and go home then, eh? No way! Now is the time to re-double our efforts. Get out there and canvas, be at the polling place. It's been proven that Dr Paul always does better where there are boots on the ground relaying his message of peace and prosperity.
Now, to give you a little perspective, Top-diamond libertarian creator writes (http://www.nolanchart.com/article2418.html) something over at The Nolan Chart that sums up the the race so far:
Only three out of the ten "front runners" originally arrayed against Ron Paul are left in the race for the Republican nomination. Those who have called Dr. Paul "unelectable" would have been far more accurate to apply that description to these "lost boys." They should think about these dearly departed so-called "front runners" or "top-tier candidates" and take note that this race is far from over. Which little Indian will be the next to drop out the race?
Will it be John McCain? If the GOP tries to foist McCain on Republicans, there will surely be an outright mutiny. As I have canvassed just my own local neighborhood, I have heard the same thing from voter after voter: it would have to be a very cold day somewhere below before they would ever pull the lever for the author of McCain-Feingold, Mr. Amnesty, long viewed as a liberal Democrat sympathizer. Compared to Ron Paul, McCain is about as liberal as they come. Additionally, McCain's campaign is not doing very well financially.
Will it be Mike Huckabee? More and more "values voters" are discovering that Huckabee's values don't quite live up to Dr. Paul's. His record on taxation and his ill-considered gubernatorial pardon of a felon who later raped and murdered, are just two of the issues that stick in voter's craws. Non-Christian voters are terrified that Huckabee would attempt to live up to his promise of trying to "amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards." It should also be clear to anyone who reads his platform that any presidential oath to support and defend the Constitution is null and void in advance, and like McCain his campaign finances are seriously hurting.
Will it be Mitt Romney? While he has deep pockets and continues to loan his own campaign lots of money, as the Beatles famously said, "Money can't buy you love." Even Rush Limbaugh has been lukewarm towards Romney as not being a true conservative, having as much as said that he might not support any likely eventual Republican nominee for that reason. While Ron Paul doesn't have Mitt's deep pockets, his loyal and growing cadre of supporters keep reaching deeply into their own pockets to provide the financial ammunition needed to stay the course.
And so, who will be eliminated next? It will be interesting to see how the race continues to unfold on Super Tuesday. One thing is certain, Dr. Ron Paul is not going away - he's in this for the long haul, he is a man of his word, and I for one expect to see him at the Republican national convention.
Let's go to endorsements. The first item is out of The American Conservative, who wrote (http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_02_11/feature.html) an endorsement of Ron Paul for the issue coming out next Monday:
He is the one candidate who sees how the realities of world power have shifted since the 1990s, the one who recognizes that the time of unilateral American hegemony is over—and can't be maintained even if it was in our interest to do so. He alone understands that the ever expanding federal government is a far greater threat to American liberty than some tinpot dictator in the Caucasus. By speaking about the benefits of smaller government and limited executive power, he has introduced a generation of young Americans to a more traditional and true style of conservatism—to the movement and the country's benefit.
Ron Paul is a libertarian, and his stances are very much derived from that minor party tradition. To many, his ruminations about sound money seem academic—if oddly prescient. He was sounding the alarm about dollar devaluation long before the current panic and broke with libertarian orthodoxy to oppose injurious free-trade deals like NAFTA and CAFTA. Conservatives also find common cause with his 30-year pro-life voting record and commitment to ending birthright citizenship.
Paul came by his congressional nickname—"Dr. No"—honestly. Anyone combing through his lengthy record will find many lone stands and idealistic statements that ignore the maxim that politics is the art of the possible. We are under no illusion that he has much chance of winning the GOP nomination this election cycle.
Nevertheless we urge a vote for him. This campaign sends a signal to both parties that a significant number of Americans value their country's great Constitution, that many conservatives reject wiretaps, waterboarding, and senseless wars. There is far more realism in Paul's analysis than can be found in those Republicans who believe that Washington's policy of borrowing billions from China to pay for the occupation of a growing number of countries is desirable, much less sustainable.
Ron Paul has been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise desultory Republican campaign. Long may he run.
So, Maine Today wrote (http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/columns/4719869.html)about the Arlo Guthrie endorsement:
In the end, maybe he smoked too much weed.
What else could account for folkie Arlo Guthrie endorsing Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul?
Yes, that Arlo Guthrie, son of folk singer Woody Guthrie. The Arlo Guthrie whose bona fides as a leftie troubador began in the 1960s with his satirical anti-war song, "Alice's Restaurant," and who later sang a nasty song about presidential candidate, Ross Perot ("The Ross Perot Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions," lyrics by Calvin Trillin).
Well, that Arlo Guthrie, the anti-establishment, anarchic, harmonica-playing wild man of Stockbridge, who never remotely could have been considered a member of the Grand Old Party, announced last week that Republican Ron Paul was his man.
"Dr. Paul is the only candidate I know of who would have signed the Constitution of the United States had he been there," said Guthrie.
Pardon us if we're having a severe case of cognitive dissonance. This is weird, people, just weird.
Nothing against candidate Paul, it's the unpredictability of it all. It's as if Charlton Heston had endorsed Hillary Clinton, or Jane Fonda had gone on the stump for John McCain. Or notorious segregationist George Wallace signed on to the Obama campaign.
I can't decide whether or not that makes me mad. Guthrie endorsing a Republican certainly is an oddity, but is it as odd as a racist endorsing Obama? Without that last line, I'd be completely fine, but that one there kinda gets under my skin.
Continued...
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Ron Paul Roundup (02-04-08)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=354718897&Mytoken=A3E6331A-03C1-4F9B-B1A22466A4FC2DE714963106)
Hello Freedomphiles! Well, the money bomb was on Friday in honor of the anniversary of Doctor and Carol Paul. Not a bad amount was raised, especially considering the pledges were to be $51. We ended up raising over a million dollars that day. Carol Paul would like to thank you:
Dear friend,
Wow. What an anniversary present you gave us with all your wonderful donations! Ron and I can't thank you enough. Someone asked me where we would have our special dinner, and I said with box lunches on the airplane. When I saw the person's face fall, I said that I couldn't imagine a more wonderful event--with Ron, and fighting for our country's freedom. What could be better? Then more than 2,000 people came to help us celebrate on February 1st in Denver, and they stood up and cheered every sentence out of his mouth. You know, sometimes I have wondered if there was enough love of liberty left in America. I wonder no longer. We can do it!
With all my thanks,
Carol
Thank you, Carol, for keeping Dr Paul on his toes! The New York Times is reporting (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/us/politics/02donate.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin) that the GOP candidates (which they define as Romney and McCain) are in a fundraising tie. Then, as a side note, they mention that Ron Paul has more than both of them combined:
On the Republican side, the candidate who has recorded the greatest amount of money with the least success in the primaries is Representative Ron Paul of Texas. Mr. Paul has $7.8 million in cash, more than Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney combined.
Mr. Paul also took in $20 million in the third quarter of 2007, again more than Mr. McCain and Mr. Romney combined. For all of 2007, Mr. Paul raised $28 million and spent $20 million, increasing his spending to $17 million in the last three months of 2007.
This year, Mr. Paul's supporters have donated $4.7 million in a fund-raising drive set up to honor his 51st wedding anniversary.
And Businesswire is reporting (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080203005049&newsLang=en) that Ron Paul spanked everyone again in donations from the military:
A search of the FEC database by employer reveals that Dr. Paul has received 1160 donations from military donors, nearly triple that of John McCain, and more than McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee combined.
Dr. Paul's total military donations of $249 thousand are almost as much as the $260 thousand of combined donations received by the other five remaining candidates.
Congressman Paul is no stranger to military support. Former president Ronald Reagan once said, "Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country!"
According to the FEC reports, these are the total number and amount of military donations for each of the presidential candidates*:
Ron Paul: 1160 $249k
John McCain: 438 $83k
Mike Huckabee: 126 $37k
Mitt Romney: 126 $24k
Barack Obama: 443 $76k
Hillary Clinton: 154 $41k
Good stuff. I wonder what that translates out to in military absentee balloting, and have those all been counted in all the primary states that have already voted? Could equal a late surge for Dr Paul.
News Long Island is writing (http://www.newsli.com/2008/02/03/ron-paul-message-muffled-despite-record-breaking-fundraising-strong-support-from-military-and-americans/) about Ron Paul's huge fundraising success and the crickets you can hear from the MSM:
Most seem to believe that Paul's interests are out of step with corporate media and establishment interests, many of which either own or support the majority of radio, television and newspapers. These traditional news sources are often referred to as "MSM" or main stream media and they shape and transform public opinion quite easily. But the age of the Internet seems to change the playing field significantly and most Paul supporters contribute precisely this to his campaign's longevity and success.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ron Paul was the biggest GOP fundraiser last quarter raising nearly 20 million dollars, $6 million of which was raised in one day breaking the record for the most money raised by a national candidate in a single day. "That is a significant amount of money from a man who gets the least time on TV debates." wrote the Times. The Ron Paul campaign website currently shows contributions are up to over 5.1 million dollars so far for the first quarter of this year.
So one might ask where all this money is coming from? What's this Presidential candidate have that the others don't have? Besides his consistent voting record, his interest in abolishing the IRS, income tax, and the CIA, and a recent 51 year marriage anniversary, apparently he's also got significant military support. The Paul campaign often boasts that the campaign's money comes mostly in the form of small donations from average Americans, many of which are active military officers. This is quite the contrary to most of Paul's opponents who have significant support from corporate lobbyists.
MSNBC is reporting (http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/03/634195.aspx) that Romney won the Maine caucus:
Romney won Maine's nonbinding presidential preference poll, 53%-22% over McCain. Ron Paul finished third with 19%; Huckabee was fourth with 5%. The voting took place at caucuses Friday and Saturday; the results were announced last night by the Maine Republican Party.
The nonbinding poll will be used as an indicator at the May 3rd state convention to select the state's 21, also unbound, delegates to the national convention.
Typically, at the state convention, all 21 delegates will vote for the winner. This is a "gentleman's agreement," though, and they can go split between two or more candidates. So, Dr Paul could end up pulling four delegates from Maine - possibly more if Huckabee has a late surge and Romney or McCain drop out.
Left-libertarian Digital Bob comments (http://www.nolanchart.com/article2423.html) over at The Nolan Chart:
Maine could have been the state that put the Ron Paul campaign onto the evening news in advance of Super Tuesday. Or not. Looking at the last debate on CNN last week, the focus was clearly on the McCain-Romney squabble over who said what years ago. Huckabee, the media's candidate du jour several weeks ago, has evaporated in the press since his performance in New Hampshire. Ron Paul got very little national press with his second place finishes recently in Nevada and Louisiana. I saw plenty on TV about Rudy Giuliani's multi-million dollar lone delegate. The only way to reverse this trend would seem to finish with the most votes in some states.
With over $5 million raised in January, and nearly $20 million raised last quarter, Ron Paul has the financial capacity to keep going indefinitely. My recent trolling of the blogs indicates that he has some strong support in Colorado, Alabama, North Dakota, and maybe Illinois. I'm not sure if he'll win any of those states, but he will pick up delegates along the way, including a few in California. Unfortunately, it will be hard for him to win some of the bigger states that are winner-take-all, like New York with its 87 of 101 delegates given on Tuesday. Even so, his cash position will allow him to continue to campaign beyond Super Tuesday--as long as his supporters have an available balance on their Visa and MasterCard.
PolitickerME wrote (http://www.politickerme.com/paul-brings-new-faces-maine-caucuses-757) about some of the new faces that Paul brought out in Maine:
Networking among the who's-who atmosphere of "The Maine Event" in Portland, where Republicans gathered after the caucus, were two high school students.
Carrie Paul, 18, and Haley Gallant, 17, both of Manchester, had never been involved in politics before, and had a stereotypical vision of the Republican Party as being a bunch of pro-war President Bush supporters.
Then a friend told them about Ron Paul. They became just two of the many Maine residents who had never been engaged in politics before finding Paul, and two of the many who spoke on the Texas congressman's behalf Saturday.
The two didn't stop at voting for Paul, they decided to engage themselves in the party. Gallant was elected chairwoman of the Manchester state delegates, and both volunteered for the Republican City Committee.
Gallant said seeing all the candidates at the Kennebec County caucus inspired her – now she'd like to run for office someday.
"I want my own bumper stickers," she said.
In other primary news, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is writing (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/349849_camfi04.html?source=mypi) that Ron Paul could win their state:
Paul, a Texas congressman, is running fourth of the four remaining GOP candidates, but he's poised for a dramatic showing -- even a victory -- in Saturday's caucuses, according to a Seattle P-I analysis of campaign finance documents.
Obama, locked in a tough, two-person race with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, has captured momentum in the Evergreen State, even with both of Washington's U.S. senators endorsing Clinton, the analysis shows.
Illinois Sen. Obama and Paul have built the largest networks of local supporters among the candidates.
Campaign finance filings reveal that Obama had 2,600 reported donors in Washington -- more than three times the number backing Clinton, according to Jan. 31 campaign filings detailing the last three months of 2007.
On the Republican side, Paul reported more than 1,000 donors, giving him the edge over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 700 and Arizona Sen. John McCain with 500, filings show. All donors of $200 or more must be disclosed in the filings.
The edge in donors is important because those are the same dedicated partisans likely to spend their Saturday at Washington's precinct caucuses.
And Businesswire reported (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080201005902&newsLang=en) that Ron Paul met with faculty and students last Thursday at the University of Washington:
Dr. Paul mingled with students inside Husky Union Building. Many of the students followed the Congressman outside, where he spoke to an estimated crowd of 700.
"These college students are concerned about issues like civil liberties, foreign policy, and affordable healthcare," said Ron Paul 2008 Washington state coordinator Maureen Moore. "That's why so many are responding to Ron Paul's message of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity."
Moving on to Alaska, Sean Cockerham, who has an odd name (and an even odder ability to actually write that is missing from most of these stories), talks (http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/303223.html) on Anchorage Daily News about Ron Paul's chances in Alaska:
John McCain and Mitt Romney may be the Republican front-runners nationally, but Alaska GOP voters have a history of not giving a damn how it's done Outside.
Pat Buchanan won the Alaska Republican straw poll in 1996, Pat Robertson took the party caucuses in 1988, and Steve Forbes came within five votes of beating George W. Bush in 2000.
It's that kind of unorthodox thinking Ron Paul is banking on for Tuesday...
...Alaska is a small state with a traditionally low caucus turnout. The winner will be whichever candidate has supporters motivated enough to show up. Paul backers are highly motivated.
Paul, who has previously run for the presidency as a Libertarian, has a pro-gun, strict constitutionalist message that his campaign thinks is perfect for the Last Frontier...
The Fairbanks Daily News also commented (http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/03/paul-prepares-alaska-primary/):
The 72-year-old doctor has a strong following in Fairbanks, with dozens of supporters regularly holding roadside rallies for Paul. There have been view polls of Alaska voters ahead of the Super Tuesday caucuses, but an unscientifc poll conducted by Anchorage TV station KTUU in early December found Paul to be the leading candidate in the state, leading his closest rival, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, 29-22 percent.
Paul says Alaska, often viewed as a Republican state with strong libertarian tendencies, is one of the most important states in his campaign.
He praised Alaskans' support of the Constitution, especially Second Amendment rights, and expressed regret that he has not been able to personally campaign in the state.
"It's a shame that you can't get in and out of there very easily," he said.
A win here could bring Paul's campaign the recognition he says has eluded him even after second-place finishes in the Louisiana and Nevada caucuses. Paul said there has been "deliberate suppression" of his candidacy by the mainstream media, particularly Fox News, which excluded him from a January debate.
"The exclusion by them has been rather blatant," he said. He added, however, that local affiliates have been willing to give him airtime.
Lots of news out of SuperTuesday Denver. The Colorado Springs Gazette wrote (http://www.gazette.com/news/paul_32639___article.html/constitution_government.html) of a rally:
Hundreds of supporters greeted Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Friday as the Texas congressman spread his message of small government and strict adherence to the Constitution.
"He is the first candidate I've seen in a long time that sticks to the Constitution that much," said Colorado Springs resident Johnny Cline, who attended a rally at Giuseppe's Depot Restaurant downtown. "I don't see him as being part of the normal political machine."
Paul also visited Denver on Friday as he tried to rally support for Republican primary and caucus contests in 21 states on Tuesday. He's widely seen as a long shot for the White House. He hasn't won a single delegate, and his best showing was Jan. 19 in Nevada, where he got 14 percent of the Republican vote.
Still, Paul has attracted considerable support. Donors have given his campaign $28 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He's stayed in the race even while higher-profile candidates have dropped out.
About 350 supporters met Paul at the restaurant, waving signs and chanting slogans such as "Ron Paul revolution, give us back our Constitution." Others congratulated Paul on his 51st wedding anniversary with his wife, Carol.
The Denver Post wrote (http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_8141602?source=commented-news)about the big turnout for Paul at the Colorado Convention Center:
The alarm in the Colorado Convention Center employee's voice was verging on panic.
"That room is packed so tight it's not even funny," he shouted into a radio Friday night as the Segway he was riding hummed and swerved down a wide carpeted hallway.
The crowd for Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul was so large it surprised his own organizers. They were forced to hurriedly open partitions to double the size of the ballroom space minutes before Paul's scheduled appearance in the Four Seasons Ballroom. When that wasn't enough hundreds of people stood rimming the hall that sits 1,536.
"I'm just totally dumbfounded," Paul said as he began his speech before a raucous sign-waving crowd. "The enthusiasm seems to be growing. Freedom is popular."
And 9News writes (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=85630) that it may be too early to write off Ron Paul:
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Friday his three remaining GOP opponents are making a mistake trying to write him off while he continues to draw huge crowds and raise millions of dollars on the campaign trail.
Paul (R-Texas) was in Denver at the same time as Mitt Romney, who tried to frame the race as a two-candidate contest between himself and John McCain...
...Paul said he expects to do well in Colorado's caucus because his message appeals to people in the West who believe in less government and states' rights.
"I can sense this is a good state for the philosophy I talk about - a philosophy of freedom, limited government, state's rights, sound money. I think this is a great state for the message of the Constitution," he said.
Moving to another primary state - the winner-takes-all-delegates state of New York - and The New York Times, who report (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/a-quixotic-quest-to-be-a-ron-paul-delegate-from-queens/) on one potential delegate's road to his candidate:
Vijay Rajwani said that he first heard about Ron Paul when he attended a concert given by the folk singer and songwriter Derek Webb. In that concert, Mr. Webb made several references to the campaign of Mr. Paul, prompting Mr. Rajwani to do some research once he got home.
"I looked him up on the Internet and read about his views and his positions of a lot of issues," said Mr. Rajwani, a 27-year-old training manager for a chain of restaurants. "I looked up his voting record and what he stood for. And felt like I was reading about a candidate who was almost too good to be true."
Soon, Mr. Rajwani became an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Paul, a 10-term Republican congressman from Texas whose antiwar, libertarian message has caught on with a committed and generous — if relatively small — segment of the electorate. His agenda includes pulling out of Iraq, doing away with the federal income tax and eliminating bureaucracies like the federal Department of Education.
Mr. Rajwani, who lives in Woodside, Queens, is now running to be a Ron Paul delegate at the Republican National Convention. Mr. Rajwani's chances are slim; under the New York Republicans' winner-take-all rules, the statewide winner is virtually guaranteed to receive all 101 delegates, and Mr. Paul has so far been running far behind the party's two front-runners, Senator John McCain of Arizona and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
Mr. Rajwani is not discouraged. Like many supporters of Mr. Paul, Mr. Rajwani says his support will not waver because it is based on principle.
The Mineapolis Star-Tribune says (http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/15275431.html) Ron Paul is so popular, he had to move his rally for tonight:
Citing an "overwhelming response," Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has moved his caucus-eve rally at the University of Minnesota tonight to a larger venue.
Originally scheduled to be held at Coffman Union, the event has been moved to Northrop Auditorium...
...Alone among the Republican candidates, Paul's campaign has staffed a state field office for several weeks, and he ran large newspaper ads promoting his candidacy on Monday.
And in Tennessee, The Mountain Press writes (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19260627&BRD=1211&PAG=461&dept_id=169692&rfi=6)about one of Ron Paul's most faithful delegates:
Miller will be on Tuesday's GOP primary ballot running as a delegate pledged to Ron Paul. He finds the Texas congressman's message appealing.
Paul is certainly different from the other Republicans running for president. He is, to say the least, a guy who favors as little federal government intervention as possible. Abortion? Leave it up to the states. Gay marriage? Leave it up to the states. Legalizing marijuana? Leave it up to the states.
"I don't believe the vision of our founding fathers needs to change," Miller said. "Their message was strong. The Constitution is such a special document_ The American experience is a deep one. It quickly built us into a super nation. We have incredible potential. I hate seeing that destroyed."
Miller says he never had been politically active, though he's always been conservative. He didn't know much about Paul until, frustrated over leadership in Washington a year ago, he decided to investigate the likely candidates and find the one with whom he had the most in common.
"I believe in what Dr. Paul stands for," Miller said.
So, how does this shake out for Super Tuesday? Well, PRWeb reports (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/2/prweb673873.htm) not well:
Ron Paul is a phenom with a huge dedicated following, but according to the polls at USAElectionPolls.com, does not register in the double digits in any of the Super Tuesday states.
Ron Paul is currently polling the strongest in Tennessee with 9 percent since Fred Thompson dropped out of the race. After that is California and New Jersey, states he is polling about 7 percent, and Oklahoma with 6 percent.
There are a flurry of states that the Texas congressman polls about 4-5 percent and even polls as low as 1 percent in Utah and Connecticut.
This does not bode well for Ron Paul as he goes forward. The mainstream media has already branded him as an outsider with little or no chance of winning the nomination and despite the fact that he is able to out raise his GOP competitors, without much support at the polls, it is tough to see how Ron Paul can brand himself as more than just an asterisk.
Well, I guess we should just pack our shit and go home then, eh? No way! Now is the time to re-double our efforts. Get out there and canvas, be at the polling place. It's been proven that Dr Paul always does better where there are boots on the ground relaying his message of peace and prosperity.
Now, to give you a little perspective, Top-diamond libertarian creator writes (http://www.nolanchart.com/article2418.html) something over at The Nolan Chart that sums up the the race so far:
Only three out of the ten "front runners" originally arrayed against Ron Paul are left in the race for the Republican nomination. Those who have called Dr. Paul "unelectable" would have been far more accurate to apply that description to these "lost boys." They should think about these dearly departed so-called "front runners" or "top-tier candidates" and take note that this race is far from over. Which little Indian will be the next to drop out the race?
Will it be John McCain? If the GOP tries to foist McCain on Republicans, there will surely be an outright mutiny. As I have canvassed just my own local neighborhood, I have heard the same thing from voter after voter: it would have to be a very cold day somewhere below before they would ever pull the lever for the author of McCain-Feingold, Mr. Amnesty, long viewed as a liberal Democrat sympathizer. Compared to Ron Paul, McCain is about as liberal as they come. Additionally, McCain's campaign is not doing very well financially.
Will it be Mike Huckabee? More and more "values voters" are discovering that Huckabee's values don't quite live up to Dr. Paul's. His record on taxation and his ill-considered gubernatorial pardon of a felon who later raped and murdered, are just two of the issues that stick in voter's craws. Non-Christian voters are terrified that Huckabee would attempt to live up to his promise of trying to "amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards." It should also be clear to anyone who reads his platform that any presidential oath to support and defend the Constitution is null and void in advance, and like McCain his campaign finances are seriously hurting.
Will it be Mitt Romney? While he has deep pockets and continues to loan his own campaign lots of money, as the Beatles famously said, "Money can't buy you love." Even Rush Limbaugh has been lukewarm towards Romney as not being a true conservative, having as much as said that he might not support any likely eventual Republican nominee for that reason. While Ron Paul doesn't have Mitt's deep pockets, his loyal and growing cadre of supporters keep reaching deeply into their own pockets to provide the financial ammunition needed to stay the course.
And so, who will be eliminated next? It will be interesting to see how the race continues to unfold on Super Tuesday. One thing is certain, Dr. Ron Paul is not going away - he's in this for the long haul, he is a man of his word, and I for one expect to see him at the Republican national convention.
Let's go to endorsements. The first item is out of The American Conservative, who wrote (http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_02_11/feature.html) an endorsement of Ron Paul for the issue coming out next Monday:
He is the one candidate who sees how the realities of world power have shifted since the 1990s, the one who recognizes that the time of unilateral American hegemony is over—and can't be maintained even if it was in our interest to do so. He alone understands that the ever expanding federal government is a far greater threat to American liberty than some tinpot dictator in the Caucasus. By speaking about the benefits of smaller government and limited executive power, he has introduced a generation of young Americans to a more traditional and true style of conservatism—to the movement and the country's benefit.
Ron Paul is a libertarian, and his stances are very much derived from that minor party tradition. To many, his ruminations about sound money seem academic—if oddly prescient. He was sounding the alarm about dollar devaluation long before the current panic and broke with libertarian orthodoxy to oppose injurious free-trade deals like NAFTA and CAFTA. Conservatives also find common cause with his 30-year pro-life voting record and commitment to ending birthright citizenship.
Paul came by his congressional nickname—"Dr. No"—honestly. Anyone combing through his lengthy record will find many lone stands and idealistic statements that ignore the maxim that politics is the art of the possible. We are under no illusion that he has much chance of winning the GOP nomination this election cycle.
Nevertheless we urge a vote for him. This campaign sends a signal to both parties that a significant number of Americans value their country's great Constitution, that many conservatives reject wiretaps, waterboarding, and senseless wars. There is far more realism in Paul's analysis than can be found in those Republicans who believe that Washington's policy of borrowing billions from China to pay for the occupation of a growing number of countries is desirable, much less sustainable.
Ron Paul has been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise desultory Republican campaign. Long may he run.
So, Maine Today wrote (http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/view/columns/4719869.html)about the Arlo Guthrie endorsement:
In the end, maybe he smoked too much weed.
What else could account for folkie Arlo Guthrie endorsing Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul?
Yes, that Arlo Guthrie, son of folk singer Woody Guthrie. The Arlo Guthrie whose bona fides as a leftie troubador began in the 1960s with his satirical anti-war song, "Alice's Restaurant," and who later sang a nasty song about presidential candidate, Ross Perot ("The Ross Perot Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions," lyrics by Calvin Trillin).
Well, that Arlo Guthrie, the anti-establishment, anarchic, harmonica-playing wild man of Stockbridge, who never remotely could have been considered a member of the Grand Old Party, announced last week that Republican Ron Paul was his man.
"Dr. Paul is the only candidate I know of who would have signed the Constitution of the United States had he been there," said Guthrie.
Pardon us if we're having a severe case of cognitive dissonance. This is weird, people, just weird.
Nothing against candidate Paul, it's the unpredictability of it all. It's as if Charlton Heston had endorsed Hillary Clinton, or Jane Fonda had gone on the stump for John McCain. Or notorious segregationist George Wallace signed on to the Obama campaign.
I can't decide whether or not that makes me mad. Guthrie endorsing a Republican certainly is an oddity, but is it as odd as a racist endorsing Obama? Without that last line, I'd be completely fine, but that one there kinda gets under my skin.
Continued...
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