Did we let HQ down?

[goRPaul]

They asked us for $5 million to run ads, we raised less than $2 million. They asked for 25,000 precinct captains, we came up with 17,000. In contrast, when they asked for $12 million, we handed them nearly $20 million in three months.

I think we slowed in our support for Ron because the results weren't there. Fifth in Iowa and New Hampshire was very unimpressive, it may have gotten to us.

Still, the media isn't giving us a whisper, they know how enthusiastic we are and they do not want us to grow in numbers. That's why they gave Ron eight minutes in the final debate, compared to 20+ for McCain and Romney.

Ron will be in this race all the way to the National Convention. I really hope the republicans come around and realize he's the only conservative. If they don't, then he had better make an independent run. We can win this thing independently; we don't need the Republican Party.

[yongrel]

Yes, we let the campaign down. Too many people thought this would be easy, and dropped off the radar when it wasn't.

[ItsTime]

yes we did. So lets not fail the big picture! Getting Ron Paul Republicans into Congress!!!

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=112873

[Paulitical Correctness]

I'm torn as well.

8 million more than they asked? I wouldn't call that a letdown.

I think it goes both ways - they let us down, then we let them down.

[plb]

I blame the media...No other candidate has this much grassroots support.

[faisal]

If only the campaign had spent all of the campaign money in NH like McCain did... or maybe Iowa... idk

[tomveil]

Nope. We did what we could.

There's a lot of blame to go around, but very little of it has to do with Ron Paul or the grassroots.

Even if we canvassed every single house in America, what's that against constant media coverage?

[HippyChimp]

Yes, we let the campaign down. Too many people thought this would be easy, and dropped off the radar when it wasn't.bullshit, the game was rigged from the start.

[yongrel]

bullshit, the game was rigged from the start.

That's no excuse.

[hellsingfan]

I blame media. TOTALLY!!!! When I mean "totally" I mean it in the most wholesome sense as possible. People think you can spread the word, but without the media YOU CAN'T WIN ELECTIONS!!! Especially in this DUMB AGE OF AMERICANS, you can tell when McCains getting more anti-war votes!

[Runnerguy]

Yes some turned there back on Ron, but if they turn back around they'll see Ron standing there with a smile ready to accept them back with open arms.

[Cinderella]

i think we worked damn hard....we put in a very good effort so to say that theyd be dissapointed in us is insulting....thats like sayin all our work was in vain and it wasnt good enough....this movement has gone way further than they ever imagined!!!

i pat everyone on the back and thank u all for the help in getting the message out

[yongrel]

i think we worked damn hard....we put in a very good effort so to say that theyd be dissapointed in us is insulting....thats like sayin all our work was in vain and it wasnt good enough....this movement has gone way further than they ever imagined!!!

i pat everyone on the back and thank u all for the help in getting the message out

You speak like this is over. Fuck no. This is just the beginning.

[ForrestLayne]

The grassroots and HQ are not to blame- It's the sheeple of the USA that are to blame--

My feeling is that if this country goes to hell in a handbasket - the sheeple got what they deserve.

Stupid people deserve stupid results.

[Xyrus2]

I think there's enough blame to go around, but HQ has the lion's share. They had the money. They had the support. But where is the visibility?

It's more than just a media blackout. I've seen ads for McCain, Romney, even Huckabee. But 0 for Ron Paul. Not even a flyer or a newspaper ad.

~X~

[westmich4paul]

I think there's enough blame to go around, but HQ has the lion's share. They had the money. They had the support. But where is the visibility?

It's more than just a media blackout. I've seen ads for McCain, Romney, even Huckabee. But 0 for Ron Paul. Not even a flyer or a newspaper ad.

~X~

Agreed I have heard a few radio ads but nothing else. I will say it again We had a great shot at winning Michigan but no Ron, No t.v. ads, No direct H.Q. SUPPORT, spelled disaster. Grassroots wise we worked our tails off, doing everything from parades, to gun shows, to canvassing. lit handouts sign waving but in the end it was h.q. that never showed. At the time we heard well he is saving all his money for super Tuesday but before super tuesday it showed he spent 17 million and I am still trying to figure out where. They could have taken all the money they paid national H.Q. people here in Michigan and put it into t.v. ads because they did nothing to help. They even spent money on a party for after the primary? wtf was this? I can aprty anytime i didn't ned donation money going for this. The 6% he got in Michigan was purely from his grassroots supporters and nothing else.

[Vet_from_cali]

BLAME the sheeples, not Us or HQ!!!!!!

[ForrestLayne]

It's more than just a media blackout. I've seen ads for McCain, Romney, even Huckabee. But 0 for Ron Paul. Not even a flyer or a newspaper ad.

~X~

I am not offended by your comments because they are directed at HQ ---

BUT there are newspaper ads out there

For what it's worth .... I ran 1 - 1/2 page and 2 - 1/4 page ads in our newspaper myself. The paper was only 9 pages on the day of the 1/2 so hopefully 12,000 people noticed. The other 2 are picked for days with the smallest paper so it doesn't get buried. 2-8 & 2-11. HQ cannot hit all the small local newspapers. I know that and accept that.. I felt it was my responsibility here and it's what I could do in my little corner of the world. I am in VA - a winner take all state on Feb 12.

[theantirobot]

The destination is the Presidency. Nothing else matters. As long as there is a path, we will take it, and we will win it.

[Cinderella]

You speak like this is over. Fuck no. This is just the beginning.

how did u get that from my message??? i was saying that we did a great job raising awareness.....in no way do i think this is over, are u kidding me?!?! ive been yelling at people all night on this forum for saying that and for giving up.....so no im not talking like this is over because i know it isnt!!!!!

[blakjak]

They asked us for $5 million to run ads, we raised less than $2 million.

Actually they asked us for $23 million for Super Tuesday. We didn't even come close on this.

[HippyChimp]

That's no excuse.not excusing, just explaining. Do you think twice as many canvassers would have helped Paul to win? 25k precinct captains instead of 18k? How about websites, maybe we didn't have enough people devoting their time to maintaining pro-Paul websites?

No. As far as I can tell, the media made the difference.

[Eponym_mi]

No. The campaign would've received buttloads of money if they had used what they had wisely and done better in the early primaries. RP was saying he was getting so much money he didn't know what to do with it? Well, he should've won some primaries....thats what he should've done with it.

[Misesian]

Blaming the media is the easy thing to do of course. I blame myself for not canvassing my precinct early enough. I only covered 90% of a precinct with 1800 registered republicans, and only about half of those were knocks while the others were lit drops, and zero followups with phone calls.

I'm pretty sure I could've WON my precinct if I had given up 2 months of ANY free-time prior to our primary.

I know that I'M to blame. If I only knew what I did now, it would be much different. I just wish that the late primary states would learn from some of us and utilize the precint leader tool that campaign gives us and really WORK 100% for a victory.

[Heather in WI]

No, I don't think we let HQ. I did more for this campaign than I've ever done for any candidate -- donated; canvassed, lit. drop, mailings, local newspaper advertisement, asst. orgainze meetup group .... I honestly don't understand how people can't fall in love with this man once they hear the message.

[gecko42]

Sure, the fundraising was lackluster, but a lot of the problem is the rigged machines and other election fraud. I voted for Badnarik along with my husband in 2004, but there was only 1 Badnarik vote from our precinct. :mad:

[billv]

20 million raised would not have propelled Ron into first place anywhere, IMO. The Republican Party is too full of evil bastards that want to kill, maim, and torture people. Ron will most likely never appeal to them because they are too stupid to be intellectually honest and introspective of their own beliefs.

[westmich4paul]

No. The campaign would've received buttloads of money if they had used what they had wisely and done better in the early primaries. RP was saying he was getting so much money he didn't know what to do with it? Well, he should've won some primaries....thats what he should've done with it.

I really wouldn't even have cared if he won any primaries, but the simple fact that he said he had so much money he didn't know how to spend it then seeing nothing spent in Michigan while others doing far worse than us were spending away in Michigan i sincerely think really hurt fundraising here in Michigan at least.

[utrunner07]

The destination is the Presidency. Nothing else matters. As long as there is a path, we will take it, and we will win it.

lol, get real...

[JMO]

The only people who let the campaign down are the people who liked Ron Paul issues the best, but felt he was not electable and voted for the lesser of many evils. Those people in my opinion should be ashamed of themselves and is part of the problem and not part of the solution.

[HippyChimp]

The only people who let the campaign down are the people who liked Ron Paul issues the best, but felt he was not electable and voted for the lesser of many evils. Those people in my opinion should be ashamed of themselves and is part of the problem and not part of the solution.hear hear

[Eponym_mi]

I really wouldn't even have cared if he won any primaries, but the simple fact that he said he had so much money he didn't know how to spend it then seeing nothing spent in Michigan while others doing far worse than us were spending away in Michigan i sincerely think really hurt fundraising here in Michigan at least.

Yeah, I said won, but even 2nd in IA, NH, and MI would've generated a lot of publicity AND money. He didn't even compete in MI. I don't know this failure falls in RP's lap or his staff, but in the end HE is the candidate and responsible for the conduct of his campaign. :mad:

[Sey.Naci]

Some people have let the campaign down - leaving their voter registration too late, not finding out where they should vote until the very last minute, not remaining for the delegate selection at caucuses, not standing up to be a delegate or poll watcher, not taking the trouble to learn about the process, not signing up with the campaign as a volunteer, not joining a local meetup group, ... It goes on and on.

In other words, there have been too many among the grassroots who've been all hot air and no substance when it came down to actually doing some work.

The campaign needed a larger volunteer army than the better funded campaigns, because - contrary to the perception of certain people here, who are new to the political process - $20 to $30 million for an entire year's worth of campaigning is bargain basement loose change. I'm frankly amazed at what HQ has been able to accomplish with so little.

I'm also convinced that RP isn't done yet either.

Recall his email of a week or so ago? Something about looking beyond Super Tuesday? He was clearly trying then to prepare supporters to be disappointed with today's results.

[RPForPeace]

I believe a part of the reason is that we let down by ourselves. We only heard that people hate wars but we forget to hear the rest.

"Yeah I hate wars.. but I love OIL!"

[Austin]

Yes. I can understand not being able to raise the money, but falling 8,000 short of the goal for precinct leaders?

Being in a state whose primary isn't until May, I don't feel as bad, but I still think I could have done more.

[Giuliani was there on 911]

Are you kidding me ? It's the campaign HQ who have let US down

[nobody's_hero]

I'm still voting for Ron Paul. Even if he drops out, and even if I have to write-in his name on the ballot in November. I refuse to have 'blood on my hands' (voting for any of the evils, lesser or whatever) when the elites on the democratic and republican sides ruin this country. :mad:

[notagain]

what the hell happened in Minnesota? They had a rally of 4,000 people at one of the universities and currently 4th place! I'm dissapointed, to say the least. We did what we could...

[notagain]

I just have a sinking feeling on how the next four years are gonna go::(

[Bradley in DC]

The grassroots did not let HQ down.

HQ let down the grassroots. No question. Self-imposed media blackout, etc.

Happily, they now have adult supervision with Messrs. Tate and Elam, but we can't expect them to turn everything around overnight.

[Feelgood]

That's no excuse.

Really? How bout if I rig a game of Russian Roullette with you. You have to go first, I give you a fully loaded gun, you pull the trigger, I win. When you have this much riggin against you, and they hand you that fully loaded gun, guess what, they win.

Go ahead, spin it any way you like, that helps you sleep better at night.

[ForrestLayne]

I think a lot of RP support has come from waking up apathy in people that used to not vote. You have to register so far in advance of these things, I wonder how many didn't meet those deadlines---so states had deadlines of last summer...some have party switching deadlines.....A lot of newer, interested people don't understand their states' rules on regular voting vs a cacaus...closed vote vs open vote, etc....

The real problem is with the American people in general. Look at the answers Greta got from polling the question - Why did you vote for.....?
These are some real answers...

a) He's best looking
b) He's black
c) She's a woman
d) first name on the list
e) name sounded good
f) all my friends said to
g) they are going to win anyway
h) I don't know

who you gonna blame?

[Drknows]

Tell that to Rudy who raised a shit load and walked away with one delegate. Money was not an issue.

THE MEDIA SCREWED US!!

[Drknows]

Oh yeah tell that to Mccain who spent jack shit.

[AmyPA]

Too many supporters lost faith in HQ. As far as advertising goes, they let us down.

With far less money, Huck out-advertised us in multiple states. There's no excuse for that.

The MSM didn't help matters, but I think HQ could have done a lot more than they have up to this point.