How should I interpret the message Ron sent us today?

[Starks]

As I understand it, there is little need for an uber-massive national campaign for Ron, Huckabee, or McCain now that Super Tuesday is passed.

Will the funds saved from slimming down the campaign correlate to a more pervasive and robust advertising campaign in the remaining key states?

[Hook]

It means we need to step up and replace HQ with the grassroots efforts.

[jblosser]

It means that the TX primary is coming up and he needs to make sure this crap doesn't stand:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a208/originalcurrywork/pedenback.jpg

The TX grassroots will take care of the Presidential campaign here while Ron makes sure CD14 is secure. If you want to help, donate or come volunteer.

[pacelli]

He's in it for the long haul, and he needs to win his congressional seat at this point. The texas election is in March. His opponent (Peden) is launching vehement attack ads against him in Texas right now.

Remember, McCarthy told us to continue to donate and continue to sign up as precinct leaders. Dr. Paul knows what he is doing. And right now I believe he is testing our resolve.

[literatim]

The rest of the primaries and caucuses are stretched over the next 5 months or so.

[austin4paul]

Interpret it this way.

1) He's sending a message to his constituents that he cares about them. That's a good thing because he does.

2) Huckabee is out next. He has no money left. So now McCain's supporters will think they've got it all wrapped up and they don't have to inconvenience themselves by voting n the primary. But Ron Paul hasn't suspended his campaign. He won't, provided that we finance his congressional race. (Did you donate there yet?)

Meanwhile, do you really think he expects that WE won't show up at the polls? BWAAA HAAA HAAA HAA!

Let the others think he's sending a message that he's giving up.

Do you really think that WE plan to give up?

I didn't think so.

[parocks]

As I understand it, there is little need for an uber-massive national campaign for Ron, Huckabee, or McCain now that Super Tuesday is passed.

Will the funds saved from slimming down the campaign correlate to a more pervasive and robust advertising campaign in the remaining key states?


If I were to guess, there would be very little official campaigning in terms of advertising at all.

If theres a debate, hopefully he'll have the $ to get to it.

He's basically saying "although we lost, feel free to continue fighting the good fight"

"Stop McCain" is not the strategy at this point. A brokered convention is all but impossible, and a brokered convention was required.

There are other goals beyond winning the Presidency in 2008.

One way to put it is "Take Over the Republican Party"

It will be difficult to motivate those Ron Paul supporters who were working to win the Presidency in 2008.

It might be helpful if the official RP campaign, or someone here on the grassroots could come up with possible positive outcomes for continuing to work for RP.

If the message was "Take Over the Republican Party" it would be nice to hear what becoming a delegate could do.

Put differently, why should we continue to bust our ass for RP when we know it's impossible for him to win?

There are probably very good answers to that question and I'd like to see them spelled out.

[jblosser]

It might be helpful if the official RP campaign, or someone here on the grassroots could come up with possible positive outcomes for continuing to work for RP.

I'm sorry but did our troops stop dying in foreign countries and I missed it? Did the economy suddenly recover? Did the federal government say "our bad" and return individual sovereignty and liberty to the people? No? Then why the heck would we quit?

[jkm1864]

I feel the iron shackles of slavery again....

[Starks]

Why not attack McCain? What's there to lose?

[billjarrett]

Why not attack McCain? What's there to lose?

I think it's our best option.

[Starks]

I'm not encouraging attack ads from the campaign, but a PAC should be created with deflating McCain as its objective.

[nightlight]

It means we need to step up and replace HQ with the grassroots efforts.

Exactly. There is already a thread on this (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=116653) with suggestions on how to get started.

[billjarrett]

I've said in many threads that http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/ could use our help.

Don't even know if what they are saying is 100% true or not. I don't care. I think it will work.

I'd like to see us help them make their website presentable, and get their message on the evening news. Nightly.

I'm not sure how we can really go about this, but I think we have enough people to do it if we get involved. MSM tends to ignore us. I wonder if e-mail bombing our representatives and demand an investigation into this would have an effect. E-mail/myspace bomb the idea and flood their inboxes. Dunno, but I think they are our best shot. I don't think the ex-wife stories would stick too well, and the "not conservative" doesn't seem to be mattering.

Edit: By the way, I don't believe we need to be attacking him to make less people vote for him. I think we need to hit hard, and make it nightly news so he has to end his candidacy out of embarrassment and for the "benefit of the party". If this story is what people were talking about around the dinner table, I think the GOP would have to "persuade" him to step down.

[nightlight]

Interperet it as we're fucked unless Ron Paul decides to run for President.

Read more carefully what he said. Here is my reading I posted in an earlier thread:
------------
We knew we could not go on the same way and expect something different to happen. This shakeup was necessary and it shows us a clear silver lining (as luck would have it, Dr. Paul's letter accomplishes precisely the steps #1 and #2 from my post-Super-Tuesday post here (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=1213163#post1213163), where I was outlining what has to happen next). Here are the key points forming this 'silver lining':

1. Dr. Paul is not quitting and he pledges to fight on.

2. He is asking for continued support from us.

3. He and many of us were astonished how his message caught on.

4. That may not be the last pleasant surprise the
Higher Power has in store for us. (Don't they
always come in triplets? Nomination+White House?)

5. McCain is well ahead, but he is extremely fragile front-runner:

a) he has volatile temperament,
b) treacherous voting record,
c) history of political corruption (e.g. Keating 5)
d) many skeletons in his closet (Songbird, 1st wife...),
e) two bouts of malignant melanoma,
f) possible acceleration of his senility,
g) great animus toward him from republican right
h) resemblance to Bob Dole 96,
i) Manchurian whiff about him

6. Romney has not dropped out, but merely quit spending
his money on the campaign. He is on the ballots and
will continue to split the vote, making it harder for McCain
to reach the tipping point. Ron knows this very well, of
course, his ambiguous wording notwithstanding.

7. Major economic collapse can hit the fan any time
turning Ron Paul into a living prophet. We already know
that, but the rest of the country may learn it soon.

8. Victories in upcoming weeks can act as a seed for
a large scale 'phase transition' to our side.

9. The shedding of the lame, treacherous campaign
staff may jolt the grasroots into organizing an
umbrella organization which can be the new,
young, healthy, truly loyal, energetic, creative and
effective bottom-up campaign headquarters. That
transformation in fact fits his philosophy much better
than the top down bureaucratic campaign staff, which
as we saw doesn't work.

10. The shedding of the campaign staff and this letter will
be taken by our enemies, who have already all but
written us off, as the white flag, causing them to drop
their guard even further and make mistakes they will
soon regret. There is nothing better for us than
an overconfident enemy propping a front-runner
with the feet of clay. (Recall also the famous faint
retreat by Normans in the battle of Hastings.)

[parocks]

I'm sorry but did our troops stop dying in foreign countries and I missed it? Did the economy suddenly recover? Did the federal government say "our bad" and return individual sovereignty and liberty to the people? No? Then why the heck would we quit?


Some people would quit because the chance of winning is "nearly zero"
Soon, most likely, the chance of winning will be zero. That would be when (lets say if) McCain gets 1191.

You're suggesting that people continue to canvass. That's cool, I'm not recommending that people quit.

A month ago, you could go door to door telling people why they should vote for Ron Paul because he would make the best President.

Now, or soon, you'd have to explain that although Ron Paul won't be the next President, you should vote for him anyway?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should all probably have to rethink everything going forward. I'm not saying put in less effort.

[JonathanR]

You should interpret it as exactly what he said: This is a fight to change the values of the Republican Party. Thus he stays in the party.

I've been in the LP for 10 years trying to influence the GOP with little-to-no success. The time is right to infiltrate them.

[gracebkr]

I'm not encouraging attack ads from the campaign, but a PAC should be created with deflating McCain as its objective.

I am. We need to attack our enemy. John McCain is not just a bad republican, he is evil. We need to tell the truth, and if that is attacking, then so be it. We can't help he is just that bad.

[parocks]

I'm not encouraging attack ads from the campaign, but a PAC should be created with deflating McCain as its objective.

The problem is that Romney left the race.

The Stop McCain strategy was a long shot, but the best shot we had up until Romney left.

The Stop McCain strategy was quite decent for something that seemed to be generated quickly. It had situational voting for Huck in Huck's states, Mitt in Mitt's states, various attacks on McCain. It also had a large component of delegate related stuff.

With Romney out, the Stop McCain strategy basically won't work.

The Stop McCain strategy was a good one, for about a day. I'd like to see something replace it.

Something like "Although Ron Paul is not going to win the Republican Nomination or the Presidency in 2008, we all should continue working hard because ..."

I think that can be done, and I'd like to see what people can come up with.

[billjarrett]

I am. We need to attack our enemy. John McCain is not just a bad republican, he is evil. We need to tell the truth, and if that is attacking, then so be it. We can't help he is just that bad.


I've said in many threads that http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/ could use our help.

Don't even know if what they are saying is 100% true or not. I don't care. I think it will work.

I'd like to see us help them make their website presentable, and get their message on the evening news. Nightly.

I'm not sure how we can really go about this, but I think we have enough people to do it if we get involved. MSM tends to ignore us. I wonder if e-mail bombing our representatives and demand an investigation into this would have an effect. E-mail/myspace bomb the idea and flood their inboxes. Dunno, but I think they are our best shot. I don't think the ex-wife stories would stick too well, and the "not conservative" doesn't seem to be mattering.

Edit: By the way, I don't believe we need to be attacking him to make less people vote for him. I think we need to hit hard, and make it nightly news so he has to end his candidacy out of embarrassment and for the "benefit of the party". If this story is what people were talking about around the dinner table, I think the GOP would have to "persuade" him to step down.

Then lets attack. Lets see if these guys will let us use them as our PAC. Unless anyone has a better idea. The "He's not a conservative" doesn't seem to stick, and it was all over the MSM. I think true or not, these guys are the best thing we've got. We need to make this BIG though, not a 30 second blip on the news. Thats why I mentioned trying to force our representatives to do something - but I don't know (actually "doubt" is the right word because I've lost faith in the system) if we can push them that way.

[parocks]

Why not attack McCain? What's there to lose?


Well, I mean, you're right, what's there to lose?

Nothing to gain, either.

I'm not sure that covering McCain with mud if it's not going to help us is the right way to go.

[BigRedBrent]

Interpret it this way:

We need Educational Ads !!!
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=114669

[gracebkr]

Then lets attack. Lets see if these guys will let us use them as our PAC. Unless anyone has a better idea. The "He's not a conservative" doesn't seem to stick, and it was all over the MSM. I think true or not, these guys are the best thing we've got. We need to make this BIG though, not a 30 second blip on the news. Thats why I mentioned trying to force our representatives to do something - but I don't know (actually "doubt" is the right word because I've lost faith in the system) if we can push them that way.

Start making signs and bumper stickers to go with Ron Paul stuff, Veterans against John McCain. We need to be voicing that along with our Ron Paul signs. We can't just show Ron Paul is a God send in terms of conservatism, but that McCain is hated by his own. Also we do have Reagan endorsement and troops! Shit, we need to make a flyer that says all of this stuff.

[billjarrett]

Start making signs and bumper stickers to go with Ron Paul stuff, Veterans against John McCain. We need to be voicing that along with our Ron Paul signs. We can't just show Ron Paul is a God send in terms of conservatism, but that McCain is hated by his own. Also we do have Reagan endorsement and troops! Shit, we need to make a flyer that says all of this stuff.

Sorry to say it, but our bumper stickers and signs haven't proven to be all that effective. That's why I brought up the thing about contacting our representatives and having him investigated. We would have to know the wording for exactly on what grounds though.

We could also use the hatred of our MSM enemies to our advantage. I'm sure Rush, Hannity, etc would love to hear from people who are ANGRY about John McCains POW record, have contacted their representative, and are telling the rest of the world to do the same.

Dunno.. I've got a cold and can't sleep, so my thinking is getting fuzzy. I just know our current playing nice tactics haven't been working (signs, bumper stickers, diggs, etc). They worked to a point, but I think now we have to really get dirty. I don't think a blip on the news is good enough, we need to make this what America is talking about. We need to make sure they keep talking about it. We need to make the GOP powers that be ask McCain to go away.

[parocks]

Well, if the strategy is to try to do pointless attacks, I suggest you attack Hillary.

The Republican Party is not going to persuade McCain from stepping down.

Either he has the delegates or he doesn't.

And don't worry, the media will be attacking McCain soon enough, probably right after he gets his 1191.

If attacking McCain would keep him from getting 1191, I'd say go for it, but it won't.




I've said in many threads that http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/ could use our help.

Don't even know if what they are saying is 100% true or not. I don't care. I think it will work.

I'd like to see us help them make their website presentable, and get their message on the evening news. Nightly.

I'm not sure how we can really go about this, but I think we have enough people to do it if we get involved. MSM tends to ignore us. I wonder if e-mail bombing our representatives and demand an investigation into this would have an effect. E-mail/myspace bomb the idea and flood their inboxes. Dunno, but I think they are our best shot. I don't think the ex-wife stories would stick too well, and the "not conservative" doesn't seem to be mattering.

Edit: By the way, I don't believe we need to be attacking him to make less people vote for him. I think we need to hit hard, and make it nightly news so he has to end his candidacy out of embarrassment and for the "benefit of the party". If this story is what people were talking about around the dinner table, I think the GOP would have to "persuade" him to step down.

[billjarrett]

Well, if the strategy is to try to do pointless attacks, I suggest you attack Hillary.

The Republican Party is not going to persuade McCain from stepping down.

Either he has the delegates or he doesn't.

And don't worry, the media will be attacking McCain soon enough, probably right after he gets his 1191.

If attacking McCain would keep him from getting 1191, I'd say go for it, but it won't.

1. We don't know unless we try it.
2. Got a better idea? To win?

[noztnac]

We need to encourage him to run third party. Start writing letters and spreading the word now.

[nightlight]

No, YOU read more carefully to what he said. Here's a quote:

"Let me tell you my thoughts. With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero.
" - Ron Paul

His very next sentence, theough, precludes the pessimistic interpretation:

1. "With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get. "

2. "In the presidential race and the congressional race, I need your support, as always. "

In other words, the fight for the White House is on. Only the means and methods have changed, as they had to. As explained in the longer post above, many things can happen. The official front-runner has feet of clay. Economy is on the verge of collapse. Conservatives are ready for all out rebellion against the neocon usurpers.... and so on. See also the thread by "Bradley in DC" (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=116653) that explains more explicitly where Dr. Paul is nudging the movement. This is going to get very interesting.

[parocks]

1. We don't know unless we try it.
2. Got a better idea? To win?


Attacking McCain was part of the Stop McCain strategy.

Another part of the Stop McCain strategy was supporting Romney and Huck.
Romney is gone.

Part of the Stop McCain strategy was not really trying too hard to get votes for Ron Paul.

With Romney out, there has to be a compelling alternative to McCain and Huck, and that has to be Ron Paul.

We can wack McCain on the head, cover him with mud, expend our resources doing that. That will bring down McCain's numbers. But it won't bring our numbers up.

When Romney was in, bringing McCain down would've been enough to allow Romney to win in Romney states. Stop McCain would've worked in that state.

However, if we don't bring Paul up, and substantially, all we would really be doing is depressing turnout.

I think that you should read "nearly zero" in Ron's email, and "fight on" with goals longer term in mind, or goals different than victory in 2008.

[Paul Revered]

I will be voting for Paul this Tuesday in MD. I'm 45. I have voted in every election since I was 18. I found out about Ron Paul about a month ago. I have learned more about politics in this past month; than I have in the balance of my lifetime. Paul is a dream come true. I will continue his work; no matter what the outcome. I love this group. I have learned so much from you. Please help me to continue to grow with you. I am counting on all of you, to keep this message alive.

[Osceola]

PAROCKS is right in his analysis.

As for me, I am extremely grateful to Ron Paul for curing my apathy and for sparking a renewed hope for return our eventual return to Constitutional government. I look forward to the day of liberty, prosperity and peace.

That said, I have to admit that I have been very disappointed in the official national campaign almost from the start. They simply did not deliver a campaign strategy or effort that was worthy of the man, his message, or frankly his incredible grassroots support. My biggest disappointment was when Ron Paul held no campaign rally anywhere on the night of Super Tuesday. All other candidates did - they were all visible - and yet Ron Paul was invisible. All other candidates (not their campaigns - the candidates themselves) made and released statements of appreciation for the efforts of their supporters - and gave encouragement to them for the future. Silence from Ron Paul.

He could have been in a western state where he got 25% of the vote and had a huge rally affirming his message -- but no.

When national told me that he would make a statement at the end of the week, I knew it was essentially over.

parocks is right - as a practical matter, it will be very very difficult if not impossible to persuade a neighbor to vote for Ron Paul - and increasingly so as McCain secures more wins and delegates.

I personally predict that Ron Paul will officially end his presidential bid in the next week or so - in doing so he will be able to use presidential campaign funds in his local congressional campaign. That is probably the right political move - and I personally would be fine with that decision.

If he is going to keep the presidential race going - then I would recommend using whatever money is available for national media purchases - do all that is possible to get his basic message to as many people as possible.

All in all - I am very proud to be associated with the Ron Paul campaign and his refreshing message of liberty, prosperity and peace! I will continue to campaign locally for Ron Paul - and especially the message of our revolution!

God Bless you all - and God bless Ron Paul

precinct leader - carmel, indiana
www.rtr08.blogspot.com