dkim68
02-12-2008, 09:33 AM
Maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I felt this reporter took a negative slant on Ron Paul. Please read it and tell me what you think.
Paul's dark horse takes a run through the Sauk Valley
BY MALINDA OSBORNE
SVS REPORTER
To most passing drivers, their shouts were nothing more than clouds of warm air that quickly evaporated in the chilly afternoon. Still, there they stood, six to eight at a time on busy street corners in Sterling and Dixon, waving signs and championing their favorite Republican presidential candidate.
No, it wasn't Sen. John McCain. Not Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee.
Who's left, you ask? Ron Paul, of course.
He may not be in the forefront of most American's minds, but Paul has managed to mobilize a grassroots movement hundreds of thousands strong. He's the most successful Republican fundraiser in the last three months of 2007, raising most of his money from Internet donations.
So, as supporters like to shout at their rallies, who is Ron Paul?
He's a 10-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas, and a 72-year-old medical doctor who ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian. He is fiercely opposed to the war in Iraq, wants to get rid of the Federal Reserve and otherwise drastically downsize federal government and thinks American foreign policy caused 9/11. And he's running as a Republican this year.
Supporters like David Kim, of Sterling, who organized Saturday's event, say they're drawn to Paul's honesty and unconventional ideas.
And, like Kim, many have learned about Paul via the Internet. After Googling Paul and seeing how he performed in debates on YouTube, Kim was hooked.
"At that point, I had only heard of the candidates the mainstream media decided to focus on," Kim said. "He didn't sound like a typical politician. Nothing sounded rehearsed, he spoke passionately and he seems like an honest person."
Kim's support translated quickly into participation in one of Paul's many groups that have formed on meetup.com (http://meetup.com/), which unifies supporters and coordinates events such as Saturday's sign-waving.
Meet Up members come from all sorts of ideological backgrounds: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and more.
Sue Heckman, of Rock Falls, primarily voted Democratic until she learned about Paul through her son, Michael, last year. She likes his stance on economic issues, and agrees the current tax system needs to be changed.
"Traditional opinions are all the same. They all say the same thing," Heckman said. "We need honesty in the White House, whether we agree with it or not."
Admittedly, Paul hasn't gotten much love from the national media. Like most dark horses, he hardly ever gets mentioned in Republican political news and always gets the least time on TV debates, if he's allowed to participate at all.
"We're out here because they won't even put him on television," said Rita Janosek, who came from Aurora to wave signs in Dixon.
The lack of coverage hasn't seemed to put a damper on Paul's fundraising efforts - fervent followers donated nearly $20 million to the "Ron Paul Revolution" in the last three months of 2007. Compare that with ex-candidate Rudy Giuliani, for example, who raised only $14.4 million from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, or McCain, who raked in only about $10 million.
What will happen in this bid for his party's presidential nomination seems apparent - he's running fourth out of the four, and his largest vote total in any primary so far was 14 percent in Nevada. With only has six delegates to his name, things aren't looking hopeful - but don't tell his supporters that.
"I do think he could really turn the county around," Heckman said.
http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/local/291389516362879.prt
Paul's dark horse takes a run through the Sauk Valley
BY MALINDA OSBORNE
SVS REPORTER
To most passing drivers, their shouts were nothing more than clouds of warm air that quickly evaporated in the chilly afternoon. Still, there they stood, six to eight at a time on busy street corners in Sterling and Dixon, waving signs and championing their favorite Republican presidential candidate.
No, it wasn't Sen. John McCain. Not Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee.
Who's left, you ask? Ron Paul, of course.
He may not be in the forefront of most American's minds, but Paul has managed to mobilize a grassroots movement hundreds of thousands strong. He's the most successful Republican fundraiser in the last three months of 2007, raising most of his money from Internet donations.
So, as supporters like to shout at their rallies, who is Ron Paul?
He's a 10-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas, and a 72-year-old medical doctor who ran for president in 1988 as a Libertarian. He is fiercely opposed to the war in Iraq, wants to get rid of the Federal Reserve and otherwise drastically downsize federal government and thinks American foreign policy caused 9/11. And he's running as a Republican this year.
Supporters like David Kim, of Sterling, who organized Saturday's event, say they're drawn to Paul's honesty and unconventional ideas.
And, like Kim, many have learned about Paul via the Internet. After Googling Paul and seeing how he performed in debates on YouTube, Kim was hooked.
"At that point, I had only heard of the candidates the mainstream media decided to focus on," Kim said. "He didn't sound like a typical politician. Nothing sounded rehearsed, he spoke passionately and he seems like an honest person."
Kim's support translated quickly into participation in one of Paul's many groups that have formed on meetup.com (http://meetup.com/), which unifies supporters and coordinates events such as Saturday's sign-waving.
Meet Up members come from all sorts of ideological backgrounds: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and more.
Sue Heckman, of Rock Falls, primarily voted Democratic until she learned about Paul through her son, Michael, last year. She likes his stance on economic issues, and agrees the current tax system needs to be changed.
"Traditional opinions are all the same. They all say the same thing," Heckman said. "We need honesty in the White House, whether we agree with it or not."
Admittedly, Paul hasn't gotten much love from the national media. Like most dark horses, he hardly ever gets mentioned in Republican political news and always gets the least time on TV debates, if he's allowed to participate at all.
"We're out here because they won't even put him on television," said Rita Janosek, who came from Aurora to wave signs in Dixon.
The lack of coverage hasn't seemed to put a damper on Paul's fundraising efforts - fervent followers donated nearly $20 million to the "Ron Paul Revolution" in the last three months of 2007. Compare that with ex-candidate Rudy Giuliani, for example, who raised only $14.4 million from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, or McCain, who raked in only about $10 million.
What will happen in this bid for his party's presidential nomination seems apparent - he's running fourth out of the four, and his largest vote total in any primary so far was 14 percent in Nevada. With only has six delegates to his name, things aren't looking hopeful - but don't tell his supporters that.
"I do think he could really turn the county around," Heckman said.
http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/local/291389516362879.prt