The draft Ron Paul thing

[BillyDkid]

Okay, there seems to be a genuine sub-movement to draft Ron for third party run as evidenced by YouTube anyway. This is all getting fairly confusing at this point. While I would certainly like to see Ron run as a third party guy if there is no chance of getting the GOP nod, I don't really care which direction we go. I just wish we could all pull in the SAME direction. If I understand correctly, there are a fair number of people joining this draft thing, but I also understand that Ron has decided absolutely against a third party run.

[acptulsa]

Why pull the same direction? Isn't it all the same direction--pulling Paul toward the White House?

Lord, how I love saying the same thing in three different threads. Well, maybe if I say it enough different ways, everyone will get it.

Look--we spend this summer getting Ron Paul on the ballot in every state, then in September Ron Paul looks at the party bosses in the brokered convention and says, "If you don't nominate me my supporters will split your vote and there's not a damned thing I can do to stop them. If you nominate me then all those votes for me will go to the G.O.P. candidate. I didn't tell them to do this. I don't seem to need to campaign at this point to get votes. No matter how I am elected, if elected I will serve."

Talk about a strong bargaining position! So, that begs the question: Is getting our man on the ballot of each state with or without the G.O.P. doing the third party thing, or is it a strategy to win the G.O.P. nomination?

[Sarge]

I agree it is confusing.

With all the people working to become delegates, it is working against yourself to then run 3rd party. What have we then gained at the GOP convention? Nothing?

It would be a total change of course, instead of trying to change the GOP from within.

What about all the people working to become delegates in the remaining states? Do they give up?

I would buy it, if Dr. Paul said he would run third party, even though a 3rd party doesn't stand as much of a chance. I think he doesn't give a third party run much of a chance either.

With Huck going for a brokered convention, I think we might have more of a chance if we can keep on racking up delegates.

Just my thoughts.

[idiom]

These are not in anyway mutually exclusive except froma time consumption point of view.

In fact the extra ballot access stuff relies on getting a whole bunch of delegates to the GOP convention.

[acptulsa]

Working delegates from within and threatening to draft Dr. Paul into a third party run to threaten the G.O.P. from without is simply an attack on more than one front--a pincers attack if you will--designed to put additional pressure on the brokers of the convention and to avoid limiting our options. I say both have their place.

I am going to my county convention tomorrow as an alternate, and this summer I will be working to meet the requirements of my state (toughest in the nation) to get Dr. Paul on the ballot in the event he's not the Republican nominee. In other words, I am working on the up the middle battle front and I'm working on the around to the flank battle front. Why not?

You've seen the blackout. We must fight both harder and smarter--and on every possible front--to pull this off in defense of our nation. Attacks on two fronts may not seem like they are pulling in the same direction. After all, one heads straight toward the enemy and the other circles around. Nonetheless, they both attack the same enemy, and they both work toward the same goal.

[BillyDkid]

Why pull the same direction? Isn't it all the same direction--pulling Paul toward the White House?

Lord, how I love saying the same thing in three different threads. Well, maybe if I say it enough different ways, everyone will get it.

Look--we spend this summer getting Ron Paul on the ballot in every state, then in September Ron Paul looks at the party bosses in the brokered convention and says, "If you don't nominate me my supporters will split your vote and there's not a damned thing I can do to stop them. If you nominate me then all those votes for me will go to the G.O.P. candidate. I didn't tell them to do this. I don't seem to need to campaign at this point to get votes. No matter how I am elected, if elected I will serve."

Talk about a strong bargaining position! So, that begs the question: Is getting our man on the ballot of each state with or without the G.O.P. doing the third party thing, or is it a strategy to win the G.O.P. nomination?You honestly don't see any danger of supporters working at cross purposes with each other? Dissipating our energies working against each other without meaning to? Hurting our chances by working towards different goals? I'm not saying that is the case, but when I see these various efforts - some apparently counter to each other I think these are natural questions and concerns to have. I'm not saying I'm right because I don't know, but to blithely dismiss concerns other may have - in just the way people went after people who expressed concern over the way the campaign was run and the seeming lack of focus and direction of the campaign, all of which turned out to be very true - I'm just not understanding the thinking.

I was attacked as a pessimist and bringing people down very early on when I said the media was going to screw us and our opponents would stop at nothing including infiltration and stuff and that it was important to be conscious of these things and to understand the kind of war we are fighting - all of which turned out to be very true. I do hope you are right that somehow we are building a power base and we are making real progress, but I also think it is a mistake and has been one all along to take the Pollyanna viewpoint if our intention is really to win.

[acptulsa]

Don't give yourself gray hairs over it. I think both movements have their place, but I'm not the Oracle at Delphi. I think a movement to get him on state ballots could give him a stronger position from which to negotiate with the G.O.P. power base at the convention provided he doesn't ask us to do it. It is a tricky argument and a nuanced position.

I think there's been less effort at cross purposes than you seem to do. I think we wouldn't have gotten this far without the tremendous effort on multiple fronts. It may not seem like much in the way of progress, but having been calling for an end to the erosion of our Constitutional rights since the 'eighties, I can assure you that we have more traction than ever.

We are in the enviable position right now of having people stopping to think how good Ron Paul really is. The old truism 'you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone' is certainly true. The only thing is, this psychological phenomenon is at work because the media has people convinced he's gone, but so long as we can keep McCain out of the nomination he's not really gone.

Do what you think is right and don't give up. If you see someone you're just sure is damaging the movement, call them on it. Otherwise, don't worry yourself sick over the other fights on other fronts. The Lord moves in mysterious ways...

IMAO

[acptulsa]

There's certainly one thing to be said for a movement this disorganized. The enemy doesn't know what to expect next! That's a good thing.

[Kotin]

Why pull the same direction? Isn't it all the same direction--pulling Paul toward the White House?

Lord, how I love saying the same thing in three different threads. Well, maybe if I say it enough different ways, everyone will get it.

Look--we spend this summer getting Ron Paul on the ballot in every state, then in September Ron Paul looks at the party bosses in the brokered convention and says, "If you don't nominate me my supporters will split your vote and there's not a damned thing I can do to stop them. If you nominate me then all those votes for me will go to the G.O.P. candidate. I didn't tell them to do this. I don't seem to need to campaign at this point to get votes. No matter how I am elected, if elected I will serve."

Talk about a strong bargaining position! So, that begs the question: Is getting our man on the ballot of each state with or without the G.O.P. doing the third party thing, or is it a strategy to win the G.O.P. nomination?

+1776

[alaric]

Okay, there seems to be a genuine sub-movement to draft Ron for third party run as evidenced by YouTube anyway. This is all getting fairly confusing at this point. While I would certainly like to see Ron run as a third party guy if there is no chance of getting the GOP nod, I don't really care which direction we go. I just wish we could all pull in the SAME direction. If I understand correctly, there are a fair number of people joining this draft thing, but I also understand that Ron has decided absolutely against a third party run.

no 3rd party needed: WRITE IN RON PAUL!