Illinois straw poll results

[im_a_pepper]

1. Mitt Romney – 40.35%
2. Fred Thompson – 19.96%
3. Ron Paul – 18.87%
4. Rudy Giuliani – 11.61%
5. John McCain – 4.12%
6. Mike Huckabee – 3.04%
7. Sam Brownback – 1.08%
8. Duncan Hunter - .65%
9. Tom Tancrado - .33%

http://weareillinois.org/Connect/Detail/tabid/73/news_item_id/345/Default.aspx

[Dustancostine]

I'll take it.

[JAHOGS]

Second place is great.

[Spirit of '76]

Fred Thompson pisses me off to no end.

[Billy Baro7]

Damn we were so close to 2nd! I will take third though! 18.87% is a pretty good number. I wish they would of posted the number of votes! Guessing that will come out soon!!

Thanks
Billy

[Ron Paul Fan]

Yes, a 3rd place and 18% is very good news. Anyone have any news about how many total votes there were and how many votes were for Ron Paul? I wonder if this will get any play in the media.

[im_a_pepper]

I agree, 2nd place is just fine for now.

On the other hand, what a contrast for Huckabee though

[Trassin]

Wow, I certainly didn't expect Mitt Romney to do that well.

[Jon S]

haha its funny romney spent any time at all on a poll thats probably not gonna get much attention to begin with. who rents busses for these things honestly?

[Zydeco]

They tried to spin "0%" in "scientific" polls.

They tried to spin 9% in Iowa.

Now they're going to try to spin 18%.

And in November of 2008:

"Ron Paul's 62%-35% victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton in yesterday's presidential election was considered 'underwhelming' by Time Magazine columnist Joe Klein.

"He'll be a one-termer," Klein stated. "I guarantee it."

[robatsu]

This is excellent, considering a couple of months ago, RP was just a couple of internet spammers in their pajamas.

[Billy Baro7]

http://search.abclocal.go.com/search/search?station=wls&search=siteSearch&q=illinois+straw+poll

Well it is sort of upsetting when you see that Mitt is a sponsor on abc7! UGHH

Wish I would have seen RP up there!!!

[TruePatriot44]

Any digg article on this to promote?

[Billy Baro7]

Compare this to Iowa and Huckabee really fell off!

Mitt Romney – 40.35%
Fred Thompson – 19.96%
Ron Paul – 18.87%
Rudy Giuliani – 11.61%
John McCain – 4.12%
Mike Huckabee – 3.04%
Sam Brownback – 1.08%
Duncan Hunter - .65%
Tom Tancrado - .33%


Official results from Iowa straw poll
MITT ROMNEY 4,516 VOTES 31.6%

MIKE HUCKABEE 2,587 VOTES 18.1%

SAM BROWNBACK 2,192 VOTES 15.3%

TOM TANCREDO 1,961 VOTES 13.7%

RON PAUL 1,305 VOTES 9.1%

TOMMY THOMPSON 1,039 VOTES 7.3%

FRED THOMPSON 203 VOTES 1.4%

RUDY GIULIANI 183 VOTES 1.3%

DUNCAN HUNTER 174 VOTES 1.2%

JOHN MCCAIN 101 VOTES .7%

JOHN COX 41 VOTES .3%

14,302 TOTAL BALLOTS CAST

[JAHOGS]

How about Tancredo and Brownback. Those guys fell off.

[Bob Cochran]

Fred Thompson pisses me off to no end.
Great forum though.:D

_______

Mitt Romney will be well advised to ask, beg, cajole, sweet-talk Ron Paul into being his VP running mate.

I dislike Romney, but I do believe a Romney-Paul ticket can beat an Obama Hussein Osama bin Laden or Hillary Dennis Rodman Clinton run.

[Original_Intent]

This is excellent, considering a couple of months ago, RP was just a couple of internet spammers in their pajamas.

Wrong, I was one of them, and I don't wear pajamas. Can't speak for the other guy.

[MsDoodahs]

Wrong, I was one of them, and I don't wear pajamas. Can't speak for the other guy.

:eek:

[robatsu]

Huckabee and Brownback are some localized phenomenon, I believe. I can't see where these guys have any broad national support or natural constituency.

[BuddyRey]

Grrr!!! FRED THOMPSON IS NOT A DECLARED CANDIDATE!!! Do we have to scream this at the top of our lungs for the neocon pundits?

They're only pulling him out when they need a buffer to knock RP out of the stratosphere. A crucial quality for a world leader is the ability to be decisive, which we already know does not describe "waffler" Thompson!

[DjLoTi]

Thompson has a clear agenda. I don't know if you guys heard the Rick Williams show today, but he shed some light on some interesting information regarding Fred Thompson.

[Bob Cochran]

Ron Paul – 18.87%

Fine showing in Illinois. Now if we could get the MSM to stop spouting this disinformation that Dr. Paul registers only 1% in "national polls".

Obviously real people are coming out to vote for Ron Paul in these straw polls, not just a couple of computer geeks who are flooding YouTube and Digg and the rest of the Internet with "Ron Paul spam".

[MsDoodahs]

Waffles Thompson sounds better than what I've been calling him. :o

[robatsu]

Site said voters had to wait in line in the rain. That had to have helped RP.

[MsDoodahs]

Thompson has a clear agenda. I don't know if you guys heard the Rick Williams show today, but he shed some light on some interesting information regarding Fred Thompson.

Share.

[james1844]

Guys,

I have to give grudging respect to Romney. For what its worth, he's doing everything right. Campaigning hard, getting his supporters to the straw polls, coming off polished in debates. We criticize him a lot, but Romney is running a solid, disciplined campaign. You know what, its paying off for him...he did take first in this Illinois straw poll, and even though he was weak in Iowa, he still won.

We might consider taking a couple of pages from his playbook.

Best,

James

[remaxjon]

Guys,

I have to give grudging respect to Romney. For what its worth, he's doing everything right. Campaigning hard, getting his supporters to the straw polls, coming off polished in debates. We criticize him a lot, but Romney is running a solid, disciplined campaign. You know what, its paying off for him...he did take first in this Illinois straw poll, and even though he was weak in Iowa, he still won.

We might consider taking a couple of pages from his playbook.

Best,

James

unlimited funds helps

[paulitics]

I wish they would give details of how many people showed up. Anyone from this forum or meetup group attend, were the attendees for RP mainly meetup group or average voters?

[jorger]

So I guess Faux News will now not be showing 3rd place

[CodeMonkey]

Actually Fred is probably helping us right now. He is siphoning votes off of the other "front-runners" and we can still downplay his importance because he's undeclared.

[constituent]

I, for one, was in my pajamas...

[Bergie Bergeron]

He probably paid all those people to vote for him ! :p

[james1844]

Sure, having money does help a lot...

But, I'm wondering if we grassroots types should consider looking more critically at what Romney is doing to see whats working and whats not working for RP so far.

I'd like to emphasize that I'm not being critical here, I'd like RP to win as much as the next guy here.

[paulitics]

Actually Fred is probably helping us right now. He is siphoning votes off of the other "front-runners" and we can still downplay his importance because he's undeclared.

true. This is a numbers game for us. We can only hope McCain doesn't drop out and his numbers pick up to around 15%. The best thing is two have 3 or 4 top tier guys sharing the neocon vote, and the rest going to Paul. Fred Thompson being in the race helps.

[Spirit of '76]

We might consider taking a couple of pages from his playbook.


What has Romney done that we can apply to Paul's campaign?

So far Romney's strategy has been to spend, spend, spend. We don't have that kind of cash.

[Delaware]

I think that McCain, Guiliani, and Romney are the Establishment's main candidates but the establish has backups if mainsteam doesnt like them.

The backups are:

Huckabee
F.Thompson

and if needed Gingrich.

[austin356]

Alabama Straw poll in 40 hours.

We are going to do better hopefully.

[noxagol]

Yeah. Romney is spending crazy amounts of cash on his campaign. He is up to atleast 10million so far.

[DjLoTi]

So far Romney's strategy has been to spend, spend, spend. We don't have that kind of cash.

I can't wait until 3Q results

[Razmear]

And Romney bussed folks into this one too:



To bolster attendance, some campaigns are bringing in busloads of supporters.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who posted a commanding win in the Iowa straw poll, is providing free transportation from Bloomington to Springfield for the event.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said supporters can catch the bus at the Interstate Center, 2301 W. Market St., Bloomington, at 9:15 a.m.

source:
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/doc46c0af4e9228f058131132.txt

So get a free ride to the state fair if you vote for Mitt, pathetic.

eb

[justaguy]

Need more info...How many votes, etc.

[Zydeco]

And Romney bussed folks into this one too:



source:
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/doc46c0af4e9228f058131132.txt

So get a free ride to the state fair if you vote for Mitt, pathetic.

eb

Was wondering about that, thanks Razmear.

The dignity, credibility, and organic growth of the Ron Paul Revolution contrasts damningly with the blatant venality and tawdriness of the "front-runners'" campaigns.

[Razmear]

http://www.hoinews.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=45223

Another news article with results

eb

[LastoftheMohicans]

922 voters in the straw poll, according to this http://www.sj-r.com/extras/breaking/index.asp article.

[Razmear]

Need more info...How many votes, etc.

Officials say 922 people cast votes despite a rainy day at the fairgrounds.

http://www.wrex.com/News/index.php?ID=20653

Romney Wins First Illinois Presidential Straw Poll
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois Republicans have wrapped up their first presidential straw poll at the State Fair -- a symbolic popularity contest designed to excite party activists.

Officials say 922 people cast votes despite a rainy day at the fairgrounds.

The winner of the poll was former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, with just over 40 percent.

Actor and former Senator Fred Thompson was second with just under 20 percent, followed by Ron Paul at just under 19 percent. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain came in fourth and fifth.

Even organizers of the straw poll say it has little significance. They say it may signal which candidate has the strongest Illinois organization so far.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated: August 16, 2007, 5:34 pm

[RevolutionSD]

Question: Why was the Iowa straw poll the big media event but this Illinois straw poll has drawn zero attention from the MSM?

Granted Iowa is early and important, but doesn't this poll show how well RP is really doing?

[Scribbler de Stebbing]

This is excellent, considering a couple of months ago, RP was just a couple of internet spammers in their pajamas.

Were we supposed to ditch the jammies? I didn't get the memo. Been walking around this whole time in jammies with a RP shirt over top. Suppose I can move my computer out of my mother's basement and back into my own home now too, eh?

[stizmatic]

Question: Why was the Iowa straw poll the big media event but this Illinois straw poll has drawn zero attention from the MSM?

Granted Iowa is early and important, but doesn't this poll show how well RP is really doing?


This was the first year of the IL straw poll. It wasnt as serious as the Iowa one because it was at a state fair and had a much smaller turn out. All though it is good news for Ron it wont get that much media attention, even for Romney.

[Ninja Homer]

Question: Why was the Iowa straw poll the big media event but this Illinois straw poll has drawn zero attention from the MSM?

Granted Iowa is early and important, but doesn't this poll show how well RP is really doing?

I think you answered your first question with the second one.

[Ron Paul Fan]

Question: Why was the Iowa straw poll the big media event but this Illinois straw poll has drawn zero attention from the MSM?

Granted Iowa is early and important, but doesn't this poll show how well RP is really doing?

Well, only 922 people voted and I don't think any of the candidates were there giving speeches so it's not the best indicator of how he's doing. I'd say his support right now is closer to the % he got in Iowa than this one. The Iowa straw poll has been around for a while and the state is the first in the nation for choosing who is going to get the nomination so it's a much bigger deal. This straw poll is good news, but it's a much smaller sample than the one in Iowa.

[Scribbler de Stebbing]

Alabama Straw poll in 40 hours.

We are going to do better hopefully.

I have full faith in Alabama. You guys rock. Give it all you've got -- promise?

[DjLoTi]

Where is the Alabama straw poll located?

[Razmear]

The news is starting to hit the wires.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-straw_poll_web_aug17,1,5128267.story

This one was nice enough to mention Mitt busing folks in too.

[JaylieWoW]

I agree, 2nd place is just fine for now.

On the other hand, what a contrast for Huckabee though

I guess the Fair Taxers weren't there to bus in his support. :eek: :p

[wtbuser]

I was there, I drove three other guys up as well. When I was there, which wasn't very long sadly (had to be back in St. Louis for work) I saw circa 40 Ron Paul supporters, 3 Rudy people, and 1 Mitt Romney person. We got there 20 minutes early and left around 11:20 right when the rain started coming down hard. I was sure that the rain was going to help immensely, guess not as much as I had hoped though.

[JaylieWoW]

This is excellent, considering a couple of months ago, RP was just a couple of internet spammers in their pajamas.

you forgot.... in their pajamas wearing tin foil hats.

[Johnnybags]

All I know is Rudy is a paper tiger, ready to go down in flames. Let the games begin with Fred,Rudy,Romney and Paul. The others can go home, no cash.

[Razmear]

Yesterdays newspaper:

http://www.pjstar.com/stories/081507/TRI_BE2QS092.028.php

Transportation offered for straw poll at state fair

Advertisement



Wednesday, August 15, 2007

PEORIA - Illinois delegates for presidential candidate Mitt Romney are providing free transportation to Springfield on Thursday for anyone interested in participating in Republican Day at the State Fair and the state's first Presidential Straw Poll.

"With the Illinois Primary moved to Feb. 5, our state will now play a substantial role in deciding who the Republican nominee should be," said state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac. "This represents the first opportunity for voters to weigh in on their choices."

Anyone interested in participating should meet at 9 a.m. at Peoria Republican Headquarters, 8835 N. Knoxville Ave., to take a coach bus to Springfield. The trip is sponsored by the Committee to Elect Delegates Committed to Mitt Romney.

Reservations are required. Included in the trip will be the bus transportation, entry into the fair, free lunch and refreshments.

Participants in the Presidential Straw Poll must be 18 years old and have a valid Illinois driver's license or state ID.

It will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the director's lawn of the fairgrounds; straw poll results will be announced starting at 4:30 p.m.

"The energy is building, and I feel a positive grassroots movement will be present," Rutherford said.

For more information, call Eric Hinton at 691-2659 or e-mail him at efhinton@sbcglobal.net.

[wgadget]

I found this while scouring the Internet for Ron Paul articles:

http://gordonunleashed.com/blog/2007/08/16/which-states-have-the-greatest-level-of-ron-paul-support/

According to this, Illinois is the state with the 30th most Ron Paul supporters, and Alabama is in 20th place. Of course, it's not "scientific," but it bodes well for the Alabama straw poll.

Great job, Ron!

[wtbuser]

"The energy is building, and I feel a positive grassroots movement will be present," Rutherford said.

Its not exactly grassroots if you have to coax your supporters and basically do everything for them in order for them to like care for your campaign.

[Shink]

Huckabee and Brownback are some localized phenomenon, I believe. I can't see where these guys have any broad national support or natural constituency.

Huckabee got second here in Iowa SOLELY because he was the only guy to endorse the "Fair tax" (which is a piece o' sh*t, don't buy into it).

I also see this as second, since Fred is not a candidate. Romney shouldn't be able to buy too many votes when it matters. A few old people, yes, but I think (and hope) that's it.

[dt_]

So what would keep Romney from buying virtually every caucus come primary season? Essentially "buying" the nomination? -_-

[Johnnybags]

would stop Romney. That is all we need to derail him in his own backyard.

[Ninja Homer]

How long until Romney runs out of money? Is he down to using his own funds yet?

[Razmear]

How long until Romney runs out of money? Is he down to using his own funds yet?

He's got over 250million in the bank, so it will be a while before he's broke. I'm sure he's already dipping into his own funds.

[Man from La Mancha]

How long until Romney runs out of money? Is he down to using his own funds yet?


Him and family worth $500million

[akalucas]

not going anywhere with his 500 million plus net worth. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/3/11/94719.shtml?s=po

[Ninja Homer]

He's got over 250million in the bank, so it will be a while before he's broke. I'm sure he's already dipping into his own funds.

Cool... It's going to be so awesome when Ron Paul kicks Romney's ass in the primaries after he's spent all his money!

[inibo]

I, for one, was in my pajamas...

I haven't changed mine for months. They are now stiff enough to prop me up in front of my keyboard while I sleep. I just wish my mom would hurry up and bring me my dinner.


you forgot.... in their pajamas wearing tin foil hats.

Yeah, I did forget.

http://userpic.livejournal.com/63193336/11173451

[Harry96]

James Ostrowski commented today on Lew Rockwell's blog that this Illinois poll shows that Paul is running a national campaign; Huckabee, Brownback and Tancredo, all of whom defeated Paul in Iowa, were able to register almost no support in Illinois because they didn't spend weeks campaigning and spend themselves broke like they did in Iowa.

[wgadget]

Another great day in Ron Paul Who-ville!

[angelatc]

I wish they would give details of how many people showed up. Anyone from this forum or meetup group attend, were the attendees for RP mainly meetup group or average voters?

A couple people from this board attended. They're probably still driving home though. They were going to wait around for results, and SPringfield is quite a bit away from Chicago.

[noxagol]

I think it was reported that Romney donated like 2.3million to his own campaign in the second quarter. Ron Paul was the only one who did well in quarter two when you really look at it. Had more money on hand than any other candidate if you take away personal donations to their own campaigns, which Ron Paul had a whooping 0 in that category because he spends so conservatively.

Also, those amounts do not show what we the people spend on our own to campaign on Ron Paul's behalf.

[FluffyUnbound]

A couple people from this board attended. They're probably still driving home though. They were going to wait around for results, and SPringfield is quite a bit away from Chicago.

It apparently was less than 1000.

[angelatc]

Huckabee got second here in Iowa SOLELY because he was the only guy to endorse the "Fair tax" (which is a piece o' sh*t, don't buy into it).

I also see this as second, since Fred is not a candidate. Romney shouldn't be able to buy too many votes when it matters. A few old people, yes, but I think (and hope) that's it.

Old people vote in far larger numbers than young people. You and yours might do the campaign well to do some campaigning in the nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

And the fact that Romney continues to win just means Romney is winning. We can sit around and feel superior because we didn't have to spend millions and millions to get almost as far as him, but at the end of the day I'd rather see Ron Paul get millions and millions to spend.

I do think that at some point the amount of money spent will no longer be relevant, but we're not there.

[angelatc]

The count is in this article from the Tribune:

While more than 14,000 votes were cast in the Iowa Straw Poll, only 922 votes were cast at the Illinois GOP event, which was held in rainy weather as part of Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair.

[scrosnoe]

this is huge folks, 9.1% in Iowa and now 18.87% in Illinois for Ron Paul

if that isn't momentum, i don't know what is!!?!

Keep up the good work team!
================================================== =======

Subject: Mitt Romney Wins Illinois Straw Poll (then Thompson followed closely by Ron Paul) Category: News & Opinion (General) Topic: Politics & Elections
Synopsis:
Source: We Are Illinois
Published: August 16, 2007 Author:
For Education and Discussion Only. Not for Commercial Use.


SPRINGFIELD, IL –Illinois State Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna announced today that Mitt Romney won the Illinois Straw Poll on Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair.

“Congratulations to Mitt Romney, whose strong showing today indicates he has begun to put together a strong statewide organization” said McKenna. “There’s no question that Illinois’ demographics closely match those of the United States and this could be an indication as to whom Illinois voters are leaning toward this coming February.”

The Illinois Republican Party sponsored the straw poll during its Republican Day festivities at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. Requirements to participate were: having participated in one of the previously held Republican Presidential Debates; or having polled above 5% in a national, independent poll.

“As I watched hundreds of people literally standing in the rain to vote in our straw poll, it drove home that the Illinois Republican Party is strongly united,” said McKenna. “This was a phenomenal opportunity for the grassroots leaders of the Party to hear from the presidential campaigns.”

The Illinois Republican Presidential Straw Poll was conducted on electronic voting machines and ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Final Results:


1. Mitt Romney – 40.35%
2. Fred Thompson – 19.96%
3. Ron Paul – 18.87%
4. Rudy Giuliani – 11.61%
5. John McCain – 4.12%
6. Mike Huckabee – 3.04%
7. Sam Brownback – 1.08%
8. Duncan Hunter - .65%
9. Tom Tancrado - .33%

[ronpaulitician]

Poor Tom Tancrado.

[enter`name`here]

BLAST! those damn Ron Paul cyber terrorists have learned how to spam off-line polls now!

[JaylieWoW]

BLAST! those damn Ron Paul cyber terrorists have learned how to spam off-line polls now!

You win the spam recognition award of the year!! :D

[Shink]

He's got over 250million in the bank, so it will be a while before he's broke. I'm sure he's already dipping into his own funds.

He's already been showed to have put up $6 million of his own money to prop himself up in the Q2 numbers.

Does anyone else think it'd be a good idea for the FEC to disallow personally funding your campaign? It'd certainly cripple Ron's drunken sailor opposition.:cool:

[Spirit of '76]

Its not exactly grassroots if you have to coax your supporters and basically do everything for them in order for them to like care for your campaign.

Maybe he'd heard about the Ron Paul campaign. ;)

[Spirit of '76]

edit:

duh... nevermind

[paulitics]

So it was about 180 votes for paul. Now, of those, I wonder how many were from the meetup groups vs those who were local.

[Ninja Homer]

I know this has already been pointed out a gazillion times throughout all the polls, but it still pisses me off... Why is Fred Thompson on the ballot? He's not an option until he commits.

They should add Ronald Reagan to the ballot at the next straw poll, just to take out the idiots who vote on name recognition alone. I bet Reagan would take all of Fred Thompson's votes.

[jasonhlasvegas]

WOW. Nice job Illinois!

[Nefertiti]

I believe when I checked it yesterday 41 people from the Greater Chicago Meetup were signed up to go.

[0zzy]

http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/local_story_228191714.html

Romney bussed in people ! Lawl! And Paul was only 1% away from Thompson.

I think we pretty much did great.

[american.swan]

Compare this to Iowa and Huckabee really fell off!

Mitt Romney – 40.35%
Fred Thompson – 19.96%
Ron Paul – 18.87%
Rudy Giuliani – 11.61%
John McCain – 4.12%
Mike Huckabee – 3.04%
Sam Brownback – 1.08%
Duncan Hunter - .65%
Tom Tancrado - .33%


Official results from Iowa straw poll
MITT ROMNEY 4,516 VOTES 31.6%

MIKE HUCKABEE 2,587 VOTES 18.1%

SAM BROWNBACK 2,192 VOTES 15.3%

TOM TANCREDO 1,961 VOTES 13.7%

RON PAUL 1,305 VOTES 9.1%

TOMMY THOMPSON 1,039 VOTES 7.3%

FRED THOMPSON 203 VOTES 1.4%

RUDY GIULIANI 183 VOTES 1.3%

DUNCAN HUNTER 174 VOTES 1.2%

JOHN MCCAIN 101 VOTES .7%

JOHN COX 41 VOTES .3%

14,302 TOTAL BALLOTS CAST

Fell off. Doubt it. Depending on how this straw poll was held and how many people voted, I wouldn't be surprised if they just didn't rearrange some names on iowa straw poll results. :D Not that they did mind you. I am just saying I wouldn't be surprised if they had.

[Bruehound]

I just returned. A great day but they kept the voting stations open an additional eight minutes "because it rained earlier". Draw your own conclusions but do not get hysterical over it. It was a huge win.

[Badger Paul]

Romney is finally showing that he will spend whatever it takes to win the nomination, fundraising be damned. If he has to open the vault in the basement of his home he'll do so.

The only question is, what is he selling?

[shadowhooch]

Romney is finally showing that he will spend whatever it takes to win the nomination, fundraising be damned. If he has to open the vault in the basement of his home he'll do so.

The only question is, what is he selling?

A pretty smile. Unfortunatley, it's working so far. :mad:

[marcodee]

I didn't see anyone post this on any other pages.. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-straw_poll_web_aug17,0,2733296.story


Paul's libertarian stylings and campaign of strict interpretation of the Constitution has earned him an unorthodox band of sign-carrying supporters. They frequently interrupted TV reports of the event and at one point, Romney's Illinois chairman, state Sen. Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa), ripped a sign out of one Paul supporter's hands and threw it on the ground.

that guy knows how to keep his composure under pressure, mitt can have him :P

[ghemminger]

Romney needs a fricken choke hold - never heard of a Billionare needing to be put throught the ringer of a Presidential Election! We NEED to make this guys life Hell!

[Wyurm]

I didn't see anyone post this on any other pages.. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-straw_poll_web_aug17,0,2733296.story


Paul's libertarian stylings and campaign of strict interpretation of the Constitution has earned him an unorthodox band of sign-carrying supporters. They frequently interrupted TV reports of the event and at one point, Romney's Illinois chairman, state Sen. Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa), ripped a sign out of one Paul supporter's hands and threw it on the ground.

that guy knows how to keep his composure under pressure, mitt can have him :P

I didn't see that happen, but then again, I walked away when they started arguing with the reporter. Romney's people weren't really big with the signs and honestly they didn't seem to care much about the poll, though they did clap when it was expected and all that. The thing about Romney is that hes incredibly full of himself. His only real promise seems to be that he's a pro at making things happen in the business world, which somehow qualifies him to be president without mentioning anything non-vague. His campaign's main selling point was that he had offices in Illinois and so he could win the Republican nomination.

I find it interesting that he only does good when he buys the vote. As for the Ron Paul supporters getting out of hand, yeah, I did see some of that, but not much and it was taken care of quickly. You will never see a Romney supporter get out of hand. I promise you there is just no way thats going to happen, because his supporters completely lack passion, or interest for that matter.

[Jennifer Reynolds]

///

[Jennifer Reynolds]

///

[Jennifer Reynolds]

///

[Man from La Mancha]

He's pretty.

Exactly, is why we need hot babes for Ron paul in vidios and campaigning because looks sell. As was mentioned before ther are more men 80% into this election than %20 women at this time. Stupid as this sounds.

[Jennifer Reynolds]

///

[FluffyUnbound]

I didn't see that happen, but then again, I walked away when they started arguing with the reporter. Romney's people weren't really big with the signs and honestly they didn't seem to care much about the poll, though they did clap when it was expected and all that. The thing about Romney is that hes incredibly full of himself. His only real promise seems to be that he's a pro at making things happen in the business world, which somehow qualifies him to be president without mentioning anything non-vague. His campaign's main selling point was that he had offices in Illinois and so he could win the Republican nomination.

I find it interesting that he only does good when he buys the vote. As for the Ron Paul supporters getting out of hand, yeah, I did see some of that, but not much and it was taken care of quickly. You will never see a Romney supporter get out of hand. I promise you there is just no way thats going to happen, because his supporters completely lack passion, or interest for that matter.

Someone please tell me there is video of this!

[itsnobody]

3rd with 18% is good...Ron Paul is moving on up

[Bruehound]

2 links to new coverage of the Illinois Straw Poll


http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=340935

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2007/08/gop-straw-poll-.html

[Santana28]

"With the dubious efficacy of the Illinois straw poll results, secret balloting conducted earlier in the day by almost half of the state's Republican county chairmen might have more practical value in determining candidate strength among local organizations charged with getting out the vote in the state's Feb. 5 primary.

Among the 48 votes cast by the GOP county chairmen, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, an as-yet unannounced candidate, got 22 ballots while former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani finished second with 13. Romney finished third with nine votes. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee got two votes and Arizona Sen. John McCain and California Rep. Duncan Hunter each received one vote."

:eek: I think this is what we need to be concerned with, more than anything. Illinois needs some serious help people! We need to get these County Chairmen (who are probably as corrupt as Illinois Politicians generally seem to be) some info on our man! They need to know that if they DONT support Ron, there is absolutely ZERO chance of GOP victory in their state.... goodness.... any ignoramous can see that....

[Wyurm]

"With the dubious efficacy of the Illinois straw poll results, secret balloting conducted earlier in the day by almost half of the state's Republican county chairmen might have more practical value in determining candidate strength among local organizations charged with getting out the vote in the state's Feb. 5 primary.

Among the 48 votes cast by the GOP county chairmen, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, an as-yet unannounced candidate, got 22 ballots while former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani finished second with 13. Romney finished third with nine votes. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee got two votes and Arizona Sen. John McCain and California Rep. Duncan Hunter each received one vote."

:eek: I think this is what we need to be concerned with, more than anything. Illinois needs some serious help people! We need to get these County Chairmen (who are probably as corrupt as Illinois Politicians generally seem to be) some info on our man! They need to know that if they DONT support Ron, there is absolutely ZERO chance of GOP victory in their state.... goodness.... any ignoramous can see that....

Corruption in the illinois GOP? noooooo, I can't possibly believe that. Why, Illinois has such an honest political makeup in both parties. We had the honorable, un-corrupt George Ryan, and on the dems side, they have Mayor Daily, and theres so many others. No, I won't hear of such corruption talk. (/sarcasm)

[Wyurm]

Someone please tell me there is video of this!

There is, and lots of it. When it will be uploaded to youtube, I have no idea.

[Elwar]

Talk up McCain to your neo-con friends...we need him to help split the neo-con vote.

McCain would bomb bomb bomb Iran...aint that cool?