PDA

View Full Version : Ron Paul Roundup (03-05-08)




RSDavis
03-05-2008, 01:53 PM
http://laceylibertarian.us/wp-images/rPaulRev.jpg

Ron Paul Roundup (03-05-08)
by RS Davis (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=364144398&Mytoken=55CA365D-C0AB-4244-81B44012A7CCA32F33581054)


Hello Freedomphiles! Let's start with the big news from yesterday, and that is that Ron Paul absolutely spanked wanna-be interloper Chris Peden in the District-14 House race. With no Democratic opponent running against him, that's a de facto win for the incumbent, and a victory for the liberty-minded everywhere. The Wall Street Journal reports (http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/03/05/paul-and-kucinich-easily-defeat-primary-challengers/?mod=googlenews_wsj):

In Texas, Republican Paul easily defeated his primary opponent, Chris Peden, a certified public accountant and city councilman from Friendswood, south of Houston. Peden had campaigned partly on the notion that Paul's run for the White House made him a celebrity with zealous followers but hadn't done anything to improve what Peden called his effectual lawmaking. With all but two precincts counted in his reliably Republican district, Paul had 70% of the vote to Peden's 30%.

And Peden promptly disappeared, like Moody in My Bodyguard after Chris Makepeace broke his nose. Galveston Daily News reports (http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ce64b15cd07e402a):

Peden, a certified public accountant who has served on Friendswood city council since 2005, criticized Paul during his campaign as an irrelevant voice in congress who didn't adequately represent interests of constituents.

Phone messages left on Peden's cell phone, at his campaign office and with his campaign manager were not returned.

Mark Elam, a spokesman for Paul's congressional campaign, said Tuesday's results were proof that voters still believed in the congressman's message.

reason's David Weigel comments (http://www.reason.com/blog/show/125321.html):

Compare this to the defeat of Wayne Gilchrest in Maryland or the career-low win of Dennis Kucinich last night. Compare it even to Jean Schmidt's 57 percent of the vote in her Ohio primary in suburban Cincinnati, where she faces no ideological disputes with the GOP, only the perception that she's weak against Democrats. It's an open question whether Paul can serve his cause better by staying in Congress than running as a third party candidate this year. It's not an open question whether someone will defeat him. He's built a beachhead in Brazoria County, which casts 30 percent of the district's vote, and he was barely dented in Aransas County even after the local Republican Party swung its support to Peden. He's got this seat as long as he wants it.

He also went a little more in-depth with this piece (http://reason.com/news/show/125317.html), which I reccommend reading in its entirety. Here's an excerpt:

After his win became clear on Tuesday, Paul pledged to "serve another term in Congress where I will continue my battle in behalf of taxpayers." Republican leaders would be fine with that, especially because it seems to rule out a third-party Paul bid for the presidency. On Wednesday morning the Paul campaign couldn't say whether Paul would stick in the race to rack up delegates. After the 40-point landslide comes the harder decisions. What, can Paul say, was the impact of his presidential run? What can he do now that he couldn't do as a congressman in 2007, or even 1997? Paul has saved his political career, but the same can't necessarily be said about his cause.

CBSNews "reports (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/05/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3907448.shtml)" that it wasn't that voters preferred Paul, but that Peden campaigned poorly:

Paul had drawn fire from conservatives in the district for his strident opposition to the Iraq war during his long-shot presidential bid. But Peden ultimately wasn't able to raise enough money and organize effectively to end up mounting a serious enough challenge.

Gambling911.com is excited (http://www.gambling911.com/Ron-Paul-Wins-Texas-030508.html) about this win:

Paul has been re-elected to Congress in the Fourteenth District of Texas and this is great news for the online gambling community as the feisty Congressman is one of the industry's closest allies.

As he is the ally of anyone engaged in consensual commerce the powers that be want to attack. PM Jaworski writes (http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2008/03/ron-paul-wins-b.html) on Western Standard that he, like many of us, predicted this landslide win, but then questions the polls that showed Peden mounting a serious challenge:

So just where did the Pajamas Media get their polling information from? They claimed that Chris Peden was threatening Paul, and that Paul was abandoning his presidential ambitions for fear of losing his District 14 seat.

Suggestion number 1: Fire whoever did your polls.
Suggestion number 2: Hire someone who doesn't just ask around at the American Enterprise Institute who they would vote for if they could vote in District 14.
Suggestion number 3: Try to enjoy Paul's contrarian message.

Ron Paul had this to say about the victory:

"I am honored that the voters in the 14th District expressed their continued confidence in my leadership by overwhelmingly reelecting me to the House of Representatives. I have no Democrat opponent in November and will serve another term in Congress where I will continue my battle in behalf of taxpayers.

My message of limited-government and upholding the Constitution has once again been endorsed by the conservative-minded voters in my district. They understand and support the battle I have waged for thirty years to make the federal government smaller, to reduce wasteful government spending, to balance the budget, and to promote a foreign policy that always puts America first.

Some Washington insiders would have you believe that Republicans no longer believe in the principles our country and party were founded upon, but the voters in my district have once again proven them wrong.

The message of freedom is popular, and I will continue to trumpet it in Congress and across America as I fight on behalf of the conservative, common sense values which made our country so great.

In conclusion, I would like to offer my thanks and gratitude to all of the wonderful people who supported me in this campaign. I look forward to representing all of the good people of the 14th District of Texas in Congress in the years to come."

In other news, Bruce Ramsay writes (http://www.libertyunbound.com/archive/2008_04/ramsey-ronpaul.html) on Liberty a defense of the "Ron Paul is a homophobic racist kook" attack:

Why bring up newsletters from 1991? To label Ron Paul in 2008. That was the only reason. And yet the Ron Paul that we have seen during the campaign was nothing like the voice in those letters. Paul had not waged a racist campaign. He had been elected to Congress ten times, and he had apparently never waged a racist campaign. People stepped forward who had known the man a long time and said so. Bruce Bartlett, former assistant treasury secretary under George W. Bush — a man who had left Bush and written a book attacking him — was not attacking Paul. The interviewer on the neoconservative webpage Frontpagemag.com invited him to do that, and Bartlett declined. He said:

"I worked on Ron Paul's congressional staff back in the 1970s. I don't believe for a moment that he has a racist or homophobic bone in his body. But he can be a bit naive and overly trusting of people that he views as allies on the issues he really cares about, such as the debasement of the currency."

There were other such testimonials, one of them from an officer of the NAACP in Texas. There was even a statement from Kirchick himself, writing in a personal email to Berin M. Szoka of Gays & Lesbians for Ron Paul. Szoka wrote that he had met Kirchick at a Reason magazine party in Washington, D.C. Szoka posted Kirchick's letter. It included this statement:

"Anyways, I don't think Ron Paul is a homophobe; I'm just cynical and enjoy getting supporters of political candidates riled up. If you were a Giuliani guy I'd have called him a fascist."

Isn't that nice?

Here was the perfect time for anyone to stand up and say what racist or antigay thing Paul had personally said or done over the last 20, 30, or 40 years. And there was nothing.

Nothing. That is significant.

It surely is. I want to draw your attention to some friends of liberty who contacted me and would like me to tell you that they are organizing protests (http://www.jokeonamerica.com/)against the Federal Reserve:

Announcing the First Annual Federal Reserve protest!

This April 1st, concerned citizens will converge upon the 12 Federal Reserve Banks to show their displeasure with the Fed's policies as well as their present monopoly on currency.

This will be an outstanding display of grass roots activism that is both disparate and synchronized and show the power of Ron Paul's message in motivating a revolution in American politics.

It is one thing for a local group to hold a singular protest and quite another for there to be a nationwide, simultaneous event. This cannot fail in attracting local and national coverage on an issue that has received significant publicity during this election season.

This will be a day to be remembered.

If you have any questions, we will do our best to assist. Organization is underway but we are looking for leaders in all of the 12 major cities and any subsidiary branches as well as foreign nations who would also like to protest their central banks.

Let's wrap this up with a reminder that Ron Paul has not conceeded the presidential race, even though the media have annointed McCain as the nominee.

I won't blow sunshine up your ass and say that we're definitely going to win this one, too. The Ron Paul for President campaign has never been a longer shot. But hang in there, because even if he loses, the longer he is in it, the more we can spread the message of peace, prosperity, and freedom. The higher his profile in the presidential race, the more people will listen when he stands on the House floor to educate.

He's not out of it yet, of course, and we should keep pushing. I'll leave you with the words of top-diamond libertarian Creator, writing (http://www.nolanchart.com/article3032.html)over at The Nolan Chart:

Virtually ALL writers have already written Ron Paul off completely in the race for the White House - stating flatly that its just plain over. Most drew that conclusion weeks ago. Some came to that point just tonight when Mike Huckabee bowed out of the race, promising his support to liberal, unelectable John McCain.

I wouldn't chalk this one up to the history books just yet, Dear Reader. Ron Paul has promised to stay in the race all the way to the Republican National Convention, as long as he has supporters and funds. I continue to believe that he is a man of his word, and therefore he still has at least ONE supporter. And, as the saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways." It's a long time until the RNC.

See you tomorrow, Freedomphiles!

Top blogs since the last Roundup:
A Big Steaming Pile of Irony (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=364122274&Mytoken=55CA365D-C0AB-4244-81B44012A7CCA32F33581054)
Wait Times Reduced to Forever in UK Hospitals (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=364115356&Mytoken=55CA365D-C0AB-4244-81B44012A7CCA32F33581054)
Moses Amazed by Colors, Studies Own Hand for Two Days (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=364109530&Mytoken=55CA365D-C0AB-4244-81B44012A7CCA32F33581054)
Librarians Don’t Fuck Around (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=194780914&blogID=363848278&Mytoken=55CA365D-C0AB-4244-81B44012A7CCA32F33581054)

http://www.brendangates.com/forumlogo.jpg

rancher89
03-05-2008, 05:01 PM
When we held our little rally/protest outside the Fed Reserve in Charlotte, NC back in Dec, we had a cop come out, w/tazer and handgun, and send us on our way. He made us delete our digital photos of our little 2 person rally, citing the patriot act--"No pictures of a federal building." He WAS polite and said that he personaly didn't dislike RP (how nice of him...) but that it was his job and that there were cameras and microphones on us....No one else - nationwide - had any trouble at all....................

molly_pitcher
03-05-2008, 08:53 PM
http://www.elite-otaku.net/natalie/mininavi/includes/images/afro.gif

rancher89
03-06-2008, 08:57 AM
Please post a link to those who are planning the protest on April 1st

RSDavis
03-06-2008, 10:10 AM
Please post a link to those who are planning the protest on April 1st

It's already there, hotlinked by the words "Organizing protests."

rancher89
03-06-2008, 01:01 PM
thanks, my eyes aren't what they used to be!

RSDavis
03-06-2008, 03:05 PM
thanks, my eyes aren't what they used to be!

No sweat!