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spacehabitats
03-11-2008, 01:03 PM
With all the talk about delegates, brokered conventions, platform resolutions, operating in stealth mode, long term goals etc. I think we are missing an obvious opportunity.

How about winning a primary?:eek:

I know, I know it's a crazy concept but think about it.

This would be a tremendous PR coup! Just when the MSM has everybody convinced that it is all over, we WIN a primary. Who even cares about the number of delegates, this could legitimize everything that we have been doing and give us credibility and momentum going into the pre-convention months. Almost anything short of a win would be ignored, but an actual victory (as in more votes than his opponent) would have to make some noise.

People who have not been canvassing might not realize this but despite the poll numbers, McCain's support is very soft.

1) McCain is still very unpopular with a lot of Republican voters.

2) He is a very sleazy guy with a history of an explosive temper, an improper relationship with a female lobbyist, collaborating with his Vietnamese captors, and consistently siding with illegal aliens against the interests of all American citizens.

3) Even his supporters don't like him; they just hate Clinton/Obama and have been convinced that he is the only hope for defeating them in November.

4) McCain does NOT support many important principles in the GOP platform.

5) He is a sociopath and a bold-faced liar who does not even blink when confronted with his falsehoods. (By the way, I am a physician who does not toss around labels like "sociopath" lightly. He IS the real deal. He is the type of guy who is guided ONLY by self-interest.)

6) Now that the nomination is "locked up", his supporters don't have any incentive to go to the polls.

So what should we do?

We need to concentrate all of our efforts on a state with a relatively small population. Preferably it should be a midwestern state with a strong conservative base. Ideally its population should be concentrated in a relatively small geographic area to make canvassing more practical.

Nebraska seems to fill the bill fairly nicely. It would require some help from surrounding states to canvass the Omaha/Lincoln area. Maybe we could reactivate some Council Bluffs, Iowa RP people?

We can approach the voters with the idea that we need to send a message to the GOP that we are not happy with John McCain's "tax and spend" philosophy and swing-vote betrayals of his fellow Republicans. We can tell them that if they do not vote for Ron Paul that they will be sending the opposite message to the GOP, that it is OK to betray all of the conservative principles in the platform and you can still be the party leader.

Maybe he could even spend some money on TV ads in the Omaha/Lincoln area. (It is not that spread out and could be covered by two stations.)

Ron Paul would need to show up at several rallies in this part of the state, but by concentrating his efforts and attention we could finally have what so many people need for their morale, and what could be priceless for our ongoing struggle; an actual victory.

Any thoughts?

acptulsa
03-11-2008, 01:06 PM
Yes, I have thoughts. Firstly, I agree wholeheartedly. Secondly, McCain was instrumental in getting uranium pilings left over from mining dumped on Navajo lands. So, I believe (and I apologize to those who have seen where I said it before) that New Mexico is an outstanding place to try this because of their large native population.

I would actually suggest doing the same thing in South Dakota. The Lakota are so disgusted, after all, they're trying to secede.

The natives are an excellent source of support. They have no lost love for the status quo and would love an opportunity to flex their muscles. They would be an outstanding base of support on which to build.

I would certainly favor shocking them by reaching out to them. Don't think they're used to that sort of treatment.

UnitedWeStand
03-11-2008, 01:14 PM
Another thing about NM, is that it is probably mostly democrat. So a smaller number of people need to be persuaded, because there will be fewer republican voters total.

Also, I have friends there and am already planning on attending with my leftover/recycled campaign stuff=)

Since they are the last primary, I think we should definately work on the others beforehand--as many republicans think its all over at this point and will stay home or participate in the democrat race to vote against one or the other. We really could pull it off.

People who seek power are the least qualified for the job. Let's show Ron Paul that great men have power thrust upon them!

We can totally win these lowly contested last primaries. We can--

1. canvass there
2. make calls
3. make calls to potential canvassers there
4. what else?

tangent4ronpaul
03-11-2008, 01:14 PM
McCain does well in blue states - the ones coming up are red.

The last winner take all state was VT. There shouldn't be any more.

PA looks pretty good...

-n

tangent4ronpaul
03-11-2008, 01:16 PM
Have 5+ states (each) adopt each and every state that is coming up, do road trips, etc. and throw everything we've got at them!

-n

UnitedWeStand
03-11-2008, 01:40 PM
This is the idea that we're supposed to be too downtrodden to realize. I'm re-energized and excited about this!

If you are in a remaining state, please tell anyone who might be tempted to vote democrat or stay home that they need to come out to vote republican so the can vote for the local republicans, like congressman and sheriffs etc.

And then of course tell them that since the nomination is all wrapped up, they can send a strong message to GOP that their state wants a more conservative voice in the election by voting for Ron Paul.

wgadget
03-11-2008, 01:45 PM
McCain does well in blue states - the ones coming up are red.

The last winner take all state was VT. There shouldn't be any more.

PA looks pretty good...

-n

PA is Ron's birthplace.:)

Rhys
03-11-2008, 02:22 PM
It's more delusional to think you'll win a primary than thinking you'll win the nod. It would take too long to explain why, but maybe later I will.

the lite version is, We have a chance at the nod in september. we have a chance because we wont play by the rules. we have no control over the primaries rules, but we do over the convention rules.

acptulsa
03-11-2008, 02:25 PM
We'd have to pick a battle where the anti-McCain feeling is exceptionally strong and widespread. I think the Indian states are the only decent bet.

Banana
03-11-2008, 02:33 PM
Also, a useful tactic for convincing voters who otherwise won't vote for Ron Paul for whatever reason is to tell them that a vote for Ron Paul would send a clear message to John McCain that he's not loved, whereas staying at home just implies that they're A-OK with John.

(You may need to remind them that Ron Paul is still in and Huckabee/Romney is out, if they're lending toward them)

spacehabitats
03-11-2008, 03:37 PM
I'm not delusional (well, not much;)). I didn't say it was likely that we would win, but I think it is worth a shot. It isn't like it should distract us from anything else that would be more urgent. By all means, delegates should be attending their conventions and committee members should be going to their meetings.
And trolls should be trolling our forums.

As to the state, I agree that North Dakota or New Mexico could be better. I don't have any special knowledge about the demographics or any polling results for the remaining states that would lead me one way or another.

I lean toward Nebraska because I do live nearby and have done a little canvassing there. Also it does have the advantages I mentioned.

By all means, people should be working where they live. But if someone wanted to do some traveling it would be helpful if that could be coordinated so that we did not dilute our efforts. And I do think the national campaign would do well to concentrate their resources rather than preaching to the choir at one rally per state.

I think there potential benefits from a PR standpoint that even Dr. Paul does not recognize. As unfair or irrational as it might seem. if he could actually WIN a primary (even if it were only by 51% to 49% in a sparsely populated state), that might have a greater impact than if he "did well" (20%-30%) in every remaining state. Frankly, because of the distinct disadvantages that we are operating under (MSM blackout being the biggest) we will more than likely continue to run in the single digits or teens unless we concentrate our efforts.

In politics, like everything else, there seems to be a minimum threshold of activity, a "tipping point", that needs to be reached before anything really dramatic happens.

Rhys
03-11-2008, 03:48 PM
to win a primary would require a few things to happen:

a.) organization in that state (meetups dont count)
b.) advertising (and i mean $5 mil plus worth)
c.) John McCain dies
d.) the zeitgeist changes from Obama to Paul (same market, just diferent parties)
e.) the zeitgeist also stops calling Ron Paul a crazy kook right wing nut or crazy kool leftist nut
f.) several hundred thousand to several million people in one state must vote for Ron Paul

I love the man, but he wont win a primary. I WANT him to, but he wont. People should still work for votes because that's half the goal. The real game really is at the convention. Getting your self to the convention takes some work on your part, so do it.

Ball
03-11-2008, 03:50 PM
Due to the unique delegate rules in PA, I think he should campaign there more than anywhere else.

spacehabitats
03-11-2008, 11:08 PM
to win a primary would require a few things to happen:

a.) organization in that state (meetups dont count)
b.) advertising (and i mean $5 mil plus worth)
c.) John McCain dies
d.) the zeitgeist changes from Obama to Paul (same market, just diferent parties)
e.) the zeitgeist also stops calling Ron Paul a crazy kook right wing nut or crazy kool leftist nut
f.) several hundred thousand to several million people in one state must vote for Ron Paul

I love the man, but he wont win a primary. I WANT him to, but he wont. People should still work for votes because that's half the goal. The real game really is at the convention. Getting your self to the convention takes some work on your part, so do it.

I really don't think you're getting the whole concept here. I'm not talking about winning in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia has almost as many people as the entire state of Nebraska! You have to get things in perspective.

Lets see, the total votes cast in the 2ooo Nebraska GOP primary was 185,000 so we are going to need "several hundred thousand to several million" votes to win? Hmmmm... maybe you exaggerate.

And about the $5 million ad campaign,-- with two TV stations covering 90% of the state's population, you could run an ad every night on the 6PM and 10PM news between now and May 13th and that would come to about 240 ads.....
at over $20,000 an ad!?! I don't think KMTV Omaha is charging quite that much.

Zeitgeist? Well you've got me there. Hard to argue with zeitgeist.

I know it would be asking a lot of Dr. Paul, but if he could spend even 5 or 6 days campaigning in the state between Omaha and Lincoln before the May 13th primary it would be hard for the local media to ignore. I mean, its not like there are a lot of presidential candidates (or anything else) vying for attention on the local news broadcasts.

syborius
03-12-2008, 01:09 AM
get in there and re-rig diebold for our guy. At the moment Mcwar has more programmers on the inside than we do. That's a bit problematic when it comes to the popularity contest.

Bradley in DC
03-12-2008, 01:15 AM
We have opportunities left:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=128018