Pauls' Revere
08-25-2008, 09:37 PM
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GOP delegate upholds Ron Paul's candidacy
Keith Kaiser - The Wilsonville man hopes to persuade McCain voters to switch at the Republican ConventionFACTBOX
• Keith Kaiser
Friday, August 22, 2008 YUXING ZHENGThe Oregonian Staff
Although Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, one local supporter of challenger Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is more excited than ever.
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Keith Kaiser of Wilsonville has been elected as an Oregon delegate pledged to vote for Paul at the Republican National Convention. Kaiser will travel to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the convention, set for Sept. 1-4.
Kaiser sat down last week to discuss what he expects from the convention and his plans to persuade as many McCain delegates as possible to switch their votes. Comments have been edited for brevity and clarity. How did you become a delegate? There's an election process at the Oregon district convention. There were 27 (elected) delegates in Oregon, so 23 of those went to John McCain and four go to Ron Paul. How did you get elected? I made a short, two-minute video, and that was shown at the convention. People voted based on what they knew about the people running or the videos they saw. What made you run as a delegate? Just the shape our country is in. It's one of those situations where doing nothing is no longer an option. We have to do something. Getting the best people within the Republican Party elected is the best solution. You are one of the few Ron Paul delegates. How do you feel about that? I feel great about it. Not only am I in the right party, but I'm backing the right candidate in the right party. There was a lot of competition to be a Ron Paul delegate. There were 40-some people trying for those eight slots (including four alternates). How does it feel going into the convention knowing that McCain is the presumptive nominee? He is the presumptive nominee, and it's likely he will win. But I still have to back the best candidate. We have a need to get back to our constitutional roots. What are you most looking forward to at the convention? All of it. The discussions on the GOP platform. Looking forward to casting my vote for the candidate himself. What are you going to be doing at the convention? I'm going to be talking to other candidates, and I'm going to try to convince as many people as possible to do the right thing. Some of the McCain delegates need some guidance. How are you going to try to persuade McCain delegates to vote for Ron Paul? That's pretty easy. You present Ron Paul's positions and his track record and his experience compared to McCain's positions. You compare both of those to the Republican Party platform. It's an easy choice. Paul's positions line up almost perfectly with the party platform: lower taxes, individual freedoms. What do you hope to get out of the convention? I hope to learn a lot about the nominating process. There's still a lot I don't understand. Would you vote for McCain in November if he receives the Republican nomination? If he picked a strict constitutionalist vice president, I might consider it. Otherwise, I would have to really think about it.
GOP delegate upholds Ron Paul's candidacy
Keith Kaiser - The Wilsonville man hopes to persuade McCain voters to switch at the Republican ConventionFACTBOX
• Keith Kaiser
Friday, August 22, 2008 YUXING ZHENGThe Oregonian Staff
Although Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, one local supporter of challenger Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is more excited than ever.
Advertisement
Keith Kaiser of Wilsonville has been elected as an Oregon delegate pledged to vote for Paul at the Republican National Convention. Kaiser will travel to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the convention, set for Sept. 1-4.
Kaiser sat down last week to discuss what he expects from the convention and his plans to persuade as many McCain delegates as possible to switch their votes. Comments have been edited for brevity and clarity. How did you become a delegate? There's an election process at the Oregon district convention. There were 27 (elected) delegates in Oregon, so 23 of those went to John McCain and four go to Ron Paul. How did you get elected? I made a short, two-minute video, and that was shown at the convention. People voted based on what they knew about the people running or the videos they saw. What made you run as a delegate? Just the shape our country is in. It's one of those situations where doing nothing is no longer an option. We have to do something. Getting the best people within the Republican Party elected is the best solution. You are one of the few Ron Paul delegates. How do you feel about that? I feel great about it. Not only am I in the right party, but I'm backing the right candidate in the right party. There was a lot of competition to be a Ron Paul delegate. There were 40-some people trying for those eight slots (including four alternates). How does it feel going into the convention knowing that McCain is the presumptive nominee? He is the presumptive nominee, and it's likely he will win. But I still have to back the best candidate. We have a need to get back to our constitutional roots. What are you most looking forward to at the convention? All of it. The discussions on the GOP platform. Looking forward to casting my vote for the candidate himself. What are you going to be doing at the convention? I'm going to be talking to other candidates, and I'm going to try to convince as many people as possible to do the right thing. Some of the McCain delegates need some guidance. How are you going to try to persuade McCain delegates to vote for Ron Paul? That's pretty easy. You present Ron Paul's positions and his track record and his experience compared to McCain's positions. You compare both of those to the Republican Party platform. It's an easy choice. Paul's positions line up almost perfectly with the party platform: lower taxes, individual freedoms. What do you hope to get out of the convention? I hope to learn a lot about the nominating process. There's still a lot I don't understand. Would you vote for McCain in November if he receives the Republican nomination? If he picked a strict constitutionalist vice president, I might consider it. Otherwise, I would have to really think about it.