Hunter wins - Paul 3rd

[0zzy]

http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/861a4369-4494-427b-9f5e-df5c00932190

16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)


I say, BS

[stevedasbach]

Saturday, September 01, 2007
Duncan Hunter Wins Townhall.com Texas Republican Straw Poll; Fred Thompson Second
Posted by: Jonathan Garthwaite at 4:30 PM
16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)

[Johnnybags]

when its restricted, no matter we March on, Hunter is broke.

[Cowlesy]

http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/861a4369-4494-427b-9f5e-df5c00932190

16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)


I say, BS

Why am I not surprised.

[Slugg]

Is that true?

[LibertyEagle]

Oh man. I'm bummed.

[r3volution]

........

[Brasil Branco]

Holy crap, how in the hell did Duncan Hunter get so many friggin votes? I mean to get 500 delegates out there to vote for an unknown... how is that even possible?

[Slugg]

Hunter? Wtf?

[njandrewg]

WTF we came in 3rd?

[ShaneC]

Oh man. I'm bummed.

I'm not.

RP's numbers seem to be fairly consistent.

Compare to the others, and we're on a pretty good track nationally I think.

[njandrewg]

41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)

that bus would have gotten us 2nd

[The Only Woj]

well, only delegates can vote ... so this isn't a shock. in fact, I'm shocked he did this well.

[devil21]

Its a surprising result, assuming it's legit, but its not all that bad since RP was right behind Fred and if Hunter wins then theres no way to spin it in favor of the "top tier". I would have liked an outright RP win but the restrictiveness of the poll keeps many supporters from voting, in addition to those rumors about denying entry.

[LibertyEagle]

Well, they wanted someone they thought was conservative and they see that being Hunter and Fred, more than Paul. We're not doing a good enough job getting the word out.

[jmunjr]

Duncan Hunter made an appearance. Who else made one? Paul. That's it right? Makes perfect sense..

[cjhowe]

Typo...
RP - 16.7%

[wgadget]

Okay.....Fred Thompson will start getting run through the mill next week, and Duncan Hunter is broke.

So Ron's doing great, and we will continue to work even harder.

[Slugg]

Hunter is still toast, and fred barely beat us.... But, HUNTER? I guess he's been working texas for a bit or something.

[Johnnybags]

because this was a carefully controlled vote, Paul has gone from the so called 3 percent to 10 in Iowa and 16 here, 16 here is important when recognizing it was very controlled. He is eating into the base a bit at a time. Keep sending the cash, Hunter got 500 votes and will be lucky to get 500 bucks out of it.

[LibertyEagle]

Its a surprising result, assuming it's legit, but its not all that bad since RP was right behind Fred and if Hunter wins then theres no way to spin it in favor of the "top tier". I would have liked an outright RP win but the restrictiveness of the poll keeps many supporters from voting, in addition to those rumors about denying entry.

This is his own state. This is bad.

This better serve as a WAKE UP call to us all. What we're doing is not enough. We need to get the word out better and we'd better do it fast. We have just a few short months to turn this around or it is all over.

[Zydeco]

Strong 3rd place finish, good result. Remember that these are party apparatchiks -- you had to be a former delegate to vote, so this is a group that would be reflexively anti-Paul. Regular people were not allowed to vote.

[stevedasbach]

16.17% among former delegates is not too shabby.

Even the extra bus load probably wouldn't have been enough to overtake Thompson.

Reports were that the cheers for Paul & Hunter were about the same. Given that we had a lot of guests (i.e. non-voters) inside, the numbers aren't that surprising. Hunter showed up, and got the pro-war vote.

[themanhere]

Hunter came in first? haha Yeah this straw poll means jack shit.

[rightcoast]

I didn't think Rep. Paul was going to get third here either. I thought maybe 6th at best.

So frankly, considering the rules of the debate this is a pleasant surprise. Lot's of people will be able to use the numbers here to downplay Rep. Paul's legitimacy. The fact is though, with only prior delegates being able to vote, this was a pretty stellar result. Paul has plenty of support from the likes of prior delegates to have a great shot at Texas, when everyone else can vote along with prior delegates.

[wgadget]

Come to think of it, reading all the pre-vote-count articles, the press DID seem to be pushing the Hunter thing....

Hmm.

[wgadget]

Also, the MSM won't be able to say that RP won it BECAUSE it was his home state. Look at the bright side!

[LibertyEagle]

Strong 3rd place finish, good result. Remember that these are party apparatchiks -- you had to be a former delegate to vote, so this is a group that would be reflexively anti-Paul. Regular people were not allowed to vote.

That's not true at all. Did you call any of them? Most are sick of Dubya and do not like what he's doing. That's why Giuiani and the rest came in so low. They want a Reagan conservative (the way he talked, not what he actually DID) and they see that being Hunter or Fred, more than Paul.

We don't need to put our own spin on this. We need to face the truth and that seems to be that we are not getting the word out good enough. We've got to decide what to do and do better.

[Lord Xar]

This is his own state. This is bad.

This better serve as a WAKE UP call to us all. What we're doing is not enough. We need to get the word out better and we'd better do it fast. We have just a few short months to turn this around or it is all over.

liberty, this is NOT bad.. this is 3rd place. It is fine. IF you consider that total of what, under 2k votes were cast.. its not a big deal. 3rd is good.

Remember, these are "conservative republicans" -- we turned them around to 3rd. Plus, if that busload story is true, there is that 2nd place finish.

Remember, Romeny/Guiliania/McCain got SMASHED!!!! Is that "bad" for them???

C'mon, we need you to stay positive... this is NOT bad at all.

[wgadget]

LOL, zydeco..."regular people."

[Zydeco]

Strong 3rd place finish, good result. Remember that these are party apparatchiks -- you had to be a former delegate to vote, so this is a group that would be reflexively anti-Paul. Regular people were not allowed to vote.

[cjhowe]

That's not true at all. Did you call any of them? Most are sick of Dubya and do not like what he's doing. That's why Giuiani and the rest came in so low. They want a Reagan conservative (the way he talked, not what he actually DID) and they see that being Hunter or Fred, more than Paul.

You weren't in the parking garage. While Ron Paul bumper stickers lined the streets of Fort Worth going from the hotel to the convention center, the parking garage directly across from the convention center was filled with "W" and Bush/Cheney stickers

[American]

its a fund raiser for the GOP. Ron Paul will be president of the US not Texas.

No offense to Texas but ......Bush...........

[specsaregood]

Take the result and carryon. Hunter has much less support than RP. All the news articles leading up to this pointed out that Ron Paul supporters were EVERYWHERE. Those are real votes in the real election.

I'll take 3rd and keep on spreading the word. Going out tomorrow to hand out literature in NJ. If you didn't have any plans for tomorrow; use this as inspiration to get out there.

It is obvious to me that all the votes among the other candidates were lumped into Hunter's votes --because he showed up. While Ron Paul's votes were real.

[LibertyEagle]

You weren't in the parking garage. While Ron Paul bumper stickers lined the streets of Fort Worth going from the hotel to the convention center, the parking garage directly across from the convention center was filled with "W" and Bush/Cheney stickers

ok.

[tiznow]

Hardly anyone is paying attention at this point really who cares. :) Straw polls (they are just fundraisers) as i see it are used to either bolster or diminish the grassroots support, in the end on the grand scale they are pretty much meaningless. The only meaning to come from it is it might garner more monetary support if you have a good showing like huckabee in iowa, and duncan here in texas.

Also hunter comes off as a "reagan" republican to many long time republicans so he will play well in texas I'm not surprised by this at all.

[Brasil Branco]

I think the problem here is that of all people, Duncan Hunter won. I mean, if someone like Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney came in first- sure, but Hunter?? The guy barely registers on national polls, came third to last in the Iowa straw poll. And it's not like he won by a few votes- he won with 500 votes!

How did he get that many votes suddenly? Is Ron Paul hated that much by the MSM that they would pull their votes for someone like Hunter?

[cjhowe]

ok.

At the same time, it may very well have been every remaining Bush/Cheney sticker in Texas. We can only hope.

[MsDoodahs]

I think this is a decent finish.

Any confirmation yet on the bus from Houston with delegates denied their vote?

If that happens to be true and we can get an estimate on how many and whether or not these were Paul voters, we'll know if RP might have come in even higher.

NOT THAT THAT MATTERS TO ANYONE BUT US.

[R_Harris]

In the 1984 Senate race, Ron only got 17% of the vote in the Republican primary, with Phil Gramm getting 70%. Ron has NEVER been popular among the Texas Republican elite, because of his perceived anti-defense and other Libertarian positions. A number of people were not happy when he became the LP candidate in 1988.

So frankly, I would have been surprised if Ron had won.

What is bad is that it will continue to fuel Hunter's efforts, which will muddy the waters even more.

[Zydeco]

We don't need to put our own spin on this. We need to face the truth and that seems to be that we are not getting the word out good enough.

LibertyEagle, I don't think you can analyze the results of a poll without taking into account who was and who was not permitted to vote in the poll. Seems self-evident, no?

[TexMac]

Saturday, September 01, 2007
Duncan Hunter Wins Townhall.com Texas Republican Straw Poll; Fred Thompson Second
Posted by: Jonathan Garthwaite at 4:30 PM
16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)Wow. Almost 1300 people voted. That's more than I thought would show up.

And 16.17% of the hard core Texas Republicans are against the war? That's very encouraging.

[r3volution]

........

[TexMac]

I think the problem here is that of all people, Duncan Hunter won. I mean, if someone like Fred Thompson or Mitt Romney came in first- sure, but Hunter?? The guy barely registers on national polls, came third to last in the Iowa straw poll. And it's not like he won by a few votes- he won with 500 votes!

How did he get that many votes suddenly? Is Ron Paul hated that much by the MSM that they would pull their votes for someone like Hunter?They were rewarding him for showing up. Same thing happened in Iowa, remember?

[njandrewg]

Hunter was the only candidate who didn't campaign in Iowa(he came in almost last), my guess he spent all that time campaigning in Texas.

His victory is pointless, kinda like Huckabee's victory. Doesn't really say much. One day of coverage, but no bump in $$$

[wgadget]

And the debate is next week....more publicity for Dr. Paul!!

Woohoo..No doubt he'll blow them away again.

But I'm wondering how the MSM will spin this poll.

[cjhowe]

In the 1984 Senate race, Ron only got 17% of the vote in the Republican primary, with Phil Gramm getting 70%. Ron has NEVER been popular among the Texas Republican elite, because of his perceived anti-defense and other Libertarian positions. A number of people were not happy when he became the LP candidate in 1988.

So frankly, I would have been surprised if Ron had won.

What is bad is that it will continue to fuel Hunter's efforts, which will muddy the waters even more.

Yeah, I was hoping a poor showing would send Hunter packing and leave the talk of military service to RP and McCain.

[Cowlesy]

1,300 Votes at $75 a vote I think? $97,500 raised for the Texas GOP by the delegates.

To put in perspective, their whole shindig raised less loot than Ron Paul did at one supporter's private fundraiser the night before where Ron raised $102,000.

[Hook]

You weren't in the parking garage. While Ron Paul bumper stickers lined the streets of Fort Worth going from the hotel to the convention center, the parking garage directly across from the convention center was filled with "W" and Bush/Cheney stickers

CJ, just a bit of friendly advice: You probably will make more friends if you are a little more gentle with your posts. Even when you are right, can say the same thing a less confrontational manner.
Just my $0.02

[angelatc]

Strong 3rd place finish, good result. Remember that these are party apparatchiks -- you had to be a former delegate to vote, so this is a group that would be reflexively anti-Paul. Regular people were not allowed to vote.

I agree with you... Don't get me wrong, because I desperately wanted first. But I think that seeing that we've got 16% of the old school Repubican vote gives us something to work with.

It's going to be a huge battle to get a bigger share of that, and time is running out.

The good news is that the more neo-condidates there are, the more likely that they'll split the vote in the primary.

Ron Paul can win primaries with 20-25% if the vote is split 5 ways.

[njandrewg]

And the debate is next week....more publicity for Dr. Paul!!

Woohoo..No doubt he'll blow them away again.

But I'm wondering how the MSM will spin this poll.
slight bump up to Hunter, slight bump down to Huckabee for not being able to repeat Iowa, all others will remain the same

[johnrocks]

No need to get down, no just the opposite!! I said on another forum the other day that I didn't think Ron Paul would win this straw poll since only previous delegates were allowed to vote, we should feel estatic that he got third with over two frigging hundred previous delegates voting for him!! :D

[wgadget]

1,300 Votes at $75 a vote I think? $97,500 raised for the Texas GOP by the delegates.

To put in perspective, their whole shindig raised less loot than Ron Paul did at one supporter's private fundraiser the night before where Ron raised $102,000.

Pre-paid was only $50 a vote.

[Johnnybags]

1,300 Votes at $75 a vote I think? $97,500 raised for the Texas GOP by the delegates.

To put in perspective, their whole shindig raised less loot than Ron Paul did at one supporter's private fundraiser the night before where Ron raised $102,000.

And that was at a house party, never mind anything else he picked up. And 16 percent of hard core Republicans voted for him. I actually believe Ron will get more of a dollar bump from this than Hunter. I cannot wait for the meetup announcement. Think Hunter could copy that?

[angelatc]

They were rewarding (Hunter) for showing up. Same thing happened in Iowa, remember?

But I was discouraged when I saw another blog reporting that some Thompson reporters were former Huckabee supporters, who were mad that Huckabee stood them up at the big dance.

I understand that, but why align with a guy who won't even buy a ticket?

[wgadget]

Um, there's a whole lot more disappointment coming to the Thompson supporters.....starting......next week.

[TexMac]

But I was discouraged when I saw another blog reporting that some Thompson reporters were former Huckabee supporters, who were mad that Huckabee stood them up at the big dance.

I understand that, but why align with a guy who won't even buy a ticket?You mean Thompson's numbers? Well, look what Lew said:



The Texas Republican Party set up its straw poll to hurt Ron Paul. That's why the voters were restricted to past delegates and alternates from Texas Republican conventions, that is neocons and party hacks for the most part. Ron Paul was supposed to get zero. Instead, he got more than 16%.


The Republican Party of Texas has been controlled by the Bushes since 1980. That means the Ron Paul campaign and all its volunteers and donors can be very proud. This is yet another step upwards in the growth of a movement that is already shaking the world of all the bad guys. Note: Hunter did so well because he alone, of all the warmongering candidates, bothered to show up. BTW, Fred the Late was supposed to win--that was Gov. Perry's plan--but he was elsewhere, delaying.

[Elwar]

A Hunter bump is great. Any bump to the lower tier war hawks is good for Ron Paul.

Spread that vote more.

[MsDoodahs]

You mean Thompson's numbers? Well, look what Lew said:



The Texas Republican Party set up its straw poll to hurt Ron Paul. That's why the voters were restricted to past delegates and alternates from Texas Republican conventions, that is neocons and party hacks for the most part. Ron Paul was supposed to get zero. Instead, he got more than 16%.


The Republican Party of Texas has been controlled by the Bushes since 1980. That means the Ron Paul campaign and all its volunteers and donors can be very proud. This is yet another step upwards in the growth of a movement that is already shaking the world of all the bad guys. Note: Hunter did so well because he alone, of all the warmongering candidates, bothered to show up. BTW, Fred the Late was supposed to win--that was Gov. Perry's plan--but he was elsewhere, delaying.


A. Men.

[tmg19103]

Here's my concern: Only two candidates showed and actively campaigned in this straw poll - Hunter and Ron Paul.

So, what happened here? The word in the Iowa straw poll was that Iowans had a history of rewarding those who gave them attention and campaigned a lot. That showed through in this years Iowa results.

But why Hunter - even though he did give Texans attention? Was it a protest vote because the big names did not show? If so, why not throw the protest vote to your native son?

What this shows me is how messed up our political system is. How many of those 500 who voted for Hunter will vote for him in the primaries? I bet 10 or 20. They will vote for someone else, but it won't be Ron Paul or they would have voted for him now.

RP's biggest hurdle with the GOP is his anti-war stance. If he were pro-war he would have won this straw poll by a landslide. While 70% of Americans are against the Iraq war, amongst the ever dwindling number of registered Republicans, support for the war is well over 50%.

No doubt these delegates, who really are Republican activists, gave Hunter the pro-war protest vote - voting against the big name pro-war types because they did not show.

The good news for RP is he has some money, his support grows every day, he still beat all the big names except Thompson, and he has support of newly registered voters, Independents and Democrats and members of lesser parties - all of whom could not vote in this straw poll.

Fortunatley this poll, over the holiday weekend, will get no real press and third on paper does not look bad. It's just bizarre to be run over by Hunter. No doubt a pro-war protest vote by political animal GOP delegates.

I'm disappointed, but what can you do? Quite simply - FIGHT HARDER for Ron Paul!!!!!!!

The way I see it, Rudy, Mitt and Fred will still carve up the pro-war/neo-con vote, giving RP an in for a lot of voters who hear his message and don't go for the neo-con bull.

[Bro.Butch]

A Hunter bump is great. Any bump to the lower tier war hawks is good for Ron Paul.

Spread that vote more.

Thanks ! You understand the route to a RP victory. Nine fear/warmongers split the chickenhawk votes and RP wins delegates in every state with 20+ % of the vote. We don't need anyone to drop out until Feb. 6 !!!

If APP ST can defeat Michigan @ football in the big house...Ron Paul can be our next POTUS !!!!!!!!:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[phixonpolitics]

I was disappointed and of course allowed myself a little feeling of "is it real or is it retouched?" However, I think of other polls and a little of what they tell us. In Iowa, Huckabee was the surprise with second. However, that didn't persist in other polls. Even Romney's lead hasn't persisted throughout the nation. This is Duncan Hunter's only first place ranking. However, Ron Paul is consistently in the "top tier" like none of the others. We must keep on doing what we're doing, and contributing what we can when we can.

[nullvalu]

Wow, look at how bad so called "front runners" Giuliani, Romney & McCain did.. barely 10% combining all 3 of them..

[Razmear]

Ray McKinney: 28
John Cox: 10
John McCain: 8
Sam Brownback: 6
Tom Tancredo: 6
Hugh Cort: 3

If anything this shows that it's time for McCain to give up. I still don't understand why they still call him Top Tier.

[Zydeco]

Wow, look at how bad so called "front runners" Giuliani, Romney & McCain did.. barely 10% combining all 3 of them..


I know, it's hilarious that the crooked MSM and the crooked pollsters create this circular "frontrunner" logic between themselves and it bears no relation to the reality on the ground.

If Giuliani is "top tier," how come he keeps doing so badly in virtually every single straw poll? Divergent realities.

[LibertyEagle]

I'm disappointed, but what can you do? Quite simply - FIGHT HARDER for Ron Paul!!!!!!!


HECK YEA!!!

[kylejack]

I'm down the street at bennigan's if anyone wants to come have a beer and talk about how things went today. Cindy Sheehan was lurking outside today and I have an unconfirmed report that Ron Paul went over and spoke with her.

[stevedasbach]

I'm down the street at bennigan's if anyone wants to come have a beer and talk about how things went today. Cindy Sheehan was lurking outside today and I have an unconfirmed report that Ron Paul went over and spoke with her.

So how about a first-hand report of the event?

[Marc Scott Emery]

I'm very impressed Ron Paul got 16.7% from hard-core Republican Party insiders, officials and delegates. That is awesome.

I think the huge rallying and support for Ron Paul is making an impact on Republican insiders and they are responding.

$102,000 collected in one day! Wow! And coming on the heels of the previous best day of fundraising before the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa, the momentum continues to build, on the streets and with the $$$$.

McCain and Giuliani, repudiated once again!

Third is never an insult at this stage. I think Texas will be a big primary win for Dr. Ron Paul. By then Duncan Hunter will be out, and Dr. Paul's momentum is going to keep building.

I was very heartened by everything that happened this weekend at the Straw Poll in Texas, the news is all great! Yay!

The full results
Texas Straw Poll results

Candidate.......................... Votes.......................... Percent
Duncan Hunter....................534..................... ..... 41.1%
Fred Thompson ................. 266.......................... 20.5%
Ron Paul............................ 217 .......................... 16.7%
Mike Huckabee....................83.................... ...... 6.4%
Rudy Giuliani........................78................ .......... 6.0%
Mitt Romney.........................61................. ......... 4.7%
Ray McKinney.......................28................. ......... 2.2%
John Cox .............................10 .......................... 0.8%
John McCain.......................... 8 .......................... 0.6%
Tom Tancredo........................6 .......................... 0.5%
Sam Brownback.....................6................... ....... 0.5%
Hugh Cort.......................... ...3.......................... 0.2%

[LibertyEagle]

Also remember this...

Ft. Worth is home to Lockheed Martin.

[CJLauderdale4]

Couple of points:

- If you account for the facts that Duncan Hunter is broke and is struggling to make it to the primaries, AND Fred Thompson isn't officially in the race yet (or is he?), Ron did farely well considering he's not in the MSM anywhere as much as the others.
- The supposed top-tier, and even those close to it, were basically crushed in this poll of ACTUAL delegates in Texas, and they are basically shunning Texas as they did Iowa by not showing a major presence. Iowans and Texans will not forget this in the primaries.

[disinter]

Ron Paul’s third place finish was a huge success considering the rules of the poll were designed specifically to prevent him from winning.

http://disinter.wordpress.com/2007/09/01/ron-paul-places-3rd-in-texas-straw-poll/

[Brasil Branco]

I just don't understand how Duncan Hunter could muster so much support- I mean, he won by a pretty large margin. That's the question of the day, why did Texas delegates decide to throw their weight behind Hunter?

I don't know how much money Hunter spent, but did they actually pay $50 to $75 just to make a statement or was Hunter making a gamble with this poll, or are there people geniunely attracted by Hunter's message?

It just doesn't make any sense.

[J4ck]

Texas got hijacked by the neocons in the 80's...so it's pretty impressive that the antiwar candidate gets so many votes from the -delegates-.

[kylejack]

Ron Paul signs were 60 percent of the crowd, Hunter 30%, 10% assorted. Remember that jerk who said Ron Paul was "done" after the spat with Rudy? He introduced the first two candidate speeches but "had to go" just before Ron Paul's speech, so someone else introduced Ron. Good Ron energy throughout the event. Ron Paul supporters booed Cheney on a video and Republican Party people started shrieking that they were shameful and to go across the street (anti war protest). Very hostile. Overall, a fun event.

[J4ck]

@Brasil
He's the only war mongerer that showed up.

[tmg19103]

Ray McKinney: 28
John Cox: 10
John McCain: 8
Sam Brownback: 6
Tom Tancredo: 6
Hugh Cort: 3

If anything this shows that it's time for McCain to give up. I still don't understand why they still call him Top Tier.

The MSM calls McCain "top tier" so they can focus on three big name neo-cons and ignore the rest of the candidates - including RP. With Thompson soon to join, the Big 3 will become Rudy, Mitt and Fred - with the rest, including RP, being ignored.

NO PROBLEM! NONE of them have the grassroots we have, and as I just posted - they will carve up the pro-war/neo-con vote between them, and give RP a great in with his unique message.

The key is to do well enough in the Iowa Caucus and to win or come in 2nd in New Hampshire. Then, it will be very hard for the MSM to ignore RP, but I would not put anything by them. A win in NH would be key. The MSM could NOT ignore that.

The more I think about this straw poll, the more I realize it was "legally" rigged with delegates voting for Hunter to try and make RP look bad.

We all know the GOP does not support RP, and NOW we know the GOP is scared of RP. He is a real threat to win a lot of votes and they don't control him! If the Texas delegates just voted for whoever they wanted, votes would have been split between a lot of candidates and RP WOULD have won.

WE control our own destiny through RP. I'm pumped to fight even harder! How DARE the GOP strategize to manipulate straw poll results! THIS is exactly why government is so corrupt - they feel they can do whatever they want.

It is TIME to show the establishment in the press and in government that the people do matter. Let's stay pumped, focused and work even harder for RP!

[J4ck]

If Ghouliani and Romney would have been there, Ron would be 2nd.

[disinter]

I just don't understand how Duncan Hunter could muster so much support- I mean, he won by a pretty large margin. That's the question of the day, why did Texas delegates decide to throw their weight behind Hunter?

I don't know how much money Hunter spent, but did they actually pay $50 to $75 just to make a statement or was Hunter making a gamble with this poll, or are there people geniunely attracted by Hunter's message?

It just doesn't make any sense.

I was there. There was a group of about 5 Hunter supports (they appeared to be paid) holding up signs in a corner. There were 500+ Ron Paul supporters.

I agree though, wouldn't these die-hard delegates have voted for Giuliani or Romney? Something is fishy.

[disinter]

If Ghouliani and Romney would have been there, Ron would be 2nd.

They were on the ballot.

[J4ck]

lol the GOP is in deep trouble (lewrockwell.com)

"TX Straw Poll big losers: TX GOP & Townhall

Only 1300 delegates showed up? Ouch. They were expecting 15,000. I wonder if they even made any money on this deal."

[J4ck]

"They were on the ballot."
Yeh but people don't like to vote for candidates who don't even show up.

[LibertyEagle]

lol the GOP is in deep trouble (lewrockwell.com)

"TX Straw Poll big losers: TX GOP & Townhall

Only 1300 delegates showed up? Ouch. They were expecting 15,000. I wonder if they even made any money on this deal."

That's unrealistic. There are only 17000 Total Texas Delegates.

[Sematary]

Oh man. I'm bummed.

Why? That seems pretty good to me.

[J4ck]

dunno

[Mister Grieves]

Only 1300 delegates showed up? Ouch. They were expecting 15,000. I wonder if they even made any money on this deal."

I really hope not. The entrenched GOP establishment are really hanging themselves by shunning the only real conservative running. Let them burn.

On another note, Ron Paul is doing astronomically well considering the forces working against him. He beat out almost all the so called 'top-tier' candidates by a wide margin.


Yeh but people don't like to vote for candidates who don't even show up.

Then a lot of people, excluding Paul, are going to be in trouble come election time.

[FluffyUnbound]

Guys, you can spin all you want but this vote was a slap in the face from the party to Paul.

Duncan Hunter got all those votes because people were voting for "Anyone But Paul" and chose to reward the only other real candidate to show up.

I'd bet that 300 of Hunter's 500 votes were people who got up that morning to make sure that ANYONE but Ron Paul would win the Straw Poll.

The Republican Party is just too far gone. There will be a lot of guffawing and highfiving at Townhall and elsewhere about the humiliation delivered to Paul, and it tells you everything you need to know about what this party is now about. These guys don't care about any issue other than the war. If Reagan was alive and turned anti-war, they'd slit his throat. If Goldwater was alive and turned anti-war, they'd piss in his face. This is the party now. We better hope that the pro-war candidates cut each other to ribbons and leave Paul a window of opportunity.

[Johnnybags]

Ron Paul signs were 60 percent of the crowd, Hunter 30%, 10% assorted. Remember that jerk who said Ron Paul was "done" after the spat with Rudy? He introduced the first two candidate speeches but "had to go" just before Ron Paul's speech, so someone else introduced Ron. Good Ron energy throughout the event. Ron Paul supporters booed Cheney on a video and Republican Party people started shrieking that they were shameful and to go across the street (anti war protest). Very hostile. Overall, a fun event.

He hates Paul, I loved it when Ron was winning the text poll on FOX after Steele said its done. The Republican party(Neocon) is all but gone, but remember folks, its the economy stupid, and the only thing propping it up for now is money printing from International bankers. Seen how many cronies are jumping ship lately? Pretty soon the FED will accept Chinese toys for collateral. And yes, any stock market debacle will be preceded by a false flag deal so they can blame it on some type of terror or Iran. You really think all that bad paper the FED took as collateral will be taken back by the banks? Nah, they will keep rolling it over and over and printing and printing and only Ron will explain the outcome.

[stevedasbach]

Ron Paul supporters booed Cheney on a video and Republican Party people started shrieking that they were shameful and to go across the street (anti war protest). Very hostile.

That was just plain stupid. You've got to know your audience. Booing Cheney could have easily swayed enough undecided votes to cost Paul 2nd place.

[J4ck]

Hunter got 534 votes, Ron 217...that was a slap in the face of the establishment. Think about it...antiwar candidate vs. Texan delegates?
I'm pretty sure that the GOP establishment made some pressure to boost Hunter, but it didn't work. (come on 1300 delegates)
This just shows that the party is ready for a change.

[Elwar]

This is a great example of how the national polls work. All the media covering this event know that Ron Paul supporters had the majority of the support at the event but on many accounts admitted "Of all the Ron Paul supporters there, none were delegates".

This is exactly how the National polls work. Only those individuals that voted for a Republican in the last election are included in the poll as "likely republican voters".

[Shellshock1918]

sounds like it was rigged, no way hunter would win.

[Dlynne]

That was just plain stupid. You've got to know your audience. Booing Cheney could have easily swayed enough undecided votes to cost Paul 2nd place.

At this point in time, I agree with stevedasbach. I live in Houston, and Texan Republicans are not ready to hear boos for the Bush/Cheney crowd, even if they are open to Paul's message. Booing their boys will just piss off the Republicans, and this behavior shoiuld stop if we are going to make any headway with the GOP, especially in the south.

Duncan Hunter, in addition to supporting the war in Iraq, sponsored the bill seeking a Congressional Pardon for the 2 border guards who shot the Mexican drug smuggler. This got a lot of publicity in Texas, and has been discussed by all the conservative radio shows, so Hunter's name has a lot of recognition in Texas, maybe even more than Paul's name.

Regardless, I am disappointed in the results of this straw poll.

[paulitics]

If Ghouliani and Romney would have been there, Ron would be 2nd.

yep, at 16%.

[kylejack]

No straw poll votes were swayed by booing Cheney after voting had closed. Besides, don't ask for a report and then bitch at me for something others did. Anyway, a TCU journalist just interviewed me outside Bennigan's, so watch for an article.

[The Only Woj]

what does it matter if Guiliani or Romney were there or not? the delegates would have voted the same either way. we should be lucky we were 3rd. considering not just anyone could vote. and I'm pretty sure only delegates can actually vote down the line in the republican national convention, it's good to see we got as much support as we did.

[Karsten]

These are Republican delegats, to either the state or national convention, from Bush's home state. You would expect these people to be hard-line neo-con Republicans. It does not include the usual Ron Paul Republican, who may have come from across the spectrum, or may have not been active in politics before Ron Paul. AND YET WE STILL CAME IN 3RD!!!!! 16%!!!!! Not 1%, not 2%, not 3%, but 16% among hard-line comitted Republicans in Bush's home state!!!!! Think of how unbelieveable that is.

[J4ck]

...the Fred supporters are really pissing me off...they would be Ron Paul supporters if they would read some books or alternative news. (well who wouldn't be then lol)

[Thomas Jefferson]

I was surprised that Hunter won but then again I don't know how popular he is in Texas. Considering the vote was done by delegates only, I would guess these are hardcore long-standing republicans, so it's quite an accomplishment that RP got 3rd. Then again it could be BS...who knows.

[ChooseLiberty]

Have to agree 3rd isn't bad considering the circumstances and Dr. Paul's general consistency across States while the other candidates percentages are all over the place.

IMO a lot of Republican's are hoping Thompson will come and rescue them from the stuffed shirt whacko's like Ghouliani and Willard. I think he's going to be a HUGE dissapointment. He's not the Reagan replica that everyone thinks.

[Zydeco]

No straw poll votes were swayed by booing Cheney after voting had closed. Besides, don't ask for a report and then bitch at me for something others did. Anyway, a TCU journalist just interviewed me outside Bennigan's, so watch for an article.


What did you get at Bennigan's?

[FluffyUnbound]

Since my last post was saying I was disappointed with the results, I just want to make sure to say that the efforts of everyone who volunteered were great and you guys really represented the best aspects of the Republican party today.

The mindset of the voting delegates certainly isn't a reflection on you guys, who appear to have worked really hard.

[reduen]

What would this be??

[kylejack]

If anyone could have voted, we would have stomped. Converting 16% of the hardcore guys is major. Just you wait until we spam the primaries. I am still drinking at Bennigan's. No food yet, but plenty of Shiner. ;)

[stevedasbach]

No straw poll votes were swayed by booing Cheney after voting had closed. Besides, don't ask for a report and then bitch at me for something others did. Anyway, a TCU journalist just interviewed me outside Bennigan's, so watch for an article.

I wasn't bitching at you -- sorry if it sounded like I was. I assumed you were only reporting. I was simply trying to saying that booing Cheney in that venue wasn't a smart strategy.

Thanks for clarifying that the booing occurred after the vote. And thank you for the first-person report.

[Cliff]

This is really good news guys. If people could of voted Ron would of won.

Look how far Rono has come and stay positive!!!

[Dlynne]

I wasn't bitching at you -- sorry if it sounded like I was. I assumed you were only reporting. I was simply trying to saying that booing Cheney in that venue wasn't a smart strategy.

Thanks for clarifying that the booing occurred after the vote. And thank you for the first-person report.

I also apologize if it sounded like I was complaining about your report.

[kylejack]

Okay, sorry Steve. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much. Cheney is at remarkable lows in job approval, so it likely only inflamed the unconvertable sycophants. The same Ron Paul supporters cheered Reagan on the video moments later.

[american.swan]

Holy crap, how in the hell did Duncan Hunter get so many friggin votes? I mean to get 500 delegates out there to vote for an unknown... how is that even possible?

This is a very smart statement.

This implies that Texas GOP delegates are willing to vote in mass for a broke unknown who has a lesser chance of winning a single primary over Ron Paul. What happened to voting for a candidate who could win? That is hogwash. How many delegates did we CALL? Something ain't right under some cowboy hats.

[kylejack]

Relax guys. Delegates are a small part of primary voters. We would have buried everyone if they let us vote.

[Akus]

http://www.townhall.com/blog/g/861a4369-4494-427b-9f5e-df5c00932190

16.17% Ron Paul (217 votes)
41.1% Duncan Hunter (534 votes)
20.5% Fred Thompson (266 votes)
6.4% Mike Huckabee (83 votes)
6% Rudy Giuliani (78 votes)
4.7% Mitt Romney (61 votes)
.46% Sam Brownback (6 votes)
.62% John McCain (8 votes)
.46% Tom Tancredo (6 votes)
2.2% Ray McKinney (28 votes)
.23% Hugh Cort (3 votes)
.77% John Cox (10 votes)


I say, BS


For those of us having gotten upset over Paul finishing third, understand that the selection of people was very limited. Many of Ron Paul's most active supporters are Liberals, independents and Libertarians, who, obviously, would not be present at Republican conventions, a requirement to vote in Texas. Very limited filtered out group of people, thus, was accepted to cast a vote.

Just like Paul finishing fifth in Iowa shouldn't be a let down, neither should this straw poll be. Ron Paul campaigned for only three days in IA. Knowing that, coming fifth is a smashing success. Here, in TX, Ron Pal came 3rd, even with such a filtration of the "right" voter crowd.

Ron Paul is not losing. These straw polls, much like those over the phone votes, pick out only a selected group of people. Our meetup explosion, our growth and our unpaid-for enthusiasm are Ron Paul's biggest asset that East Coaster can buy. Media, despite its best try to portray us as irrelevant or just pretending there is no Ron Paul, is paying attention because they're forced to. We are simply too big, too in the face and too everywhere to ignore. Media is losing viewership to the internet, because people are tired of being told whom to support. No one wants to see McCain portraid as a top contender and Ron portraid as nonexistent, when that is an easily displayable lie.

No one is marching on the streets, no one is promoting their candidates, no one is driving across the state(s) to help the cause. No one, except us. Rudy McRomney, much like us, doesn't believe the idiot box, either and he knows we're making up in people what we're lacking in $$. That guy would not stomp of that sign otherwise.

We mustn't be let down. Keep it up. Give some more $$. Tell some more people. Be polite and non-imposing. Do what you've been doing and change absolutely nothing.

[Givemelibertyor.....]

I really hope that these non-Republican supporters will change their affiliation if necessary for the primaries.

Don't think that this rotten GOP is going to do it.

[BrianH]

THIS SHOULD BE THE STORY TODAY!
Paul First, Hunter 4th overall in 11 straw polls since Iowa

Rank Candidate.........%........ Votes
1…Ron Paul……………24.9%……….999
2…Fred Thompson….18.9%……….759
3…Mitt Romney……….16.0%……….644
4…Duncan Hunter……….14.1%……….568
5…Rudy Giuliani……….8.1%……….325
6…Mike Huckabey……….5.3%……….214
7…Sam Brownback……….4.4%……….175
8…John McCain……….3.0%……….119
9…Tommy Tancredo……….0.5%……….22
…..Other…………………………4.2%……..167
….Total…….100%……3992
Last 11 Straw Polls included:
Texas GOP 1-Sep-07
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Dekalb County, GA
Ronald Reagan Club (Washington)
Strafford County, NH_West Alabama
West Lafayette, Indiana_Illinois State Fair
Students for Life of America_Western Montana Fair
Gaston County, NC
Source:
http://ok4ronpaul.ashlux.com/wiki/index.php?title=2008_Presidential_GOP_straw_poll_r esults

[texasbelle]

Duncan Hunter, in addition to supporting the war in Iraq, sponsored the bill seeking a Congressional Pardon for the 2 border guards who shot the Mexican drug smuggler. This got a lot of publicity in Texas, and has been discussed by all the conservative radio shows, so Hunter's name has a lot of recognition in Texas, maybe even more than Paul's name.

.

I have been lurking for weeks and decided to join in. The third place finish for RP is actually awesome. I am from rural Texas and most of the republicans here are what I would call "hannitized o'reilly heads". Duncan has a lot of name recognition in TX due to the pardon I quoted from the poster above. I think that Ron Paul beat the "top tier" candidates speaks volumes! I am a 'regular person' who would have voted for Paul if given the opportunity, but alas I am not a delegate. For RP to get the percentage of votes from staunch texas republicans is HUGE guys! Keep the Ron Paul energy up!!! There are many supporters to be won!

[american.swan]

These are Republican delegats, to either the state or national convention, from Bush's home state. You would expect these people to be hard-line neo-con Republicans. It does not include the usual Ron Paul Republican, who may have come from across the spectrum, or may have not been active in politics before Ron Paul. AND YET WE STILL CAME IN 3RD!!!!! 16%!!!!! Not 1%, not 2%, not 3%, but 16% among hard-line comitted Republicans in Bush's home state!!!!! Think of how unbelieveable that is.

I think I posted too soon about this. I agree with this statement also. So I have some questions.

How/Why did a broke no body Hunter win the poll? Some post have tried to explain that as name recognition in Texas and a reward for the only Pro-war candidate to show up.

How did Ron Paul get 16% out of a hard-lined pro-war Texas delegates? Some would say it was rigged because by phone calls some made he should have gotten more. But also 16% isn't THAT bad.

Fred got 20% and is running on an almost copy of Paul's platform + war i gather. Going to Fred's website gives you a platform many would seem pleasant to the ears. So just by reading that, some could have voted for Fred not knowing his record in Washington.

No matter what we keep going.

[alliebelle]

Hunter must have been getting a lot of publicity in TX before the straw poll. My 68 year old father, who lives in the Dallas area, doesn't use the internet and knew all about Hunter.

In addition to showing up, I think Hunter did so well because he has come out against the NAU and NAFTA Superhighway and is strong on anti-illegal immigration, unlike most of the other pro-war candidates. Personally, I think all of the pro-war candidate are globalists.

My Dad prefers Hunter, but he said he'd vote for Paul over the top tier candidates. If Hunter stays at the bottom or drops out, maybe his supporters will switch to Paul since national sovereignty is a very important issue to them. One good sign is that both of my parents donated the max to Paul's campaign, not to Hunter's.

[BrianH]

sorry for the dupilcate post! Corrected numbers:
THIS SHOULD BE THE STORY TODAY!
Paul First, Hunter 4th overall in 11 straw polls since Iowa
Rank Candidate.........%........ Votes
1…Ron Paul……………24.9%……….999
2…Fred Thompson….18.9%……….759
3…Mitt Romney……….16.0%……….644
4…Duncan Hunter……….14.1%……….568
5…Rudy Giuliani……….8.1%……….325
6…Mike Huckabey……….5.3%……….214
7…Sam Brownback……….4.4%……….175
8…John McCain……….3.0%……….119
9…Tommy Tancredo……….0.5%……….22
…..Other…………………………4.2%……..167
….Total…….100%……3992
Last 11 Straw Polls included:
Texas GOP 1-Sep-07
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Dekalb County, GA
Ronald Reagan Club (Washington)
Strafford County, NH_West Alabama
West Lafayette, Indiana_Illinois State Fair
Students for Life of America_Western Montana Fair
Gaston County, NC
Source:
http://ok4ronpaul.ashlux.com/wiki/index.php?title=2008_Presidential_GOP_straw_poll_r esults

[Akus]

One good sign is that both of my parents donated the max to Paul's campaign, not to Hunter's.
Max?:eek:
As in, $2300?

:D :D

[LibertyEagle]

THIS SHOULD BE THE STORY TODAY!
Paul First, Hunter 8th overall in 11 straw polls since Iowa
Rank Candidate.........%........ Votes
1...Ron Paul.............24.9%....782
2...Mitt Romney.......16.0%....583
3...Fred Thompson...18.9%....483
4...Rudy Giuliani.........8.1%....247
5...Sam Brownback.....4.4%....169
6...Mike Huckabey.......5.3%....131
7...John McCain............3.0%....111
8...Duncan Hunter.......14.1%....34
9...Tommy Tancredo......0.5%....16
.....Other...................... 4.2%....22
.....Total......................100%....2578
Last 11 Straw Polls included:
Texas GOP 1-Sep-07
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Dekalb County, GA
Ronald Reagan Club (Washington)
Strafford County, NH_West Alabama
West Lafayette, Indiana_Illinois State Fair
Students for Life of America_Western Montana Fair
Gaston County, NC
Source:
http://ok4ronpaul.ashlux.com/wiki/index.php?title=2008_Presidential_GOP_straw_poll_r esults

Brian, this shows Hunter with 34 votes. How could that be correct? He received more than 500 in this straw poll alone.

[american2]

Ron Paul gets 16.7 percent of the vote where only pro-war, Bush activists, from the last 4 texas gop conventions (activists for Bush while Texas governor), and the last 2 national conventions (activists for Bush while president) were allowed to vote!!

Go Ron Paul!

[Thomas Jefferson]

This is a very smart statement.

This implies that Texas GOP delegates are willing to vote in mass for a broke unknown who has a lesser chance of winning a single primary over Ron Paul. What happened to voting for a candidate who could win? That is hogwash. How many delegates did we CALL? Something ain't right under some cowboy hats.

It's a good reminder that the Republican establishment hates Ron Paul.

Remember a lot of people abandoned the Republican party because they weren't on board with GWB/Cheney/Neocons. Everyone who stayed behind still supports the neocon agenda, so they don't like Ron Paul.

It is a problem that has to be dealt with if Ron Paul is going to have a chance, and it can be done, shown by the fact that RP came in 3rd in this delegate poll.

[LibertyEagle]

Everyone who stayed behind still supports the neocon agenda, so they don't like Ron Paul.

A lot bailed, but a lot stayed too. I'm still Republican and you should know that I can't stand the statist turkeys in power!

[V-rod]

First I was a tad annoyed that we didn't get a few more delegate votes, but knowing that a low tier candidate beat out Fred Thompson makes me worry less about his impact when he enters the race.

[Magsec]

My piss is boiling so badly right now that the only cure is to donate more cash to the RP campaign. I will do today or tomorrow, depends how I feel after some Taco Bell....

[Nash]

I really hope that these non-Republican supporters will change their affiliation if necessary for the primaries.

Don't think that this rotten GOP is going to do it.

This is essential. It is becoming painfully clear that the typical GOP voters, whom at this point are a small minority, are not going to lean towards Paul.

As I mentioned in a post a while back, the only way we are going to win this is to take over the party. The Neocons infiltrated the GOP back when they elected Nixon and abandoned the principles of Goldwater. Now it's our turn to take it right back.

We're literally fighting a war of ideas here. We cannot back down and retreat to the 3rd parties or the voting booth altogether. Stand and FIGHT for this notion that those of us who are disaffected will have a voice and we will TAKE BACK this party which was hijacked in the 60's and turn it in to something WE WILL BE PROUD OF.

Remember this was our party to begin with and we've been standing on the sidelines putting up with the lesser of two evils. We can do this no more.

Please REGISTER REPUBLICAN and make this party our own. We will elect Paul and we will change the entire platform. The neocons can flee to the Bloomberg/Schwarzenegger party. To hell with them. The GOP is weak, it is disaffected, and they are a scattered minority that is ripe for a takeover. We will BE HEARD ON ELECTION day. DO NOT EVER FORGET THAT!!

[Omnis]

Considering the delegate vote, it's quite refreshing to see Zitt and the rest buried with Ron in a comfortable 3rd (actually 2nd, because Fred is too pussy to get involved).

[Dary]

This wasn’t a loss for Ron. It was a wakeup call to the conservatives within the Republican Party.

We’ve made some headway and I’d say that 17% is encouraging. Given that these were hard core republican voters/party members.

But the Neo-Cons are still entrenched and in control. We all knew that going in.

It’s an embarrassment for the delegates who voted for Fred Thompson. But it sends a message to the conservatives that the Neo-Con delegates would rather vote for a bad actor pretending to be a conservative and lose the election to Hillary than back a real constitutionalist.

If we lose this thing, it will be their fault. Just like it was in the last election. The conservatives know what they have to do. They just need to do it.

They better wake up quick and take their party back or history will repeat itself.

Ron Paul support is huge. They are the ones who will be voting in the primaries.

The fund raising was incredible and will continue to keep Ron in the race while Hunter drops out. It will be then that I expect more conservatives, the big money guys and gals to start popping out of the woodwork in support of Ron Paul.

As more and more of their candidates drop out, they will be faced with a real moral choice.

If they don’t jump on board, they’ll lose.

It’s as simple as that.

Great job Texas!

[specsaregood]

Anybody else find it amusing that if you scan the townhall.com posts quickly it almost reads, "Hunter Thompson wins Townhall Texas Straw Poll"

I think HST would get a kick out of this election cycle.

[MsDoodahs]

I have been lurking for weeks and decided to join in. The third place finish for RP is actually awesome. I am from rural Texas and most of the republicans here are what I would call "hannitized o'reilly heads". Duncan has a lot of name recognition in TX due to the pardon I quoted from the poster above. I think that Ron Paul beat the "top tier" candidates speaks volumes! I am a 'regular person' who would have voted for Paul if given the opportunity, but alas I am not a delegate. For RP to get the percentage of votes from staunch texas republicans is HUGE guys! Keep the Ron Paul energy up!!! There are many supporters to be won!

Hi, texasbelle. I'm also in rural Texas, and can confirm that what you say about republicans in this area - perfect description "hannitized o'reilly heads."

I also see a 3rd place finish for Ron as fantastic news.

[BrianH]

Brian, this shows Hunter with 34 votes. How could that be correct? He received more than 500 in this straw poll alone.


Sorry, an error in my spreadsheet! Corrected totals:
1…Ron Paul……………24.9%……….999
2…Fred Thompson….18.9%……….759
3…Mitt Romney……….16.0%……….644
4…Duncan Hunter……….14.1%……….568
5…Rudy Giuliani……….8.1%……….325
6…Mike Huckabey……….5.3%……….214
7…Sam Brownback……….4.4%……….175
8…John McCain……….3.0%……….119
9…Tommy Tancredo……….0.5%……….22
…..Other…………………………4.2%……..167
….Total…….100%……3992

[LibertyEagle]

Would you go add a new post over on TH where you posted this. Someone already noticed it over there.

[Shink]

My piss is boiling so badly right now that the only cure is to donate more cash to the RP campaign. I will do today or tomorrow, depends how I feel after some Taco Bell....

Bastard! Now I'll have to pick up some Grande Quesadillas.:cool:

[Hurricane Bruiser]

Third place in THIS straw poll is EXCELLENT!!! I figured that we might place 5th or 6th since it was limited to prior delegates.

Hunter won because the current "top tier" are NOT conservatives and delegates know this. Hunter is a conservative and spent two solid days slapping hands in TX to win this.

[Dorfsmith]

well, only delegates can vote ... so this isn't a shock. in fact, I'm shocked he did this well.


Agreed! I expected a 5th place. Delegates are usually hardcore members of the party.

[undergroundrr]

Great show today! The Meetup organizers did a magnificent job with the early morning parade and *taking over* this event in a very visual way. I got the distinct impression that the campaign was taking cues from the ideas of the Meetups, not the other way around.

From the first moment of arriving at the event, the opposition to Paul was palpable. After the parade, as we gathered around the Credentials-Only entrance, a gentleman told me "He's an asshole, that's who." After a moment, I realized he was responding to my "Who Is Ron Paul" t-shirt. As I walked into the ballroom where the main event was held, I was immediately told by a kindly-looking gentleman in suspenders, "You're wasting your energy."

Caveat - it's generalization time - This was a very "mature" audience. They are 100% behind the word Republican™. They like the letter W™. They Support Our Troops™. They're concerned about Terrorism™. Their interpretations of these concepts have been delivered intraveneously. The Trans-Texas Corridor sounds like a great idea to them, as long as Perry and Cornyn say so. I sat between some very kind, somewhat elderly ladies, 2 to my left and 2 to my right. Seeing the Paul supporters, one lady on the right exclaimed with awe "They're so young!"

It has been literally decades since any of them considered anything fractionally like what the Congressman Ron Paul said in his speech. 16.7% of them accepted and endorsed that message with their votes.

The thick and overwhelming blanket of Ron Paul signs that spanned the audience and shot up repeatedly was an inescapable message. It must have seemed puzzling or even threatening to the likes of John Cornyn and Michael Williams (who actually had the gall to boast that he'd spent $1.8 billion of my children's money on a clean energy project). They can breathe a sigh of relief that Paul didn't run off with a victory. But any sense of security they might have is completely false. The Freedom Movement (no need for a ™) is here for the long haul.

I'm acquainted with Jeremy Blosser and Scott Barber, who deserve huge credit for their hard work in making this a great success. I'm sure there are others who deserve a bow as well. If you can't tell, I'm jazzed by such a result in the face of adversity that I think many people underestimated.

Kurt

[jmunjr]

Since we're a Republic and have the Electoral College what you present doesn't mean much. Oh yeah and those are straw polls too. Still any press is good press for Paul...well except the 9/11 truth press :)


THIS SHOULD BE THE STORY TODAY!
Paul First, Hunter 4th overall in 11 straw polls since Iowa

Rank Candidate.........%........ Votes
1…Ron Paul……………24.9%……….999
2…Fred Thompson….18.9%……….759
3…Mitt Romney……….16.0%……….644
4…Duncan Hunter……….14.1%……….568
5…Rudy Giuliani……….8.1%……….325
6…Mike Huckabey……….5.3%……….214
7…Sam Brownback……….4.4%……….175
8…John McCain……….3.0%……….119
9…Tommy Tancredo……….0.5%……….22
…..Other…………………………4.2%……..167
….Total…….100%……3992
Last 11 Straw Polls included:
Texas GOP 1-Sep-07
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA)
Dekalb County, GA
Ronald Reagan Club (Washington)
Strafford County, NH_West Alabama
West Lafayette, Indiana_Illinois State Fair
Students for Life of America_Western Montana Fair
Gaston County, NC
Source:
http://ok4ronpaul.ashlux.com/wiki/index.php?title=2008_Presidential_GOP_straw_poll_r esults

[Mastiff]

At this point in time, I agree with stevedasbach. I live in Houston, and Texan Republicans are not ready to hear boos for the Bush/Cheney crowd, even if they are open to Paul's message. Booing their boys will just piss off the Republicans, and this behavior shoiuld stop if we are going to make any headway with the GOP, especially in the south.

Agreed. As one who has 0% in common with democrats and liberals, I get reflexively uneasy with republican bashing, overt "anti-war" talk (as opposed to "non-interventionism, or "against policing the world"), Cindy Sheehan stuff, etc. I'm sure many republicans are the same, or likely more-so. It's hard to dis-associated Bush bashing and anti-war stuff from welfare state stuff and socialism, since they almost always go together.

I'd like to see Paul supporters be more respectful and just sell the message without all the "neocon" stuff.

[FSP-Rebel]

Any decent video of speech and shots at crowd?

[LibertyEagle]

I was disappointed for a little while. Now, I'm just mad as hell! To hell with 'em. Let's triple our efforts. I want to shove the primaries down some of these neocons' throats so bad, I can't hardly stand it!

NEVER SAY DIE!! Let's go get 'em!

[speciallyblend]

If the republicans don't nominate Ron Paul,then the republicans will lose the election.Don't worry Ron Paul supporters,if the republicans don't nominate him,then they can watch as they lose the next election.There is no wasted vote,but i assure you its Ron Paul or neither party gets my vote.Ron Paul 2008 keep spreading the message;)

[wgadget]

Y'all remember that this straw poll was sponsored by our neocon friends at Townhall.com....

And they are a pretty nasty bunch when it comes to RP.

http://txgop.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=Straw_Poll_Home

Note: No time listed.

[EvoPro]

This is essential. It is becoming painfully clear that the typical GOP voters, whom at this point are a small minority, are not going to lean towards Paul.

As I mentioned in a post a while back, the only way we are going to win this is to take over the party. The Neocons infiltrated the GOP back when they elected Nixon and abandoned the principles of Goldwater. Now it's our turn to take it right back.

We're literally fighting a war of ideas here. We cannot back down and retreat to the 3rd parties or the voting booth altogether. Stand and FIGHT for this notion that those of us who are disaffected will have a voice and we will TAKE BACK this party which was hijacked in the 60's and turn it in to something WE WILL BE PROUD OF.

Remember this was our party to begin with and we've been standing on the sidelines putting up with the lesser of two evils. We can do this no more.

Please REGISTER REPUBLICAN and make this party our own. We will elect Paul and we will change the entire platform. The neocons can flee to the Bloomberg/Schwarzenegger party. To hell with them. The GOP is weak, it is disaffected, and they are a scattered minority that is ripe for a takeover. We will BE HEARD ON ELECTION day. DO NOT EVER FORGET THAT!!

F--k Yeah! My sentiments exactly.

[Paulitician]

ARGH, Hunter should just freaking drop out. What the hell is he still doing? Brownback, Tancredo and Cox should go too. LOL, I can't believe John Cox got more votes than McCain. That's a real big slap to the face I bet.

Who the heck is Ray McKinney?

[Ozwest]

All of you in school Colleges, Uni's, Tech Schools,High Schools, get yourselves organized. It's up to you to get Ron Paul elected. You have the Power. It's your time.Get on with it.

[stevedasbach]

ARGH, Hunter should just freaking drop out. What the hell is he still doing? Brownback, Tancredo and Cox should go too.

It's better if they stay in for a while. More candidates polling below Paul, and they help split the pro-war vote. They can drop out after Ron catches McCain, Romney, etc.

[Daveforliberty]

Ron Paul gets 16.7 percent of the vote where only pro-war, Bush activists, from the last 4 texas gop conventions (activists for Bush while Texas governor), and the last 2 national conventions (activists for Bush while president) were allowed to vote!!

Go Ron Paul!

Exactly. This is a tremendous victory. These were the hard-core Bushies, and some of them are starting to abandon the neocons. We had less than 10% of everyone in Iowa and we get almost 17% of these guys just three weeks later.

This is great progress! And look who didn't vote:

1) Casual Republicans
2) Conservative Democrats
3) Independents
4) Libertarians
5) Previously apathetic non-voters
5) and most important... young people

We can't expect RP to sweep every vote just because we want him to. If we keep up this kind of progress, we have a great chance.

[Dorfsmith]

Exactly. This is a tremendous victory. These were the hard-core Bushies, and some of them are starting to abandon the neocons. We had less than 10% of everyone in Iowa and we get almost 17% of these guys just three weeks later.

This is great progress! And look who didn't vote:

1) Casual Republicans
2) Conservative Democrats
3) Independents
4) Libertarians
5) Previously apathetic non-voters
5) and most important... young people

We can't expect RP to sweep every vote just because we want him to. If we keep up this kind of progress, we have a great chance.

Great post. I couldn't agree more. After seeing these results I was thrilled. I was out at my county fair today with my Ron Paul T-shirt. Countless people walked up to me asking me about Ron Paul. I didn't have to approach people with Ron Paul flyers. They approched me. The masses are completely undeciede and looking for a change. We have to go out to the people. Tomorrow my wife and I will be hitting downtown with flyers. Keep up the great work everybody. We are gaining momentum.

[Karsten]

I'm very surprised anybody would be upset with a 17% result from hardcore Republicans. These were previous delegates. Anti-establishment Ron Paul supporters usually do not fit this mold. I'm shocked we even got higher than 1%! Hunter, unlike some of the top tier candidates, participated in this event, so of course he came in first place. Everybody should be partying tonight, not sulking!

[Dorfsmith]

I'm very surprised anybody would be upset with a 17% result from hardcore Republicans. These were previous delegates. Anti-establishment Ron Paul supporters usually do not fit this mold. I'm shocked we even got higher than 1%! Hunter, unlike some of the top tier candidates, participated in this event, so of course he came in first place. Everybody should be partying tonight, not sulking!


Having a few beers as I post :D

[csen]

Here's another way to look at the results:

Hunter/Paul: 57.8%
Thompson/Huckabee/Romney/Giuliani/McCain: 38.2%

For all the talk about how these are just straw polls and don't really matter, especially in light of how few candidates showed up, could this EVER happen on the Democratic side whether Hillary and Obama showed up or not? Could Biden and Dodd get 57% to Hillary/Obama's 38%? Of course not.

So what does that say about the validity of the vaunted top tier plus Uncle Huck?

The Republican leaders are organized and understand elections. They are slowly coming to grips with this. Whether they're willing to essentially hand the election to Hillary (by continuing to favor Giuliani/Romney/Thompson over Paul) or begrudging favor Paul will be telling for just how mad they've become.

[Hook]

Here's another way to look at the results:

Hunter/Paul: 57.8%
Thompson/Huckabee/Romney/Giuliani/McCain: 38.2%

For all the talk about how these are just straw polls and don't really matter, especially in light of how few candidates showed up, could this EVER happen on the Democratic side whether Hillary and Obama showed up or not? Could Biden and Dodd get 57% to Hillary/Obama's 38%? Of course not.

So what does that say about the validity of the vaunted top tier plus Uncle Huck?

The Republican leaders are organized and understand elections. They are slowly coming to grips with this. Whether they're willing to essentially hand the election to Hillary (by continuing to favor Giuliani/Romney/Thompson over Paul) or begrudging favor Paul will be telling for just how mad they've become.

They would rather have Hillary, since she is a warmonger. Why else do you think Rupert Murdock gave her $2300?

[Derek Johnson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIh_2cun_xE

Here's my footage from today [Ft. Worth TX straw poll], I'll post some interviews with non-Paul people later.

[Jojo]

Great show today! The Meetup organizers did a magnificent job with the early morning parade and *taking over* this event in a very visual way. I got the distinct impression that the campaign was taking cues from the ideas of the Meetups, not the other way around.

From the first moment of arriving at the event, the opposition to Paul was palpable. After the parade, as we gathered around the Credentials-Only entrance, a gentleman told me "He's an asshole, that's who." After a moment, I realized he was responding to my "Who Is Ron Paul" t-shirt. As I walked into the ballroom where the main event was held, I was immediately told by a kindly-looking gentleman in suspenders, "You're wasting your energy."

Caveat - it's generalization time - This was a very "mature" audience. They are 100% behind the word Republican™. They like the letter W™. They Support Our Troops™. They're concerned about Terrorism™. Their interpretations of these concepts have been delivered intraveneously. The Trans-Texas Corridor sounds like a great idea to them, as long as Perry and Cornyn say so. I sat between some very kind, somewhat elderly ladies, 2 to my left and 2 to my right. Seeing the Paul supporters, one lady on the right exclaimed with awe "They're so young!"

It has been literally decades since any of them considered anything fractionally like what the Congressman Ron Paul said in his speech. 16.7% of them accepted and endorsed that message with their votes.

The thick and overwhelming blanket of Ron Paul signs that spanned the audience and shot up repeatedly was an inescapable message. It must have seemed puzzling or even threatening to the likes of John Cornyn and Michael Williams (who actually had the gall to boast that he'd spent $1.8 billion of my children's money on a clean energy project). They can breathe a sigh of relief that Paul didn't run off with a victory. But any sense of security they might have is completely false. The Freedom Movement (no need for a ™) is here for the long haul.

I'm acquainted with Jeremy Blosser and Scott Barber, who deserve huge credit for their hard work in making this a great success. I'm sure there are others who deserve a bow as well. If you can't tell, I'm jazzed by such a result in the face of adversity that I think many people underestimated.

Kurt

Thank you for this very insightful and well written post. Besides painting a good picture of what the day was like, it makes me see all the more that today was another step towards victory!

[BlindD]

No straw poll votes were swayed by booing Cheney after voting had closed.

Agreed.

Main point is this - people for Ron Paul need to continue being AUTHENTIC and REAL about how they feel and how they act. Say what you think, act what you feel. Lay it all out; no BS; no holding back. Being real and authentic is EXACTLY what provides the emotional juice that keeps the Revolution going. Passion makes it Happen.

Those who suggest that supporters should "think twice or even 3 times about what they say and do" are not really helping. They are hindering. Let the emotional juice fly! That is what keeps everyone excited, positive and courageous. Passion makes it Happen.

[TheEvilDetector]

They would rather have Hillary, since she is a warmonger. Why else do you think Rupert Murdock gave her $2300?

Yep, Keith Rupert Murdoch gave $2300 to Hitlery on the 5th of June.