Misunderstanding TX Is Dangerous

[jblosser]

I am tired of everyone who wasn't here getting the TX results completely wrong and I'm worried this failure to understand what happened is going to hold us back in the future. The fact so many of you see the Hunter win as having come out of nowhere just proves you aren't aware of what's going on here. We that are here knew that he was going to be the main one to beat -- he was on the ground here for weeks getting the pro-war/anti-immigration crowd behind him enough that they'd come out and vote for him. Any statements from people who travelled to the poll and saw the hostility of some of the crowd needs to keep this in mind -- those were Hunter voters who came because Hunter got them fired up, and they arrived hating Paul. They were not the party.

Before we caught on what Duncan was up to we thought Paul was in really good shape and we hoped Duncan's blitz wouldn't be enough, but it was. We knew Fred was going to be the other one to beat because he's got a fair amount of the "good ole boy" delegate support and also a healthy sized protest vote. Meanwhile the vast majority of delegates kept telling us they hate where the GOP has gone and had no intention of going to vote in the poll.

If "we told you so" re: Hunter isn't enough, at least look at the numbers. 500+ from a field of voters in the 10s of thousands should say something. The TX GOP is in shambles just like the national party, and the majority of delegates are as angry as the rest of us. We know of ranking Paul-supporting delegates who didn't vote because they wouldn't give the GOP the $50.

The below is something I sent out a few places. I really hope people pay some attention to what really happened here. There is tons of room to continue growing support inside the GOP, and like it or not we need that to actually take the primary.

Jeremy Blosser, Volunteer Grassroots Coordinator in DFW, aka the guy with the bullhorn during the parade

================================

I am one of the main volunteer coordinators of the DFW grassroots for Ron Paul, and I can't really agree with the argument that the TX GOP as a group is organized against Ron Paul and that's why they used a delegate-only vote. I think this argument is too easy and ignores something much more significant than a cabal.

The overwhelming message we heard while campaigning for and working on this straw poll is that the TX GOP is in shambles, just like in the rest of the country. There were tens of thousands of eligible delegates, but we were told only around 3,000 registered. Of those, 1,300 actually voted. The responses from the program to call delegates before the poll indicated at least 30% are undecided. We ran into delegates who are precinct chairs and the like who refused to go to the poll because they didn't want to give the GOP $50. At least one delegate told us he voted for Fred because there was no "none of the above" on the ballot, and since Fred is undeclared he thought that was the next best thing. While this still means the majority of the delegates aren't voting for Paul right now, there is incredible room for growth even inside the party structure.

Duncan Hunter won this because he spent 2 weeks on the ground in the area talking to the GOP clubs, holding open conference calls, etc. He got a fair number of people following him around, largely on the war and the border fence (I don't say "immigration", because he doesn't talk about a plan beyond the fence), and those are the people that showed up. We knew he was working on this and it would give him a good showing. We hoped it wouldn't be enough to win, but it was. He needed a shot in the arm here and it remains to be seen if he got it. I wouldn't bet on it. He put in the time to win here but it's not something I think he'll be able to repeat.

Meanwhile, Ron invested very little in this non-binding pony show yet is still the only candidate placing in the top 3 or 5 in all straw polls across the nation. Romney campaigned to win Iowa but placed in the bottom here along with Huckabee. Hunter did it in Texas after failing in Iowa. Fred does keep popping up but not nearly at the level Ron does. Ron is running a national campaign whether he's in each state or not, the rest are not.

And of course there is no question that Ron had the strongest volunteer support. Our group dominated the outside and the events. After we peacefully "crashed" Hunter's Friday afternoon rally by holding signs several feet away and then joining Hunter's invitation to sing "God Bless America", our booth inside was flooded with donations and our sign and shirt van outside was flooded with people wanting Ron Paul materials. Of course, the media continues to downplay our numbers. One local paper reported there were "more than 300" at the rally Friday night. I don't have the final count yet but the room sat 700 and was to standing room only barely an hour after the doors opened. The parade the next morning was another huge success.

PS: This doesn't mean the GOP didn't try to pull some (legal) dirty tricks. Over and over again the message from the non-candidate speakers was that the GOP needs to make sure they elect a candidate who will keep attacking the middle east and isn't Ron Paul. The most flagrant came after the candidates spoke but before the voting, when we were subjected to a horror show from a 9/11 pentagon survivor who described in excruciating detail (complete with pictures) his injuries, debriding, maggots to clean his wounds, etc. There was no point to this at all except to remind people they are to be scared and have to keep killing people to feel safe. Of course, one has to wonder if they would have felt the need to pump all this propoganda if they weren't afraid of what Ron's message is producing inside the party. I doubt it did much actual good since most delegates are disgusted with the party and weren't even there, and those that were came to vote for Duncan or Paul or Fred in the first place. I don't think the undecideds came out enough to represent a significant part of the vote. We tried to get them there too, but we didn't find them on the floor.

PPS: By the way, it wasn't a bus of delegates they didn't let in, it was 5 delegates and their guests who were late for various reasons and weren't all necessarily Ron Paul supporters. The campaign and local GOP contacts tried to get them in without real success. The media did come out for some interviews so hopefully it gets attention.

[mdh]

Great post Jeremy, thanks for the insight.

[constituent]

i think the big thing is that the straw poll was held at one EXTREME end of the state. it would take me as long to get to ft. worth from here as it would take me to get from ft. worth into and through Nebraska.

my folks were republicans back when and had decided to go dem this go round (in spite of the fact that they are HUGE ron paul fans)... they weren't going to be persuaded either ["i like having ron paul for my congressman, they'll neuter him as president and then you'd have to run for office" they said] but after simply hearing that the

FIRST EVER, TEXAS STRAW POLL was going to be held in

FT. WORTH!!!???!!!! That did it for them, now all their vehicles are sporting ron paul bumper stickers and they've reregistered republican.

With Ron Paul, sometimes it seems he can ONLY WIN FOR LOSING.

this is what we need to learn how to exploit. rather than waiting to pounce on a victory, we need to seize the opportunities the ministry is giving us through their many many exclusionary methods.

[jblosser]

I've no idea why the GOP did it in DFW but considering Ron Paul PCC ran buses from San Antonio, Austin, and Houston and offered to run them from any other places that had enough delegates to fill a bus I'm not sure how much it affected things. Of course, it's possible that message didn't get to the right people or didn't get to them early enough, but the claim I've heard that Ron lost because it was in DFW to prevent his home district people from coming is just foolish. We ran buses, the ones that wanted to come were able to, unless we're going to claim the fact they had to get up at 3am made it impossible for them to come.

[jblosser]

So apparently we'd all much rather complain about the mythical bus of denied delegates and go "Duncan Hunter WTF" than understand what really is happening here and no doubt in other states as well.

There is better news in these results than anyone apparently cares to talk about but if we don't get a clue what we're seeing we are going to remain ignorant of how to actually win. The biggest take away from all the efforts around this poll is that we need to start visiting the GOP clubs every month and talking to the undecideds and fence sitters, many of whom are in party leadership!

[Richard in Austin]

Jeremy,

Thanks for the insight and everything you did.

Cheers!

[jjschless]

So basically, as you stated, Dr. Paul is having consistent national success while the other candidates are only having localized success after investing much time and money. Naturally F. Thompson is the exception.

This is defiantly good news and should do much to ebb the attitude of dejection that seems to be flowing around the forum.

As far as Fred is concerned, it's like a movie review. You read about how the movie is great and how the critic just loved it and then you go and see it for yourself only to come away less than satisfied.

[jblosser]

So basically, as you stated, Dr. Paul is having consistent national success while the other candidates are only having localized success after investing much time and money. Naturally F. Thompson is the exception.

This is defiantly good news and should do much to ebb the attitude of dejection that seems to be flowing around the forum.

As far as Fred is concerned, it's like a movie review. You read about how the movie is great and how the critic just loved it and then you go and see it for yourself only to come away less than satisfied.

Exactly. The higher up we got in the local party contacts we talked about the poll with, the more Paul support we found. I doubt this is true of the state leadership, but the local leaders are completely different.

I have yet to find a Fred supporter who can tell me why they are voting for him or why I should vote for him. The typical answer is "because he's my man!". His day is coming.

[Johnnybags]

is he should say the Iraq war was a mistake but he should also say anyone that legitimately attacks us will be bombarded into the stone age. He is correct, congress declares major wars, the people rally, sacrifice and then you look for a surrender flag. If you are not looking for a surrender flag its not worth fighting. IMHO its the only thing keeping him from drawing a major faction of neocons.

[walt]

So apparently we'd all much rather complain about the mythical bus of denied delegates and go "Duncan Hunter WTF" than understand what really is happening here and no doubt in other states as well.

There is better news in these results than anyone apparently cares to talk about but if we don't get a clue what we're seeing we are going to remain ignorant of how to actually win. The biggest take away from all the efforts around this poll is that we need to start visiting the GOP clubs every month and talking to the undecideds and fence sitters, many of whom are in party leadership!

agreed

[LibertyEagle]

is he should say the Iraq war was a mistake but he should also say anyone that legitimately attacks us will be bombarded into the stone age. He is correct, congress declares major wars, the people rally, sacrifice and then you look for a surrender flag. If you are not looking for a surrender flag its not worth fighting. IMHO its the only thing keeping him from drawing a major faction of neocons.

Maybe not those exact words, but yes, I agree with what you are suggesting. :)

[lynnf]

i think the big thing is that the straw poll was held at one EXTREME end of the state. it would take me as long to get to ft. worth from here as it would take me to get from ft. worth into and through Nebraska.

my folks were republicans back when and had decided to go dem this go round (in spite of the fact that they are HUGE ron paul fans)... they weren't going to be persuaded either ["i like having ron paul for my congressman, they'll neuter him as president and then you'd have to run for office" they said] but after simply hearing that the

FIRST EVER, TEXAS STRAW POLL was going to be held in

FT. WORTH!!!???!!!! That did it for them, now all their vehicles are sporting ron paul bumper stickers and they've reregistered republican.

With Ron Paul, sometimes it seems he can ONLY WIN FOR LOSING.

this is what we need to learn how to exploit. rather than waiting to pounce on a victory, we need to seize the opportunities the ministry is giving us through their many many exclusionary methods.

No conspiracy here, the 2008 state convention is to be held in Ft. Worth and that convention moves around the state every so often to other cities, and there is a tendency for the leadership to work with a place where the convention is to be held for other events like the straw poll -- and that works to our advantage in that we now have explored the environment for the state convention and know its logistics. So we are more prepared for next June.

I wish everyone would stop with the conspiracy thoughts so we can save it for when there is a REAL conspiracy! Just because something doesn't go Ron Paul's way doesn't mean that there is a conspiracy-related reason for it. At least ask a question about it before calling on the conspiracy theory.

lynn

[Colleen]

JBlosser,

Thanks for keeping us posted and thank you for your hard work. Everyone in the RP camp is very appreciative of you!!

[constituent]

lynnf.... who the f* said anything about conspiracy?

it's an issue of logistics.

get off it.

and your smarmy smart ass little comment really belongs in PM territory.

[constituent]

but while we're at it...

i'm really sick of anytime someone says anything they're accused of espousing some


conspiracy theory...

show me where i said anything about a conspiracy and i'll retract my impending comment otherwise....

FUCK OFF!

[CasualApathy]

is he should say the Iraq war was a mistake but he should also say anyone that legitimately attacks us will be bombarded into the stone age. He is correct, congress declares major wars, the people rally, sacrifice and then you look for a surrender flag. If you are not looking for a surrender flag its not worth fighting. IMHO its the only thing keeping him from drawing a major faction of neocons.

Agreed.

[jblosser]

is he should say the Iraq war was a mistake but he should also say anyone that legitimately attacks us will be bombarded into the stone age. He is correct, congress declares major wars, the people rally, sacrifice and then you look for a surrender flag. If you are not looking for a surrender flag its not worth fighting. IMHO its the only thing keeping him from drawing a major faction of neocons.

This isn't on topic for this thread but since people keep responding to it: He already says this, he's said it the last 3 times I've seen him speak here. People have to have ears to hear it, though, and that works better when you talk to them individually for a while than when they hear it in a speech they aren't listening to anyway.

[Scribbler de Stebbing]

is he should say the Iraq war was a mistake but he should also say anyone that legitimately attacks us will be bombarded into the stone age. He is correct, congress declares major wars, the people rally, sacrifice and then you look for a surrender flag. If you are not looking for a surrender flag its not worth fighting. IMHO its the only thing keeping him from drawing a major faction of neocons.


Maybe not those exact words, but yes, I agree with what you are suggesting. :)

In conversation to Republicans, I often lead with RP being very strong on defense, sometimes say how Reagan commended RP for his commitment to defense. And I talk about how strong he wants to be on the border, what a shame it was that Bush took our best border guards off and sent them to Iraq.

In short, I make up for what they perceive to be non-support for the military.

Speaking of which, I don't always remember to say it, but bring up that he earned more contributions from the military than all the other GOP candidates combined.

[LibertyEagle]

bump

[axiomata]

A must-read

[libertarian4321]

We know of ranking Paul-supporting delegates who didn't vote because they wouldn't give the GOP the $50.



I can understand that sentiment- after attending the morning session of the event, I was wishing I'd just sent the $25 to Ron Paul rather than spend it going to the session as a non-voting "guest."

In fact, the Texas Republican Straw Poll got me so fired up/pissed off, I'm going to RONPAUL2008.com and make another donation right now!

DONE!

BTW, there is a good press release regarding the straw poll on the web site- sounds like you DFW guys raised a heck of a lot of money for the campaign:

"Press Release

Paul Campaign Concludes Successful Weekend with Solid Straw Poll Finish

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Congressman Ron Paul placed third in today's Texas GOP Straw Poll with 16 percent of the vote. The solid outcome marked the conclusion of a highly successful weekend during which the campaign had a rally with over 1,000 attendees, raised well over $100,000. Today’s results continue a trend around the nation of top or middle tier finishes for the Paul campaign.

The presence of Dr. Paul supporters dominated the straw poll site, and campaign leaders were pleased with the results in light of the difficult voting restrictions. Only recent party delegates were allowed to cast ballots, meaning that most of the thousands who turned out for Dr. Paul could cheer and celebrate but not vote. In addition, the straw poll was held several hours away from the Paul’s stronghold of south Texas.

"This was a great weekend for our campaign, and Texans turned out in droves to support Dr. Paul," said campaign manager Lew Moore. "The pro-war party insiders voting in this straw poll may not support him, but the majority of attendees clearly did."

Dr. Paul is the only candidate who voted against the Iraq war and favors early withdrawal, a position supported by over 70 percent of the American people. Many experts believe that Republicans cannot win the presidency in 2008 if they nominate a pro-war candidate. Texans appeared to support this position by opening their wallets as the Paul campaign pulled in more money over the weekend from grassroots supporters than the Texas GOP raised from the entire straw poll. "

[jblosser]

BTW, there is a good press release regarding the straw poll on the web site- sounds like you DFW guys raised a heck of a lot of money for the campaign:

As much as I'd love to take credit for the money, that was mostly the high-dollar fundraiser the Huffines did that the regular grassroots had nothing to do with. The auction helped too, and I did book the room originally that the rally was in (before the national campaign committed to coming and wanted to do a rally), so maybe I can ride a coattail there. :D

[MicroBalrog]

Our main enemy is Thompson. He is the big threat.

We need to stop complaiging about the straw poll and start doing something about Thompson.

[stevedasbach]

Our main enemy is Thompson. He is the big threat.

We need to stop complaiging about the straw poll and start doing something about Thompson.

Right now we don't need to do anything about any of the other candidates. We need to promote RP and increase his visible support (money, polls, media, ads, etc.)

The rest of the candidates are all fighting over the same pool of voters. Let them attack one another.

[Bossobass]

but while we're at it...

i'm really sick of anytime someone says anything they're accused of espousing some


conspiracy theory...

show me where i said anything about a conspiracy and i'll retract my impending comment otherwise....

FUCK OFF!

I agree.

Every time spmeone brings out the cheesy GOP tricks, so-called RP supporters kick him or her in the ribs and cry, "Conspiracy nuts are a bad thing. We should take the manufactured defeat and like it.".

Even the OP includes the fact that local reports claim 300 in attendance, but then revises the number to actually have been more than double that amount.

I've been to quite a few of these rallies and debate crowds around the country myself, and I have to say that every single event has been downplayed by the media as to how many were in attendance.

If there is a conspiracy to downplay RP rallies and debate crowds (and there definitely is. No conspiracy theory, but fact), why would anyone here with any sense believe that they would stop there?

They bar him from national coverage.
They refer to him as a long-shot dark horse.
They exclude him from economic and health care issues in all of the debates.
He's the only candidate who has been attacked at the debates.
They deride his supporters and always mention that they are 'few but vocal'.

Name a supporter of any other candidate from either party who has had his sign ripped from his hands, thrown to the ground and stood on? If you could, and there was video or photos, you think it wouldn't make the news?

I'm tired of so-called RP supporters who come in here and act as apologists for the raw treatment of myself, my fellow supporters and my candidate.

I was one of many who braved the lightning and rain at two debates. The last one in Iowa showed a single RP supporter vs a dozen Romney supporters, and you would deny me a WTF? on that one?

Exit polls are accurate to within a fraction of a percent. If the exit poll that was conducted by Texans For Real Elections has any credibility based in accuracy, there is reason to at least look at the result, which shows perfect parallel to the posted results, except in one case, RP's result.

WTF?

The Governor of the state sent a video in which he stated that there is no republican candidate from Texas.

WTF?

RP supporters were disallowed their votes. The number is a secondary issue. The favt that they were turned away, after they had registered and paid to vote is not 'mythical'.

WTF?

The whole idea of counting votes in America behind closed doors is a disgrace, and should never...never be glossed over as acceptable.

WTF?

And please don't tell me that I had to have been there. I've had (reliable) people who were there feed me the info I am using to conclude that this straw poll was rigged to make RP look bad from several angles, and I'm pissed off about it. I'm equally po'd at any and everyone who would try to patronize, minimize or condescend to my thoughts on this subject.

The results of this straw poll are a huge defeat for the campaign...period. How any RP supporter could think that 3rd place in your home state against only second tier candidates and an actor who hasn't declared is a good thing blows my mind.

I'm just sayin'.

Bosso

[wgadget]

Amen, brother Bosso. And the funny thing is, if this were ANY OTHER CANDIDATE, it would probably have actually made the news.


HOWEVER, I do NOT agree that this was huge defeat for the campaign, since it was so obviously front-loaded from the start. I think 17% of the neo-con vote so far from his base is something to be proud of.

Go Ron Paul!

[jblosser]

If you think I'm trying to argue that 3rd is awesome or that we were treated completely fairly you are completely missing the point. My point is that the real take away here has nothing to do with the people that were at the straw poll at all. It has everything to do with the people that were not there.

If this event and result were a demonstration that the TX GOP is united behind Ron Paul from the top down like people are arguing, he would have lost by thousands and thousands of votes. The people were not there, and we know why they were not there, because they have told us. The rank and file GOP Isn't falling for the state GOP crap any more than we are. And while they refused to turn out for the Straw Poll, they *will* turn out for the actual vote and state convention. We have until then to get them on board to send the party the real message.