Why did Ron Paul walk away from the momentum he had in March?

[tttar]

I must really be out of the loop on this one.

Ron Paul had about 120,000 MeetUp members in March, which I'd been tracking daily, and I'd projected over one million by November, had he kept running as an independent. As of now, my top 20 MeetUp group with several hundred members has had almost no activities for 4 months.

Did he ever give a plausible reason for going against the wishes of virtually all of his supporters and not allowing them to make him the most successful 3rd-party candidate ever?

He must have had something even better in mind, but I sure don't see it.

Does anyone else?

He said he had to concentrate on getting reelected in his district, but that took 2 weeks.

And that the odds were stacked against 3rd parties - but so what? They'd have been much less stacked with him running, than they are now.

He also would have survived the old newsletters. The stupid wording was there, but I didn't see them as being racist.

Why would a 72-year old man walk away from a chance of a lifetime, to finally make the big difference he must have hoped to make for all of his life? Will he run again at 76?

Maybe we can draft one of his kids to take his place, 4 or 8 years from now.

Run Rand Paul for President, for the next 40 years. The name sounds catchy enough.

[CasualApathy]

Well, I think it was a mistake not to run 3rd party. The media kept asking him about it and he never gave an absolute no, so i kept expecting him to do it, but he didn't.

I think he could have been 8-10% nationally now if he had done it, alas he chose the slow approach that is the CFL. Maybe he was afraid that our movement was too young to handle the effort, so he wants to build organization first. Maybe he also felt that we would break apart under the enormous strain of a biased media and continued rule-breaking and smear campaigns.

I can only speculate, but I sure wish he had done it. Carpe diem and all that.

http://www.cadeh.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/who-is-this-guy.jpg

[anaconda]

Perhaps because by this time it was clear that the sheeple were not going to nominate him as the Republican candidate.

I am also suspicious of the degree of voter fraud in New Hampshire, which gave the state to McCain, who was nothing more than a tired, indebted afterthought until he was proclaimed the winner in NH.

[123tim]

Did he ever give a plausible reason for going against the wishes of virtually all of his supporters and not allowing them to make him the most successful 3rd-party candidate ever?.
I think that he knew that he might be the most successful 3rd-party candidate ever. He also knew (my opinion) from his vast experience that he still wouldn't win. He still retains his congressional seat.



He must have had something even better in mind, but I sure don't see it.
Does anyone else?.
Yes. The Campaign for Liberty - It's going to be around for a long time.

Four years from now the majority of the Nation will have completely forgotten about Ron Paul. We don't remember people who lose.....Can you name (quickly) the person who ran against George Bush in the last election? If you're like 85% of the rest of the country you can't.



.


Why would a 72-year old man walk away from a chance of a lifetime, to finally make the big difference he must have hoped to make for all of his life? Will he run again at 76?. I think that Ron Paul has been experiencing "Chances of a lifetime" for most of his life. I think that he is now attempting to build a legacy for his Children, Grandchildren, and for us. I think that he will building upon it at age 76, (Lord willing.)



Maybe we can draft one of his kids to take his place, 4 or 8 years from now. Run Rand Paul for President, for the next 40 years. The name sounds catchy enough. Maybe. However, there are also many "Ron Paul Republicans" running for various offices right now. Hopefully there will be a large pool of Liberty loving candidates to choose from in the future. Personally I'm not sure where his children really stand.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Well, I think it was a mistake not to run 3rd party. The media kept asking him about it and he never gave an absolute no, so i kept expecting him to do it, but he didn't.

I think he could have been 8-10% nationally now if he had done it, alas he chose the slow approach that is the CFL.

We could have done a lot better than that. One of the problems with the primaries were that people were unwilling or unable to register republican to vote for him because of deadlines.

It would be a whole different ball game with Obama, McCain, and Paul who was talking about economic reality the entire time.

Of course, the media would still try to black him out, but things would be different for sure.

[Conza88]

He's been fighting for liberty for 30 years. He knows whats up more than you do. ;)

Trust him.

[Sally08]

I'm sure "someone" will correct me, if I'm wrong:D

I believe RP won the *GOP primary* in Texas for his Congressional seat. He still needs votes in his uncontested election in November to maintain his Congressional seat.

RP made it clear earlier that his Congressional seat is more important (presumably, "bird in hand" and all).

I believe GOP would not allow RP to endorse any non-GOP candidate (at any level).

As a result, I suspect that there is "behind-the-scenes blowback" occurring within the GOP towards RP for his "big announcement" on Monday for people to vote for *any party* other than GOP/Dem. Talk about betraying his "party":eek:

Will the GOP effectively sideline RP's involvement in any/all Congressional committees?

If so, RP will have less input in Congress than he currently has:rolleyes:

Regarding the newsletters, apparently Thomas Woods was the ghostwriter for "The Manifesto" as publicly reported recently (see threads on RPFs).

Did RP's publishers realize The Manifesto was simply a compilation of RP's prior articles with Thomas Woods as "editor"? Would a book, "Manifesto: Compiled Writings of RP, edited by Thomas Woods" have sold as many copies, even among RP diehard supporters?

Is Thomas Woods even getting any percentage of royalties?

The newsletters may not be the issue, but ghostwriters for e-mails and published books seems to be a 20-year pattern:rolleyes:

And, no, becoming President was never the "chance of a lifetime" for RP.

Can you imagine RP's entire extended family being under Secret Service protection for how many years, particularly if threats had already been made?

How would RP balance his priorities, if he were President and Carol's recent hospitalization (and in future?) had occurred in the midst of major treaty negotiations?

In fact, RP himself stated he was a "reluctant candidate"-


I must really be out of the loop on this one.

Ron Paul had about 120,000 MeetUp members in March, which I'd been tracking daily, and I'd projected over one million by November, had he kept running as an independent. As of now, my top 20 MeetUp group with several hundred members has had almost no activities for 4 months.

Did he ever give a plausible reason for going against the wishes of virtually all of his supporters and not allowing them to make him the most successful 3rd-party candidate ever?

He must have had something even better in mind, but I sure don't see it.

Does anyone else?

He said he had to concentrate on getting reelected in his district, but that took 2 weeks.

And that the odds were stacked against 3rd parties - but so what? They'd have been much less stacked with him running, than they are now.

He also would have survived the old newsletters. The stupid wording was there, but I didn't see them as being racist.

Why would a 72-year old man walk away from a chance of a lifetime, to finally make the big difference he must have hoped to make for all of his life? Will he run again at 76?

Maybe we can draft one of his kids to take his place, 4 or 8 years from now.

Run Rand Paul for President, for the next 40 years. The name sounds catchy enough.

[tonesforjonesbones]

It greatly disturbed me when I found out Ron Paul's book wasn't even written by Ron Paul but another GHOST WRITER. Is the C4L GHOSTING also? That is my fear...and that is why I can't commit. I am suspicious. Tones

[armstrong]

I agree to a point, have always said its now , now , maybe to late now, 3rd party rightly done is ripe for a win...........a unified 3rd party and run for the roses------

[constituent]

Maybe. However, there are also many "Ron Paul Republicans" running for various offices right now. Hopefully there will be a large pool of Liberty loving candidates to choose from in the future. Personally I'm not sure where his children really stand.

The people running for office are the same ambitious politicos that were always going to run for office, or hall monitor, shinY badge wearer, w/ever.

This is why the ideas are/were so important, as the political types will move with the wind, whichever way it happens to blow.

In order for the ideas to succeed we must be the wind.

Too much focus on politics atm and not enough focus on what really counts, imo.

[alaric]

Perhaps because by this time it was clear that the sheeple were not going to nominate him as the Republican candidate.

I am also suspicious of the degree of voter fraud in New Hampshire, which gave the state to McCain, who was nothing more than a tired, indebted afterthought until he was proclaimed the winner in NH.

there is no way the 'live free or die' state voted for that mcfraud. The votescam in NH paved the way for the 'expected' poor results for Ron Paul after that.

[Malakai]

He would not have been able to stay in congress if he ran as third party.


Pretty simple. We need him in congress, he is literally the only person on capitol hill (ok a few others but a handful at most) who actually believes in the constitution. Whenever foreign affairs or monetary policy meetings are going on, RP is the ONLY one grilling these elitists and speaking the truth, much to their dismay.

Losing him in congress for a third party run (america is not quite ready to elect a third party yet IMO) that would have done well IMO but ultimately failed, would have been a waste and IMO again exactly what the people running the show wanted.

Thats my opinion of why every MSM interview ever encouraged RP to run as third party. They don't want him in gov speaking the truth to whoever will listen.

[JohnMeridith]

It greatly disturbed me when I found out Ron Paul's book wasn't even written by Ron Paul but another GHOST WRITER. Is the C4L GHOSTING also? That is my fear...and that is why I can't commit. I am suspicious. Tones
I heard the ghostwriter actually used his own info because ron paul was such a scam.
/facetious

What is your problem? Do you not understand how the book came about? Do you not understand the capacity RP had in the book?

[IRO-bot]

It greatly disturbed me when I found out Ron Paul's book wasn't even written by Ron Paul but another GHOST WRITER. Is the C4L GHOSTING also? That is my fear...and that is why I can't commit. I am suspicious. Tones

When did you turn into a troll?

[CasualApathy]

He would not have been able to stay in congress if he ran as third party.

Are we sure about this? I remember when the debate was red hot after the primaries a lot of people saying that him not being able to stay in congress is a myth.

[anaconda]

there is no way the 'live free or die' state voted for that mcfraud. The votescam in NH paved the way for the 'expected' poor results for Ron Paul after that.

You have got to see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJfj9ySYg0Q

[123tim]

It greatly disturbed me when I found out Ron Paul's book wasn't even written by Ron Paul but another GHOST WRITER. Is the C4L GHOSTING also? That is my fear...and that is why I can't commit. I am suspicious. Tones

Tones,
Could you (or anyone else) elaborate on this? First time that I've heard anything like that.

[JohnMeridith]

Tones,
Could you (or anyone else) elaborate on this? First time that I've heard anything like that.
there is a thread about it on the board. Long story short, RP didn't write the book, but he did write everything in it.

[Sally08]

It appears to be: A Manifesto, compilation of RP articles, edited by Thomas Woods.

Yet, RP has taken full credit for the *book* itself.

Is Thomas Woods getting any percentage of the royalties at all?

Did RP's publisher know of ghostwriter involvement?


Tones,
Could you (or anyone else) elaborate on this? First time that I've heard anything like that.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=152859

Washington Times article -

Late last year, Tom Woods, a longtime Paul supporter and libertarian scholar who will be speaking at the counterconvention, sent out copies of the manuscript and indicated that he had written the manifesto on Paul's behalf, according to copies of a letter from Woods and an original manuscript obtained by The Washington Post.

"Enclosed is the manuscript for a book tentatively titled The Revolution: A Manifesto, to be published under Dr. Paul's name," Woods's Dec. 26 letter says. The name of the letter's recipient was redacted. "When my agent shopped the idea around (before I'd actually written the book) back in October, a number of publishers were interested . . ." Woods also wrote that he was "happy to report that Dr. Paul is very pleased with it. He called me with a number of minor changes that I intend to incorporate into the text over the next few days."

Woods confirmed in an interview that the letter is authentic, but said it overemphasizes his role in writing the book. "This is Ron Paul's book in every way," Woods said. When asked if Paul used a ghostwriter, Jesse Benton, his spokesman, said "They are all Dr. Paul's words."ad_icon

[Rangeley]

Just because he didn't do what you wanted him to do doesn't mean he walked away. He is leading the effort to take back the Republican party. You kind of need to be in the party, to take it back.

[alaric]

You have got to see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJfj9ySYg0Q

tanks for bringing this video up! Saw it back when and one of the reasons i'm convinced RP won NH. Would have made all the diff if they admitted it!

[alaric]

there is a thread about it on the board. Long story short, RP didn't write the book, but he did write everything in it.

gee, he only wrote everything in it. Guess it's not his then. :rolleyes: amazing 'logic'. A whole thread based on that?

[erika]

He should have ran for a 3rd party.

[NightOwl]

Did RP's publishers realize The Manifesto was simply a compilation of RP's prior articles with Thomas Woods as "editor"? Would a book, "Manifesto: Compiled Writings of RP, edited by Thomas Woods" have sold as many copies, even among RP diehard supporters?


Man, this is unbelievable. No one, ever, not even the Washington Post, claimed the book was a compilation of prior articles. Where did those articles appear? Can you find me some of them? All I read into the story is that RP wrote down his thoughts and Woods put them to paper. BIG FREAKING DEAL. What head cases we have in this movement.

[klamath]

When RP lost NH and didn't win one state on super tuesday it was over as far as him ever winning the whitehouse. I have been following elections for 32 years and a person cannot win after losing that many primaries in a row.

He had no momentun period at that point. All he had left was to try and put his small but enthusiasic followers behind a movement to try and effect farther change in future elections. Whether or not anything comes of it is entirely up to us.

[Flash]

When RP lost NH and didn't win one state on super tuesday it was over as far as him ever winning the whitehouse.

I remember after he lost New Hampshire tons of Ron Paul supporters left the forum and completely gave up on the movement altogether. Very sad.

[Sally08]

Man, this is unbelievable. No one, ever, not even the Washington Post, claimed the book was a compilation of prior articles. Where did those articles appear? Can you find me some of them? All I read into the story is that RP wrote down his thoughts and Woods put them to paper. BIG FREAKING DEAL. What head cases we have in this movement.

So, which is it? Did RP write down his thoughts or did Woods put them to paper?:confused:


RP wrote down his thoughts and Woods put them to paper.

Somehow, I can't quite imagine Woods taking dictation.:D

What article did *you* read?

The relevant article is in the Washington *TIMES* as quoted in the post you replied to.:rolleyes:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=152859

Washington Times article -

Late last year, Tom Woods, a longtime Paul supporter and libertarian scholar who will be speaking at the counterconvention, sent out copies of the manuscript and indicated that he had written the manifesto on Paul's behalf, according to copies of a letter from Woods and an original manuscript obtained by The Washington Post.

"Enclosed is the manuscript for a book tentatively titled The Revolution: A Manifesto, to be published under Dr. Paul's name," Woods's Dec. 26 letter says. The name of the letter's recipient was redacted. "When my agent shopped the idea around (before I'd actually written the book) back in October, a number of publishers were interested . . ." Woods also wrote that he was "happy to report that Dr. Paul is very pleased with it. He called me with a number of minor changes that I intend to incorporate into the text over the next few days."

Woods confirmed in an interview that the letter is authentic, but said it overemphasizes his role in writing the book. "This is Ron Paul's book in every way," Woods said. When asked if Paul used a ghostwriter, Jesse Benton, his spokesman, said "They are all Dr. Paul's words."ad_icon[/QUOTE]

[Peace&Freedom]

When RP lost NH and didn't win one state on super tuesday it was over as far as him ever winning the whitehouse. I have been following elections for 32 years and a person cannot win after losing that many primaries in a row.

He had no momentun period at that point.

NO, with the giant network of a grassroots movement that was in place at that point, he had the opportunity to run for President on both the CP and LP lines in 46 states (50 minus the 4 states with sour grapes laws). This would have tremendously built up the ballot status strength of the two parties that best reflected the liberty movement, and established the soundest footing for both of them for the future. With a campaign recast in this manner he could have gathered new supporters and donors over that time to offset the ones tapped out, and received $5 million per month in monthly money bombs through the fall.

An LP or CP that got at least 5% of the vote in every state would have gained permanent ballot status in most parts of the country, saving it hundreds of thousands of dollars in ballot expenses, money that could then be focused on advancing his issues in the fall campaign. In addition, the knowledge that Paul would be on the ballot in November could have sustained the momentum of the attempts to get Paul the Republican nomination, giving Paul leverage as a spoiler.

Instead of that road not taken, Paul decided not to lose his congressional seat or committee positions (the latter might be taken from him anyway by vindictive GOP leaders). He promoted, then abandoned organizing a major DC march that could have easily been ten times more successful (over 100k attending) had Paul committed the funds, and had continued his run as a 3rd party/independent. He did mount a successful counter-rally during the GOP Convention, and set up the CFL, but neither concretely aids Paulite candidates where they need it the most (funds). CFL could also easily have sponsored a nationally aired debate between the major third party candidates, but that concrete display of support was also not pursued. So, yes, there were many avenues to go that would have moved the revolution forward within this election, but they were sadly not taken.

[klamath]

NO, with the giant network of a grassroots movement that was in place at that point, he had the opportunity to run for President on both the CP and LP lines in 46 states (50 minus the 4 states with sour grapes laws). This would have tremendously built up the ballot status strength of the two parties that best reflected the liberty movement, and established the soundest footing for both of them for the future. With a campaign recast in this manner he could have gathered new supporters and donors over that time to offset the ones tapped out, and received $5 million per month in monthly money bombs through the fall.

An LP or CP that got at least 5% of the vote in every state would have gained permanent ballot status in most parts of the country, saving it hundreds of thousands of dollars in ballot expenses, money that could then be focused on advancing his issues in the fall campaign. In addition, the knowledge that Paul would be on the ballot in November could have sustained the momentum of the attempts to get Paul the Republican nomination, giving Paul leverage as a spoiler.

Instead of that road not taken, Paul decided not to lose his congressional seat or committee positions (the latter might be taken from him anyway by vindictive GOP leaders). He promoted, then abandoned organizing a major DC march that could have easily been ten times more successful (over 100k attending) had Paul committed the funds, and had continued his run as a 3rd party/independent. He did mount a successful counter-rally during the GOP Convention, and set up the CFL, but neither concretely aids Paulite candidates where they need it the most (funds). CFL could also easily have sponsored a nationally aired debate between the major third party candidates, but that concrete display of support was also not pursued. So, yes, there were many avenues to go that would have moved the revolution forward within this election, but they were sadly not taken.

Do you know who John Anderson is? Just yes or no. Don't look him up on google.

[NightOwl]

So, which is it? Did RP write down his thoughts or did Woods put them to paper?:confused:



Somehow, I can't quite imagine Woods taking dictation.:D

What article did *you* read?

The relevant article is in the Washington *TIMES* as quoted in the post you replied to.:rolleyes:


No need to roll your eyes. The article is from the Washington POST. Check yourself. The OP in that thread was wrong.

As for Woods saying he "wrote" it, well he also says he "wrote" his new antiwar book, but that book is a collection of others' writings. "Wrote" is obviously just shorthand. And again, by my count Woods has released three books this year. When would he have found the time to "write" Dr. Paul's book, too? Surely it's not too much to ask forum folks to do two minutes of research to find how implausible this MSM non-story is.

[steph3n]

there is no way the 'live free or die' state voted for that mcfraud. The votescam in NH paved the way for the 'expected' poor results for Ron Paul after that.

I can tell you were not in NH talking to the people, I spoke to 1000+ and most were indeed mccain lovers

[LibertyEagle]

Surely it's not too much to ask forum folks to do two minutes of research to find how implausible this MSM non-story is.

Not Sally. She doesn't miss a chance to take a swipe at Ron Paul.

[revolutionary8]

It appears to be: A Manifesto, compilation of RP articles, edited by Thomas Woods.

Yet, RP has taken full credit for the *book* itself.

Is Thomas Woods getting any percentage of the royalties at all?

Did RP's publisher know of ghostwriter involvement?



http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=152859

Washington Times article -

Late last year, Tom Woods, a longtime Paul supporter and libertarian scholar who will be speaking at the counterconvention, sent out copies of the manuscript and indicated that he had written the manifesto on Paul's behalf, according to copies of a letter from Woods and an original manuscript obtained by The Washington Post.

"Enclosed is the manuscript for a book tentatively titled The Revolution: A Manifesto, to be published under Dr. Paul's name," Woods's Dec. 26 letter says. The name of the letter's recipient was redacted. "When my agent shopped the idea around (before I'd actually written the book) back in October, a number of publishers were interested . . ." Woods also wrote that he was "happy to report that Dr. Paul is very pleased with it. He called me with a number of minor changes that I intend to incorporate into the text over the next few days."

Woods confirmed in an interview that the letter is authentic, but said it overemphasizes his role in writing the book. "This is Ron Paul's book in every way," Woods said. When asked if Paul used a ghostwriter, Jesse Benton, his spokesman, said "They are all Dr. Paul's words."ad_icon

Sally, you are incorrect, as NightOwl said, that article is from the Washington POST, and has been mirrored at Liberty Maven.
FFS, RP doesn't have people write his speeches, now we are supposed to listen to you when you cite incorrect sources (which is difficult to believe that it was unintentional with your "knack" for news") that he really didn't write The Manifesto?

I cannot believe my eyes.

Get your facts straight.
Hey Sally=
Night Owl said-

Where did those articles appear? Can you find me some of them?
" "
You show me some *proof* that Ron Paul didn't write the manifesto. Don't tell me, you are on a friendly basis with Thomas Woods as well as Ron Paul :rolleyes:

[westmich4paul]

Lets face the reality that we all know now. McCain began to gain Republican stan in Early Nov late Oct why? Because he was willing to sell his soul out to the GOP elite. He was willing to become the GOP puppet for the neocons. This is when he started winning.

Ron Paul never really wanted to win, Ron wantedto spread a essage but that did not inclued winning. The grassroots success was something the official campaign never expected nor ever wanted, which is why there was such a distance between us in how things were being run. After the huge Moneybombs even after an abismal showing in Iowa and N.H. the grassroots was still able to keep complete and sincere interest going in the campaign. The campaign staff then completely let us down on super Tuesday by not getting us materials needed well before hand in states Ron could have recieved a very good percentage but after spending montehs and monthes in Iowa and N.H. tehy seems to just plain give up especially here in Michigan which was ripe for the picking becasue of very high umeployment and ect. We begged Ron to make stops here while Huckabeee, Romney, McCain all made stops here, all gave stump speeches. Hell we saw t.v. ads for McCain which at that time was strapped for cash, huckabee whch was surging only because of Iowa ans ect while we sat on 30million od hard earned grassroots dollars justgoing to waste. Signs and slimjims got here at about 2 weeks before the primary date when weshouldhave had them in middle nov after th first money bomb.

Point is Ron never wanted to win, could have easily have won but never wanted to. Campaign came up with excuse after excuse but all were so transparent tat they made th grassroots prganzers look ike professionals whle themseles lookedlike they wuld have been luck to win a h.s. boy a student council election.

Theit was well becomea precint leader we wil try ti win at the covention. Which they knew was b.s. The sad part was aching all these people putting their blood sweat andtears into this while the campaign staff just looked like they hadjust given up. I can remeber a meeting in early De here in Mich with ourstate coordinator and someone from the official camapign staff promising us toget ourheadquaerter buidingsset up andthat Ron would come but now we had to make it rtwhile ofrh im to do so. so there we were in the middle of winter trying to finda campaign hedquartes in grand rapids hell it didn't take us long forus to fingd some nice office spaces to rent. Theywereike no thats too much money sobasically theywanted to put us in theghetto areas andwanted usto pay for utilities. You know what Chuck Baldwin has a nicerh.q now than we were being proposedback in dec and I know Chuck has no 30 million in thebank.

This whole thing was a farce from the beggining and I ma dissappointed to have ever involvedmyself. I love Ron, Love the message, but after this campaign he would haea very hard time provng to me that he ever hadany intenton on winning, because in alot of cases he didn't evn want to show up.

[revolutionary8]

I'm sure "someone" will correct me, if I'm wrong:D

I believe RP won the *GOP primary* in Texas for his Congressional seat. He still needs votes in his uncontested election in November to maintain his Congressional seat.

RP made it clear earlier that his Congressional seat is more important (presumably, "bird in hand" and all).

I believe GOP would not allow RP to endorse any non-GOP candidate (at any level).

As a result, I suspect that there is "behind-the-scenes blowback" occurring within the GOP towards RP for his "big announcement" on Monday for people to vote for *any party* other than GOP/Dem. Talk about betraying his "party":eek:

Will the GOP effectively sideline RP's involvement in any/all Congressional committees?

If so, RP will have less input in Congress than he currently has:rolleyes:

Regarding the newsletters, apparently Thomas Woods was the ghostwriter for "The Manifesto" as publicly reported recently (see threads on RPFs).

Did RP's publishers realize The Manifesto was simply a compilation of RP's prior articles with Thomas Woods as "editor"? Would a book, "Manifesto: Compiled Writings of RP, edited by Thomas Woods" have sold as many copies, even among RP diehard supporters?

Is Thomas Woods even getting any percentage of royalties?

The newsletters may not be the issue, but ghostwriters for e-mails and published books seems to be a 20-year pattern:rolleyes:

And, no, becoming President was never the "chance of a lifetime" for RP.

Can you imagine RP's entire extended family being under Secret Service protection for how many years, particularly if threats had already been made?

How would RP balance his priorities, if he were President and Carol's recent hospitalization (and in future?) had occurred in the midst of major treaty negotiations?

In fact, RP himself stated he was a "reluctant candidate"-
Dear Gawd, I don't even know where to start with this, but I think that is probably your specialty. ;)
I was blind, but now I see. ;)
I will start and end with the bottom line:
Yeah, he "betrayed" his party, and my party, they haven't betrayed him or me.
I now see that your definition of *blowback* is synonymous with a *threat*.

I seeeeee you Sally. ;)


'We are grateful to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination [read as 'democracy'] practiced in past centuries."
-David Rockefeller [co-founder (with Zbigniew Brzezinski) of the Trilateral Commission

[Chase]

I have enormous respect for Ron's decisions but it's so hard to watch this financial news. It makes me want to scream. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we had carried our momentum. Would the press have given us enough airtime for our message to achieve critical mass?

What warms my heart is watching Ron actively taking leadership on the major issues. He's going out of his way to keep people informed, he's drafting plans for economic recovery (including tons of legislation congress needs to start paying attention to), and he's building coalitions across party lines to address these issues.

I heard on the Lew Rockwell show that Ron Paul is planning on reintroducing a bill soon to audit the Fed. Given the massive bailouts of late, it's possible we might get that passed if we made enough noise. No one can say for sure what the audit would uncover but I'm betting the Fed stops looking like man's best friend.

[revolutionary8]

I have enormous respect for Ron's decisions but it's so hard to watch this financial news. It makes me want to scream. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we had carried our momentum. Would the press have given us enough airtime for our message to achieve critical mass?

What warms my heart is watching Ron actively taking leadership on the major issues. He's going out of his way to keep people informed, he's drafting plans for economic recovery (including tons of legislation congress needs to start paying attention to), and he's building coalitions across party lines to address these issues.

I heard on the Lew Rockwell show that Ron Paul is planning on reintroducing a bill soon to audit the Fed. Given the massive bailouts of late, it's possible we might get that passed if we made enough noise. No one can say for sure what the audit would uncover but I'm betting the Fed stops looking like man's best friend.
I think of Ron Paul as Obi Ron Kenobi. :) Looking back, I don't think he ever wanted to win, because he knew he couldn't win. He was/is not/never will be the "chosen one" according to those who choose, but his message, his ideas, well that is a different story...
"No army can stop an idea whose time has come" -Victor Hugo
Critical Mass a culmination of philosophy, not of people. It is something bigger... I believe it is still attainable, because spectacular entities like Ron Paul make it possible. They fight to further the good of man; they do not fight for themselves.

[Drknows]

I'm not going to lie, it felt like i just walked in on my girlfriend sleeping with another man when he gave up.

I felt anger and sadness. i started wondering what if we did something diffrent or convinced him.

and now i see all this crap on the news its like i can almost picture him standing on TV giving a speech about how Obama and Mccain know nothing about the economy. Or jumping in and saying all this talk about lipstick and old age is non sense.


Do i think he had a chance at winning? hell yeah still do.


but we must move on guys.

[revolutionary8]

I'm not going to lie, it felt like i just walked in on my girlfriend sleeping with another man when he gave up.

I felt anger and sadness. i started wondering what if we did something diffrent or convinced him.

and now i see all this crap on the news its like i can almost picture him standing on TV giving a speech about how Obama and Mccain know nothing about the economy. Or jumping in and saying all this talk about lipstick and old age is non sense.


Do i think he had a chance at winning? hell yeah still do.


but we must move on guys.
Dr,
What is your definition of "winning"? I think this is where there might be some confusion... Ron Paul has already won.
The next president will take the blame. This is what we are going to be voting upon this election. This is why I will vote 3rd party, because I know they will have no chance of "winning". It is not only a show- it is a play on words geared towards our dumbed down population. Ron Paul knows wtf he is talking about.

[Drknows]

Dr,
What is your definition of "winning"? I think this is where there might be some confusion... Ron Paul has already won.
The next president will take the blame. This is what we are going to be voting on this election. This is why I will vote 3rd party, because I know they will have no chance of "winning". It is not only a show- it is a play on words geared towards our dumbed down population.

oh i agree he already won in a sense. i was replying to the OP about continuing on and not asking what if.

[Chase]

I think we're reaching a point where Ron Paul can have a huge impact on policy just with his words. If we put together a massive ad campaign showing him predicting all of America's major recessions and all the legislation he tried to pass to stop it, we might just put pressure on congress to pass some of his bills. He's actually put a lot of work into them, and some are desperately needed.

[revolutionary8]

I think we're reaching a point where Ron Paul can have a huge impact on policy just with his words. If we put together a massive ad campaign showing him predicting all of America's major recessions and all the legislation he tried to pass to stop it, we might just put pressure on congress to pass some of his bills. He's actually put a lot of work into them, and some are desperately needed.

Agreed. Even if it is "fake", I hear and see words like "Constitution", "The Federal Reserve", and "Freedom" being used on a daily basis. The Gatekeepers have been forced to use these words so as not to "Skare" the general population in to the reality that we are living in a Fascist/Communist Country.
Knowing that "we are being watched"- how far will they let the gates open before even the gatekeepers are aroused? ;) I say we let the free market decide. heh

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Dr,
What is your definition of "winning"? I think this is where there might be some confusion... Ron Paul has already won.
The next president will take the blame.

Take the blame for what? The collapse of America? A new more socialist America? Life as we know it?

Not only that, but it will always be a republican or democrat that takes the blame. That's always the line.

This might have been the last chance to avoid several catastrophes. Hearing McCain, Obama, Bernanke, and media regarding the latest hapenings gives me zero confidence.

[tttar]

I just logged back in today, a few weeks after having started this thread, and was surprised to see so many comments.

My main point was that Ron probably wouldn't have won the election anyway - but so what?

I still believe that the Campaign for Liberty, etc., would have been 10 times bigger by now, had he stayed in the race as an independant. "Winning" for us should be seen as a matter of degree.

Imagine him blowing away the other guys in the debates, if he'd had the same level of support as Ross Perot, who also couldn't be ignored in his day.

As it stands, most people haven't even heard of him.

If there's a depression now, it will probably just be blamed on what's left of the free market, for lack of any widely understood alternatives.

[Eric21ND]

Imagine the massive campaign push the grassroots and meetups would've done throughout the summer??? Ron Paul at 10% in the polls right now I think is being conservative, heck he could be pushing 20% or higher!

I too think Ron dropped the ball here. Even if he didn't win, his ideas would've had a national stage and his movement could've gave birth to a real 3rd party to fight the dems and republicans. I'm talking a large permanent 3rd party in American politics. He could've done some great things, even without winning.