RPF veterans...what was it like in the beginning?

[trey4sports]

I joined here after the tea party in 07, we were gaining popularity quite quickly. Im curious what it was like here at RPF when Ron Paul had just announced his campaign.

were goals lower?

did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

did you expect Ron Paul to be an internet sensation?

did you think we would EVER raise the kind of money we raised in the 4th quarter, when we were in the 1st quarter?




even more important, to those of you who have been right in your predictions for the campaign/movement where do you see our support at in 2012??????

[pcosmar]

Learning/growing pains and HOPE.
A lot of excitement as we met others. :)


Now I just hope to survive, and pledge to resist.

[CoreyBowen999]

man I was a fan since May and we had such low expectations, or at least I did. These forums were EXTREMELY slow too. When we had our first mini bomb and took over some networking sites did I realize we had a real movement going on/ Hopefully I will be able to convert more high school friends

[OptionsTrader]

I thought the people of America could be awakened, maybe. But the ignorance of today's fat and lazy citizens has become more apparent to me over the past 3 years.

[aravoth]

I joined here after the tea party in 07, we were gaining popularity quite quickly. Im curious what it was like here at RPF when Ron Paul had just announced his campaign.

were goals lower?

did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

did you expect Ron Paul to be an internet sensation?

did you think we would EVER raise the kind of money we raised in the 4th quarter, when we were in the 1st quarter?




even more important, to those of you who have been right in your predictions for the campaign/movement where do you see our support at in 2012??????

There was hardly anyone here in the beginning. The people that came here when it began made youtube vids, canvassed, held signs over freeways, street corners, and in high traffic areas an online radio station was set up, and people just started to come out of the woodwork. The work of less than 200 people nationwide blossomed into the "Ron Paul Revolution". It was amazing. I think the first fundraiser we had the Campaign set a goal for 500k, we reached it early, and then they set the goal to 1 million. We had less time to raise another 500k, and we did that before the deadline also. After that all sorts of crazy shit happened. November the 5th, the blimp, the Tea Party, Rallies were huge. We had people phone bombing radio shows for christs sake. LOL that reminded me of when lolololololol, we literally shut down the Mark Levin show, rofl, we tied up that schmucks phone line so badly that he wouldn't take anymore callers, and all he did was play music, lol remember that? He kept sayin "keep callin' libs" hahahaha.

It was different then though. This forum had a very rebellious attitude. One group even pulled a "paint the town ron" and literally put Ron Paul signs all over the city they live in. Ron Paul signs were plastered on the Federal Reserve Buildings in major cities, etc. It was fun. There are more people now, but far less than there was at it's peak. I'd like to see us get active again, like that.

[Cowlesy]

"In the beginning Aravoth created a video singin' doowah ditty ditty dum ditty doo"

[trey4sports]

things like this really help me put this movement in perspective. A time for looking back and growth.

Ron Paul has went from a no-name nobody to being one of the best known politicians in congress. You vets deserve a pat on the back and a sincere thank you for starting this movement.

thank you

[LibertyEagle]

I remember Aravoth's first video. After that, nothing was the same again. It seemed to give people ideas and people ran like crazy after that.

Remember how we all used to gather when Ron Paul was going to get a whole 2 minutes on the MSM? We were like beside ourselves. And the debates. :eek: It was nuts here. :D:

People coming up with ideas for radio slots, newspaper ads and even TV ads. Chip-ins were setup and amazingly, the money flowed in. It was a special time, that's for sure. :)

Nayjevin started a thread sometime back here, that was a remember when thread. You'd probably enjoy reading that.

[lucius]

//

[lucius]

//

[nayjevin]

Nayjevin started a thread sometime back here, that was a remember when thread. You'd probably enjoy reading that.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=153803


did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

no. this is what I have learned - - with the freedom of the internet and its networking tools -- it is worth it to be involved. many people have been awakened in the past few years, and they and their families are better for it.

[Bryan]

Im curious what it was like here at RPF when Ron Paul had just announced his campaign.

Well, technically, at that point there was no "here". :) RPFs went online after the first GOP debate.

Otherwise, I think Aravoth nailed it good.

Also- all the archives are still online, you can start here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=2 :)

We just passed 2,000,000 posts- let me know what you think. :D :p

[MozoVote]

I started reading the forums a week or two before Ed Failor and the Iowans for Tax Relief debacle. I think currently, things are a little quieter than then. What will be interesting to see is what happens after this summer. Will stuff ramp back up, with the next election? Or has the RP revolution Jumped The Shark?

[Todd]

I looked around here in July of 07'. I was introduced to Ron Paul by a "socialist" friend of mine. :p Can you believe it....a socialist who thought Paul was too principled not to consider. I had heard of him before, but never looked into just how principled he was.
I went to a meetup and was sold by the willingness of the members to actually get out and do things.

On the forums....One thing I remember is how much bombing the on line poll threads there were. Everyone was trying to get his numbers up online and make it newsworthy. Not surprisingly, the MSM ignored us anyway.

We got blamed a bunch for being "spammers" back then, especially when Ron won the Fox news debate poll.

[Raul08]

Lots of energy, then disgust with the way the Campaign was handled, then schisms, then arguements, then fakes who said things that were statist but said they supported Paul. Then people gave up in the end for the most part. But the numbers stayed and we leveled off after lots of media coverage.

I watched the forums far longer than I had an account.

[dr. hfn]

I wasn't here in the begginning, but I want to be a part of that awesomeness!

[nayjevin]

Then people gave up in the end for the most part.

lol, not really:

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[MsDoodahs]

were goals lower?

I would say yes.


did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

I did not expect to see this in my lifetime.


did you expect Ron Paul to be an internet sensation?

Never.


did you think we would EVER raise the kind of money we raised in the 4th quarter, when we were in the 1st quarter?

Never in a bazillion years.


even more important, to those of you who have been right in your predictions for the campaign/movement where do you see our support at in 2012??????

I guess I was wrong in my predictions, so my view isn't really what you're looking for. But I'm giving it anyways. :D

It all depends on who runs.

[MsDoodahs]

I remember signing up for the Houston meetup group and trying to figure out how to use the message feature (technotard here, as most of y'all know :o). I think Josh and Bryan were part of that group...

A local businessman who knows Ron planned a fundraiser, and I got in touch with him about it to offer to help. This was JUST AFTER the dust up in the first debate with Rudy G. The man was very worried - the locals who had promised to help him with setup for the event had bailed - they got pissed because of the dust up. He told me that he was afraid NO ONE would show up, and that CNN and other national news outlets would be there and claim Dr. Paul had NO SUPPORT AT ALL!

I got in touch with that meetup group, and spread the word for as many as could come to please come out here so we had SOME in attendance.

Met Josh and Bryan, they started this place, and at the time, I honestly thought it would be LOCAL HOUSTON FOLKS ONLY here. I thought it would replace that messaging function at the meetup group site that I STILL couldn't figure out.

lol....

Boy, was I ever in for a shock.

[Roxi]

you guys make me smile.

from beginning to end I heard "Ron paul doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell"

and the whole time I said "I don't care, the people we are educating along the way makes it worth it to me"

I never thought he would be what he was now... there was a short point in time I thought we could win, but to me it just meant so much to be a part of what was happening.

in a nutshell it was like this.... In the beginning someone came up with an idea, presented it to the grassroots, it was tossed around and around until there was a consensus, and then people got their butts to work, and we accomplished miracles... then on to the next project.

if you want a good idea search "spam spartanburg" on this forum and have a good read :)

[dr. hfn]

I guess the harcore are still around, but the casual people splintered off after the primary. We need to continue what we are doing, build an infastructure, create coalitions and alliances, and have another go in 2012!!!!

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

When I first got here it was like a beehive of activity and honestly it was a little intimidating but it was not long before I was caught up and getting active. I had never seen anything like it in my life. We were actually able to get things done and to make changes. I have a very good feeling that we are about to see it like that again around here!

[UtahApocalypse]

The begining is bittersweet for me..... After learning about Ron Paul and coming here, meetups, and getting involved it was so easy. To me the idea of liberty is as natural as eating. I though "Man this guy will win soon as everyone hears what he has to say" it was such common sense, and realistic.... no smoke and mirrors as other politicians.

Sadly I learned in reality that many people are agnostic, clueless, or against liberty. I never imagined things would be as hard as the have been.

That all being said, its been a great honor and privilege to be here with all of you.

[newbitech]

I joined here after the tea party in 07, we were gaining popularity quite quickly. Im curious what it was like here at RPF when Ron Paul had just announced his campaign.

were goals lower?

did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

did you expect Ron Paul to be an internet sensation?

did you think we would EVER raise the kind of money we raised in the 4th quarter, when we were in the 1st quarter?




even more important, to those of you who have been right in your predictions for the campaign/movement where do you see our support at in 2012??????

I don't think you missed too much. I was lurking on the boards here about 2 weeks before the first mini-bomb. I threw a couple of bucks at that one cause I wanted to see the meter on Dr. Paul's site fill up with the statue of liberty. I think it was for a radio spot if memory servers me.

I decided to create an account and get involved with the excitement of the guy fawkes remember remember the 5th of november money bomb, the one that set records. probably the most amazing time I had online since back in the days of quake and duke nukem.

Anyways, I had really enjoyed the tons of information available throughout the posts, and the links here are always vetted and tremendously useful. I knew I was going to make a silent donation to the big money bomb but I really got caught up in the excitement. I signed up and then ended up blowing all my savings at the time on pushing that 1 day campaign record. We did it and it was awesome.

I expect we will see some spikes in 2010 mid terms, but 2012 is going to be bedlam around here, if the power is still on of course.

[TheConstitutionLives]

I had been following Paul since about 2004 or 2005. When I found out he was thinking about announcing his candidacy I immediately emailed all my friends and told them to get ready b/c we're about to get into the arena. The thing I kept telling them, and people who were not familiar with Paul in the beginning was "Just wait till he gets into the debates. He's going to chop these guys up into little bits". And while Paul's speaking skills leave much to be desired his substance still stuck out like a soar thumb and it was the debates that officially got the ball rolling. That was the beginning. Before that no one had a clue who the guy was and it was difficult as hell defending what you knew his positions were going to be before he was in the spotlight. I signed up right when this forum started and it was a few hundred of us I guess with more and more joining every day. I'd like to see a membership stat sheet on that. Anyone have one?

[TheConstitutionLives]

I never thought he would be what he was now...


- Unfortunately, we have to thank the current economic debacle for alot of this. The crash has validated Paul's prior claims and since it happens right after the primaries folks weren't able to forget him or what he had said. Of course, republicans getting their asses handed to them has helped as well.

[TheConstitutionLives]

we literally shut down the Mark Levin show, rofl, we tied up that schmucks phone line so badly that he wouldn't take anymore callers, and all he did was play music, lol remember that? He kept sayin "keep callin' libs" hahahaha.

- I have the audio clip now of when I made it on. He was preaching about the founders and how awesome they were, etc, and later on he was slamming Paul and I couldn't take it so I called in. I said "I appreciate you discussing the founders blah blah and just the other day Judge Napolitano gave a speech and said 'Ron Paul was the Thomas Jefferson of our time' so I don't know what your problem is" He hung up on me and they edited me out before I could finish. I have it on my pc right now. I'd put it up but not sure where I could post it online for others to hear.

[axiomata]

I figured this may be a fitting thread to make my 1000th post.

During the week of 9/17/07 there was the little Constitution Week money bomb. This was actually a money bomb before we knew what a real money bomb was in the style of a Nov 5 or Tea Party money bomb. The campaign wanted to see if it could getting a "whopping" 1787 individual donations in the span of a week and it tracked the count with a flash graphic of a quill filling up with ink.

Here's the thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=18549

[tremendoustie]

I joined here after the tea party in 07, we were gaining popularity quite quickly. Im curious what it was like here at RPF when Ron Paul had just announced his campaign.

were goals lower?

did you guys EVER think we would have the numbers we now have?

did you expect Ron Paul to be an internet sensation?

did you think we would EVER raise the kind of money we raised in the 4th quarter, when we were in the 1st quarter?




even more important, to those of you who have been right in your predictions for the campaign/movement where do you see our support at in 2012??????


I came on board here just before the november moneybomb, although I had been a Paul supporter for a couple of months (so I wasn't a very early member).

I think watching the donation meter go vertical at midnight on the fifth was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen.

I don't know how good my predictions are, but I think this country will be very different by 2012. I think there will be far more people on board for liberty, but I think we may be far less free, and far less prosperous. That's just my sense.

[Brian4Liberty]

Someone recently said RPF was addictive. It was twice as much at the beginning. There were the debates, and they were crazy. Before and after each debate, the forum was packed. And the primaries... Each one was filled with anticipation of a big win.

I have been reading RPs Texas Straight Talk for many years. When Ron became a candidate, I started on the Meet-ups, but like many others, was dissappointd with the extremists and petty dictators that arose. RPF was a much better venue for open discussions, and has stayed that way ever since. It's still addictive...

[LibertyEagle]

I guess the harcore are still around, but the casual people splintered off after the primary. We need to continue what we are doing, build an infastructure, create coalitions and alliances, and have another go in 2012!!!!

Well, there's plenty of hardcore that aren't here too. I'm hoping they come back at some point when there's really some things that we are actively doing.

[Anti Federalist]

I had been following the writings and speeches of Ron Paul for years, gave out dozens of copies of his House Special Orders "Neo-Conned" speech, being one of his best, imo.

When we met up with him at Strafford Co. NH GOP straw poll in July IRC, (which he won in a landslide) Mrs. AF and I decided to jump into "politics" one more time, renouncing our "political" agnosticism.

It was not too long after that I joined up here.

The heated debate over the choice of 5 November for the first big "money bomb" (which I, and many others, thought was a great idea, much to consternation of panty wetters and hanky wringers) was a big moment and the success of it was an even greater thrill.

The efforts made to make the 16th an even bigger success was the high point for me.

My cynicism toward the system returned, in full full force, after the NH results and even more so after witnessing, firsthand, some of the "chicanery" surrounding the recount.

[Minuteman2008]

I loved this forum early on. I actually think people were more tolerant when the forum had such a huge number of visitors on a regular basis. I can't say I have a whole lot in common with a lot of the regular posters here, but in the early days before the Iowa caucus it didn't matter. It was a big tent and there was room for all kinds of conservatives, even "truthers" and paleoconservatives. I don't see so many of those around here anymore, but maybe someday the vibe will be back. It was more like the wild west early on where now I think the rigid ideologues more or less set the tone.

But maybe things will start to pick up by the next elections. It should be time for conservative Republicans to start making a comeback, but I'm tired of being letdown so I'm not getting my hopes up too much.