What were the biggest mistakes of the RP 08 campaign?

[Matt Collins]

So what were the biggest mistakes of the Ron Paul 2008 campaign?


I am asking this question in order to learn, not to bash on Ron, the campaign staff, or anything of that nature. As we move forward with the next election cycle I believe that our rising limited-government candidates and our country as a whole deserves the very best that we can give... our full effort. So in a constructively critical way (as opposed to a negative way) please list both major and minor mistakes by the RP08 campaign so that we can glean knowledge, wisdom, and insight on how to do things better next time.



"Those who do not learn their history are doomed to repeat it...."






.

[TonySutton]

I honestly believe the only mistake he made was going into the fight with intent of pushing issues and not really believing he had a chance to win.

I think if he had started with the belief and desire to become president he would have made a bigger impact.

[klamath]

Letting the grassroots define a message that wasn't his.

[acptulsa]

I don't know how helpful this would actually be. In some instances we could stand not to repeat our mistakes. In other instances, I believe we've made enough of an impact that what was a mistake then won't be a mistake now. His campaign broke the ice in a lot of areas. That could mean much smoother sailing for some of our concepts from now on--and could mean that former bad moves are now good moves.

We have come that far. It wasn't that long ago that it wasn't common knowledge that the Fed isn't part of the government, was it?

[Elwar]

TV ads should have been the main expense of the campaign. With negative or no media, the only way the sheep could overcome the bias would be through TV ads.

[angelatc]

He did not advertise on TV.

[nullvalu]

He did not advertise on TV.

yeah he did, in some key primary states.. don't you remember "He's catchin' on, I'm telling ya!"?

[Meatwasp]

He didn't spend enough time in New Hampshire at first until it was too late.

[brandon]

The mistakes really come down to a state by state issue. Every state has a different system and encountered different problems.

In PA, I think it was a mistake for the campaign not to send us any money at all. We also should have campaigned for our delegates better, but many of us were just learning the system for our first time.

[angelatc]

yeah he did, in some key primary states.. don't you remember "He's catchin' on, I'm telling ya!"?

Those ads were not professionally created, and they did not represent his platform well.

I will revise my statement: He did not effectively advertise on television.

[DeadheadForPaul]

In this order:
1.) Dr. Paul not openly denouncing 9/11 conspiracy theories
2.) Not spending more time and money in both Iowa and New Hampshire
3.) Allowing Lew Rockwell to write racist/homophobic things under his name in the Ron Paul Report
4.) Not refusing to accept donations from the Stormfront owners and also not denouncing white supremacy

The media loves a story about extremism and we gave it to them on a platter

[acptulsa]

We also should have campaigned for our delegates better, but many of us were just learning the system for our first time.

Yeah, us too. Sorry to say it, but many of the biggest mistakes were made by us, not the official campaign. Not that we don't have reason to pat ourselves on the back. We do. But one of the things we've done right is we've learned a lot.

[james1844]

A mistake the campaign made was hiring people of variable quality. Some were really terrific, some not so good.

Also, from what I gather there was some problems with oversight, logistics and communication in some of the key races.

[AuH20]

Letting the media and the GOP freeze and frame his anti-war message. There were many distortions that arrived from his clumsy approach in some of the telelvised debates. Some of the people I still talk to do not realize he holds conservative positions. Of the entire GOP field, he was the most conservative of the candidates, but many people act surprised when I bring up the other key areas of his platform. Paul got tied up exclusively as the anti-war candidate, when he's so much more than that.

[Kraig]

Yeah, us too. Sorry to say it, but many of the biggest mistakes were made by us, not the official campaign. Not that we don't have reason to pat ourselves on the back. We do. But one of the things we've done right is we've learned a lot.

Noobs or not, I think are grassroots was overall far superior than any other candidate hands down. I think the main shortfalls were in the MSM area, such as weak TV ads that angel is talking about.

[angelatc]

The mistakes really come down to a state by state issue. Every state has a different system and encountered different problems.

In PA, I think it was a mistake for the campaign not to send us any money at all. We also should have campaigned for our delegates better, but many of us were just learning the system for our first time.

We has some problems too. Although it runs against my very essence to say this, I think they were too tight with the money, as evidenced by the staggering amount they had left over at the end of the campaign.

Getting signs because their printer of choice was backlogged....we were begging for them just to release the art work to a local supplier, but to no avail. We *never* had enough of the metal sign holders, and eventually a couple of the local guys just bought 100 cases out of their pocket.

We were lucky because the Michigan crew sent us their leftovers, or else we would have gone weeks with no slim-jims, or any material. Their logistics weren't handled very well.

[DeadheadForPaul]

Letting the media and the GOP freeze and frame his anti-war message. There were many distortions that arrived from his clumsy approach in some of the telelvised debates. Some of the people I still talk to do not realize he holds conservative positions. He was the most conservative of the candidates, but many people act surprised when I bring up the other key areas of his platform. Paul got tied up exclusively as the anti-war candidate, when he's so much more than that.

This really bothered me too

During a question on ANY issue, he would bring it back to the American Empire. You need to know your audience, and he seemed to either not care that he was turning them off or was oblivious to that fact

I think he would have converted far more conservatives to his side if the anti-war message was just a part of his larger small government ideology rather than its central point

[nullvalu]

Those ads were not professionally created, and they did not represent his platform well.

I will revise my statement: He did not effectively advertise on television.

Agreed!

[Falseflagop]

After donating alot of money, handing out RP flyers and such I had to step back and truly ask I simply question.

If RP really really cared he would have run as an indepenedent solely based on his followers and support he had. So he would have lost but at least he tried and tried hard.

If he really cared about the country he would have RUN!! Period end of story no excuses. Sure he can make up all the excuses in the world. But if the country was in the shape he says it was, he WAS THE CURE and he should have run!! (Please make no excuses for him)

Plus where is all those millions in his campaign fund he collected? What happens to this money. Yes and Obama's Billion and McCain's where is it?

I am glad many people woke up, and I thank RON for that. But dont preach Constitution, country and Patriotism and then walk away when the country needs you most. It needed you then not 4 years from now because imho it will not matter.

I am disgusted by the whole thing. sure the game is rigged and Obama was the appointed one but hey if he was Real he would have woken up way more people.

Something just does not add up. I guess my Dad is right in the end they are all the same.

[angelatc]

If RP really really cared he would have run as an indepenedent solely based on his followers and support he had. So he would have lost but at least he tried and tried hard.

If he really cared about the country he would have RUN!! Period end of story no excuses. Sure he can make up all the excuses in the world. But if the country was in the shape he says it was, he WAS THE CURE and he should have run!! (Please make no excuses for him)

I trust his judgment on the decision. And his message would have died if he wasn't still in Congress.

[Bern]

Ron Paul's appearance on Meet the Press where he discussed Lincoln/Civil War fed into the Kirchick article about the racist newsletters. That killed all the momentum the campaign was building leading into NH IMO.

Everyone has baggage. Ron Paul did not do a very good job of managing his IMO.

[angelatc]

This really bothered me too

During a question on ANY issue, he would bring it back to the American Empire. You need to know your audience, and he seemed to either not care that he was turning them off or was oblivious to that fact

I think he would have converted far more conservatives to his side if the anti-war message was just a part of his larger small government ideology rather than its central point

I agree with this.

Musing - what if he had insisted that other countries should be required to pay for their own defense instead of insisting we pull our troops home? It's the same plan, with a different spin.

[AuH20]

This really bothered me too

During a question on ANY issue, he would bring it back to the American Empire. You need to know your audience, and he seemed to either not care that he was turning them off or was oblivious to that fact

I think he would have converted far more conservatives to his side if the anti-war message was just a part of his larger small government ideology rather than its central point

My parents are those people. Paul left a bad impression in their mouth due to those debates. The scary thing is that they probably agree with him on 80% of the issues, but they only remember him for his combative dealing with Giulani! It was the manner in which the message was delivered, not necessarily the message itself.

[jaybone]

After donating alot of money, handing out RP flyers and such I had to step back and truly ask I simply question.

If RP really really cared he would have run as an indepenedent solely based on his followers and support he had. So he would have lost but at least he tried and tried hard.

If he really cared about the country he would have RUN!! Period end of story no excuses. Sure he can make up all the excuses in the world. But if the country was in the shape he says it was, he WAS THE CURE and he should have run!! (Please make no excuses for him)

Plus where is all those millions in his campaign fund he collected? What happens to this money. Yes and Obama's Billion and McCain's where is it?

I am glad many people woke up, and I thank RON for that. But dont preach Constitution, country and Patriotism and then walk away when the country needs you most. It needed you then not 4 years from now because imho it will not matter.

I am disgusted by the whole thing. sure the game is rigged and Obama was the appointed one but hey if he was Real he would have woken up way more people.

Something just does not add up. I guess my Dad is right in the end they are all the same.

I am with you on this,
go all the way or go home.

The biggest blunder that I personally witnessed was not having an aerial view of the November rally in Philadelphia. The media reports a few hundred people were there, when there were many thousand.
It was at a time when the movement was gathering momentum, and IMO if people could see the numbers for themselves, they would have been more likely to join in.

There were tall buildings all around the Constitution Center, they would not have even needed a helicopter. Huge blunder.

[acptulsa]

Something just does not add up. I guess my Dad is right in the end they are all the same.

No, not this one.

After decades of fighting the robber barons tooth and nail, how do you know when the people will wake up and say, enough? When you've been at it for decades, when a fair percentage of the population suddenly says omg you're right will you be ready? Or will you be caught flat-footed? And when it happens, do you holler, 'charge' or do you count your forces and see if you have enough to have a chance at victory? If not, what then?

When you play pool, do you go for the shots you don't think you can make flat out, or do you play for a bad leave for your opponent and bide your time until your next shot? Does it make a difference if your opponent can run the table or not? Do you go flat out against a good opponent, leading to many spectacular losses to one occasional surprise upset, or do you plod on with your conservative game and build up your skills?

[Todd]

The mistakes really come down to a state by state issue. Every state has a different system and encountered different problems.

In PA, I think it was a mistake for the campaign not to send us any money at all. We also should have campaigned for our delegates better, but many of us were just learning the system for our first time.

Bingo. Everyone was learning about being a delegate...me included. Still...many are not willing to do this now for what I think are pride issues.

[Meatwasp]

I agree with this.

Musing - what if he had insisted that other countries should be required to pay for their own defense instead of insisting we pull our troops home? It's the same plan, with a different spin.

That is great thinking Ang. Should have done that for sure.

[max]

failure to run blistering attack ads against the major candidates in New Hampshire...they all had so many skeletons in the closet but got away with them because we didnt play hardball.....

we should have run attack ads against McCain on his amnesty position day and night...and against Romney on his incredible flip flops

[max]

In this order:
1.) Dr. Paul not openly denouncing 9/11 conspiracy theories
3.) Allowing Lew Rockwell to write racist/homophobic things under his name in the Ron Paul Report
4.) Not refusing to accept donations from the Stormfront owners and also not denouncing white supremacy

The media loves a story about extremism and we gave it to them on a platter

in other words, u want the media to dictate our defensive actions

[acptulsa]

failure to run blistering attack ads against the major candidates in New Hampshire...they all had so many skeletons in the closet but got away with them because we didnt play hardball.....

we should have run attack ads against McCain on his amnesty position day and night...and against Romney on his incredible flip flops

Well, at that point we really hadn't found our voice yet. Ever since we did, though, I think us playing 'bad cop' and Dr. Paul playing gentlemanly scholar has worked out magnificently. He wanted to educate, and do it from the moral high ground.

For better and worse.

[Falseflagop]

failure to run blistering attack ads against the major candidates in New Hampshire...they all had so many skeletons in the closet but got away with them because we didnt play hardball.....

we should have run attack ads against McCain on his amnesty position day and night...and against Romney on his incredible flip flops

Exactly WHY DIDN'T he???????????

He is a good man no doubt BUT WHY DIDN'T he go all the way? Compromised? Part of the show? Just wanted to collect the money raised? Just throwing darts because I cannot figure out why a man with such a powerful message, with youth on his side does not go all the way? But in 1988 (sure he was younger) with no funds or backing ran? MIND BOGGLING?

It tells me the whole system is OWNED and CONTROLLED regardless of who you are because they decided way in advance Obama (who had done nothing to that point) was going to win!!

With Obama in place they could pass all the ahte laws they want and pass everything they want Why? Because you would be labelled.

RON I am just disappointed in you that you failed to follow thru and should have acted what you preached! imho

[revolutionman]

he made the mistake of talking honestly in a political contest. the expression "never bring a knife to a gun fight" comes to mind.

You sleeze and slime your way into office the same way the villains do, and when you have the trust and the power, you do whatever you want regardless of what your constituents wish, just like the villains do, except instead of causing irreparable damage to our great republic and its citizens like the villains do, you'll be doing whatever you can to try to remedy the ailments.

It works for the liberals and neo conservatives, and while it goes against my every principal, these are the rules that govern the gameplay. Thats why i personally don't play.

[Falseflagop]

in other words, u want the media to dictate our defensive actions


He should have exposed the true criminals of 911 and what the event was for. He knows he was playing dumb imho.

He would have riled up a nation!

[acptulsa]

He should have exposed the true criminals of 911 and what the event was for. He knows he was playing dumb imho.

He would have riled up a nation!

Yeah, but against whom exactly? Americans are certainly not above shooting the messenger first and investigating later.

[klamath]

Another one I am still fighting with my father in law was RP's attack on Reagan in one of the debates. That turned my father in law off and being the kind of man he is he never turned back once he made up his mind. I fear a lot of voters were the same way.

[klamath]

He should have exposed the true criminals of 911 and what the event was for. He knows he was playing dumb imho.

He would have riled up a nation!

This is the biggest reason he lost. Allowing the Grassroots to spead messages that he really was a truther but was hiding it. This was done on other issues as well. It was their agenda not his.
We have member on this forum that didn't start supporting RP until after the election because they had been told he was a truther.

[acptulsa]

Seems to me that some here differ from Ron Paul in their belief that by 2012 there will be nothing left of this nation, so 'live to fight another day' is meaningless. I think that view underestimates us. Who cares that factories have been closed for eight years, their machine tools rusting, and that all we have in the way of momentum is a bunch of government inefficiency? In 1941 we were in the same situation (and much of that government make-work inefficiency was with us in the form of our best weapons systems, i.e. GM's Allison aircraft engine, the Madsen cannon, the General Lee tank). And we came up with better stuff, lots of it, and just in time.

I don't think any power on earth can keep this nation down except its own government. And if that's the case, any time you can curb the monstrosity is the right time for the renaissance to begin.

[angelatc]

I do not think it is in Ron Paul's nature to run an attack campaign. Something like that would have required an independent PAC, like Swiftboat.

And he did state he was not a truther, but the media did not care.

[UtahApocalypse]

Those ads were not professionally created, and they did not represent his platform well.

I will revise my statement: He did not effectively advertise on television.

That was the problem. Those were the Professionally made ads. They could have hired Aravoth for half the cost, and got twice the product.


This is the biggest reason he lost. Allowing the Grassroots to spead messages that he really was a truther but was hiding it. This was done on other issues as well. It was their agenda not his.
We have member on this forum that didn't start supporting RP until after the election because they had been told he was a truther.

Agreed, Most anyone I talked to that liked Ron, and voted otherwise later cuted that as the reason.

[LibertyEagle]

Bingo. Everyone was learning about being a delegate...me included. Still...many are not willing to do this now for what I think are pride issues.
This.

Plus, a lot of us in the grassroots weren't exactly keen on strategizing our plans any further out than a 2 hour sign wave or attending a rally. Some of that is probably due to the fact that most of us are not joiners, so we don't trust much of anyone who suggests we do so. Regardless, it meant we didn't have much of a thought out plan of attack.

Also, do you guys remember how much time was spent dissing the very people in the party that we wanted to nominate RP? You know Republicans, older people, Christians, etc. It was kinda a weird thing to do if we were trying to get them to vote for our guy.



Musing - what if he had insisted that other countries should be required to pay for their own defense instead of insisting we pull our troops home? It's the same plan, with a different spin.
Yeah, this would have been MUCH easier to sell. But, I wonder if he agrees with this course of action though. It would be outwardly saying our military are guns for hire. I'm not so sure that's a good thing. :confused:

EDIT: Also, don't people vote for the person who they think will benefit THEM the most and who paints a rosy picture of how things will be with them as President? If that's true, then RP spent more time, and still does, criticizing the actions being taken, rather than saying what HE would do and painting a picture in people's minds of how great it would be.

People who seem to win seem to pretty much gloss over the details, because most people do not care.

[gilliganscorner]

Depending upon a populace that has been dumbed down by almost 100 years of the nanny state to wake up in one election cycle? See the Socrates quote below.

[hillertexas]

he made the mistake of talking honestly in a political contest. the expression "never bring a knife to a gun fight" comes to mind.

You sleeze and slime your way into office the same way the villains do, and when you have the trust and the power, you do whatever you want regardless of what your constituents wish, just like the villains do, except instead of causing irreparable damage to our great republic and its citizens like the villains do, you'll be doing whatever you can to try to remedy the ailments.

It works for the liberals and neo conservatives, and while it goes against my every principal, these are the rules that govern the gameplay. Thats why i personally don't play.


this.
I don't think we played dirty enough...good guys finish last and all

[acptulsa]

People who seem to win seem to pretty much gloss over the details, because most people do not care.

That's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, thing I think is changing, and one reason I feel like too much of this navel-gazing at this point in history is a bad thing. I think people are getting fed up with hoping for change, then finding out the new boss they just elected is exactly the same as the old boss. I'm sure this is Obama's biggest Achilles' Heel.

I think this is one of the most potent messages we can deliver between now and November of 2010--they always offer you pie in the sky by and by, but if you can't use it now to hit the clown in the face what good is it? We do what we promise, and if you send enough of us to Washington we'll deliver it, too--and if we don't it'll be really, really easy to see that and fire us.

[pacelli]

So what were the biggest mistakes of the Ron Paul 2008 campaign?


I am asking this question in order to learn, not to bash on Ron, the campaign staff, or anything of that nature. As we move forward with the next election cycle I believe that our rising limited-government candidates and our country as a whole deserves the very best that we can give... our full effort. So in a constructively critical way (as opposed to a negative way) please list both major and minor mistakes by the RP08 campaign so that we can glean knowledge, wisdom, and insight on how to do things better next time.



"Those who do not learn their history are doomed to repeat it...."






.

Canceling the Neil Boortz interview & a poor media strategy in general. Got into the satellite feed interviews way, way, way too late.

Canvassing list issue in Iowa.

No professional paid televised ads nationwide (and refusal to accept grassroots- donated advertisements and suggestions in a timely manner).

No "I paid for this microphone" moments at the debates.

Reluctance to confront other candidates during the debates.

No nationally televised townhalls.

Building a presidential campaign behind a "reluctant candidate" who was committed to running only an "educational campaign".

[Daveforliberty]

That was the problem. Those were the Professionally made ads. They could have hired Aravoth for half the cost, and got twice the product

As I understand it Ron trusted the people he had used successfully in Texas to do the national advertising. While understandable, it really overlooked the obvious: there were YouTube videos by Aravoth and others that were far more emotional and compelling.

Why? Because they usually just featured excerpts of Ron Paul speaking. This was said many times during the campaign but it seemed no one got the message: "The best spokesman for Ron Paul is Ron Paul."

I first became aware of RP by watching a speech he made on the House floor. I was astonished. I didn't know anyone like that existed in government. What Ron Paul says rings true in the hearts and minds of common people.

It was a grassroots movement. The grassroots had the best ideas and the most passion. A 60-second version of "Ron Paul - A New Hope" would have done wonders.

[pacelli]

I'll tack on this one-- announcing that he was launching his congressional campaign. Sure, as the grassroots we rationalized it, but in retrospect it sent the message that the presidential campaign was done.

[Athan]

We weren't stopping traffic as Naomi Wolf mentioned. :D

[Join The Paul Side]

Childish supporters running rampant giving the neo-cons ammunition to use against us.

Not Ron's fault though.

[ClayTrainor]

Those ads were not professionally created, and they did not represent his platform well.

I will revise my statement: He did not effectively advertise on television.

I will 100% agree to this. I was always embarrassed by the ads.

If he runs in '12, we need to run the High Tide ad as much as possible, and create some more high quality ads. The grassroots can take care of the commercials for free, or at very little cost.

THere's no need for the campaign to hire a 'professional' advertising team, because whoever they hired did a terrible job. I've only been making videos for a few months, and i'm confident i could've made better ads.

[KoldKut]

//

[Feenix566]

He cut corners on his campaign ads. They were a joke. He should have hired a professional advertising firm to produce his ads. You get what you pay for.

He also didn't focus hard enough on New Hampshire.

[Todd]

Also, do you guys remember how much time was spent dissing the very people in the party that we wanted to nominate RP? You know Republicans, older people, Christians, etc. It was kinda a weird thing to do if we were trying to get them to vote for our guy.

Yep
One of the first meetups in early August 07'. We had a grassroots organizer who was working directly for campaign speak. The question was posed "who are the types supporting Paul". The answer: He said it was funny that he was an atheist and all...but that by far the biggest groups were Christians and gun owners. But the one thing in common was that we all were here for liberty. I think many forgot that message by the time the primaries rolled around. Divisiveness killed us as much as disorganization.

[UtahApocalypse]

He cut corners on his campaign ads. They were a joke. He should have hired a professional advertising firm to produce his ads. You get what you pay for.

He also didn't focus hard enough on New Hampshire.

That WAS the professional ad firm. They should have paid Aravoth half what the spent and got damn good ads.

[pacelli]

I think the advertisement firm was called "Bill Dumas Productions" or something to that effect.

[speciallyblend]

gop leadership was the bottom line problem, corruption within the gop! colorado and nevada conventions perfect proof of gop corruption .the long list of gop leadership corruption in the primary process was the #1 problem

[fgd]

Not having a plan to do damage control on newsletters and white supremacists.

Ineffectual and hackneyed ads.

Ads that were too short. Paul should have put together a 1/2hr infomercial to break through the media stranglehold instead of blowing it on regular length ads that get lost in the noise.

Not having a plan to get delegates to caucus locations until WAY too late. Anyone remember the feeling of "shit, the Wyoming delegates ALREADY VOTED?!? Where are the RP delegates? Who told the meetups? Did anyone even know about this?!?"

Not having a plan to break through GOP corruption at caucuses.

Trying to run a 50 state campaign instead of focusing EVERYTHING on NH for the entire campaign.

[heavenlyboy34]

FWIW, the ads that ran on the radio in AZ were short and unimpressive. If I hadn't already known RP, I wouldn't have been moved to look him up. :(

[speciallyblend]

FWIW, the ads that ran on the radio in AZ were short and unimpressive. If I hadn't already known RP, I wouldn't have been moved to look him up. :(

i hear you, and this is not directed at you,but i always tell folks if they think they can do better then someone. no one is stopping them. I find it hard to judge others on their actions and if someone trys to do something . i always say if you can do better then put or shut up!! once again not directed at you.

i do see some folks judging others yet they put nothing up to further it or help it!! just saying!!

lots of monday morning quarterbacks it seems!!! they want to judge others and do nothing!!!

this only applies to folks that it applies to

[heavenlyboy34]

i hear you, and this is not directed at you,but i always tell folks if they think they can do better then someone. no one is stopping them. I find it hard to judge others on their actions and if someone trys to do something . i always say if you can do better then put or shut up!! once again not directed at you.

i do see some folks judging others yet they put nothing up to further it or help it!! just saying!!

lots of monday morning quarterbacks it seems!!! they want to judge others and do nothing!!!

this only applies to folks that it applies to

I know, I know. Somebody asked, and I threw in my 2 cents. lol I'm not doing the Monday Morning quarterback thing (well, I don't intend to). :o:cool:

[Lord Xar]

1. Not conveying his message in layman terms and with passion
2. Not attacking his competition.
3. Poor to fair TV ads
4. Bad idea focusing soooo much on print material in NH
5. Doing horrible in the debates. Besides some choice soundbites, he didn't sell the message of truth amongst a throng of thieves.

Ron Paul had the BEST TASTING apple in a pie contest. The only problem was, it was wrapped in a paper bag with no fork.

His message was the best, his delivery was terrible and like others said, he didn't have that passion that is required for such a movement. I didn't see that passion till the very end of his run when he actually believed he had a shot.

That isn't harsh for me or most of his other supporters because we looked at policy. We cared about the message NOT how it was presented. But we live in a nation of sheep, so you have to be a sheepherder.

[He Who Pawns]

1. The Ads
2. The Ads
3. Campaign Management

[John of Des Moines]

The biggest mistake the campaign made was the following:

The Monday after the August 07 Iowa Straw Poll three members of the Iowa campaign staff and one from national met with WHO AM 1040 radio talk show host Jan Michaelson and was immediately offered (without asking) one hour every two weeks and ten minutes the opposite week for Dr. Paul to call in and discuss his positions. My quick calculations makes that 15 or so hours of FREE airtime on the most listened to radio station in Iowa. Michaelson was a supporter and would not have bit Paul like he did Mitt whose front runner status waned after he ran out of a Michaelson interview. The afternoon drive guy Steve Deace basically ran an Huckebee infomercial from September to the caucus. If you overlay a coverage map over a map of the vote it shows where WHO signal is strong Huckebee won and where is the signal is weak Mitt won.

And since Paul made the decision to obey his oath and limit campaigning while Congress was in session it became real hard to go to county Republican meetings and such and when asked when they could meet Dr. Paul all I could do is shrug my shoulders and say "I don't know." But if he did the radio offer a lot of people would have heard him explain why he wasn't in Iowa that often. (Or we would have had cd's available of the radio interviews.)

Had Paul came in a good top three position then the MSM would have been forced cover him more.

And I think a blimp floating over Iowa with an electronic message board would have been cost effective.

[Carson]

Not winning!

[max]

That WAS the professional ad firm. They should have paid Aravoth half what the spent and got damn good ads.

damn right!...aravoths stuff kicked ass

[Lovecraftian4Paul]

1. The weak campaign ads, as everyone else has pointed out. RP needed ads that hit the economy and the war hard. These were the real issues in the 2008 election.

2. Talking uncertainly about whether or not he was open to a third party campaign, and then shutting the door on it in February. This created kind of a buzz kill. And I know some think otherwise, but all signs pointed to Ron Paul being open to a third party run, at least up through Super Tuesday. He admitted he left the door cracked open a little for it in the Tim Russert Meet the Press interview. I honestly think he would have considered it if he had won a state or reached higher percentages in the early primaries. I don't blame Dr. Paul totally though. He would have only done it if he thought he could reach the threshold needed to be in the debates. This seemed doubtful to him as his performance in the primaries rolled in and the donations decreased hugely.

3. The rest of the campaign after Super Tuesday. I understand he was saving some money for the CFL. However, there were a couple mistakes here. Things were practically shut down in February and his staff made a big deal about Chris Peden being a threat to RP's congressional seat. This was never the case. They should have used some of the money to run ads and campaign in the remaining primaries. No, he couldn't have won, but he could have spread the message further.

I also still don't see why he dropped out about a year ago in June. The CFL didn't do anything for most of last year until the fall rally. It didn't seem like there was a need to roll the money over until after the convention and officially kick off the group. Though his chance at the GOP nomination was next to nil at this point, he should have stayed in until the convention and contested McCain's coronation.

[paulitics]

So what were the biggest mistakes of the Ron Paul 2008 campaign?



The extremely late start. Mitt Romney and others were already organized in Iowa for a year. By the time we picked up in the polls, Iowa was over.

People in the grassroots wanted to run a national campaign, instead of targeting Iowa and NH first. This was the Giuliani strategy, and a losing strategy. At least Giuliani had name recognition to run a national campaign. We didn't. It made no sense.
Heck, even Mitt Romney understood he was not well known enough to run a national campaign. Huckabee realized this as well, and basically lived in Iowa, interacting with the local people every day. His poll numbers soared. When McCain won NH, he rest of the states were his. His national poll numbers went from 10% to 40% overnight.

By the time we realized that we should target locally, it was too little too late. More time spent in Iowa and NH by staff, grassroots, and Paul himself would have gone a long way.

[Bossobass]

I think that when you begin at 0% and end up being the top fund raiser, setting and then breaking records while garnering millions of supporters and educating many millions more in the most corrupt, rigged process...

You did everything right.

I learned what Congressional District I'm in. I met my Congressional Rep and both of my state's Senators as a delegate. I met and spoke with : Mike Huckabee, Tancredo, Tommy Thompson and Gilmore. I participated in the GOP conventions and learned how the system works. I logged over 10,000 miles in 6 states. I met and befriended great Americans from all walks of life. I met and spoke with Congressman Paul several times, once at length. I met and spoke with Mrs. Paul many times. I learned who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, and how to remove the bad guys.

I learned so many new things about the country I was born in, they're too numerous to list.

Thanks to Ron Paul, who kicked serious ass, day after day after day.

When I took My NH debate RP sign to have RP sign it, I wrote the date and the fact that that trip put me over 10,000 miles on the sign and handed it to him.

He said, Gee Dave, it takes me a whole day to do that"., then he smiled and punched me in the arm...HARD!

No way he lost anything in my book.

There was no chance to win and I sure wish people would just deal with that and stop finding fault with the historic run by a 70 year old Patriot who has beaten the same drum tirelessly for more than 30 years.

To quote JFK: "The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans".

Take it and run.

Bosso

[AuH2O]

1. The Ads
2. The Ads
3. Campaign Management

You have said in the past that you believe the main purpose of centralized campaign management is to produce convincing television advertisement.

This is -- to me at least -- clearly the complaint of a very adamant and committed grassroots supporter who is only willing to see and acknowledge the effect of the very visible blanket mass marketing without understanding all of the other subtler intricacies of running a national campaign (or a statewide or districtwide campaign, for that matter).

There is far more to campaigning than the blanket "beat everyone over the head with a single message" marketing that is so clearly visible.

[ingrid]

This really bothered me too

During a question on ANY issue, he would bring it back to the American Empire. You need to know your audience, and he seemed to either not care that he was turning them off or was oblivious to that fact

I think he would have converted far more conservatives to his side if the anti-war message was just a part of his larger small government ideology rather than its central point

Yes, it would have helped him to keep his message short and simple, instead of going off into theory.

& also with his war message...I don't think it was enough to get most liberals to vote for him.

[Dave]

Ron Paul not spending enough time on the ground in Iowa, especially since it was a caucus instead of a primary.
Some Ron Paul supporters acting like paranoid screwballs and/or frightening the very people we were trying to bring on board.
Too many supporters thinking that waving signs and being right would give us the win and not being willing to do the hard work in their own precincts.

[Cap'n Crunk]

damn right!...aravoths stuff kicked ass


Aravoth's videos along with a New Hope, were the easiest way for me to sell Ron Paul to people. We need videos like these to go even more viral next go around. I'm ashamed with myself that I didn't demand more people to watch these videos. They work!!!! Especially at waking up apathetic people who really think all the candidates are the same.

[james1906]

RP needed to play to the base more. He should have kept name dropping Reagan, Goldwater, and Friedman.

RP needed to loosen up more. That's why Huckabee gained so much ground after being considered an also-ran at first. He's a baby doctor from the rural South; the charm comes prepackaged.

[MikeStanart]

RP needed to play to the base more. He should have kept name dropping Reagan, Goldwater, and Friedman.

RP needed to loosen up more. That's why Huckabee gained so much ground after being considered an also-ran at first. He's a baby doctor from the rural South; the charm comes prepackaged.

Yeah, why didn't he bring up the fact that he was friends with Reagan!??

[fr33domfightr]

1) To help bring in people to the campaign, Ron Paul should have mentioned Meetup.com at every interview he had. People needed to know where they could go to actively participate, early on.

2) Although Meetup.com was a good tool for the Grassroots, I'd really liked to have seen a more coordinated approach from the Campaign Managment, whereby they harnessed the grassroots to help out where help was needed. There was no connection that I could see. The Management did there thing, and the Grassroots did theirs, independently, but I think this hurt Ron Paul's effectiveness.

3) Ron Paul himself, stated many times, he didn't want to run anyone's life. Fine, we get that. At the same time, people want someone to understand what's going on, and LEAD!! DON'T RUN OUR LIVES, BUT HELP THE COUNTRY BY PROVIDING DIRECTION TO MAKE IT BETTER!! I think people didn't see the desire in him, to lead.

4) I heard this from a person who created one of the successful money bomb ads: They said campaign management didn't actively include the grassroots in the creation of advertising. I guess the feeling was, the grassroots Ad creators were in better touch with younger voters.

5) Ron Paul uses certain language, like "Empire," for instance, that is emotionally charged. He's speaking factually, however, using emotionally charged language, or something similar, which turns off older voters. They feel he was attacking the U.S.!! He needed to dumb things down a bit, and explain why he uses certain language. He and his staff have to remember, our country has been the way it is for many many decades. For older Americans, they feel threatened by shrinking our military presence (empire). Let me rephrase that, THEY FEEL THREATENED BY SAYING WE SHOULD PULL ALL OUR TROOPS BACK HOME. Do you think older voters would vote for someone they feel will make them feel less safe at home?!?!?!? He should have taken more time to explain WHY and HOW we should pull our troops back home. Saying, just pull them all back home, isn't enough. People want to see that he is reasonable (safe) in his approach.



FF

[dr. hfn]

shitty tv ads

not enough push in iowa and new hampshire

[anaconda]

He needed to be more aggressive with calling out the establishment on it's ill deeds. He needed much slicker public relations and image consulting. On the other hand, I think his style in the campaign is resulting in bigger paybacks now and possibly for the future. He may have done everything just right, considering the long run.

[anaconda]

He didn't spend enough time in New Hampshire at first until it was too late.

Monstrous voter fraud in NH didn't help him. He may have actually won that state.

YouTube - NH Voter/Election Fraud? Secure Ballots? Clean Elections? P1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJfj9ySYg0Q)

[Alawn]

Not going all in for NH. He really should have spent every last penny he had in NH and left nothing for the later states. The only thing that matters is winning one of the first couple states. NH was his best shot and was second. He lost because people who would have voted for him said he couldn't win so voted for someone else to not waste their vote.

Saving money for later states is a bad idea. Spend it all on the first couple. If you do good then you will get lots of new money. People will suddenly think you can win and will send way more money. McCain was broke after NH. After he won people started giving him a lot of money. If you do bad you are going to lose anyway. If you don't get in the top 2 in one of the first 3 primaries all confidence in you is lost and it doesn't matter what you do after that.

People vote like they are betting on a horse race. They only want to vote for the person they think will win not who they want to win.

[qh4dotcom]

Looks like everyone posting on this thread has forgotten that the biggest mistakes were not made by anyone in the RP '08 campaign...they were made by the millions of voters who heard his message of liberty and decided not to vote for him.

If you want to blame anyone, that's where you should start.

[Lord Xar]

Looks like everyone posting on this thread has forgotten that the biggest mistakes were not made by anyone in the RP '08 campaign...they were made by the millions of voters who heard his message of liberty and decided not to vote for him.

If you want to blame anyone, that's where you should start.

sure, I agree. But I only answered because the OP asked about the Ron Paul campaign. I also completely agree with Bosso. Ron Paul did some tremendous, absolutely tremendous things.. that are still resonating. I hear about him a couple times a week now here and there.

Like Bosso suggests, I don't believe Ron Paul could have won because our system is so corrupt and entrenched with special interests but most of us didn't care, we were blinded by Ron' message because it woke many of us up (me), or found a common soul in others.. so we didn't care who or how powerful the opposition was. Anything was possible.

but again, the OP asked the faults of the RP campaign.

[Objectivist]

The first thing I noticed was using November 5th as a rallying point for the money bomb. Many people don't understand the 5th of November and Guy Fawkes (my namesake in another forum) and V of V for Vendetta are demonized by the MSM as "terrorists". Not that they'd report what positions they were against. V for Vendetta wasn't watched by elderly AMericans and while most here have seen it, it didn't cross demographics well enough to gain acceptance as a example of current political situations. That made RP look bad to the outsiders and I can understand how and why they didn't understand.

Personally I don't think RP has the cult of personality to gain widespread acceptance. The smartest kid in school never became Homecoming King or Captain of the football team. The smartest kid was usually ridiculed at made fun of like most nerds are. Don't get me wrong I dig RP and think he's the smartest kid in the game, that's why I respect and admire him, but many people I talk to don't get it or haven't been exposed to the same level of political debate as we junkies here in the forum, doing the daily trench warfare in the realm of politics and news.

What we need is someone that has his wealth of knowledge and integrity that is good looking(gets the chick vote), great orator(no Prompter), family man, business oriented, with not a big push towards religion or the Republican brand, that's 40-50 years old. I'm available but have baggage from my past and I'm not married, just a ten year LTR.:rolleyes:

[Conza88]

OH for fcks sake..

http://www.polov8.co.uk/images/donotwant.gif

[acptulsa]

Yeah, why didn't he bring up the fact that he was friends with Reagan!??

He did, once. It was one of the funnier moments of the campaign. All of the candidates were comparing themselves to Reagan and saying they thought Reagan would support them if he were alive, and Ron Paul simply and matter-of-factly said, "Ronald Reagan did campaign for me," and got back to talking policy.

But I think he considered it a touchy subject because he soured on Reagan when he didn't keep his campaign promises.

[Conza88]

There is so much bullshit in this thread I don't know where to start.

[JVParkour]

Well...start somewhere! I value your opinion!

[constituent]

this thread shows how oblivious most are to the realities of rp2008.

to understand what went wrong (assuming anything went wrong. it is my position, however, that things went stupendously right), you have to first define and examine the various facets of the campaign... or put more bluntly, the various campaigns.

I) The Educational Campaign

II) The Fundraising Campaign

II) The Presidential Campaign

now, i don't care enough to waste my time examining all this crap, but if you care to, first understanding this reality is key if you are to come to any worthwhile conclusions about what worked and what did not.

good luck, and happy hunting.

[Meatwasp]

This is a little off topic, but I still , with fond memories think about seeing some of our guys giving away hot chocolate on a cold night in New York. Does anyone remember who they were?

[tonesforjonesbones]

There should have been more advertising...the only ads I heard for Ron Paul in my town were the ones my meet up group bought on talk radio. tones

[Objectivist]

There is so much bullshit in this thread I don't know where to start.

Please start.

[mediahasyou]

You guys have some logical points.

However, I think we need to look at history to be able to understand how to achieve the goal of liberty.

Big government came to this country and it didn't happen in one presidential election. It took more than 50 years to see progress. Ironically, socialists in the 1800s were in the exact same place as we are today. They had to fight against two parties of the same coin. and the establishment resisted them much.

The socialist party never did gain control of this country. However, they did achieve all their goals.

What did they do? Socialists created a nonpolitical movement...with populism and progressivism. They pushed the issue of making government better.

People get defensive fast when you start talking politics. And people should get defensive when political beliefs are brought in question because you are challenging their beliefs that are a part of them.

Movements have more acceptance than a political campaign. People accept a movement's cause as a good thing for everyone. A progressive movement brought big government to this country. I suggest we use a movement to take it back.

[PaulaGem]

out of either of the major parties --- come on, think about who gets nominated & why.

Bill from nowhere Arkansas Clinton.
Darkhorse Obama out of nowhere Illinois.

Both were nominated after not participating in the early primaries, they got there because someone wanted them there.

That was when it was the Dem's turn in the hotseat.




Baby Bush? his only qualification was the ability to follow orders and a name.

Palin, she was brought in to make sure the Darkhorse got in.

(no, I'm not racist - the pun is just too tempting)


Ron Paul did a whole lot of good just getting the recognition he got. Seriously folks, do you think either party can survive in their current incarnation if they alienate "them" and "their" money?

It just won't happen.


Politics has to be fixed from the bottom up, starting with *** DEMOCRATIC **** local rule and a fair vote.

If we get enough leadership out of Washington to pass HR 1207 and begin the end for the Fed, that will be a miracle.

[johnrocks]

I think alot of it had to do with him not being known, so many I talk to,to this day simply don't know who he is, that sounds so foreign to us political hounds who stay on the internet and stay informed but most in the "real world" only think politics once every few years around election time and only choose between the top runners they are spoonfed by the MSM,imho.

[Matt Collins]

a viable third partyThat is a misnomer. ;)

[acptulsa]

That is a misnomer. ;)

An oxymoron, even. But the times they are a changin'. If we can't wrest control of the G.O.P. from the neocons, a third party could have a better shot in 2010-2012 than at any time since 1858-1860.

[eok321]

The ads from the last campaign were lame.

Next time he just needs 1 good 2 minute ad to run in Iowa and New hampshire.

Whoever he is up against the first minute of this ad should have quotes or clips of Romney/Huckabee/Palin or whoever else talking last year about how the economy was fine and there was nothing to worry about.

After each of those clips a date should be stamped of when they said it.


Then the 2nd minute should have clips of ron from the debates or in interviews, saying the country is in recession/heading for depression etc and those clips/quotes date stamped as well.


After all of that, a question for the viewer asking....If those candidates were so wrong then why would they be right this time.


That would have the effect of an attack ad but it would really only be stating the truth and giving the viewer a better alternative.

[Carson]

Lying to us about the willingness to enforce immigration laws, for decades.

[DeadheadForPaul]

in other words, u want the media to dictate our defensive actions

No, I'm suggesting that you not give them ammo to take down our campaign. You have to play the game. The media loves exposing something shocking about a candidate. You have to be smart about how you present yourself. People are not above "guilty by association". Sorry, but it's a fact of human life

[JAlli41]

how about not having 19 year olds holding major positions within the campaign. I worked in NH during the primary and was astonished at the lack of experience people had there. They were all good people and wanted to win, but they really did not know how to get it done, which speaks to a larger centralization problem the campaign had. We want the government to decentralize power not Presidential campaigns. I understand why it happened, the money got there too late, he never really thought he would attract a following, ect. But the NH thing really hurt me, because A it was, along with places like Nevada, probably the most winnable, and also because momentum had really begun for the campaign after the surprise showing in Iowa. He should have spent a lot more resources to NH.

[HOLLYWOOD]

gop leadership was the bottom line problem, corruption within the gop! colorado and nevada conventions perfect proof of gop corruption .the long list of gop leadership corruption in the primary process was the #1 problem

Yeah what ^^^^^^ the bouncing elephant says.

Don't we already have a 1000+ post thread on what went wrong on the 08 campaign?

[Anti Federalist]

Yeah what ^^^^^^ the bouncing elephant says.

Don't we already have a 1000+ post thread on what went wrong on the 08 campaign?

Not to mention the NH GOP "dirty tricks".

I second the trampoline elephant's remarks.

The GOP leadership wanted and still wants, no part of Ron Paul or anything he stands for.

And yes, it seems 1000 posts x 1000 threads.

[rockandrollsouls]

Yeah what ^^^^^^ the bouncing elephant says.

Don't we already have a 1000+ post thread on what went wrong on the 08 campaign?

No....I have one name. Jesse Benton.

Ineffective.

[Sean]

He should have spent every penny and spare moment he had in Iowa and NH. His major expense should have been TV ads which focused on small government issues and attacking his opponents as liberals. I think he came into the early primaries without the intent to win. If he does 5-10% better in those early states he picks up more media exposure and debate time. He could have also knocked the Huckster and McCain out early.

[satchelmcqueen]

i think you guys are missing the main point......

the biggest thing to go wrong was the fact that paul and mccain NEVER had a debate between each other, when they were the only 2 guys left running for a while. i dont know if the campaing failed to push this issue or if it just wasnt allowed by the networks or what, but paul was left all alone with mccain by himself. #1 and #2 guys were there.

obama and clinton had debates. where was the paul and mccain debates?

im sure that the msm played a MAJOR role in blocking this from happening as i saw them (as did you guys) make absolutely no mention of this fact on air. mccain did mention this on the daily show to try and get a laugh, but instead he got a big applause for paul from the crowd and a pro-paul comment from john stewart.

no matter what the mistakes, paul was the only guy left in the running at the end for a good number of weeks on end. the debate of PAUL vs MCCAIN never happened, but should have and could have put paul in as the winner.....IF the vote wasnt fraudulent that is....paul had the most donations from the millitary, most meet up groups, biggest online support, won almost all the straw polls, won almost all of the debates he was in, BUT was ripped off and lied about towards his winning polls, debates, telecasts etc..., ...he had it all...and im supposed to believe he only got 1.3 million votes nation wide????


#1...voter fraud
#2 paul vs mccain never happened

the campaign could have been way better, but the bottom line is, paul made it to the end, but never had that one on one debate with mccain for what ever reason. ild like to know how and why he was denied this. this would be my #1 question for paul if i ever get to meet him. how were they denied the debate with mccain???

[Imperial]

i think you guys are missing the main point......

the biggest thing to go wrong was the fact that paul and mccain NEVER had a debate between each other, when they were the only 2 guys left running for a while. i dont know if the campaing failed to push this issue or if it just wasnt allowed by the networks or what, but paul was left all alone with mccain by himself. #1 and #2 guys were there.

obama and clinton had debates. where was the paul and mccain debates?

im sure that the msm played a MAJOR role in blocking this from happening as i saw them (as did you guys) make absolutely no mention of this fact on air. mccain did mention this on the daily show to try and get a laugh, but instead he got a big applause for paul from the crowd and a pro-paul comment from john stewart.

no matter what the mistakes, paul was the only guy left in the running at the end for a good number of weeks on end. the debate of PAUL vs MCCAIN never happened, but should have and could have put paul in as the winner.....IF the vote wasnt fraudulent that is....paul had the most donations from the millitary, most meet up groups, biggest online support, won almost all the straw polls, won almost all of the debates he was in, BUT was ripped off and lied about towards his winning polls, debates, telecasts etc..., ...he had it all...and im supposed to believe he only got 1.3 million votes nation wide????


#1...voter fraud
#2 paul vs mccain never happened

the campaign could have been way better, but the bottom line is, paul made it to the end, but never had that one on one debate with mccain for what ever reason. ild like to know how and why he was denied this. this would be my #1 question for paul if i ever get to meet him. how were they denied the debate with mccain???

It is like in 2004 when Kerry didn't debate Kucinich even though he wouldn't drop out. Neither Kerry nor McCain would have had any incentive to support a debate that they would be doomed to lose. Their dominant position meant they didn't need to extend the risk or bother to push to issue.

[RonPaulVolunteer]

2 things.

Ron Paul went into the race totally unaware he had ANY chance and oblivious that he'd gain the following he did.

Secondly, the campaign staff themselves with particular emphasis on Jesse.

Sorry if this has already been said, but I don't have time to read all the other posts...

[RonPaulVolunteer]

In this order:
1.) Dr. Paul not openly denouncing 9/11 conspiracy theories

Because he won't lie....

[RonPaulVolunteer]

If RP really really cared he would have run as an indepenedent solely based on his followers and support he had. So he would have lost but at least he tried and tried hard.

Ron Paul cared enough about this country, and the rule of law, that he did not run as an independent, because to do so would have broken a legally binding contract Ron Paul had with the party.

[AuH2O]

i think you guys are missing the main point......

the biggest thing to go wrong was the fact that paul and mccain NEVER had a debate between each other, when they were the only 2 guys left running for a while. i dont know if the campaing failed to push this issue or if it just wasnt allowed by the networks or what, but paul was left all alone with mccain by himself. #1 and #2 guys were there.

obama and clinton had debates. where was the paul and mccain debates?

im sure that the msm played a MAJOR role in blocking this from happening as i saw them (as did you guys) make absolutely no mention of this fact on air. mccain did mention this on the daily show to try and get a laugh, but instead he got a big applause for paul from the crowd and a pro-paul comment from john stewart.

no matter what the mistakes, paul was the only guy left in the running at the end for a good number of weeks on end. the debate of PAUL vs MCCAIN never happened, but should have and could have put paul in as the winner.....IF the vote wasnt fraudulent that is....paul had the most donations from the millitary, most meet up groups, biggest online support, won almost all the straw polls, won almost all of the debates he was in, BUT was ripped off and lied about towards his winning polls, debates, telecasts etc..., ...he had it all...and im supposed to believe he only got 1.3 million votes nation wide????


#1...voter fraud
#2 paul vs mccain never happened

the campaign could have been way better, but the bottom line is, paul made it to the end, but never had that one on one debate with mccain for what ever reason. ild like to know how and why he was denied this. this would be my #1 question for paul if i ever get to meet him. how were they denied the debate with mccain???

Please explain any incentive at all McCain would have to accept a one on one debate with Ron Paul. People who want debates are people who need to win votes, to convince people -- and McCain had the nomination sewed up. He would only stand to lose from any further direct comparison, and stood to gain absolutely zero. The McCain camp would have laughed in RP's face if he demanded a debate (and I can't say he didn't).

[Thrashertm]

The single biggest mistake was not hiring a Washington insider (James Carville for example) to run his campaign after the first money bomb. Let RP define the message and make his points, but let the pro and his staff run the campaign. The campaign was run by incompetents at best.

[satchelmcqueen]

Please explain any incentive at all McCain would have to accept a one on one debate with Ron Paul. People who want debates are people who need to win votes, to convince people -- and McCain had the nomination sewed up. He would only stand to lose from any further direct comparison, and stood to gain absolutely zero. The McCain camp would have laughed in RP's face if he demanded a debate (and I can't say he didn't).

yeah i get what you mean. i guess i meant to say, why isnt it a rule that the last 2 have a debate? that would be an honorable thing to do. but fat chance.

[MelissaCato]

I can't think of anything we the people didn't do.

The only thing I can think of is the MSM screwed America BIGTIME !!

JMO.

[Matt Collins]

the single biggest mistake was not hiring a washington insider (james carville for example) to run his campaign after the first money bomb. Let rp define the message and make his points, but let the pro and his staff run the campaign.

Best Post in the Thread!!!!

[LibertyEagle]

The single biggest mistake was not hiring a Washington insider (James Carville for example) to run his campaign after the first money bomb. Let RP define the message and make his points, but let the pro and his staff run the campaign. The campaign was run by incompetents at best.

What makes you think these type of guys would accept? Personally, I doubt it. But, I agree that it would have been nice.

[Matt Collins]

What makes you think these type of guys would accept? Personally, I doubt it. But, I agree that it would have been nice.Greenbacks, or federal reserve notes.