Campaign Personnel Changes?

[yatez112]

http://www.whas11.com/news/Rand-Paul-plans-campaign-shake-up-after-gaffes-94879244.html



BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky senatorial candidate Rand Paul said Tuesday he's planning a campaign staff shake-up a week after a round of interviews in which he dismayed fellow Republicans by discussing his views on racial segregation.

Campaign manager David Adams, a Republican strategist and former blogger who has been with the campaign since it began, will remain, but perhaps in a different role, Paul said.

Paul, who said he was bolstering his staff, won the GOP nomination last week with campaign workers who were largely political novices and volunteers. He said all the staffing decisions haven't yet been made.

Adams declined to comment on the reorganization Tuesday evening.


More from the link...

[sailingaway]

Wow, I hope he's not taking McConnell/Rove people.... I hope Ron is involved (but not Benton). He does need someone national, but the campaign has had the greatest 'common touch', and we sure don't want to lose that...

[amisspelledword]

i guess Karl Rove called to apply for a job haha

[CheezItsRule]

Read through the article. They mentioned Benton, alright. UGH!

[Fozz]

Rand's campaign needs people who know how to deal with Democrats.

[0zzy]

Everyone dislikes Benton, hahha. I do too :). Get Benton OFF UR DAMN STAFF.

As for staff changes, good. he needs professionals, but he doesn't need to be manhandled. he needs a balance.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

That tenth paragraph smacks of bias.

And WTF: Jesse Benton? Why is he still around? Are the Pauls just going to keep this guy around all the time: Ron Paul 2008, Rand Paul 2010 and maybe Ron Paul 2012? That's a downgrade.

At least Adams is staying on-board.


Wow, I hope he's not taking McConnell/Rove people....

I hope he is. McConnell's people and Karl Rove are brilliant political guys and that is what this is all about. You'd really rather have Ron Paul's boobish 2008 campaign staff around?

[BamaFanNKy]

Um. Why does everyone hate Jesse Benton?

[brandon]

And WTF: Jesse Benton? Why is he still around?

He is Rand's nephew-in-law

[brandon]

Um. Why does everyone hate Jesse Benton?

Join Date: Feb 2010

If you were involved during Paul's 2008 campaign you would know.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

He is Rand's nephew-in-law

Is nepotism the way Rand Paul really wants to go?

Ron Paul hired this guy before he married into their family though.

[0zzy]

Join Date: Feb 2010

If you were involved during Paul's 2008 campaign you would know.

Who knows, maybe we need Jesse Benton! Remember when he kept failing on getting national interviews for Ron Paul even though the interviewers wantedddd Ron Paul on their show?

Well Rand isn't going on TV, so this is a great combination! :D

[RonPaulFanInGA]

Maybe Rand Paul is hiring Nate Hodson? :p

[BamaFanNKy]

Join Date: Feb 2010

If you were involved during Paul's 2008 campaign you would know.

I was involved but, was only around people like Rand. Maybe Rand didn't bad mouth him like you guys.

[corsair]

Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a general disapproval of Jesse Benton?

[0zzy]

Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a general disapproval of Jesse Benton?

Massive incompetence, I believe.

[BamaFanNKy]

Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a general disapproval of Jesse Benton?

Don't ask. Only people involved in Ron Paul's campaign would know. :rolleyes:

[orenbus]

Well if enough supporters do not like Jesse Benton I think Rand should know how the supporters feel about it. If the charges are legitimate it's probably best to voice out the opinions directly to the campaign sooner rather than later.

What are the problems people have with Jesse?

edit: 500th post, woot.

[sailingaway]

That tenth paragraph smacks of bias.

And WTF: Jesse Benton? Why is he still around? Are the Pauls just going to keep this guy around all the time: Ron Paul 2008, Rand Paul 2010 and maybe Ron Paul 2012? That's a downgrade.

At least Adams is staying on-board.



I hope he is. McConnell's people and Karl Rove are brilliant political guys and that is what this is all about. You'd really rather have Ron Paul's boobish 2008 campaign staff around?

If you recall, Grayson had McConnell folks, AFF were McConnell/Bush types, they thought Grayson was winning right up to the last second, and ran a terrible campaign.

Why on earth would Rand want them?

[dr. hfn]

o fuk

[sailingaway]

Who knows, maybe we need Jesse Benton! Remember when he kept failing on getting national interviews for Ron Paul even though the interviewers wantedddd Ron Paul on their show?

Well Rand isn't going on TV, so this is a great combination! :D

Sigh....

I deleted what I had here originally. But it is NOT a great combination.

Rand's campaign, commercials, etc were great. Terrific.

[klamath]

nothing against him personally but Benton wasn't a good campaign manager.

[orenbus]

If you recall, Grayson had McConnell folks, AFF were McConnell/Bush types, they thought Grayson was winning right up to the last second, and ran a terrible campaign.

Why on earth would Rand want them?

It's probably conditional on getting some of that gop $$$.

[specsaregood]

Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a general disapproval of Jesse Benton?

I don't like to bag on the guy, because it is probably overstated....who knows what his day is like.
BUT:
Jesse Benton was responsible for setting Bob Barr up for the interview in Borat.
Jesse Benton was responsible for setting Ron Paul up for the interview in Bruno.

Just saying....

[thomas-in-ky]

As long as Rand is in charge, we will win. I truly hope he can retain the folks that helped him get to this point.

[MRoCkEd]

Jesse Benton was responsible for setting Ron Paul up for the interview in Bruno.

Just saying....

Nah, that was Rachel

[specsaregood]

Nah, that was Rachel

She was probably involved somewhat but I remember Jesse admitting to it. Re: bruno.

[RonPaulFanInGA]

nothing against him personally but Benton wasn't a good campaign manager.

Benton was never the campaign manager. That was either Lew Moore or Kent Snyder.

I hope if Adams really is moving to a different role, it ain't Benton taking over that one. I'm fine with Benton as "campaign spokesman", but not as campaign manager.

[sailingaway]

It's probably conditional on getting some of that gop $$$.

I'm not keen on that, either.

[sailingaway]

I don't like to bag on the guy, because it is probably overstated....who knows what his day is like.
BUT:
Jesse Benton was responsible for setting Bob Barr up for the interview in Borat.
Jesse Benton was responsible for setting Ron Paul up for the interview in Bruno.

Just saying....

And you would think one of those would have been enough for someone with a normal learning curve, wouldn't you?

[specsaregood]

And you would think one of those would have been enough for someone with a normal learning curve, wouldn't you?

Not necessarily. As Rachel explained they have a full cover story with references and everything. And the character was completely different from the first. i could see it happening twice, theoretically.

[JMann]

The media will always tell us who they fear the most. I think the fact that Rand was called out as a racist within 48 hours of his win and almost an hour of Sunday morning talk dedicated to him shows that the Manhattan media is terrified of Dr. Rand. As if any of Dr. Rand's supporters care at all about what the Washington fat cats say about him. I can only hope the good people of Kentucky don't buy into the hate and misinformation.

[Lord Xar]

It is difficult to quantify what Benton was responsible for in regard to Ron's many mishaps, from those horrible commercials, huge outlaying of monies in NH, lack of tv appearances, lack of radio appearances, inability to effectual counter attacks in a timely and well thought out manner.

I would be amazed at Adams ability to shut down any opposing criticism with his own blistering attack. The Rand ads were very effective etc...

Granted, Benton was dealing with a country wide plan of action rather than a state one so who is to say how Benton would fair in such a scaled down enterprise.

I say, why fix something that isn't broken. Rand jacked up on his own - he shouldn't be shuffling things around too much -

[Badger Paul]

Gee after listening to all this I'm starting to wonder who really won the primary and is ahead by 25 points in the latest poll?

This team of novices and amateurs just defeated the powerful Republican establishment in Kentucky. That's no mean trick. Now they want to shuffle the deck? What for? To give employment opportunities to Karl Rove?

It's easy to rip on staffers or say this guy is incompetent or that fellow is a failure. Obviously you want to trains to run on time I understand that. But too much of a campaign's failures are attributed to staffers. Ultimately it comes down to the candidate when he or she presents themselves to the voters. They either preform or they don't and the people will either like them or they don't.

The only person in the campaign who is ultimately going to affect the outcome is candidate himself, in this case Rand Paul.

[sailingaway]

The media will always tell us who they fear the most. I think the fact that Rand was called out as a racist within 48 hours of his win and almost an hour of Sunday morning talk dedicated to him shows that the Manhattan media is terrified of Dr. Rand. As if any of Dr. Rand's supporters care at all about what the Washington fat cats say about him. I can only hope the good people of Kentucky don't buy into the hate and misinformation.

I think this is aimed more at squelching future presidential bids than at Kentucky.

[TheFlashlight.org]

Hopefully Rand doesn't get all starstruck by Karl Rove, who needs a job besides being shouted down at book signings. However, I get the sense from Karl Rove that he's really the secret spawn of Heinrich Himmler, and that he really just wants to win elections, and despite being kind of apolitical, the further to the right the better, cause it gives him more of a toolkit to torture his enemies with.

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Everyone%20Else/images-5/heinrich-himmler.jpg

[itshappening]

McConnell said that the campaign he saw in Kentucky was one of the most sharpest he's ever seen. There doesn't need to be any changes

[james1844]

Guys - I volunteered several times at the Virginia HQ for Ron's 08 run. I observed Jessie Benton both formally and informally. I can tell you there were several problems with the way the campaign was run, but Benton had nothing to do with them. He was the media spokesperson, not a campaign manager or organizer. In that capacity he did very well.

[sailingaway]

Guys - I volunteered several times at the Virginia HQ for Ron's 08 run. I observed Jessie Benton both formally and informally. I can tell you there were several problems with the way the campaign was run, but Benton had nothing to do with them. He was the media spokesperson, not a campaign manager or organizer. In that capacity he did very well.

OK, well you know better than I do, then. I had just heard about Borat AND Bruno and blew my top.

[Dreamofunity]

There have just been certain statements made by Jesse in the past that are just "Doh!" moments, and either phrased poorly or just totally inappropriate for the time being.


I was really impressed with Adams this primary campaign, I hope he isn't getting the boot and continues to have a major role in the campaign.

[LivefreeVA]

Rand's team that won the primary is his team going into the general election. They just beat the big boys by 24 points. Same people doing media, same people doing voter outreach, same people making decisions. Don't believe everything you read in the papers. ;)

[sailingaway]

Rand's team that won the primary is his team going into the general election. They just beat the big boys by 24 points. Same people doing media, same people doing voter outreach, same people making decisions. Don't believe everything you read in the papers. ;)


good. :D

[obijuan]

I was really impressed with Adams this primary campaign, I hope he isn't getting the boot and continues to have a major role in the campaign.

+1776

Adams and Rand campaigned as hard as anybody I've ever seen in KY. Kudos to Mr. Adams for his hard work; it well may not have been a Randslide without him.

[klamath]

Benton was never the campaign manager. That was either Lew Moore or Kent Snyder.

I hope if Adams really is moving to a different role, it ain't Benton taking over that one. I'm fine with Benton as "campaign spokesman", but not as campaign manager.
You are right. My mistake. Snyder wasn't to good at it. RIP. I believe Benton was the media spokeman/press officer.

[AdamT]

You are right. My mistake. Snyder wasn't to good at it. RIP. I believe Benton was the media spokeman/press officer.

Correct. Benton was/is Ron's media liason. During the 08 campaign he was Communications Director I believe.

[Matt Collins]

Wow, I hope he's not taking McConnell/Rove people.... They do know how to win elections.


Can someone explain to me why there seems to be a general disapproval of Jesse Benton?
Just do a search of the forums for his last name and you'll see why.


nothing against him personally but Benton wasn't a good campaign manager.Benton never managed a campaign to my knowledge.


Guys - I volunteered several times at the Virginia HQ for Ron's 08 run. I observed Jessie Benton both formally and informally. I can tell you there were several problems with the way the campaign was run, but Benton had nothing to do with them. He was the media spokesperson, not a campaign manager or organizer. In that capacity he did very well.
I think Benton has changed and grown quite a bit in a couple of years, I know I have. Him and I didn't get along at all prior to Rand's race, but now that I've worked beside him extensively we don't have any problems whatsoever.

Also there were things during RP'08 that were attributed to him that were in fact not true. I never thought I would be the one saying this, but yall might consider giving him a second chance. Just sayin' :)

[klamath]

They do know how to win elections.


Just do a search of the forums for his last name and you'll see why.

Benton never managed a campaign to my knowledge.


I think Benton has changed and grown quite a bit in a couple of years, I know I have. Him and I didn't get along at all prior to Rand's race, but now that I've worked beside him extensively we don't have any problems whatsoever.

Also there were things during RP'08 that were attributed to him that were in fact not true. I never thought I would be the one saying this, but yall might consider giving him a second chance. Just sayin' :)

I hope you have both grown up a bit in the last couple of years:D

[sailingaway]

Matt, I don't care if they know how to win elections. I don't want their slime rubbing off on Rand, and I don't want him feeling like he owes them anything. And I am CERTAIN they DO want him owing them.

I can't do anything about it, but I don't like it at all.

I also don't want them coming between Rand and his friends and pretending that they, instead, are his real friends.

Uhg.

[Matt Collins]

Matt, I don't care if they know how to win elections. I don't want their slime rubbing off on Rand, and I don't want him feeling like he owes them anything. And I am CERTAIN they DO want him owing them.

I can't do anything about it, but I don't like it at all.

I also don't want them coming between Rand and his friends and pretending that they, instead, are his real friends.

Uhg.
Try to give Rand some credit, eh? :)

[TheFlashlight.org]

Try to give Rand some credit, eh? :)

Seriously. If the pampered GOP try to treat Rand as some country rube, they're going to end up getting their asses handed to them by a medical doctor who is also a SERIOUS intellectual.

[Fozz]

Matt, I don't care if they know how to win elections. I don't want their slime rubbing off on Rand, and I don't want him feeling like he owes them anything. And I am CERTAIN they DO want him owing them.

I can't do anything about it, but I don't like it at all.

I also don't want them coming between Rand and his friends and pretending that they, instead, are his real friends.

Uhg.
I've been concerned about that as well :(

[Chieftain1776]

I think they're going to strike the right balance between winning and being too careful. The grassroots team/voter outreach that Rand has doesn't need to be changed one iota. The media relations/spokesman/strategy type people need to be changed to an experienced team that has contacts with the media.

[HPK]

I think they're going to strike the right balance between winning and being too careful. The grassroots team/voter outreach that Rand has doesn't need to be changed one iota. The media relations/spokesman/strategy type people need to be changed to an experienced team that has contacts with the media.

I agree!

[doctor jones]

President Rand Paul is a nice thought of what could have been? I sure hope not. I'm confident he'll win his seat in Kentucky but I feel like any presidential bid for the future has been long lost unless the country changes.

[devil21]

Usually there's some campaign shake-ups after "gaffes", but are mostly symbolic instead of operational. I'm not sure that's the case here though. Rand's interviews weren't the campaign staffers fault but a lot of people who were turned off by the gaffe "need" to hear that people got fired or reassigned or whatever. I'd wait to see what the campaign changes actually are before freaking out about them.

Im also dismayed to hear Benton is back in the mix. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why he's disliked, because it was a subtle culmination of things during Ron's campaign. Nothing in particular. Just not a good spokesman overall. As much as it kills me, I'd welcome some status quo GOP advisors to the campaign provided Rand doesn't go with their talking points. This is definitely a chance for Rand to prove himself worthy of the Paul name. Take guidance on how to win from the GOP but don't bend to the neo-con platform. This is also a chance for the GOP to show that they HAVE learned something in the last couple years by letting Rand be Rand but also trying to win the seat for a real conservative that doesn't spout the neo-con platform. Both Rand and the GOP can prove a lot here. Karl Rove does know how to win...but can he win while not injecting his personal rhetoric into the campaign?

Im very curious to see what happens here.

[skyorbit]

President Rand Paul is a nice thought of what could have been? I sure hope not. I'm confident he'll win his seat in Kentucky but I feel like any presidential bid for the future has been long lost unless the country changes.

Ron needs to run again.

Tracy

[devil21]

Ron needs to run again.

Tracy

He does and Rand's campaign makes an interesting testbed for a 2012 run. Can the GOP work with the Paul's and their idealogy to win seats for libertarian minded conservatives and the party instead of working against them?

[Thargok]

I say, why fix something that isn't broken. Rand jacked up on his own - he shouldn't be shuffling things around too much -

I'm sorry but a blind man in a dark room could have avoided the train that hit Rand. The media was going to attack him and the campaign was riding high on their horse talking about vacation and relaxing. The fact of the matter was that anytime anybody wants to make a media appearance with a candidate the first question should be "What is the topic of the interview?" followed by the statement, "This is a list of my positions." The campaign did neither of these, they were attacked by Maddow without preparation and they dropped the ball on O'Reily who practically read off Trey Grayson's campaign website for Rand's positions.

[sailingaway]

Ron needs to run again.

Tracy

+1

[angelatc]

The fact of the matter was that anytime anybody wants to make a media appearance with a candidate the first question should be "What is the topic of the interview?" followed by the statement, "This is a list of my positions." The campaign did neither of these,

Actually, we have no idea what conversations the producers had with the staff before the interview was scheduled. And Rand said that they asked him an entirely different set of questions during the pre-show warm up.

[AuH2O]

McConnell's people and Karl Rove are brilliant political guys and that is what this is all about.

Karl Rove being a "brilliant political guy" is laughable. Unless of course his brilliance is in destroying a political party's credibility in about 5 years flat.

[Matt Collins]

Ron needs to run again.Ron has already ran, and Rand is currently Running. Ron may run but Rand is running because he is following Ron. So Rand and Ron might both be running together :p



Clarence, what's your clearance? ;)

[sirgonzo420]

Ron has already ran, and Rand is currently Running. Ron may run but Rand is running because he is following Ron. So Rand and Ron might both be running together :p



Clarence, what's your clearance? ;)

Don't call me Shirley!

:D

[Matt Collins]

Don't call me Shirley!

:D
YouTube - I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you. - Airplane (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmHeP9Sve48)