What needs to change to re-vamp the Rand Paul Revolution???

[lordindra3]

In my humble opinion, I do not think the "tie" between Paul and Con-man are accurate. I think Rasmussen is more accurate, however, why has Paul lost some steam?

The best way to answer that is 'my' humble cure on what to do to get him back in the BIG lead again.....

In short, I think he needs to do what he did in the primary and that is get back in the main spot light! Go back to Fox News every other day! Go back to speaking to everyone OTHER THAN MSNBC! Rand needs to become the sensation again. Yes, conventionally, he should listen to the old guard, but this is not a conventional time! He already did beat Grayson using RAND'S tactics over the GOP tactics, so Rand's campaign was already better, so why is he listening to them all of the sudden???

Lastly, I think we the movement has become complacent and we have been taking this for granted. I think we need to use this poll as a sign that this fight IS DEFINITELY NOT OVER!!! We have LOTS of work to do! We need to get him bigger and better money bombs as if we was 20 points behind like we did when he first ran against Grayson. We need to nip this in the bud, guys! We need to work harder and use this PPP poll as a wake up call!

[sailingaway]

I think he should go back to being himself, and let the campaign get edgy again. Stumble now and then? OK, he's human. It is far worse to be perceived as 'the same thing' as all the rest.

[Travlyr]

Understanding... that's all that needs to change... understand your world. :cool:

[jmdrake]

In my humble opinion, I do not think the "tie" between Paul and Con-man are accurate. I think Rasmussen is more accurate, however, why has Paul lost some steam?

The best way to answer that is 'my' humble cure on what to do to get him back in the BIG lead again.....

In short, I think he needs to do what he did in the primary and that is get back in the main spot light! Go back to Fox News every other day! Go back to speaking to everyone OTHER THAN MSNBC! Rand needs to become the sensation again. Yes, conventionally, he should listen to the old guard, but this is not a conventional time! He already did beat Grayson using RAND'S tactics over the GOP tactics, so Rand's campaign was already better, so why is he listening to them all of the sudden???

Lastly, I think we the movement has become complacent and we have been taking this for granted. I think we need to use this poll as a sign that this fight IS DEFINITELY NOT OVER!!! We have LOTS of work to do! We need to get him bigger and better money bombs as if we was 20 points behind like we did when he first ran against Grayson. We need to nip this in the bud, guys! We need to work harder and use this PPP poll as a wake up call!

Why boycott MSNBC? Because Rachel Maddow was the first person in the national media to really test Rand? Do you think if he had gone on ABC, CBS or CNN instead he wouldn't have been attacked? Do you think these other outlets aren't going to attack him the next time he's on? Do you think Laura Ingram and the rest of "Faux News" wouldn't attack Rand if he said something like "Michael Steele was right about Afghanistan?" Remember the reason he went on Maddow is, up to that point, she had generally been "friendly" to the Pauls. But of course she was playing a game just like anyone else in the media. And if you want to win at that game you have to play it along with them.

Besides, the Maddow attack was more of a symptom of Rand's problem and not the cause. During the primary Rand said all the right things to win over a majority of conservative republican voters. Nothing wrong with that I suppose. But in a way he's boxed himself into a corner politically. Most politicians would be "tacking to the center" at this point. But doing that will tarnish the "integrity" brand that's part of the Paul family appeal. And Grayson did a good job of nailing Rand to the wall on issues that might appeal to non "tea party" voters.

The bigger question is "How to reach out to independents"? Many of those people watch MSNBC. Yes there are other avenues to reach them. But why turn what is a fading story into a headline again? Tonight on MSNBC. Rand is back on the national media circuit again, but he's afraid to come on our network. Tonight we analyze why. :rolleyes: While I initially disagreed with BenIsForRon on this (and I do still think a temporary hiatus from national media was a good thing), I have to say that at some point Rand has to get beyond what happened, accept the fact that being attacked comes with being in politics, and move on. And he's going to have to come out with a message that plays to people outside his current base (tea party folks and people who are going to support him regardless because of his dad) and that's going to reach indies and disgruntled democrats. Besides, Rand hasn't seen the worst attack yet. Conway has a potential card that Grayson couldn't play. But Conway might not play it because it might hurt him as much as it would Rand.

[Brett85]

That's exactly the opposite of what I would've said. I think that Rand just needs to lay low for the next few months. He would have a better chance of winning by just staying out of the spotlight. The reason he went from a 25 point lead to a 8 point lead was because he was all over TV saying controversial things.

[Travlyr]

But of course... Henry Waxman doesn't have to know what he is doing... the media likes him. :rolleyes:

YouTube - STUPID CONGRESSMAN (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV1IeBlnLrY)

[TheConstitutionLives]

That's exactly the opposite of what I would've said. I think that Rand just needs to lay low for the next few months. He would have a better chance of winning by just staying out of the spotlight. The reason he went from a 25 point lead to a 8 point lead was because he was all over TV saying controversial things.

X2. Rand needs to lay low. Its too early to get out in front of the cameras. All he can do is hurt himself right now.

[Aratus]

rand's g.o.p support clearly overlaps that of senator jim bunning...
smilin' jack has no guarante that he will be backed by the Lt. Gov...
geoff davis + jim bunning have a rally in NKy this JULY 10th at 10 a.m...

[Kludge]

Rand's numbers have been dropping as the masses have become more aware of his libertarian ties. He needs to stop being inconsistent about principles vs. politics and go all-in with the KY conservatives. So what if he pisses off the purist libertarians here -- they shouldn't be voting, anyway.

[sailingaway]

Rand's numbers have been dropping as the masses have become more aware of his libertarian ties. He needs to stop being inconsistent about principles vs. politics and go all-in with the KY conservatives. So what if he pisses off the purist libertarians here -- they shouldn't be voting, anyway.

I disagree. He has dropped precisely one point vis a vis Conway in the PPP poll, since they polled Rand as only one point ahead just before the primary. His approval ratings were sky high with independents when all they knew was that he was Ron Paul's son, and those have dropped as he went 'standard conservative' for the primary. The bit about taking money from GOP who happen to also have voted for the bailout (when they are GOP leadership and could only be disavowed by disavowing the GOP) has hurt him, but if he gives his supporters reason to be excited about his campaign, those people will warm up again. The fact is, the mistake was what he said in the primary, and not making it clear he only meant the primary, since the KY AND national GOP are tied to McConnell, and McConnell voted for the bailout. Had he not voted for the bailout, Rand could have avoided the issue. AS it was, it was a dumb thing to say in the primary, but can hardly be avoided in the general.

Rand has to run his own campaign, but he has the GOP now, most of them, and the only person who consistently dominates with independents in polling nationwide, is his father. To get them I wouldn't move FURTHER from his father, but stress where they are unambiguously in line, such as being against the Patriot Act and FISA. He may well pick up some progressives that way, and the only people who are really FOR the Patriot Act and fisa are the same ones who are SO pro war his moderate position on that will push them to Conway, in any event.

I've been in the GOP for decades. Rand doesn't scare me, FISA and the Patriot Act do.

[Brett]

We need to fight like we 15 behind, not be satisfied with a primary win and assume a red state will go red.

[jmdrake]

I disagree. He has dropped precisely one point vis a vis Conway in the PPP poll, since they polled Rand as only one point ahead just before the primary. His approval ratings were sky high with independents when all they knew was that he was Ron Paul's son, and those have dropped as he went 'standard conservative' for the primary. The bit about taking money from GOP who happen to also have voted for the bailout (when they are GOP leadership and could only be disavowed by disavowing the GOP) has hurt him, but if he gives his supporters reason to be excited about his campaign, those people will warm up again. The fact is, the mistake was what he said in the primary, and not making it clear he only meant the primary, since the KY AND national GOP are tied to McConnell, and McConnell voted for the bailout. Had he not voted for the bailout, Rand could have avoided the issue. AS it was, it was a dumb thing to say in the primary, but can hardly be avoided in the general.

Rand has to run his own campaign, but he has the GOP now, most of them, and the only person who consistently dominates with independents in polling nationwide, is his father. To get them I wouldn't move FURTHER from his father, but stress where they are unambiguously in line, such as being against the Patriot Act and FISA. He may well pick up some progressives that way, and the only people who are really FOR the Patriot Act and fisa are the same ones who are SO pro war his moderate position on that will push them to Conway, in any event.

I've been in the GOP for decades. Rand doesn't scare me, FISA and the Patriot Act do.

Exactly! For Rand to pick up independent votes it has to be based on more than "His last name is Paul *wink wink*". And let's be honest here. The fallout over the CRA wasn't "OMG! Rand is a libertarian". It was "OMG! Rand is a racist!" Ron said some things during the campaign that might have gotten him the dreaded "R" label (and people tried to stick that to him) but that was balanced by Ron being against the war in Iraq, being against the drug war, and pointing out that the drug war was unfair to blacks. Folks have been digging Rand into a deeper hole by trying to defend a position on the CRA that he never actually took. (The libertarian position would be to repeal title 2. The most Rand ever said was to modify title 2). Since Rand didn't come close to adopting any other controversial libertarian positions in the primary, it smacks of "selective libertarianism".

I'm glad you brought up FISA and the Patriot Act. That's one potential way Rand can appeal to independents without turning off the Sarah Palin "tea party" followers. For the tea party crowds he can play off their fear of Obama with statements like "Do you really trust the current president with that much power"? For everybody else he can just point out that such power is bad in general.

[paulitics]

Rand was doing better when the republican establishment was attacking him rather than supporting him.

We are playing the game like it is 1998 or something. Things have changed. Rand has/had a base of millions of potential donors, and the tea party backing him.

It's like we have traded that for the support of the establishment, who does not have our back, and with that comes a compromise of principles.

If he loses, it is because we beat ourselves.