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goRPaul
07-17-2011, 04:53 PM
Just spent four days and three nights at the Shelby County Fair, and I have good news to report.

-I got the phone numbers of seven people who are interested in attending the Ames Straw Poll to cast their vote for Ron!

-The Shelby County Republicans were holding an informal "Corn Poll" (dropping kernals of corn your candidate's cup) and the results as I left were: 1st-Bachmann, 2nd-Paul, 3rd-Romney. Not bad!

-If someone said something interesting about the candidates or the race, I tried to jot it down. I'll post those responses in the next post, they're quite interesting.

-The people who worked the Shelby County Republican booth were mostly Tea Partiers, they were very friendly, and thought that Ron was a solid candidate. While many of them had Ron in their top three, only one of them were sure that she would vote for him.

-Iowa State Representative Jason Shultz was at the fair on Friday and made the comment that Ron "is the only candidate with a plan to save the country." We might see another endorsement!

Now for the not so good news:

-Many people, especially those who fit the description of "likely Republican voter", abruptly turned their heads when seeing the booth. Some of them would look at me and shake their heads. Not much to do but smile I guess.

-There's still a common misconception that Ron is not a Republican, or that he's not running. Many questions were "Is he a Republican?" "Isn't he a Libertarian?" "Is he running for president?" I got the feeling that most people read newspapers and watched Fox News. I told them that he's been a Republican his entire career in Congress, and that he was only a Libertarian for one year.

-Many people also repeated the "he can't win" mantra. Not sure how to break that perception. I started countering that if everyone who said that voted for him, then he would win!

-Last piece of bad news: There's no volunteers! Tabling at a fair is the easiest and one of the most productive volunteer work you can do, not to mention the most fun. Why no volunteers?!?

trey4sports
07-17-2011, 05:04 PM
great! Thanks for your hard work!

Overall positive im assuming?

Did you guys "stack" the "corn poll" (pack the poll with Paul supporters) or do you think this is a good predictor of that area overall? (1. Bachmann 2. Paul 3. Romney)

goRPaul
07-17-2011, 05:07 PM
Comments from the fairgoers:

"I believe the Constitution is as sacred a document as the Bible." This woman was working at the Iowa Right to Life table. A great quote!

"I want abortion illegal at the federal level." This lady was a little dismayed that Ron didn't support a right to life amendment. What could I say?

"Obama is making us so poor, we can't raise enough money to beat him." This man was 87 years old, and is he wrong?

"Ron Paul has extreme views, like ending the Fed." This guy was actually kind of young. Gave him some food for thought about it, but didn't seem like he's coming our way anytime soon.

"The representative for Ron Paul at the 2008 caucus wasn't very enthusastic." This lady also said she learned more about Ron at my table than she has by paying attention to the media.

"Ron doesn't have as much charisma as Herman Cain." This guy was the owner of a financial company and was working a booth at the fair. He was pretty knowledgable and this was more of a general observation than a reason to vote one way or another. He was surprised to learn that Bernanke said that gold isn't money :p

"Right now, it's not 'cool' to support Ron Paul." How can we make it 'cool' to support Ron Paul? Somebody get Shaun White on the case.

"I'd like to see Ron Paul as Secretary of the Treasury." Lol

"I'm a Romney guy.... I'm a libertarian, but I don't think we should let people run around hopped up on dope." This took me aback. I gently offered the idea that we should send addicts to rehab instead of jail, and that when Portugal did this a few years ago, drug use went down. Didn't immediately change his mind, but I hope he remembers our conversation later.

Nate-ForLiberty
07-17-2011, 05:08 PM
counter "He can't win" with...

Ron Paul has been elected 11 times to the House.
Ron Paul is the only candidate with military experience.
Ron Paul is the only candidate who has never voted for an unbalanced budget or to raise taxes.
Ron Paul has won the CPAC straw poll 2 years running.
Ron Paul had the 2nd highest fund raising total for quarter 2, only behind Romney.

The last person to claim Ron Paul couldn't be elected was Donald Trump, and where is he now....

Ron Paul is very electable.

malkusm
07-17-2011, 05:10 PM
Comments from the fairgoers:

"I believe the Constitution is as sacred a document as the Bible." This woman was working at the Iowa Right to Life table. A great quote!

"I want abortion illegal at the federal level." This lady was a little dismayed that Ron didn't support a right to life amendment. What could I say?

"Obama is making us so poor, we can't raise enough money to beat him." This man was 87 years old, and is he wrong?

"Ron Paul has extreme views, like ending the Fed." This guy was actually kind of young. Gave him some food for thought about it, but didn't seem like he's coming our way anytime soon.

"The representative for Ron Paul at the 2008 caucus wasn't very enthusastic." This lady also said she learned more about Ron at my table than she has by paying attention to the media.

"Ron doesn't have as much charisma as Herman Cain." This guy was the owner of a financial company and was working a booth at the fair. He was pretty knowledgable and this was more of a general observation than a reason to vote one way or another. He was surprised to learn that Bernanke said that gold isn't money :p

"Right now, it's not 'cool' to support Ron Paul." How can we make it 'cool' to support Ron Paul? Somebody get Shaun White on the case.

"I'd like to see Ron Paul as Secretary of the Treasury." Lol

"I'm a Romney guy.... I'm a libertarian, but I don't think we should let people run around hopped up on dope." This took me aback. I gently offered the idea that we should send addicts to rehab instead of jail, and that when Portugal did this a few years ago, drug use went down. Didn't immediately change his mind, but I hope he remembers our conversation later.

+rep - Thank you so much for volunteering your time and effort! :)

Nate-ForLiberty
07-17-2011, 05:17 PM
"I want abortion illegal at the federal level."

Murder has always been and should remain a crime dealt with at the city and state level. Unfortunately, passing a law doesn't necessarily make something go away. Think of drugs and prostitution. If you really want to end abortions you have to change society and you can't do that through a Federal law. You must get out in the community and help those who would have an abortion. If you are able to outlaw abortion in your state and it works and people are happier, other states will want to emulate you. If you have a blanket Federal law that says all abortions are illegal then you will create a black market for abortions which will result in increased death rate among the mothers. In other words, those who pushed for an amendment will actually be responsible for more deaths as opposed to their goal of ending child murder.

CaseyJones
07-17-2011, 05:18 PM
+ rep

FSP-Rebel
07-17-2011, 05:20 PM
Reagan's view of libertarianism from '75 in Reason Mag:

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.

Now, I can’t say that I will agree with all the things that the present group who call themselves Libertarians in the sense of a party say, because I think that like in any political movement there are shades, and there are libertarians who are almost over at the point of wanting no government at all or anarchy. I believe there are legitimate government functions. There is a legitimate need in an orderly society for some government to maintain freedom or we will have tyranny by individuals. The strongest man on the block will run the neighborhood. We have government to insure that we don’t each one of us have to carry a club to defend ourselves. But again, I stand on my statement that I think that libertarianism and conservatism are travelling the same path.

goRPaul
07-17-2011, 05:23 PM
Did you guys "stack" the "corn poll" (pack the poll with Paul supporters) or do you think this is a good predictor of that area overall? (1. Bachmann 2. Paul 3. Romney)

No stacking the vote! But perhaps my booth gave RP a boost ;)

KCIndy
07-17-2011, 05:25 PM
Thanks for volunteering! Great work, well deserving of a +Rep! :)

svobody
07-17-2011, 05:26 PM
Reagan's view of libertarianism from '75 in Reason Mag:

This is good. I'm thinking maybe it's time to make up a flyer: "Is Ron Paul a Republican?", and use this to explain why the media always calls him a libertarian and why it isn't a bad thing. Something on one page that could be printed and handed out at events like this would really help to solve people's confusion on the issue.

ronpaulhawaii
07-17-2011, 05:47 PM
Great job, thanks for the report


This lady was a little dismayed that Ron didn't support a right to life amendment. What could I say?

Did you have the "A Pro-Life Champion" slimjim to give her?

His "Sanctity of Life Act" defines life as beginning at conception.
His "We The People Act" would effectively repeal Roe vs. Wade
His "Taxpayers Freedom Act" would end federal tax dollars from being used to fund abortions and "family planning" programs.

These bills would actually begin to reduce abortions, while the endless fight for more federal laws only feeds the lawyers and lobbyists...

tsai3904
07-17-2011, 05:51 PM
Do the people who say "Ron Paul can't win" want him to win? If yes, then there's a chance to convince them, but if not, then it may not be worth the time and effort to keep talking to them.

FSP-Rebel
07-17-2011, 06:02 PM
Do the people who say "Ron Paul can't win" want him to win? If yes, then there's a chance to convince them, but if not, then it may not be worth the time and effort to keep talking to them.
Many of the people that say that about Paul haven't seen the latest poll (IA caucus) which has him in 3rd and trending upward. Faced with that fact, they may be taken aback and have to chew on it for a bit.

ronpaulhawaii
07-17-2011, 06:08 PM
The "He can't win" thing...

I sometimes simply ask, "why do you say that?" And then wait for a response.

trey4sports
07-17-2011, 06:13 PM
Many of the people that say that about Paul haven't seen the latest poll (IA caucus) which has him in 3rd and trending upward. Faced with that fact, they may be taken aback and have to chew on it for a bit.


The only way we blast the "he can't win" label is by actually winning. The media WILL NOT declare us a legitimate contender until we FORCE them too. Winning Ames is certainly the easiest thing we can do to actually get us on that path.

Napoleon's Shadow
07-17-2011, 06:18 PM
Which state? Many states have "Shelby" counties.

FA.Hayek
07-17-2011, 06:19 PM
The only way we blast the "he can't win" label is by actually winning. The media WILL NOT declare us a legitimate contender until we FORCE them too. Winning Ames is certainly the easiest thing we can do to actually get us on that path.

this!

goRPaul
07-17-2011, 06:22 PM
Which state? Many states have "Shelby" counties.

Lol- Iowa! In the southwest part of the state.


The only way we blast the "he can't win" label is by actually winning. The media WILL NOT declare us a legitimate contender until we FORCE them too. Winning Ames is certainly the easiest thing we can do to actually get us on that path.

Yea, unfortunately this is what it will take. Wish it were different. But we've come so far from four years ago, and we're doing great work now!

TheTyke
07-17-2011, 07:37 PM
My answer on abortion would be like:

"55 MILLION babies have died since the federal government got involved in abortion. Murder on the other hand, has always been handled by state law. Dr. Paul's plans would start saving lives - now. <explain>" or something like that. Not sure it's the best approach, but I've had good responses so far.

And THANK YOU for working your fair! We did it in KY and it helped a lot... hope they are really covering every county fair! (Here in KY we were short volunteers too, but the actions of a few snowballed into victory - so it's worth it!)

Eric21ND
07-17-2011, 08:38 PM
Some facts on Shelby county from 2008 Caucus

- Huckabee won the county with 44.6% of the vote

- Huckabee had 199 total votes

- Ron Paul had 7.4% of the vote

- Ron Paul had 33 total votes

Eric21ND
07-17-2011, 08:40 PM
Thanks for stepping up and volunteering!!

I thought we fully funded having campaign volunteers at all the fairs???