Ron Paul Wins California Straw Poll, But Can He Take Florida?

[sailingaway]

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/ron-paul-wins-california-straw-poll-can-he-take-florida

Interesting comment in the comment section:


Perry will win Florida if it's held like it was in 2008. Unlike most straw polls that have 1 vote per person, Florida allows 1 vote per ticket.

Which means, as long as someone wants to spend the money on it, they can buy as many votes as they want.

It's how Romney won it in 2008, and it's probably why it's the 1 Straw Poll Perry is interested in participating in. Romney is skipping it this year, I'm guessing because he knows he can't outspend Perry on it.

And btw, the only activity outside corporations in the GOP is with Ron Paul. It would be a completely dead party without him, and all the debates would get horrible ratings.

[djruden]

Only the truly corrupt win Florida. Thus why Guliani put all his effort into winning FL in 2008. Ultimately it proved incosequential to the overall race as Guliani was sunk before their primary anyway. Ron CAN WIN in Iowa and NH, we need to make sure all pieces fall into place and he DOES. Then the world will wake up and Ron Paul will go from "unelectable" and not top-tier to "FRONT-RUNNER".

[sailingaway]

They are talking about the straw poll, though.

[D.A.S.]

As far as Florida, I think we should probably just let that sleeping dog lie. Florida needs a LOT of work to get it onboard for Ron Paul -- my expectations are low for this one. Great job in Cali though. Those who said a Cali win will be important were right -- we're getting some nice publicity coming out of it... More than Ames, actually! Ha!

[IterTemporis]

As a Floridian, I have seen some people with Ron Paul stuff. In fact, there is a car a few doors away that has a Ron Paul Revolution bumper sticker. Too bad that some Floridians are, no offense, dumb. With Obama, I mostly heard that they were going to vote for him just because he was black, not even because of the message..

[hubze]

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/ron-paul-wins-california-straw-poll-can-he-take-florida

Interesting comment in the comment section:

It is so sad to me that this is all about money and who can afford to buy votes. Perry was so set on getting back to Texas during the fires that were sweeping through his State, yet around the same time announced that he was getting 55 million or something like that toward his campaign...that money would have helped MANY people in Texas with their housing situation...so this money game just makes no sense to me when it could be so much better served...so frustrating...

I do feel that Ron Paul will have the most support there...but may not win all the votes, but we will see. My wife and I will be there yelling our hearts out for him...and would buy 1,000 votes if we could...

[sailingaway]

It is so sad to me that this is all about money and who can afford to buy votes. Perry was so set on getting back to Texas during the fires that were sweeping through his State, yet around the same time announced that he was getting 55 million or something like that toward his campaign...that money would have helped MANY people in Texas with their housing situation...so this money game just makes no sense to me when it could be so much better served...so frustrating...

I do feel that Ron Paul will have the most support there...but may not win all the votes, but we will see. My wife and I will be there yelling our hearts out for him...and would buy 1,000 votes if we could...

+rep!

[Elfshadow]

Its very hard to figure out how much support is in this state. Was at Isles of Adventure a few weeks back and noticed a group that was wearing Revolution shirts. Did not get a chance to talk to them cause I was getting on the new harry potter ride but there is no way to tell if they are from this state or one of the "tourists go home" people

[samsung1]

P5 straw poll is a must win!I hope to god we were able to sign up enough delegates to win this straw poll. I think the Florida P5 Straw poll is more impoortant that the Iowa Straw poll.

[HeyArchie]

Hey guys, I'm from Florida!

But, you've hit the nail on the head. I grew up in the Gainesville area and now I'm living in Tallahassee. The city-centers and thus the counties are always blue in elections. The outlying areas (the smaller rural towns within the counties) are rather redneck and I can bet that they are mostly Perry supporters. I saw a lot of McCain and some Giuliani in my actual hometown just outside of Gainesville last election. In the actual city of Gainesville, I've seen a few Ron Paul bumper stickers (this is most likely a couple of college students). A couple of my friends are RP supporters there, but most of them have the "I don't give a shit" approach to politics or "blindly believe what my parents/the media tells me". My dad is fed up with politics and my mom can't vote for Ron because of his foreign policy. But, that is neither here nor there as frustrating as I find it.

The bottom line is, in my experience in Florida I haven't seen much RP support. Nor have I been able to convert very many of my family and friends. It's an arrogant, stubborn crowd down here. And a lot of the older crowd apprehensive about Ron's plans with SS and foreign policy.

Just my $0.02

[RonPaulFever]

Ron would do well to avoid Florida like the plague...he won't win no matter how much money is thrown at it.

[InTradePro]

PREDICTION: If Perry loses the straw poll in Florida he will be dropped and replaced with Chris Christie.

[rp08orbust]

Folks, the straw poll that Romney won by purchasing multiple tickets for supporters was NOT the Presidency 4 straw poll, which was cancelled. There are two straw polls this year: Presidency 5 (which allows a fixed number of votes from 3,500 delegates) and the far lesser straw poll that Mitt Romney did in fact cheat in (I don't remember what it's called).

[ZanZibar]

The Florida P5 Straw Poll is an insider's poll so we aren't very likely to win it.

[XTreat]

Central Florida, where the event is being held, has a very active C4L/meetup group. Also there is only 3,500 total votes, 25% went to "insiders" the rest for people who signed up, paid their dues, and won the drawings for tickets. The tickets were very expensive though, $175. But I got mine and will be down there for the whole weekend, I'll keep you guys updated.

[libertybrewcity]

Florida is a very important state. It is absolutely essential that we have a good showing there either 1, 2, or 3. The state is important A) because it's an early state, and B) because it is the first big state(lots of delegates). It will garner tons of media coverage and the winner will likely have a great deal of momentum coming out of it.

I believe that if Ron can win Iowa and NH, he can propel himself with a good showing in Florida.

[FreedomProsperityPeace]

IMO we shouldn't participate in anything that is one vote per ticket. That is just corrupt as hell, as well as a waste of money.

[amyre]

Hey guys, I'm from Florida!

But, you've hit the nail on the head. I grew up in the Gainesville area and now I'm living in Tallahassee. The city-centers and thus the counties are always blue in elections. The outlying areas (the smaller rural towns within the counties) are rather redneck and I can bet that they are mostly Perry supporters. I saw a lot of McCain and some Giuliani in my actual hometown just outside of Gainesville last election. In the actual city of Gainesville, I've seen a few Ron Paul bumper stickers (this is most likely a couple of college students). A couple of my friends are RP supporters there, but most of them have the "I don't give a shit" approach to politics or "blindly believe what my parents/the media tells me". My dad is fed up with politics and my mom can't vote for Ron because of his foreign policy. But, that is neither here nor there as frustrating as I find it.

The bottom line is, in my experience in Florida I haven't seen much RP support. Nor have I been able to convert very many of my family and friends. It's an arrogant, stubborn crowd down here. And a lot of the older crowd apprehensive about Ron's plans with SS and foreign policy.

Just my $0.02

I concur.....very extreme here in Florida. Apathetic, welfare, or Israel - pretty much everyone else that doesn't fall into one of those categories supports Ron Paul (which hasn't been very many). Yes, I know that's a sweeping generalization and probably a bit of a stretch, but it's been my experience nonetheless.

[ZanZibar]

Florida is a very important state. It is absolutely essential that we have a good showing there either 1, 2, or 3. The state is important A) because it's an early state, and B) because it is the first big state(lots of delegates). It will garner tons of media coverage and the winner will likely have a great deal of momentum coming out of it.

I believe that if Ron can win Iowa and NH, he can propel himself with a good showing in Florida.FL is large, expensive, winner-take-all, and a closed primary. We must focus on other areas and not waste resources there.

[JohnGalt23g]

The bottom line on FLA is the state GOP is dominated by seniors and Cuban emigrees and Cuban-Americans. Ron Paul routinely goes into FLA and says he wants to restructure social security and reopen relationhips with Castro.

On top of that, it is a huge state, with a closed primary.

It's a loser for us. Don't waste resources there.

[po14015]

We will get mid teens in P5. We are hurting in the small counties.

The only way we can win is if we can effectively influence the other people at the event.

My area is bring a little under 1% of the total vote. And I know of one area that has done better than that. But remember 25% of the vote goes to party insiders. That is a hard handicap to over come.

In Liberty,

Curt

[sailingaway]

PREDICTION: If Perry loses the straw poll in Florida he will be dropped and replaced with Chris Christie.

Well, sure, because then they can say it didn't count, just like Ames didn't when Perry came in the next day.

[sailingaway]

Central Florida, where the event is being held, has a very active C4L/meetup group. Also there is only 3,500 total votes, 25% went to "insiders" the rest for people who signed up, paid their dues, and won the drawings for tickets. The tickets were very expensive though, $175. But I got mine and will be down there for the whole weekend, I'll keep you guys updated.

+rep

[rp08orbust]

We will get mid teens in P5. We are hurting in the small counties.

The only way we can win is if we can effectively influence the other people at the event.

My area is bring a little under 1% of the total vote. And I know of one area that has done better than that. But remember 25% of the vote goes to party insiders. That is a hard handicap to over come.

In Liberty,

Curt

Do you know if the Ron Paul campaign did any outreach to P5 delegates at all?

[HOLLYWOOD]

Well, sure, because then they can say it didn't count, just like Ames didn't when Perry came in the next day.lol.. Rick Perry was a write-in and they did have a couple clowns in "Rick's Army" dedicated to getting those Perry write-in Ames votes. But it was Steven Colbert and his mockery against Rick Perry with a write-in campaign to vote for Rick PARRY.

Unfortunately, the IOWA GOP wouldn't release how many actually voted for Rick PArry.

[po14015]

Do you know if the Ron Paul campaign did any outreach to P5 delegates at all?

None that I know of. I know that there was some difficultly getting access to the list. Are you surprised?

Huntsman has put everything he got into this. And I just got a call from Perry's campaign the other day.

My area was one of the better prepared for P5. All the other counties from what I understand it was sloppy.

To give many hope, I have heard that there is a lot of non-Ron Paul people who paid and aren't going. This is a large commitment of time and many people didn't realize what they were getting into. This can only help us on a percentage basis.

Now 25% went to insiders, but I know for a fact that we do have some of that vote. They are undercover for the cause.

In Liberty,

Curt

[eleganz]

None that I know of. I know that there was some difficultly getting access to the list. Are you surprised?

Huntsman has put everything he got into this. And I just got a call from Perry's campaign the other day.

My area was one of the better prepared for P5. All the other counties from what I understand it was sloppy.

To give many hope, I have heard that there is a lot of non-Ron Paul people who paid and aren't going. This is a large commitment of time and many people didn't realize what they were getting into. This can only help us on a percentage basis.

Now 25% went to insiders, but I know for a fact that we do have some of that vote. They are undercover for the cause.

In Liberty,

Curt

Keep up the great work! Even if we can't win Florida P5, it is still important to continue growing the grassroots and building momentum for the revolution! I wish you guys great luck!

[XTreat]

I got a call from Perry as well. I took a little pleasure in telling them I would definatly be voting for RP. I started thinking though, maybe I should have lied and seen what they had to say.

[ZanZibar]

Do you know if the Ron Paul campaign did any outreach to P5 delegates at all?Yes.

[po14015]

I got a call from Perry as well. I took a little pleasure in telling them I would definatly be voting for RP. I started thinking though, maybe I should have lied and seen what they had to say.

It was on my answering machine. The number that called was out of state, but the number left was a local area code. I called and left a message that said to take me off their list as I wouldn't vote for a former Democrat and a Texas campaign manager for Al Gore. Never know, the person who listens to it might not have known this.

In Liberty,

Curt