Republican Strategist Dave Winston is clueless

[Broadlighter]

Got this from this article on Yahoo News:

"He has this very small but very enthusiastic group of supporters," said Republican strategist David Winston, who has studied the political use of new media. "It gives him the resources, but his problem is what's the message that grows his support? That he has been unable to solve."

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_on_el_pr/paul_fundraising

Well there's a big sign that says: "Restore the Constitution and Liberty for America!," and it's waving right in front of his eyes, yet Mr. Winston doesn't seem to have a clue. Either that or he does and he's trying to assure the GOP faithful that there's nothing to be concerned about.

He's in denial - big time.

[Syren123]

Got this from this article on Yahoo News:

"He has this very small but very enthusiastic group of supporters," said Republican strategist David Winston, who has studied the political use of new media. "It gives him the resources, but his problem is what's the message that grows his support? That he has been unable to solve."

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_on_el_pr/paul_fundraising

Well there's a big sign that says: "Restore the Constitution and Liberty for America!," and it's waving right in front of his eyes, yet Mr. Winston doesn't seem to have a clue. Either that or he does and he's trying to assure the GOP faithful that there's nothing to be concerned about.

He's in denial - big time.

With strategists like that, no WONDER the Republican Party has hemorrhaged members like an amputated limb. David Winston has the problem solving issues...not the Congressman.

[torchbearer]

He swims in the The Nile.

[me3]

To be fair, there is an element of truth to what he is saying.

The campaign has raised money, but has been very frugal spending it. We have so much in the bank, not necessarily because we outraise everyone, but because we barely spend it.

The fund raising isn't an ends, it's a means. And if it isn't used, or used effectively, it's not really worth a lot (like people commenting on blogs... :rolleyes: )

I appreciate what Ron is doing, but now is the time to start being bold, with Iowa and New Hampshire fast approaching. Grabbing 1 or 2% every 2 months is not going to do it in time. He needs to appeal to the Republican base which gets polled. And he needs to come hard on that. These are the people who vote in the primaries, and have some clout within the party.

As the article mentions, the support isn't coming from the Republican base, but without them, his poll numbers could eliminate him from the remaining debates, and hurt his ability to gain their support later, after IA and NH.

[Broadlighter]

I hear what you are saying. If Ron Paul is right, that the Republican base has shrunk, largely due to the war. We should bring these folks back, add new registrations to the GOP, which a lot of areas like mine (Santa Cruz County, CA) are doing and we can win these primaries.

Registering new Republicans so they can vote for him in the primaries should appeal to the local party chapters who would like to leverage those new registrations for local elections. However, doing that would mean the party regulars may have to change their thinking to accept the ideas new voters bring.

I'm not looking for the Republican base to help us win. I'm looking for a revolution to overturn the direction the base has been going in. We have to believe this is possible. Otherwise, why bother?

[me3]

I'm not looking for the Republican base to help us win. I'm looking for a revolution to overturn the direction the base has been going in. We have to believe this is possible. Otherwise, why bother?
Without support from the base in the closed primaries, we're not going to get the nomination. Even Dr. Paul understands this in independent NH, where they sent glossy mailers to 12,000 Republicans.

I understand a revolution, but the one you are asking for is not going to happen this cycle without the base, and the Republican nomination.

[Primbs]

Winston is very smart.

He is a numbers guy and he sees we don't have enough people supporting Dr. Paul. Winston is wondering what issues will propel Dr. Paul into the double digits in the polls. That could be many issues that move Paul forward as he become better known.

[Johncjackson]

He didn't say RP "didn't have a message." He said he hasn't been effective with a message that GROWS support. Which may be true to an extent. We will see.

[Primbs]

Winston will tell it like it is.

The support is growing, it is just a matter of how much and how quick.

Paul needs to come up with a strategy to tell Republican's how he would deal with the threat of Islamic Terrorism. There are many different strategies out there. While Paul doesn't believe we should just start invading countries, he does need to address the legitimate security concerns that voters have.

There are alot of Republicans who love Dr. Paul's economic message if they hear about it. I am finding that Republicans do like the slim jims especially on the economic issues.

However, a common stumbling block is the misinterpretation of Dr. Paul's foreign policy.

If Paul can show that he could stand up against Islamo fascism in a way that reassures the average america, he can win.

Dr. Paul's challenge is to show that there are alternative foreign policies that are tough, are not counter productive, and promotes america's interest.

Dr. Paul needs to demonstrate that the current foreign policies are counter productive to America's interest, that open borders will destroy America from within more quickly than the external threat of Islamo fascism. Dr. Paul needs to demonstrate that we can be tough, yet peaceful.

[rfbz]

Republicans can be persuaded to realize the war was a mistake and we need to get out of there, but it has to be done carefully. Nobody likes to be told they're wrong, and when someone has held on to a belief for a while it's hard to come to the realization that maybe they were wrong.

We need to say to them, look, a lot of us thought we were doing the right thing, and our troops are to be commended for everything they're doing over there. But it's getting to that point where it's pretty obvious we need a change of course. There's no shame in that, in fact it takes guts to admit that. This isn't about becoming a weak pussified nation, to the contrary. We will be stronger under a Ron Paul presidency because our military resources won't be so spread out that they're ineffective at protecting our nation.